Women pioneers of special education.Laura Dewey Bridgman and the teachers of the Perkins Institute in Boston

Abstract

The historical-interpretative perspective of Special Pedagogy, as well as deepening the knowledge of the authors and works that contributed to the origin and development of the discipline, is aimed at re-reading, understanding and let know the educational experiences that are most at risk of exclusion from collective memory. There is a close correlation between the rare traces of the educational events of girls with disability and the silence regarding the role of women in special education processes. This contribution, through the analysis of diaries, manuscripts and letters of protagonists, try to brings to light the pioneering experience of teachers of the Perkins Institute of Boston, Lydia Drew, Mary Swift and Sara Wight who accompanied Laura Bridgman in her educational path. The investigation of the texts allows to highlight the elements that have characterized the female special-pedagogy perspective