This paper seeks to interrogate the historical intersectionality of race and disability in the United States public school system. Using the discourse of disproportionality, this paper traces the specific practices by which learning disabilities became constituted as “real” in the post-Brown v. Board era (1954 - 1975). Disproportionality refers to the overrepresentation of students of color labeled with subjective disabilities, such as specific learning disabilities (SLD), emotional behavioral disorders (EBD), and intellectual disabilities (ID). Disproportionality is a longstanding civil rights issue that has received attention from researchers, policymakers, and the public since the inclusion of children of color (Brown v. Board, 1954) and children with disabilities (Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia, 1972). In 1968, Dunn introduced the discourse of disproportionality, positing that labeling “racially and economically disadvantaged” children with disabilities “resulted in digging the educational graves… by using a WISC or Binet IQ score” (p. 9). Using the genealogy of learning disabilities as a category, and later SLD, this paper interrogates whether this assemblage of this disability category was solely about “intellectual inferiority” or were there other social factors at play. Building off of Sleeter’s (1989) reconceptualization of learning disabilities, I bring to light the distinctions of race, class, and ability that were conceptualized and operationalized as a means to constitute different subjective disability categories. Moreover, I examine the role that the psychological sciences played in establishing this category as a “disability.” In my discussion, I bring this historical analysis in conversation with the current initiatives for inclusion in schools. This paper concludes with a consideration of how the field of teacher education can grapple with the seemingly ossified structure of segregation in public schooling.

The uruguayan dictatorship (1973-1984) established a curriculum aligned with its interests, known as Moral and Civic Education, whose legitimacy and continuity were debated during the apprehensive process of democratic reconstruction. The institutional organization of authoritarian education remained largely unchanged, maintaining highly hierarchical structures with minimal teacher participation. The secondary education system was reformed with a new plan in 1986, replacing three courses of Moral and Civic Education with a single course in the third year of the Basic Cycle, named Social and Civic Education. The 1986 plan eliminated value judgments regarding marxism and collectivism, homeland and family. It emphasized normativity and its legal framework; consequently, the concept of citizenship became formalistic, viewed through the lens of a singular institution, grounded in a conception of absolute order (the legal realm). In this perspective, the citizen is decontextualized, tied to masculinity defining citizenship in a homogeneous nation formed by European migration. In contrast to the dictatorship, which defined the cultural dimension of citizenship in western and christian moral obligations, the emerging democracy emphasized normativity in terms of law in the most formalistic sense possible. From this standpoint, a curriculum discourse disregards identities, imposing a paradigm of citizenship that excludes women and racialized subjects. Instead, it portrays citizens as legal entities devoid of cultural context, integrated into the nation as a uniform mass, politically neutral, and voters in representative democracy. Centralized perspectives on legalism have a dual nature. On one hand, they provide information about rights, but on the other hand, they restrict their exercise by ignoring power relations, social inequalities, and violence. This approach imposes a limited understanding of the state, participation, and relations with others, fostering little to no negotiation and even less confrontation. Formalistic views deny the historicity of struggles for recognition and redistribution. Post-dictatorship civic education focused on the formalism of the law, abandoning the historical, political, and cultural subject, and exalting the universal citizen associated with the public power of the state. This citizen is seen as a detached entity, whitewashed and stripped of their class identity. The integration of the universal citizen is part of the mandate imposed by modern schools. The notion of universal citizenship is hardly compatible with any other form of political and social organization beyond the modern state and liberal democracy. It represents a colonial imposition that requires a debate about its relevance and pedagogical implications in Latin America.

