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Disability and Representation in the School Curriculum: A Study of NCERT English Textbooks up to the Middle School Level

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Title: Disability and Representation in the School Curriculum: A Study of NCERT English Textbooks up to the Middle School Level
Language: English
Authors: Sayan Das (ORCID 0000-0003-2662-0913), Md. Moshabbir Alam (ORCID 0000-0002-7306-8909)
Source: Educational Process: International Journal. Article e2025496 2025 18.
Availability: UNIVERSITEPARK Limited. iTOWER Plaza (No61, 9th floor) Merkez Mh Akar Cd No3, Sisli, Istanbul, Turkey 34382. e-mail: editor@edupij.com; Web site: http://www.edupij.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 29
Publication Date: 2025
Intended Audience: Teachers
Document Type: Journal Articles
Information Analyses
Education Level: Elementary Education
Junior High Schools
Middle Schools
Secondary Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Textbooks, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Inclusion, English (Second Language), Elementary Education, Middle Schools
Geographic Terms: India
ISSN: 2147-0901
2564-8020
Abstract: Background/purpose: By representing the diverse experiential and affective realities of disabled people and exemplifying the possibility of their synergetic and symbiotic relationships with non-disabled individuals, textbooks can function as tools of sensitization to address prejudiced attitudes that hinder the achievement of inclusive education goals. Considering such potential of textbooks, this paper studies the nature and scope of representations of disability and disabled people in textbooks for English (from Class I to VIII) prescribed in the NCERT syllabus of India. Materials/methods: This article begins with a macro analysis to locate and bracket textbook portions that involve verbal and visual depictions of disabled individuals and disability. It will help determine how much space textbooks allocate to disabled people's experiences and emotions, and how well they depict these experiences. In the second phase, microanalysis, the representations will be qualitatively evaluated at the contextual, rhetorical, and thematic levels to determine whether they accurately depict the diverse life experiences of disabled people or are simply opportunistic, metaphorical devices or narrative crutches used to elicit a cathartic response in a different storyline. Results: It finds out that these textbooks have failed to accommodate much space for such representations and lack consistency; the representations also fail to exhibit heterogeneity because of oversimplifying disability experiences through clichéd verbo-visual tropes that symbolize impairments. Conclusion: In conclusion, this paper provides several recommendations to help Indian educators and textbook editors mainstream disability in standard school textbooks, making those representations more inclusive of diverse groups.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1486436
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
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  Data: Disability and Representation in the School Curriculum: A Study of NCERT English Textbooks up to the Middle School Level
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sayan+Das%22">Sayan Das</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2662-0913">0000-0003-2662-0913</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Md%2E+Moshabbir+Alam%22">Md. Moshabbir Alam</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7306-8909">0000-0002-7306-8909</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Educational+Process%3A+International+Journal%22"><i>Educational Process: International Journal</i></searchLink>. Article e2025496 2025 18.
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  Data: UNIVERSITEPARK Limited. iTOWER Plaza (No61, 9th floor) Merkez Mh Akar Cd No3, Sisli, Istanbul, Turkey 34382. e-mail: editor@edupij.com; Web site: http://www.edupij.com/
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  Data: 29
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Junior+High+Schools%22">Junior High Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Middle+Schools%22">Middle Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Textbooks%22">Textbooks</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attitudes+toward+Disabilities%22">Attitudes toward Disabilities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Inclusion%22">Inclusion</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+%28Second+Language%29%22">English (Second Language)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Middle+Schools%22">Middle Schools</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22India%22">India</searchLink>
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  Data: 2147-0901<br />2564-8020
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Background/purpose: By representing the diverse experiential and affective realities of disabled people and exemplifying the possibility of their synergetic and symbiotic relationships with non-disabled individuals, textbooks can function as tools of sensitization to address prejudiced attitudes that hinder the achievement of inclusive education goals. Considering such potential of textbooks, this paper studies the nature and scope of representations of disability and disabled people in textbooks for English (from Class I to VIII) prescribed in the NCERT syllabus of India. Materials/methods: This article begins with a macro analysis to locate and bracket textbook portions that involve verbal and visual depictions of disabled individuals and disability. It will help determine how much space textbooks allocate to disabled people's experiences and emotions, and how well they depict these experiences. In the second phase, microanalysis, the representations will be qualitatively evaluated at the contextual, rhetorical, and thematic levels to determine whether they accurately depict the diverse life experiences of disabled people or are simply opportunistic, metaphorical devices or narrative crutches used to elicit a cathartic response in a different storyline. Results: It finds out that these textbooks have failed to accommodate much space for such representations and lack consistency; the representations also fail to exhibit heterogeneity because of oversimplifying disability experiences through clichéd verbo-visual tropes that symbolize impairments. Conclusion: In conclusion, this paper provides several recommendations to help Indian educators and textbook editors mainstream disability in standard school textbooks, making those representations more inclusive of diverse groups.
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 29
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Textbooks
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Attitudes toward Disabilities
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Inclusion
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      – SubjectFull: English (Second Language)
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      – SubjectFull: Elementary Education
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      – SubjectFull: Middle Schools
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      – SubjectFull: India
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