Creating Critical Spaces in Early Childhood Classrooms for Discussing Disability in Children’s Literature

• In Event: Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Disabiling Concepts of Inclusion and Exclusion

Abstract

In this qualitative study, the author uses the theoretical lens of disability studies to examine how children in a second-grade classroom construct notions of disability through critical conversations during read-aloud and literature circle discussions. The research questions are: (1) What kinds of understandings do children develop about disabilities? and (2) How are children able to evaluate critically the issues that arise through these discussions? Student’s talk before, during, and after literature discussions was audio- and videorecorded. Several themes emerged from a discourse analysis of the transcripts, including: questioning and critiquing notions of normalcy; idealizing disabilities; identifying with characters; developing an advocacy stance; and using imagination to open up perspectives towards people in the real world.

Author

• Donna Sayers Adomat, Indiana University