Disability and the Politics of Education: An International Reader is a rich resource that deals
comprehensively with the many aspects of the complex topic of disability studies in education.
For nearly two decades global attention has been given to education as a human right through
global initiatives such as Education for All (EFA) and the Salamanca Statement. Yet according
to UNESCO reaching the goals of EFA remains one of the most daunting challenges facing the
global community. Today millions of the world's disabled children cannot obtain a basic
childhood education particularly in countries with limited resources. Even in the wealthiest
countries many disabled children and youth are educationally segregated from the nondisabled
particularly if they are labeled with significant cognitive impairment. International agencies
such as the United Nations and the World Bank have generated funds for educational development
but unfortunately these funds are administered with the assumption that «west is best»
thereby urging developing countries to mimic educational policies in the United States and the
United Kingdom in order to prove their aid-worthiness. This «McDonaldization» of education
reproduces the labeling resource allocation and social dynamics long criticized in disability
studies. The authors in this volume explore these subjects and other complexities of disability
and the politics of education. In doing so they demonstrate the importance and usefulness of
international perspectives and comparative approaches.
