Volume 20 No 12 (2022)
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INTEGRATING MODELS OF DISABILITY IN SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN MALAYSIA
Muhammad Fikri Othman, Nur Ezan Rahmat, Norazlina Abdul Aziz, Nora Abdul Hak4 and Diyana Kamarudin
Abstract
Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) provides everyone has the
right to education. The term 'everyone' includes children with disabilities, and the government
has a legal responsibility to provide equal educational opportunities to all children. There are
two popular models of disability in the Disability Studies: The Social Model and Medical Model
of Disabilities. Both models are distinct from each other. In Malaysia, the Malaysian Education
Blueprint 2013-2025 provides education for children with disabilities through special education
needs. However, since there are inconsistencies in the definition of persons with disabilities,
no specific law for special education for children with disabilities, and non-integrated data by
relevant agencies in Malaysia, children with disabilities' educational rights are not protected.
Therefore, to protect their educational rights, both models of disability will be analysed to
suggest whether the rights can be efficiently protected by integrating the Social Model and
Medical Model of Disabilities in special education law for children with disabilities in Malaysia.
This paper aims to explore the current laws related to special education for children with
disabilities in Malaysia and examine the Social Model and Medical Model of Disabilities’
inadequacy in protecting their educational rights. Besides, this paper aims to suggest the
integration between the Social Model and Medical Model of Disabilities to efficiently protect
the educational rights of children with disabilities in Malaysia. A doctrinal analysis is adopted in
this paper where textbooks, journal articles, and encyclopedias related to special education for
children with disabilities are analysed
Keywords
Special Education, Children with Disabilities, Models of Disability, Medical Model of Disability, Social Model of Disability
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