The word deficit refers to lack or shortage

Deficit- The word deficit refers to lack or shortage — the ‘deficit model' of learning usually
related with special education. In spite of focusing on the strengths, it focuses on the
weaknesses of a student. As per this theory, students may not perform well in school because
of few reasons like learning disability, emotional-behaviour disorder, cognitive impairment,
etc. (Valencia, 1997). Besides it, cultural, linguistic and social nature of home environments
also does not allow students to perform well in schools. That is why ‘deficit model' mainly
focuses on the area of weakness of a student and identify it first. And then it explains what
the student needs to learn to overcome his or her deficiency. Though for average students,
this deficiency is quite negligible, for autistic or physically disabled students, this deficiency
can be dramatic.
Example: Many students read a little while they are at home. This results in the lack of their
vocabulary, and for that reason, they may not do well in school examinations. This is an
example of cultural deficiency.
Normalisation- The word ‘normal' is itself a little bit tricky to explain. The term ‘normality' is
a relative term, and it depends on many factors like cultural, situational, time, place, etc. A
thing which is considered to be ‘normal’ in a particular place with a specific cultural aspect,
can be regarded as ‘abnormal' in somewhere else with a different cultural approach. The
normalization concept has been formed in the area of special education policies.
First view of Normalization: The normalization theory accepts that some people have
disabilities. But in spite of their disabilities, they should get the equal treatment, same
condition which is offered to other citizens without any disabilities. It contains the rhythm of
treating everyone equal in daily lifestyle and social aspects. It states that every student with or
without any disability will get the same type of education and upbringing (Cohen & Gothelf,

1988). The main aim of the normalization theory was to integrate the so-called ‘abnormal' or
‘disabled' persons to a broader community of people, with the normal form of society.
second view of Normalization: The other aspect of normalization developed from the first
view and an updated form of it. It is mainly inspired by the Salamanca Statement of
Inclusion. The first view of normalization states that every person irrespective of physical or
mental differences should get equal facility or lead the same lifestyle. Second view of
normalization accepts the diversity of people. It states that our circumstantial, cultural,
sociological and other external setups need to be transformed in such a way that every person
can feel free to coordinate with. In other sense, we need to make our society in such a way
that it accepts diversity of people and opinions, value them so that everyone can feel normal
and lead their life of choice. This form of interpretation is not much different from the first
form of normalization; the only difference is in the implementation of the idea of
normalization.
Social and cultural capital: The concept of social capital is first coined by famous
sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. It refers to the economic resources which a person gains from
being part of a sociological structure which includes social relationships, group memberships,
etc.
The term ‘cultural capital' is also coined by Bourdieu. It refers to the non-economic resources
which an individual gains from social relationships and other experiences. Cultural capital
empowers social mobility. Knowledge, skill, education, these are the examples of cultural
capital (Raskoff, 2014).
Both social and cultural capital have values in our life. People start building these things from
their childhood. When a child goes to school, he generates the potential to construct both
social and cultural capital.