A Disability Justice Vision of Inclusive Education for Students with Complex Disabilities: Advancing Interdependent Ecologies

• In Event: Equity, Justice, and Transformation in Special and Inclusive Education

Abstract

Inclusive education for students with complex disabilities (SWCDs) has not made much progress, as they continue to be placed in highly segregated settings with limited opportunities for academic and social engagement. This qualitative study examined a school in an urban city that included SWCDs in general education classrooms. The findings address the affordances and constraints the school community negotiates in its everyday activities. The analysis of this data highlights the importance of recognizing key disability justice principles, such as interdependence, in constructing a new vision for inclusive education.

Authors

• Tamara Handy, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Santasha Dhoot, Teachers College, Columbia University