La dictadura uruguaya (1973-1984) creó un espacio curricular funcional a sus intereses denominado Educación Moral y Cívica cuya legitimidad y continuidad fue puesta en debate en la temerosa reconstrucción democrática. La organización institucional de la educación autoritaria no fue modificada sustancialmente, se mantuvieron estructuras fuertemente jerarquizadas sin participación docente y se reforma la educación secundaria con un nuevo plan (1986) que sustituye tres cursos de Educación Moral y Cívica por uno solo en tercero del Ciclo Básico denominado Educación Social y Cívica. En la propuesta del Plan 86 se eliminan los juicios de valor sobre el marxismo y el colectivismo, la patria y la familia, se afirma en lo normativo y su marco jurídico, en consecuencia la concepción de ciudadanía es de carácter formalista, desde una mirada de institucionalidad única, sustentada en una concepción de orden absoluto (el jurídico), donde el sujeto es descontextualizado, vinculado a la masculinidad que define al ciudadano de una nación homogénea y constituida por la migración de origen europeo. A diferencia de la dictadura que definía la dimensión cultural de la ciudadanía en un deber ser moral occidental y cristiano, en la incipiente democracia el deber ser es normativo en términos Derecho en su sentido más formalista posible. Desde esta perspectiva, se sostiene un discurso curricular que desconoce identidades y que impone un paradigma de ciudadano que no es mujer ni sujeto racializado, por el contrario, es sujeto jurídico despojado de lo cultural, integrado a la nación como masa uniforme, políticamente neutral y votante de la democracia representativa. Las visiones centralizadas en el legalismo tienen una doble cara, por un lado, garantiza información sobre los derechos, pero por otro restringe su ejercicio en la medida que desconoce las relaciones de dominación, sus desigualdades sociales y sus violencias e impone una forma de entender al Estado, la participación y las relaciones con otros en un marco de escasa o nula negociación y menos aún de confrontación. Las visiones formalistas niegan la historicidad de las luchas por el reconocimiento y la redistribución. La educación cívica de la posdictadura se centró en el formalismo de la ley abandonando al sujeto histórico, político y cultural y exaltando el ciudadano universal asociado al poder público del Estado, como un cuerpo único alejado del contexto y sus intereses, es el hombre vinculado a lo público, blanqueado y despojado de su lugar de clase. La integración del ciudadano universal es parte del mandato que la escuela moderna impone. La noción de ciudadano universal difícilmente pueda encontrarse en otra forma de organización política y social que no sea el Estado moderno y la democracia liberal, es una imposición colonial que exige un debate sobre su vigencia y sentidos pedagógicos en nuestra América Latina.

The process of creation of the liberation movement of Mozambique (FRELIMO), in 1962, although not free from flaws, errors and contradictions, was perhaps the greatest gesture of reconciliation among Mozambicans, in which ties were re-established between ethnicities, races, genders, classes, ideologies and religions. It was imperfect, but it would be what Mozambicans should always seek to pursue in the construction of their collective future. It happens, however, that, at each stage of Mozambican history, the gesture of 1962 refuses to be perfected; In the first republic (1975-1990), despite a project with strong political clarity, the process of social (pedagogical) transformation was through slogans, communiqués, authoritarianism, voluntarism, which led to bureaucratization (Freire, 2014), violence and social exclusion from the revolutionary process. It is no coincidence that this phase of Mozambique's history was marked by the bloodiest war, between Mozambicans, brought from abroad, which began in 1976 and would only end in 1990. In the second republic (since 1990 until today), implemented for/and by the end of the hostilities, having at least constitutionally corrected the deficit of freedom of the first Republic, which would presuppose, from an educational point of view, the formation of autonomous citizens to live together, in differences, whether political, religious, economic and social, through dialogue, there was a lack of political clarity, division, discord, real, symbolic, individual, group, structural and cultural violence. If the first republic, congenitally, was incapable of hosting a reconciliation project, the second republic had the political conditions for a pedagogical reconciliation project, which would contribute to the re-establishment of relations between groups previously in conflict. After all, what education was designed, following the Rome agreements, for national reconciliation? What actions and attitudes do education policies from 1990 to 2000 guide to develop at school to form active and participatory citizens in the process of national reconciliation? To understand the pedagogy adopted in Mozambique for the reconciliation of citizens previously at odds because of the war and its causes, we will analyze the policies that were adopted by the Mozambican State between 1990 and 2000. Our idea is that reconciliation in Mozambique should be done from the poor, through critical and the possibility dialogue. As you can see, we will move through a critical pedagogy, with a greater emphasis on Paulo Freire. We believe that this work can help to understand how Africans are trained to negotiate to live together in differences.

