From Diversity to the Construction of Educational Needs in Primary Schools. An Intersectional Analysis from Spain

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-73782017000100003

Keywords:

Special needs education, Cultural diversity, Spain, Educational needs

Abstract

Using their teaching experiences with children identified as having special education needs of linguistically, culturally and socioeconomically diverse families, this paper describes the ambiguities teachers face when understanding the needs of these students. To this extent, the informal conversations and interviews with teachers carried out during the observation of three classrooms are used to analyze the way in which ‘cultural’ and ‘biological’ explanations are intertwined and underpin their narratives. The paper discusses how an intersectional analysis allows to describe the constituent character of needs that are seen as objective –special education, diversity–, and how these variables are mixed and produce new forms to understand the diversity in their classrooms. In conclusion, it is argued that special education may be understood as a system that derives meaning from all axes of difference, which are in turn reaffirmed, and which hides the way in which students’ needs are constructed away from school’s responsibility.

Author Biography

Alejandro Paniagua, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

Doctor en Antropología Social por la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB). Actualmente trabaja como investigador postdoctoral en el Center for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) en la OCDE en París, mientras sigue vinculado al grupo de investigación EMIGRA-CER de la UAB. Ha hecho estancias de investigación en Londres y Los Ángeles. Su investigación gira en torno a la participación, la innovación, la diversidad y el análisis institucional de las prácticas docentes. Durante más de 7 años trabajó como maestro en centros de primaria situados en el área metropolitana de Barcelona.

Published

2017-05-15

How to Cite

Paniagua, A. (2017). From Diversity to the Construction of Educational Needs in Primary Schools. An Intersectional Analysis from Spain. Latin American Journal of Inclusive Education, 11(1), 21–34. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-73782017000100003