Subjectivity of disempowerment: Evidence from parental attitudes towards inclusive education in post-soviet countries

Subjective (dis)empowerment in inclusive education may lead to parents of children without disabilities feeling disempowered compared to parents of children with disabilities because of the lack of membership in third sector organisations, associations, and self-help groups. This, in turn, may lead to a more passive and objectified view with regards to civic activism. In this paper, we used data from “Inclusive Education and Society: Strategies, Practices, and Resources” project to distinguish multi-dimensional attitudes towards inclusive education between parents of children with disabilities and parents of children without disabilities in eight post-soviet countries. Then, focusing on Russia, we checked whether there is a connection between opposite attitudes towards inclusive education in two groups with proxy variables representing subjective (dis)empowerment. We confirmed that the parents of children with disabilities experience subjective empowerment as expressed open, proactive, and self-confident views on approaching, dealing with, and solving individual struggles or public issues. Parents with children without disabilities presented views which reflect more general distrust of political institutions and skepticism towards social solidarity common among the Russian population. Additional social and economic vulnerabilities serve as a point for collaboration and an additional resource to build on own public participation for parents with children with disabilities.