Colombian Educational Inclusive Law Is Exclusive

Laura Delgado Jimenez

Abstract

The sociocultural circumstances are not usually considered at the moment of issuing a law even though it is imperative. The decree 366 of 2009 or ley de educación inclusiva in Colombia is a clear example of a pernicious disregard from the Colombian government. Hence, this article is a personal observation about this law which works for the 6, 4% of the Colombian population (DANE 2005 personas con limitaciones permanents). A sociocultural perspective is presented and topics like, religion and homosexuality are going to be the main issue in this article.

Key words

Culture, inclusive, education, laws, physical inabilities, religion, homosexuality.

Introduction

Since human beings saw the necessity to learn in order to survive education has been present. Therefore, an instructor, a guide, a teacher is needed. This teacher has certain knowledge which acquire through an oral or written way. The knowledge acquired will pass from a person, a community, a culture to another. Nowadays, our knowledge is an unbreakable chain that comes from the very same genesis and it grows because we add everyday a link. To be a little less romantic and a bit more academic, let’s have a trip through time. What is education? What is knowledge? How was the knowledge that education provides shared? Did education consider individual features? Does it now?

We need to have cleared the concepts of education and knowledge. According to the Oxford dictionary education is: “a process of teaching, training and learning, especially in schools or colleges, to improve knowledge and develop skills” and knowledge is: “facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject” as we can see one complements the other. Education could not exist without knowledge and knowledge would be so hard to share without education. Let’s start the journey through time. In the prehistoric time, education, as a concept, did not exist but knowledge has been always present. People learned imitating and copying what others did. In the ancient age, there were communities that implement certain kind of education. For instance, in Greece education appeared and it was vital for them. However; it was a private education and it was admitted to study only to male citizens. On the contrary, in Sparta education was public but it has a different approach, a military one. Women or men with physical problems were not allowed. Time goes by and the middle ages arrived. In this point religion, mainly in Europe, was the lighting carrier. Catholic Church decided who could learn, study, and think. In this period of time, knowledge was reduced to a few ones. The conquest of America caused impression in Europe and the “new” world was “willing” to adopt their thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, etc. they “educated” those “poor uncivilized” human beings. The Renaissance came and education gained importance. New waves arrived and a sense of free thinking revolutionized Europe. However, in America the new way of thinking has not arrived. Colombia gained independence and among all the reforms made, the educational one was included. Cities, towns and villages should have at least a primary school. Years and years passed and nowadays education is an essential part for Colombians. Where does this story lead us? It leads us to a concept, exclusion. Did Greek, Spartans, Spanish people consider the other’s view point? No, they did not. Individual and different features were condemned and a standardized personality, behavior, beliefs was required. If you do not fit in, you were put apart.

To make this text more specific, I will talk about Colombian education. I pretend with this article to make an observation about how the Colombian inclusive education excludes or not integrate certain citizens.

Inclusive education in Colombia

Diversity is one of the greatest characteristics of human beings and try to standardize humanity is a crime. A place where diversity is always present is a classroom. Education plays a significant role when a tolerant environment is needed. So that education needs to take into account every single person, that is, consider their particularities, include them into the system. That has always been an obstacle not only for educational issues but also for governmental ones. Hence, reforms have been made and laws have been approved.

• ley 1346 de 2009, convención sobre los derechos de las personas con discapacidad.

• Decreto 366, organización de servicios de apoyo pedagógico.

• Resolución 2565 de 2003, parámetros y criterios para la prestación de servicios educativos a la población con necesidades educativas especiales.

• Ley 982 de 2008, equiparación de oportunidades para las personas sordas y sordociegas y otras disposiciones.

All this laws and decrees are the backups of the inclusive education. Nonetheless, these state the priority that certain students have. Physical inhabilities are the main subject in the Colombian inclusive education. For instance, el decreto 366 de febrero de 2009 or ley de educación inclusiva declare: “se refiere a la atención de los estudiantes con discapacidad y a los estudiantes con capacidades o con talentos excepcionales, así como a los estudiantes con Necesidades Educativas Especiales (NEE). Para este caso, por ejemplo, el artículo 7º. ordena: 1. Capacitar a los docentes para la enseñanza y uso del sistema de lectura y escritura Braille y demás áreas tiflológicas. 2. Incorporar el área tiflológica Braille en los procesos de enseñanza de literatura y de español, y el Ábaco en los procesos de enseñanza de matemáticas. De la misma manera, en el ARTÍCULO 8º titulado: “Atención a estudiantes con capacidades y talentos excepcionales”, ordena que los establecimientos educativos deben organizar, flexibilizar, adaptar y enriquecer el currículo y el plan de estudios, para desarrollar programas que potencien las capacidades de estos educandos” it does not mention anything about social or cultural issues. How can be this inclusive if there are so many people left aside? Where are the cultural and social considerations?

There are two important concepts, integration and inclusion, which we need to have present. The first one, "La integración se concibe como un proceso consistente en responder a la diversidad de necesidades de todos los alumnos y satisfacerlas mediante una mayor participación en el aprendizaje, las culturas y las comunidades, así como en reducir la exclusión dentro de la educación y a partir de ella (Booth, 1996). Supone

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