Disability Studies in Education

Empirical research has described how school leaders with social justice orientations investigate, understand, and address issues related to marginalization. These studies detail many of the heroic efforts of principals and their dedication, persistence, and skill. Theoretical and empirical writings have often presented social justice leadership as a “cure-all” to inequities rather than politically situated leadership orientation that in its practice is dilemma-laden. This article draws upon previous research on effective leadership as well as highlighting key aspects related to special educational policy in U.S. public schools to cultivate a more in-depth understanding of the practice of social justice leadership for inclusion. This analysis is presented to prompt a more in-depth and practice-oriented discussion, analysis, and understanding of the challenges associated with social justice leadership. Recommendations for future research and a more community-oriented and activist approach to social justice leadership are presented and justified at the conclusion of the article.

This theoretical article focuses on reasonable accommodation in education by offering conceptual tools that could prove beneficial in resolving policy concerns for equity in music education. Providing reasonable accommodation entails making necessary and appropriate modifications that may include depending on the circumstances, physical or interaction-related changes. From the perspective of teacher autonomy, this article focuses on two aspects of reasonable accommodation: (a) its definition and (b) its implications for music education practice. Responsibility for reasonable accommodation is considered in the context of Finnish music education through three illustrations that address matters such as music notation and instrument selection. We conclude that the concept of reasonable accommodation offers students and teachers tools to prevent disadvantageous musical and pedagogical conventions from being enforced at the level of the local curriculum and through teachers' actions, potentially resulting in inequities and discrimination.

The journal "Minority Reports. Cultural Disability Studies" purports to devote the monographic issue 13 / II 2021 to the topic of school and educational inclusion of the students with disability, as it is declined, both in conceptual and operational terms, in the different European countries.

The problem of mental retardation / intellectual disability is constantly evolving. The main element pointing to the essence of functioning of people with intellectual disabilities is a person's position in the society (Błeszyński, 2013, pp. 11-25; J. L. Aber …, 1997, p. 463). “The number of children with select developmental disabilities (autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other developmental delays) has increased, requiring more health and education services. Additional study of the influence of risk-factor shifts, changes in acceptance, and benefits of early services is needed” (C. A.Boyle, …, 2011, p. 1034). As indicated by D. D. Smitrz, the twenty-first century brought a paradigm shift from the traditionally negative conception (as a lack or limitation), to a more positive conception, in the spirit of R. Luckasson. The new approach highlighted the importance of the search for the capacity of each person and the environment in which this person lives, lear...

Kurzzusammenfassung
Im Zentrum dieser Arbeit steht die Frage, wie die Disziplin der (Sonder-)Pädagogik Wissen zum Gegenstand ADHS produziert und damit eine spezifische Wirklichkeit des Phänomens hervorbringt. Aufgrund der Beobachtung, dass das Label ADHS im schulischen Kontext eine Generalisierung ‚nicht_normaler’ Verhaltensweisen darstellt, wird untersucht, wie das Phänomen ADHS auf der Ebene (sonder-)pädagogischer Wissensbestände als eine Kategorie ‚nicht_normalen’ Verhaltens konstruiert wird. Dazu wird einem kulturwissenschaftlich inspirierten Verständnis von Behinderung gefolgt, das auf Konstruktionsprozesse des (sonder-)pädagogischen Feldes übertragen wird. Dies hat zum Ziel, institutionalisierte Ausgrenzungsprozesse zu erfassen und die Notwendigkeit einer veränderten Konzeptualisierung des ‚Nicht_Normalen’ herauszustellen. Durch den Transfer der Perspektiven der Dis_ability Studies auf die (sonder-)pädagogische Wissensproduktion kann ein Beitrag zum Ansatz der Dis_ability Studies in Education geliefert werden, der eine differenztheoretisch inspirierte und theoretisch fundierte, empirische Inklusionsforschung unterstützt.
Gegenstand des empirischen Teils dieser Arbeit ist ein Korpus von 74 wissenschaftlichen Artikeln, das sich aus 49 (sonder-)pädagogischen Fachzeitschriften- und 25 Handbuchartikeln zusammensetzt, die zwischen 2000 und 2015 erschienen sind. Untersucht werden diese mit einer normalismus- und machtkritischen Perspektive durch ein diskurstheoretisches Konzept. Dadurch wird es nicht nur möglich, die diskursive Konstruktion des Gegenstands ADHS zu rekonstruieren. Vielmehr noch wird nachgezeichnet, wie im (sonder-)pädagogischen Interdiskurs die Grenze zwischen ‚normalen’ und ‚nicht_normalen’ Verhaltensweisen gezogen wird, welche Angebote die als ‚nicht_normal’ markierten Schüler_innen zur Reintegration in die Normalzone erhalten und mit welchen Adressierungen diese Beschäftigung einhergeht.
Durch die auf den einzelnen Analyseebenen identifizierten Befunde wird deutlich, dass die Konstruktion des ‚Nicht_Normalen’ im (sonder-)pädagogischen Fachdiskurs die im schulischen Kontext bestehende Normalität schützt und dass diese Schutzfunktion mit individualistischen Zuschreibungen und Zwängen einhergeht.


