Disability and Teaching

177 Pages·2014·0.986 MB·English

by  Susan L. Gabel, David J. Connor

PSetcehr a r f
DISABILITY AND TEACHING
Disability and Teaching highl ights issues of disa bi li ty in K-12 schooli ng faced by
teache rs, who are increasi ngly accounta ble for the achievem ent of all stud ents
regardl ess of the labels assigned to them. It is designed to engage pros pecti ve
and prac ti cing teache rs in examini ng their pers onal theo ri es and beliefs about
dis ab il ity and edu cat ion.
P art I offers four case studi es deali ng with issues such as inclus ion, over-repr ese nt-
a tion in spe cial edu ca tion, teacher assump tions and biases, and the struggles of
novice teache rs. These cases illust rate the need to unders tand disa bi li ty and
teachi ng within the cont exts of school, comm unity, and the broader socie ty and in
rela tion to other con tem por ary issues facing teach ers. Each is fol lowed by space for
reade rs to write their own react ions and re(cid:2) ec tions, edu cat ors’ dia logue about the
case, space for read ers’ reac tions to the edu cat ors’ dia logue, a sum mary, and addi-
tional quest ions. Part II presents publ ic argum ents repr ese nti ng diff ere nt views
about the topic: con ser vat ive, lib eral-pro gress ive, and dis ab il ity centered. Part III
situ ates the authors’ per sonal views within the grow ing (cid:3) eld of Disability Studies
in Edu ca tion and provides exer cises for fur ther re(cid:2) ec tion and a list of resources.
Disability and Teaching is the 8 th volume in the Re(cid:2) ective Teaching and the Social
Conditions of Schooling Series, edited by Daniel P. Liston and Kenneth M.
Zeichner. This series of small, access ible, inter act ive texts intro duces the notion
of teacher re(cid:2) ect ion and develo ps it in relat ion to the social cond it ions of
school ing. Each text focuses on a spe ci(cid:3) c issue or con tent area in rela tion to
teach ing and fol lows the same format. Books in this series are appro pri ate for
teacher edu ca tion courses across the cur riculum.
Susan L. Gabel is Professor and Director, Doctoral Program in Education,
Chapman University, USA.
David J. Connor is Associate Professor of Special Education/Learning
Disabilities, Hunter College/City University of New York, USA.
REFLECTIVE TEACHING AND THE
SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF SCHOOLING
A Series for Prospective and Practicing Teachers
Daniel P. Liston and Kenneth M. Zeichner, Series Editors
Zeichner & Liston • Re(cid:2) ective Teaching: An Introduction
Liston & Zeichner • Culture and Teaching
Maher & Ward • Gender and Teaching
Commins & Miramontes • Linguistic Diversity and Teaching
Meyer & Manning • Reading and Teaching
Anderson • Religion and Teaching
Crockett • Mathematics and Teaching
Gabel & Connor • Disability and Teaching
Zeichner & Liston • R e(cid:2) ective Teaching: An Introduction,
Second Edition
DISABILITY
AND
TEACHING
Susan L. Gabel and David J. Connor
First pub lished 2014
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Simultaneously pub lished in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa busi ness
© 2014 Taylor & Francis
The right of the editor to be iden ti(cid:3) ed as the author of the edit or ial mater ial, and of the authors for
their indi vidual chapters, has been asser ted in accorda nce with sec tions 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprin ted or repro duced or util ized in any form or by
any elec tronic, mech an ical, or other means, now known or here after inven ted, includ ing pho to copy ing
and record ing, or in any inform a tion stor age or retrieval sys tem, with out per mis sion in writ ing from
the pub lish ers.
Trademark notice : Product or cor por ate names may be trade marks or registered trade marks, and are
used only for iden ti(cid:3) c a tion and explan a tion with out intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Gabel, Susan L. (Susan Lynn), 1956-
Disability and teaching / by Susan l. Gabel and David J. Connor.
pages cm. — (Re(cid:2) ective teaching and the social conditions of schooling)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. People with disabilities—Education—Case studies. I. Connor, D. J. II. Title.
LC4019.G33 2014
371.9—dc23
2013005509
ISBN: 978–0–415–81398–3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978–0–8058–4914–1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978–0–203–79683–2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Re(cid:3) neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk, UK
To David:
Teacher, scholar, col league, friend, pas sion ate act iv ist and co-con spir ator.
Without you, this book would not have been com pleted.
– SG
To Gary, Robert, Lisa, and Kim:
with love from Big Bruv.
– DC
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CONTENTS
Series Preface xi
Preface xix
Acknowledgments xxix
I. CASE STUDIES AND REACTIONS 1
Introduction to Case 1 1
Case 1: “Inclusion Tension” 2
Reader Reactions to “Inclusion Tension” 7
Reactions to “Inclusion Tension” 8
Reader Reactions 16
Summary and Additional Questions 17
Introduction to Case 2 19
Case 2: “Ableism at Forest Run Elementary” 19
Reader Reactions to “Ableism at Forest Run Elementary” 24
Reactions to “Ableism at Forest Run Elementary” 25
Reader Reactions 35
Summary and Additional Questions 36
vii
viii CONTENTS
Introduction to Case 3 38
Case 3: “Race, Place, and the Search for Solutions” 38
Reader Reactions to “Race, Place, and the Search for Solutions” 43
Reactions to “Race, Place, and the Search for Solutions” 44
Reader Reactions 55
Summary and Additional Questions 56
Introduction to Case 4 58
Case 4: “Martin Louis, S pecial Educator?” 58
Reader Reactions to “Martin Louis, S pecial Educator?” 64
Reactions to “Martin Louis, S pecial Educator?” 65
Reader Reactions 71
Summary and Additional Questions 72
Reader Reactions to the Four Cases 74
Reactions to the Four Cases 75
II. PUBLIC ARGUMENTS 79
A “Conservative View”: Rewarding Achievement, Maintaining
Tradition 82
Comments and Questions 87
A “Liberal-Progressive View”: Celebrating Diversity, Creating
Equity 90
Comments and Questions 97
A “Disability-Centered View”: Acknowledging Difference,
Deconstructing Normalcy 100
Comments and Questions 106
III. A FINAL ARGUMENT, AND SOME SUGGESTIONS
AND RESOURCES FOR FURTHER REFLECTION 111
Disability, Teaching, and Schools: An Abbreviated View 112
The Permanence of Ableism and Necessary Action 115
Our Educational Strategies 122
Exercises for Further Re(cid:2) ection 127
Recommendations 128
Conclusion 134
CONTENTS ix
Appendix A: Personal Narratives 135
Appendix B: Useful Websites 137
References 139
Index 143