critical disability studies and critical pedagogy, can exert a complementary and synergetic role in interrogating notions of normality, embodied in Western-centric versions of the “ideal student”, whereby conceptual constructs of the latter are used as a heuristic framework to identify the “non-ideal” ones. These approaches point to the necessity of exploring the ways in which social and educational institutions create and perpetuate social and educational inequalities, and entail shifting the focus from the perceived pathology of those who are designated as being “non-ideal” students to issues of social justice and equity, whereby schools are regarded as sites of disciplinary power in reproducing and perpetuating wider social injustices (Dyson 2001a; Mittler 1999).