 


Abstract
The present study focusses on the question how the discipline of special education produces knowledge on the subject of ADHD and thereby creates a specific reality of the phenomenon. Due to the observation that in schools the label ADHD is used as ‘catch-all-typology’ and a generalisation for abnormal behaviours, it is questioned how ADHD is constructed as a category of ‘not_normal’ behaviour within special educational literature. Therefore, an understanding of disability, which is inspired by a cultural studies perspective, will be applied on the production of knowledge on the field of special education. The goal is to identify institutionalised processes of exclusion and to highlight the necessity of a modified conceptualization of the ‘not_normal’. Transferring perspectives of dis_ability studies to the field of special education, the analysis can be placed within the context of dis_ability studies in education. This supports a difference-theoretical inspired and theoretically founded, empirical research on the subject of inclusion.
The body of investigation includes 74 articles published in special education journals and handbooks between 2000 and 2015. The articles have been examined by a critical perspective on power relations and the construction of normality with a discourse analytical concept. As a result, not only the discoursive construction of the subject ADHD can be reconstructed. Moreover, it can be shown, how in the discourse of special education ‘normal’ behaviour is differentiated from ‘not_normal’ behaviour, how the students being marked as ‘not_normal’ are requested to re-integrate into the normal zone and which invocations follow this discussion.
The findings clearly demonstrate, that the construction of the ‘not_normal’ in the discourse of special education secures prevailing norms in school and that this is accompanied by individualistic attributions and constraints.

The research presented in this paper critically examined six early childhood educators’ perspectives on inclusion. Theoretical thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), informed by Derridean deconstruction (MacLeod, 2002), was applied to active interviews (Holstein & Gubrium, 1997) to derive meta-themes on expectations of interactions between parents, educators, and children in inclusive education environments. Frameworks behind these perspectives and related practices were interrogated, highlighting marginalization of children labeled with disabilities in inclusive education. In response to current undemocratic practices of inclusive education, this paper proposes a notion of relational inclusion, emphasizing the need for a change in professionals’ perspectives in the progress toward democratic inclusive education. Relational inclusion suggests some areas in which a shift in perspective is needed.

In this article, we focus on the life and accomplishments of Ed Roberts, leader of the Independent Living Movement for people with severe dis- abilities, to consider ways he envisioned and enacted a radical shift in professional practices within the field of rehabilitation. Using the field of rehabilitation as an adult parallel to the field of Special Education, we invite readers to contemplate ways in which the independent living movement can hold potential lessons for how inclusive education is conceptualized and implemented, as well as offering some suggestions of our own.