O processo de criação do movimento de libertação de Moçambique (FRELIMO), em 1962, embora não isento de falhas, erros e contradições, talvez tenha sido o maior gesto de reconciliação entre os moçambicanos, em que se restabeleciam laços entre etnias, raças, géneros, classes, ideologias e religiões. Foi imperfeito, mas seria aquilo que os moçambicanos deveriam procurar perseguir sempre na construção do seu devir colectivo. Acontece, porém, que, em cada etapa da história moçambicana, o gesto de 1962, se recusa a aperfeiçoar-se; na primeira república (1975-1990), apesar de um projecto de uma forte clareza política, o processo de transformação social (pedagógica) foi através de slogans, de comunicados, autoritarismo, voluntarismo, o que levou a burocratização (Freire, 2014), a violência e exclusão social do processo revolucionário. Não é por acaso que esta fase da história de Moçambique tenha sido marcada pela guerra mais sangrenta, entre moçambicanos, movida do exterior, que começou em 1976 e só terminaria em 1990. Na segunda república (desde 1990), implantada para/e pelo fim das hostilidades, tendo se corrigido, pelo menos, constitucionalmente, o défice de liberdade da primeira República, o que, pressuporia, do ponto de vista educacional, a formação de cidadãos autónomos para o viver juntos, na diferença, quer política, religiosa, económica e social, através do diálogo, assistiu-se a falta de clareza política, a divisão, discórdia, violência real, simbólica, individual, grupal, estrutural e cultural. Se a primeira república, congenitamente, era incapaz de albergar um projecto de reconciliação, a segunda república tinha condições políticas para um projecto pedagógico de reconciliação o que, contribuiria para o restabelecimento de relações entre grupos anteriormente em conflito. Afinal que educação foi pensada, a partir dos acordos de Roma, para a reconciliação nacional? Que acções e atitudes, as políticas da educação, de 1990 a 2000, orientam a desenvolver na escola para a formação de cidadãos activos e participativos no processo de reconciliação nacional? Para compreendermos a pedagogia adoptada em Moçambique para a reconciliação de cidadãos anteriormente desavindos por causa da guerra e suas causas, analisaremos as políticas que foram adoptados pelo Estado moçambicano entre 1990 e 2000. A nossa ideia é que a reconciliação em Moçambique deveria ser feita a partir dos pobres, através de um diálogo crítico e de possibilidade. Como se pode ver, nos moveremos através de uma pedagogia crítica, com maior pendor para Paulo Freire. Consideramos que este trabalho pode ajudar a compreender como os africanos são formados a negociar para viver juntos na diferença.

The pedagogical, political and social struggle of the Movimiento Cooperativo de Escuela Popular (MCEP) or Freinet movement in Spain to achieve a more equal, democratic and free society, was completed with international participation that was part of the daily activity of the MCEP. MCEP exchanges with the Fédération Internationale des Mouvements d'Ecole Moderne (FIMEM) were, perhaps, the most popular and referenced. However, this was not the only channel of international cooperation of the Spanish Freinet movement. Thus, the members of MCEP created and maintained a network for exchanging materials with different pedagogical movements and international social and political groups that, in one way or another, were in tune with the MCEP popular school proposal. All of this – the pedagogical, the social, the political and the international exchange – was key in generating a discourse of resistance and struggle to reverse the trends of a society that was progressively recovering from the political and social repression of the previous stage. The international materials that the MCEP received came from different territories: Italy, France, Russia, Portugal, Brazil, the Netherlands, Chile, etc., and arrived through different routes. Some of them landed directly at the Secretaría Estatal of the MCEP and others were received thanks to a private exchange resulting from the relationships that some Freinet teachers maintained with their international colleagues, in most cases also friends. In Chile, the Frente Sindical (Trade Union Front) was one of the most powerful expressions of political and social resistance to the dictatorship in the country. The mobilizations of the Front were especially effervescent in the years 1980 and 1981, a period that coincided with the approval and entry into force of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile. During this period, the Trade Union Front had strong participation from the female sector, which radically positioned itself against the new Constitution as undemocratic. This research analyzes the materials prepared by the Trade Union Front that crossed the Atlantic to reach the MCEP, and proposes two things: on the one hand, to determine what were the main demands of the Trade Union Front in Chile and what role the female sector played within it; and, on the other hand, to find out the level of impact that the reception of these materials had on the construction of the pedagogical, political-social discourse of the MCEP. The most relevant conclusions of this work are, first: the MCEP maintained constant communication and exchange with other groups at an international level that went beyond the exchange of pedagogical materials. Second: the materials produced by the Trade Union Front had an international scope and reached diverse groups such as the MCEP. And, third: these exchanges, in some way, fed the MCEP discourse that, bridging the gap, also questioned the social order of the country and called for the practice of different alternatives that appealed to radical change in society. The documentary sources used for this study are original and unpublished and belong to the internal archive of the MCEP.

