Ableist Discourse in the Public’s Discussions About a Teacher and Special Education Student Conflict

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Kaleidoscopic Inclusion: Shifting Perspectives, Practices, and Teacher Agency (Table 9)

Abstract

This paper critically examines the ableist discourse and discriminatory narratives in the public’s online comments from two social media platforms on a high-school classroom conflict between a teacher and a special education student in Taiwan. The preliminary results show how a mental illness identity of schizophrenia was imposed on the student and related misconceptions were used to demonize the student as a dangerous, unpredictable individual who should be segregated from society. The paper argues that such responses reflect the long history and current reality of disability discrimination and segregation, and calls for more critical awareness to challenge the ableist assumptions surrounding students with special needs.

Author

• I-Huei Lee, National Tsing Hua University