helps to create a society that readily accepts and embraces
disability, instead of fearing it. When children with and without
disabilities grow up together and learn, side by side, in the same
school, they develop a greater understanding and respect for each
other.^61In a report released by the Special Rapporteur, it is stated that inclusive
education is not a “’one-system-fits-all’ solution”.^62 Internationally, there have
been numerous articulations of inclusive education preceding the CRPD. The
Special Rapporteur sums up inclusive education as follows:
Inclusive education is based on the principle that all children
should learn together, wherever possible, regardless of difference
[citing Salamanca Statement on Principles, Policy and Practice in
Special Needs Education, para. 3]. Inclusive education
acknowledges that every child has unique characteristics, interests,
abilities and learning needs and that those learners with special
education needs must have access to and be accommodated in the
general education system through a child-centered pedagogy.
Inclusive education, by taking into account the diversity among
learners, seeks to combat discriminatory attitudes, create
welcoming communities, achieve education for all as well as
improve the quality and effectiveness of education of mainstream
learners [Ibid., para. 2]. In this way, educational systems should no
longer view persons with disabilities as problems to be fixed;
instead, they should respond positively to pupil diversity and
approach individual differences as opportunities to enrich learning
for all [citing UNESCO, Guidelines for Inclusion: Ensuring access to
education for all, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, France, 2005, p.9].^63Notwithstanding the CRPD’s clear articulation of inclusion, and Canada’s
prominent and strong position in negotiating article 24, there remains ongoing
discord as to what inclusion is, and what it looks like on a practical level, by
disability groups, educators and administrators. For the purposes of this paper,
(^61) United Nations, From Exclusion to Equality: Realizing the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
Handbook for Parliamentarians on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and
its Optional Protocol, (Geneva: UN, 2007) at 82-83, online: United Nations Enable
http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/toolaction/ipuhb.pdf. 62
63 Supra note^52 at para 41.^
Supra note 52 at para 9.