Disability Studies Unravel the Myth of the Normal Child: Building Alliances for Inclusive Education

• In Event: Roundtable Session 60
  In Roundtable Session: Disability and Accountability in Schools

Abstract

In this article we challenge restrictive notions of inclusive education promulgated within the discourse of special education, and assert the value of using disability studies in education to support broader conceptualizations of inclusion that potentially incorporate all students. By dismantling the myth of the typical/average child, we reveal ways in which educational practices actively contribute to creation of “normalcy” and discuss the harmful effects that this has on all citizens. We then illustrate selected practices that help constitute the normative center of schools by using the organizing principle of disability, and call for dissolution of the center through an interdisciplinary alliance between disability studies and other fields that share the aim of claiming value in human diversity over standardization.

Authors

• Susan E. Baglieri, Long Island University

• Lynne M. Bejoian, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Alicia A. Broderick, Teachers College, Columbia University

• David J. Connor, Hunter College - CUNY

• Jan W. Valle, City College of New York - CUNY