Papers by Shruti Taneja Johansson
This article explores stakeholders’ awareness of autism and their perspectives on
children with a... more This article explores stakeholders’ awareness of autism and their perspectives on
children with autism, in an urban Indian school context. Using an interpretive framework,
the article draws on interview data from a study conducted in Kolkata. Findings
indicated varying but limited awareness of autism among school staff. Teachers
instead described the child as “different” from peers. Further, there was variation in
stakeholders’ view on the challenges faced by the child. In contrast to parents and
private specialists, school staff gave no importance to social development and perceived
behaviour and personality differences as inherent in the child. Nevertheless,
there was a consensus among stakeholders on school responsibility as limited to academic
input. Challenging school staff’s beliefs about child development and purpose
of education, along with re-assessing special educator courses and developing collaboration
between parents and school, needs to be addressed to meet the educational
needs and ensure successful participation of these children.
International journal of inclusive education
Post Salamanca, inclusive education was incorporated in government policies in countries of the N... more Post Salamanca, inclusive education was incorporated in government policies in countries of the North and South. Since then there have been numerous books, articles, and academic debates on the topic but with little representation from the South. This article examines how inclusive education is conceptualised in India, within four recent government policies and in practice. It draws on interview
data from a larger study conducted in the metropolitan city of Kolkata and document data. The findings suggest the term inclusive education is well established in government policies and amongst school heads, special educators,
and counsellors. While there is consensus on the ‘goodness’ of inclusive education and it being synonymous with children with disabilities, there are multiple meanings assigned to inclusive education, inclusive schools, and the
includable child. Variations and discrepancies were visible not only between school staff and policy documents but even within policies and schools, respectively. A visible change is schools emerging but varying ‘consciousness of
responsibility’ towards children with disabilities. Based on the persisting ambiguities surrounding inclusive education, the article argues for developing contextual understanding of how education of children with disabilities can take place in India and adopting a critical stance towards inclusive education.
The International Journal of Children's Rights, 2009
The point of departure of the present article is the child's right to preservation of her/his eth... more The point of departure of the present article is the child's right to preservation of her/his ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic background in adoption, as stipulated in the CRC and the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. The article seeks to analyse the various meanings attributed to preservation of the child's background in in- and intercountry adoption and in different national contexts. The main focus is on the seldom-studied perspective of one of the major sending countries in intercountry adoption: India. Five representatives of two non-governmental adoption agencies and one governmental agency in addition to six Indian adoptive parents have been interviewed about their views on the significance of the child's background in adoption. In our analysis, we show that preservation of a child's background is perceived to be in conflict with other interests of the child, such as gaining a position in her/his adoptive family equal to that of a biological child and being loved unconditionally. In contrast to the general portrayal of Indian adoption applicants as being selective regarding the child's religious background and skin colour, agency representatives as well as adoptive parents endeavoured to distinguish themselves from this portrayal by emphasizing the irrelevance of the child's background.
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Papers by Shruti Taneja Johansson
children with autism, in an urban Indian school context. Using an interpretive framework,
the article draws on interview data from a study conducted in Kolkata. Findings
indicated varying but limited awareness of autism among school staff. Teachers
instead described the child as “different” from peers. Further, there was variation in
stakeholders’ view on the challenges faced by the child. In contrast to parents and
private specialists, school staff gave no importance to social development and perceived
behaviour and personality differences as inherent in the child. Nevertheless,
there was a consensus among stakeholders on school responsibility as limited to academic
input. Challenging school staff’s beliefs about child development and purpose
of education, along with re-assessing special educator courses and developing collaboration
between parents and school, needs to be addressed to meet the educational
needs and ensure successful participation of these children.
data from a larger study conducted in the metropolitan city of Kolkata and document data. The findings suggest the term inclusive education is well established in government policies and amongst school heads, special educators,
and counsellors. While there is consensus on the ‘goodness’ of inclusive education and it being synonymous with children with disabilities, there are multiple meanings assigned to inclusive education, inclusive schools, and the
includable child. Variations and discrepancies were visible not only between school staff and policy documents but even within policies and schools, respectively. A visible change is schools emerging but varying ‘consciousness of
responsibility’ towards children with disabilities. Based on the persisting ambiguities surrounding inclusive education, the article argues for developing contextual understanding of how education of children with disabilities can take place in India and adopting a critical stance towards inclusive education.
children with autism, in an urban Indian school context. Using an interpretive framework,
the article draws on interview data from a study conducted in Kolkata. Findings
indicated varying but limited awareness of autism among school staff. Teachers
instead described the child as “different” from peers. Further, there was variation in
stakeholders’ view on the challenges faced by the child. In contrast to parents and
private specialists, school staff gave no importance to social development and perceived
behaviour and personality differences as inherent in the child. Nevertheless,
there was a consensus among stakeholders on school responsibility as limited to academic
input. Challenging school staff’s beliefs about child development and purpose
of education, along with re-assessing special educator courses and developing collaboration
between parents and school, needs to be addressed to meet the educational
needs and ensure successful participation of these children.
data from a larger study conducted in the metropolitan city of Kolkata and document data. The findings suggest the term inclusive education is well established in government policies and amongst school heads, special educators,
and counsellors. While there is consensus on the ‘goodness’ of inclusive education and it being synonymous with children with disabilities, there are multiple meanings assigned to inclusive education, inclusive schools, and the
includable child. Variations and discrepancies were visible not only between school staff and policy documents but even within policies and schools, respectively. A visible change is schools emerging but varying ‘consciousness of
responsibility’ towards children with disabilities. Based on the persisting ambiguities surrounding inclusive education, the article argues for developing contextual understanding of how education of children with disabilities can take place in India and adopting a critical stance towards inclusive education.