This article argues that Canada fails to meet its obligation under article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to provide students with autism with access to inclusive education. Moving beyond Canadian legislation, under which every province and territory recognises the right of all students to an inclusive education, it analyses Canada’s education system and the implementation of the goal of inclusive education. It points out the effect of five interrelated factors on the inclusiveness of the Canadian education system and its accessibility for students with autism: reductions in funding for education; the inadequacy of individual support measures and parent participation; the lack of education and training for teachers; the use of language indicative of the medical model of disability by governments; and "voluntary segregation" – the voluntary removal of children from the public education system by their parents. It concludes that Canada likely does not meet its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Increased student diversity in classrooms and the need for equitable STEM opportunities for all, creates an impetus for educators to establish inclusive and equitable environments and use teaching practices that facilitate meaningful learning for all students in science education. This article offers a three-part framework for combining inclusive philosophy, the science and engineering practices, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The article is intended to help teachers and teacher educators universally design science education to level the science learning field through access and equity for all students, including students with disabilities. We advocate for the use of four practices: creating an inclusive community of science learners, planning for big ideas over time, engaging students in sense-making through model-based inquiry, and engaging students in cooperative learning and science talk. Science teachers can use these practices to universally design science education and enhance science learning and STEM interest for underrepresented students. In the article, we provide visuals and tools for teachers to support implementation of the universally designed science practices.

The present study is an exploratory in nature. Providing support services for students with disabilities in higher education institutions is a multi-faceted issue. It involves challenges like availability of academic resources and its accessibility, training for academic tutors and staff, awareness of university admin about diversity and special need of these students. Further, the type of impairment and its degree of severity is likely to influence not only the specific educational support needed by a student, but also an entire support strategy. To answer the research questions posed in this study, the researcher used a mixed method approach. The study was conducted in the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh (now bifurcated in to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana). For this study, the researcher selected three universities in different parts of Andhra Pradesh by using purposive sampling. In the second phase the researcher interviewed 100 students with disabilities from the selected universities by using snowball sampling. For this study, quantitative and qualitative data analyses were used and in most cases quotes of real text for each theme were maintained and used extensively. The findings of the paper covered perceptions of students with disabilities on various support services provided to them in higher education institutions. The author of the paper suggest that, there is an urgent need to recognize the importance of UGC guidelines with regarding HEPSN schemes and all universities must have disability cell and coordinator to provide better support service to the students with disabilities and to improve their social and educational experiences.

The authors of this paper have coined the term special needs community therapists to describe this unique group of special needs professionals involved in a participatory community-based trans-disciplinary treatment (involving intervention, rehabilitation and/or management) that caters to short-term (acute cases) and long-term (chronic cases) intellectual and developmental disabilities done within a residential context, where the clients (i.e., these individuals are treated as customers who need specialized therapy services) and the therapists live and work together. Community therapy for people with special needs can be provided via two main management systems – clinically based case management (institution-centered) and/or person-centered care management (client-centered) – and several different service models such as standard community treatment with high client-therapist ratios and intensive community treatment where the emphasis is on community involvement and lower client-therapist ratios.

Now in its second edition, Rethinking Disability introduces new and experienced teachers to ethical framings of disability and strategies for effectively teaching and including students with disabilities in the general education classroom. Grounded in a disability studies framework, this text’s unique narrative style encourages readers to examine their beliefs about disability and the influence of historical and cultural meanings of disability upon their work as teachers. The second edition offers clear and applicable suggestions for creating dynamic and inclusive classroom cultures, getting to know students, selecting appropriate instructional and assessment strategies, co-teaching, and promoting an inclusive school culture. This second edition is fully revised and updated to include a brief history of disability through the ages, the relevance of current educational policies to inclusion, technology in the inclusive classroom, intersectionality and its influence upon inclusive practices, working with families, and issues of transition from school to the post-school world. Each chapter now also includes a featured "voice from the field" written by persons with disabilities, parents, and teachers.

Sumario: 1. La paradoja de la educación inclusiva.-2. Definiendo la educación inclusiva.-3. Marco legal de las aulas abiertas en EEUU 4. Consecuencias: Una inclusión selectiva.-5. Conclusión 1.

LA PARADOJA DE LA INCLUSIÓN SELECTIVA En este capítulo, examino el homologo de las aulas abiertas en el sistema educativo de los Estados Unidos. Dichas aulas en los Estados Unidos tienen varios nombres de acuerdo con el Estado o al propósito del aula. Los nombres mas comunes son "resource room," "special education classroom", "self-contained classroom," and "cluster program." Cualquiera sea el nombre, todos estos programas educativos comparten la misma estructura. Son aulas para estudiantes con discapacidades que se encuentran en los colegios tradicionalmente destinados para estudiantes sin discapacidades. Las llamaré en el capítulo aulas abiertas, aunque este nombre no se usa en EEUU, para establecer comparaciones con el contexto educacional Español.

