"She Corrected Me, But She Didn’t Make Me Feel Small": Rewriting the Emotional Terms of Inclusion in K-12 Classrooms

• In Event: Critical (re)construction in Teacher Education: Inclusive Race, Disability, and Language

Abstract

This paper draws on interviews with students and teachers to examine how emotional regulation, discipline, and preparation shape inclusive learning environments. Grounded in Disability Studies, the study centers students' descriptions of what made learning possible, and what made them shut down. From overstimulation and grading policies to voice, safety, and support, student insights reveal how inclusion fails when it ignores relational and sensory realities. Teachers echoed these themes, naming unpreparedness for inclusion settings and emotional exhaustion as barriers. Together, these narratives show how both students and teachers are navigating systems that weren’t built with them in mind. Inclusion, we argue, must begin with honoring emotion, centering relationships, and supporting teachers to do the work they are being asked to do.

Author

• Hyun Uk Kim, Springfield College