Dreaming Together at the Boundaries of Special Education and Disability Studies: A Critical Auto-Ethnographic Self-Study

• In Event: Traversing Boundaries Together: Centering Disabled Ways of Being and Knowing

Abstract

Utilizing critical auto-ethnography self-study in teacher education we examined our collective experiences and emotions as higher-education faculty of Color teaching within (special) education programs at three institutions to explore (1) how political, historical,and geographic contexts shaped our experiences in teacher preparation and; (2) how we worked to disrupt traditional special education preparation to contribute to more emancipatory practices that recognize the intersectional lives of students with dis/Abilities and their families for transformative and systemic change efforts for equity for ALL within the academy and special and inclusive teacher education contexts. We are all faculty of Color who navigate tensions, challenges, and contradictions within our roles as teacher educators while seeking to challenge master narratives.

Authors

• David I. Hernandez-Saca, University of Northern Iowa

• Jennifer Phuong, Swarthmore College

• Adai A. Tefera, University of Arizona