In this article, the authors discuss friendship as a method of qualitative inquiry. After defining friendship and positing it as a kind of fieldwork, the methodological foundations of friendship as method are established (Tillmann-Healy, 2003). The purpose of this narrative woven autoethnographic study is to examine the role of friendship in describing disabling physical and attitudinal access barriers in a university setting. Friendship represents a critical analytic lens through which disabled/nondisabled individuals alike may examine their positions, understandings, regimes of practices, and particular knowledges. Friends —Mark and Dan — discuss their experiences of disablement and reflections on dis/ability. The authors draw from their experiences of friendship and disability in higher education and their allied identities to discuss and examine questions of access, disclosure, and inclusion.

In 2012 Poland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities. In relation to this, the article discusses the barriers faced by students with disabilities within the inclusive education system. The analysis is based on the cases reported in 2012 to me, acting at that time, as the public spokesperson for students with disabilities, within the campaign titled "All clear - the availability and quality of education for students with disabilities." As a result, the analysis identifies three key problem areas that arises from 1) the definition of disability and the system of law, 2) financial support, and 3) the principles and criteria used in diagnosing disabled students. The conclusions show that in theory the Polish legislation seems to protect students with disabilities and provide it with adequate support in the framework of inclusive education. However, specific legal solutions and the practices of many local governments and schools, along with the ignorance of the education law, indicates that the situation of students with disabilities depends on many extralegal factors, such as the knowledge of education rules acquired by the parents and the carers of the students, the financial capacity of the local government as well as the teachers' attitudes.

Often, efforts by schools to standardize marginalized children with histories of domestic violence have alarming effects. More recent efforts of standardization typically find a sustained existence in the discourse of “best” practices predicated upon a religiouslike adherence to behavioral data driven frameworks. This article traces how children and youth with histories of domestic violence (or HDV youth) navigate and resist deficit laden school subjectivities shaped by special education discourses of medicalization and pathologization. In one case study, I spell out how an elementary school created and maintained an HDV child’s EBD (emotional behavioral disordered) subjectivity with detrimental effects. The article ends with further critique of the social and emotional (behavioral) frameworks populating our schools today and their relationship to the school-to-prison pipeline for children and youth with histories of domestic violence. If we stand back from proximate contexts and th...

As parents and school professionals are typically responsible for choosing or making available books for children and youth, guidelines for choosing literature that is inclusive and diverse are warranted. Using the Rating Scale for Quality Characterizations of Individuals with Disabilities in Children's Literature to conduct content analyses, we evaluated one graphic novel, 16 picture books, and 30 chapter books (n=47) for their portrayals of characters with developmental disabilities. All books were eligible for the 2020 Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award. Results indicated that most characters portrayed have autism spectrum disorders (71%) and the majority are male (74%); most characters are portrayed positively and realistically, and in the chapter books the characters generally have dynamic development. Most engage in positive social relationships with friends and family, and all are included in integrated settings to some degree. To help school professionals select and use literature for children and youth, we provide several teacher-friendly materials.

Differentiation can be a difficult concept for teachers to grasp. The research involved to write this paper outlines What, How and Why we need to differentiate to meet the diverse needs of all students we teach.
The lesson plans utilise the 3 tier system of differentiated questions to enable all students to respond following explicit teaching. I hope it can be used to guide teachers as they experiment with this method of programming.

In this qualitative study, the authors explore how preservice teachers select, read, and imagine teaching representations of disability in young adult literature. Adding disability to the list of diversity categories can be problematic in that thinking about disability as a singular identity group ignores abling or disabling contexts and diversity within disability (Davis, 2011; Watson, 2002). However, findings indicate that preservice teachers may only see disability in the context of special education if representations of disability are not explicitly applied in English coursework using a disability studies lens (Dunn, 2014).

Family involvement in the transition process has been recognized as a critical indicator of successful transition planning. However, many parents take a passive role in their child’s transition IEP meeting. Moreover, despite the clear mandate of IDEA, parents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are even less involved. This article explores the current status of parent involvement in transition planning for families from diverse backgrounds; examines the barriers placed on such parents and, finally, recommends strategies to address the partnerships between parents and school programs during the transition period.