Barriers to Inclusion and Equity: A Mother-Son Critical Reflection and Lessons Learned

• In Event: Biographical Authorship and Contestation of Institutional Construction of Disability at Raced Intersections

Abstract

In this paper, a mother and her adult son share lessons learned and barriers to inclusive and equitable education, exemplifying removal from inclusive education. This study uses DisCrit as a lens to interrogate the intersecting oppressions of race and dis/ability (Annamma et al., 2013). As a mother-son co-authored reflection, we also apply ParentCrit as a framework to guide our conversations with an intentional focus on our different experiences and positionalities (Matias, 2016; Nishi, 2018), particularly as a white mother-scholar and a non-white son with multiple dis/abilities. Through our lessons learned, we urge educators to question their perceptions of multiply-marginalized students/ children and commit to taking a human/ child-first focus on care and inclusion versus a focus on discipline.

Authors

• Caroline Torres, Kapiolani Community College

• Kai Torres, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa