The Intersection of Disability Studies and Teacher Education: Building a Framework for Inclusion

• In Event: 63.085 - MTCC Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: 63.085-7 - Disability Studies in Higher Education: Implications for College Culture, Curriculum, and Teacher Education Programs

Abstract

This study explored the extent to which training in Disability Studies Education (DSE) as an undergraduate impacted one’s views, beliefs, and instructional practices in the field of special education. We present a qualitative case study of six education teachers with experience in both DSE and special education, with an emphasis on the tension between the medical model of disability and the social model. DSE-trained special education professionals provided open-ended descriptions of their educational practices and beliefs, as well as discussions of their ability to integrate DSE principles into their instructional methods in special education. Results suggest three emerging strands: exclusion versus inclusion, recognizing the social construction of disability, and becoming change agents in the field of special education.

Authors

• Trisha Sugita, Chapman University

• Anne Steketee