MN UCEDD Launches New Partnerships in India

February 25, 2014

The Institute on Community Integration (ICI) at the University of Minnesota (MN UCEDD) has launched two new projects that bring together educators in India and the U.S. to improve supports for children, youth, and adults with disabilities. The Institute's Brian Abery and Renáta Tichá are collaborating with educators in India and Minnesota on a three-year, $250,000 project titled, "A Sustainable 'Response to Intervention' Model for Successful Inclusion of Students with Disabilities: An India-U.S. Partnership." Funded by the United States-India Foundation through the Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative, the project brings together ICI, Avinashilingam University and the Coimbatore school district in Tamil Nadu, India, and the Hiawatha Valley Education District in southeastern Minnesota.

It aims to foster university-, district-, and school-level partnerships between India and the U.S., using the Response to Intervention (RTI) education framework. "This project is a wonderful opportunity to learn how educational concepts can work across continents, while enriching the work and educational cultures of faculty and staff in both India and the U.S. by learning about effective practices in the two countries," says Renáta.

The second new Institute project, "The Role of Civil Society in the Construction of Disability Identities in India," is directed by Christopher Johnstone of ICI's Global Resource Center for Inclusive Education, and Misa Kayama of the University of Minnesota School of Social Work. Funded by a one-year, $52,000, Global Spotlight Major Research Grant awarded by the University of Minnesota, they will collaborate with Professor Sandhya Limaye of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences to examine the intersection of disability identity and civil society disability messaging in Mumbai, India.

This research aims to understand the role of civil society organizations - meaning non-governmental organizations - in identity formation among persons with disabilities. "U.S. literature shows a taxonomy of identities associated with disability, ranging from resignation to activism, but only my colleague, Sandhya Limaye, has conducted similar research in India," says Christopher. "Through this project we hope to better understand the role of Indian organizations in promoting disability-positive and rights-driven identities." To learn more about these new projects see http://ici.umn.edu/news/fyi/feb14.html