Education and ableism: the limits of inclusive education in Spain

Abstract

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, approved on December 13, 2006 by the UN General Assembly, represented a historic advance in the field of disability by recognizing that the right to education implied the right to an quality inclusive education, thus consolidating a normative evolution from previous international instruments.

Since May 3, 2008, the Convention has been part of the Spanish legal system, which implies that the State is obliged to modify national laws that do not correspond to the principles established in the Convention. However, different reports have revealed the weakness of its implementation in Spain, with the consequent breach of the rights of people with disabilities. These difficulties in establishing a truly inclusive education show how ableist conceptions and practices continue to be perpetuated in the educational field.