EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND THEORETICAL CHALLENGES IN RESEARCH PROCESSES IN SPECIAL EDUCATIONAbstract
Historically, special education has been approached from a biomedical perspective, where disability is conceived as an individual deficiency that must be diagnosed, classified, and treated. This approach has generated educational practices focused on the normalization of individuals and their adaptation to an educational system that, paradoxically, was not designed for diversity. Foucault (1999) argues that knowledge and power are intrinsically linked, and in the case of special education, this is manifested in the institutional control exercised over the bodies and minds of people with disabilities. This text aims to problematize the logics underlying the practices of special education, pointing to the epistemological and methodological challenges involved in working from a multidisciplinary knowledge base. It is based on the assumption that, although there have been advances in the knowledge surrounding special education, there has not been sufficient reflection on the mediations that arise when such knowledge moves from a specific context into concrete educational practice.
Keywords
Special Education; Inclusive Education; Disability; Methodology; Epistemology