Evaluation of the special education policy and the diversity paradigm: does changing the law guarantee a change in reality?

Abstract

Evaluating special education policy from the inclusion paradigm requires, above all, considering the trajectory of the conquest of rights of historically oppressed subjects and intersectional inequalities. This study seeks to reflect on the treatment of the different, especially the person with disabilities (PCD). To this end, it aims to understand the category of social inclusion and how it has been ensured in the context of educational policies, adding the paradigm of diversity to schools. It is a proposal of social, political and legal analysis around the experiences of the PCD in Brazil, through a qualitative literature review. It is evident that, although there is a recognition of diversity, plurality, and multiculturalism in the normative apparatus and in education policy itself, there is still a need to decolonize education policy to overcome the hegemonic culture that makes it impossible for all people to have access to a critical, inclusive, and liberating education.