ABSTRACT
This chapter adopts the perspective that is only one of a number available on the issue of disability. Historically, disability has been viewed fundamentally as a personal tragedy, which has resulted in such people being seen as objects of pity or in need of charity. Medical presuppositions have influenced the definition of 'disability' within the Department Of Education and Science (DES) Final Report on PE and the National Curriculum, in which it is defined as 'the loss or reduction of functional ability'. Disability is a social and political category in that it entails practices of regulation and struggles for choice, empowerment and opportunities. The fact that some disabled people are involved in such activities is an illustration of the extent to which able-bodied values can become internalized in the lives of disabled people. The question of education and disabled children and young people needs to be set within an equal opportunities framework.