La lucha pedagógica, política y social del Movimiento Cooperativo de Escuela Popular (MCEP) o movimiento Freinet en España para conseguir una sociedad más justa, democrática y libre, se completó con una participación internacional que formó parte de la actividad cotidiana del MCEP. Los intercambios del MCEP con la Fédération Internationale des Mouvements d’Ecole Moderne (FIMEM) fueron, quizás, los más populares y estudiados. Sin embargo, este no fue el único canal de cooperación internacional del movimiento Freinet español. Así, los integrantes de MCEP crearon y mantuvieron una red de intercambio de materiales con distintos movimientos pedagógicos y grupos sociales y políticos del ámbito internacional que, de un modo u otro, sintonizaron con la propuesta de escuela popular del MCEP. Todo ello –lo pedagógico, lo social, lo político y el intercambio internacional– fue clave a la hora de generar un discurso de resistencia y lucha para revertir las tendencias de una sociedad que, progresivamente, se recuperaba de la represión política y social de la etapa anterior. Los materiales internacionales que recibió el MCEP procedían de territorios diversos: Italia, Francia, Rusia, Portugal, Brasil, Países Bajos, Chile, etc., y llegaron a través de diferentes vías. Algunos de ellos aterrizaron directamente en la Secretaría Estatal del MCEP y otros se recibieron gracias a un intercambió privado fruto de las relaciones que mantuvieron algunos maestros Freinet con sus compañeros internacionales, en la mayoría de ocasiones también amigos. En Chile, el Frente Sindical fue una de las expresiones de resistencia política y social de oposición a la dictadura más potentes del país. Las movilizaciones del Frente fueron especialmente efervescentes en los años 1980 y 1981, período que coincidió con la aprobación y entrada en vigor de la Constitución Política de la República de Chile. Durante este período el Frente Sindical contó con una fuerte participación del sector femenino, que se posicionaba radicalmente en contra de la nueva Constitución por antidemocrática. Esta investigación analiza los materiales elaborados por el Frente Sindical que cruzaron el Atlántico para llegar hasta el MCEP, y se propone dos cosas: por un lado, determinar cuáles fueron las principales reivindicaciones del Frente Sindical en Chile y qué papel desempeñó el sector femenino dentro de este último; y, por otro lado, averiguar el nivel de impacto que tuvo la recepción de estos materiales en la construcción del discurso pedagógico, político-social del MCEP. Las conclusiones más relevantes de este trabajo son, primero: el MCEP mantuvo una comunicación e intercambio constante con otros grupos del ámbito internacional que fue más allá del intercambio de materiales pedagógicos. Segundo: los materiales que produjo el Frente Sindical tuvieron un alcance internacional y llegaron a grupos variopintos como el MCEP. Y, tercero: estos intercambios, de alguna manera, alimentaron el discurso del MCEP que, salvando las distancias, también cuestionaba el orden social del país y llamaba a la práctica de diferentes alternativas que apelaban al cambio radical de la sociedad. Las fuentes documentales utilizadas para este estudio son originales e inéditas y pertenecen al archivo interno del Movimiento Cooperativo de Escuela Popular.