The prevalence and use of the psychological–medical discourse in special education

Some students disrupt classrooms by shouting out, fidgeting, or running around. Others sit inattentively, glumly, or sullen. These are “difficult to teach” students. No doubt, they have always been present in schools and societies. The way we talk about troublesome to manage students, and hence the way we act toward them, has changed significantly from the origins of formal schooling to the present time. Today the dominant mode of representation is psychological–medical. Students are diagnosed as having a “learning disability,” “an educational handicap,” “attention deficit disorder (ADD), or “special needs.” These representations place the problem inside the childʹs mind or brain (Hjörne, 2004; Hjörne & Säljö, 2008; Mehan, Hertweck, & Meihls, 1986). Current psychological–medical representations are supported by sophisticated measurement techniques such as IQ tests.