Description:
Social class, race and gender have historically always been essential markers in deciding who would receive a minimum or inferior education and thus fail to obtain whatever were currently acceptable qualifications. Definitions of the 'less able' or ineducable were based on beliefs in the biological and cultural inferiority of lower social classes, racial and immigrant groups. Professor Tomlinson's aim in her work has always been to introduce sociological, historical and political perspectives into an area dominated by psychological, administrative and technical views and to explain how the individual 'problems' were connected to wider social structures and policies. This unique collection illustrates the development of Professor Tomlinson's thinking over the course of her long and esteemed career.
Review Quotes:
'It is Tomlinson's directness and unequivocal pursuit of a better understanding about the complexities of disability, race, and social class that has defined her long and productive career. This book, representing a lifetime of invigorating work, is testimony to her status as one of the most influential scholars on which the discipline of Disability Studies in Education rests.' - David J. Connor, Hunter College, City University of New York, Disability Studies Quarterly, 2014.