Perceptions of Difference: Western Theory and Post-Soviet Reality

• In Event: 32.076 - Special Education Research SIG Paper Session 1: Issues About Special Education

Abstract

This article uses the views of individuals from a post-Soviet context in order to better understand current thinking around neoliberalism and inclusion. In this study, the multiplicity of human needs articulated by the research participants highlights immediate, rather than philosophical, priorities. The particular social, cultural and political history of the Republic of Armenia offers an insight into the challenges of, and opportunities for, the development of inclusive practices in the former Soviet Union. As such, it could be argued that the West has much to learn from national contexts that might be dismissed as exclusionary.

Authors

• Fiona Hallett, Edge Hill University

• Graham Hallett, University of Cumbria