Undoing Whiteness in Disability Studies: The Special Education System and British South Asian Mothers

Description

This book offers a nuanced way to conceptualise South Asian Muslim families’ experiences of disability within the UK. The book adopts an intersectional lens to engage with personal narratives on mothering disabled children, negotiating home-school relationships, and developing familiarity with the complex special education system. The author calls for a re-envisioning of special education and disability studies literature from its currently overwhelmingly White middle-class discourse, to one that espouses multi-ethnic and multi-faith perspectives. The book positions minoritised mothers at the forefront of the home-school relationship, who navigate the UK special education system amidst intersecting social inequalities. The author proposes that schools and both formal and informal institutions reformulate their roles in facilitating true inclusion for minoritised disabled families at an epistemic and systemic level. Foreword References Acknowledgements Contents Abbreviations Part I Chapter 1: The Harms of Being Spoken For What Is the Dominant Perspective? What Do We Know About the Mothering of Disabled Children? What Do We Know About the Nature of Partnerships That Are Extended to Mothers? Who Is the Focus in This Book? What Is Intersectionality? Why Is an Intersectional Lens Needed for This Work? What Are the Main Issues Addressed in This Book? References Chapter 2: Mothering from the Periphery Parveen Saira Kiran Tahira Shehnaz Maria Alina Maham References Part II Chapter 3: Mothering in a Muslim Context The Racialization of Muslims Islam and Mothering Religious Citizenship Religious Interpretation Religious Inclusion References Chapter 4: Magnifying Gender and Sexual Rights Consanguinity Gendered Care Children’s Sexual Rights Education, Employment and Marriage References Chapter 5: Mothering in Cultural Bubbles Cultural Bubbles Cultural Competency in Community and Institutional Spaces References Chapter 6: Englistan and Citizenship Shikwa with Pakistan Shikwa with Englistan References Chapter 7: Concluding Thoughts … Barriers Community Level Religious Level School Level Local Authority Level Recommendations Greater Representation of Mothers in Religious Settings Cultural and Community Centres Deconstructing School Partnerships Changing the Institutional Lens The First Step to Undoing Whiteness References Addendum Access The Children Data Collection Ethical Consideration References Index