“I recognize his traits so much in myself”: Anti-ableist Teaching Practices Informed by Disabled Educators’ Expertise

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 11:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Reimagining Teaching: Disability Identity, Culture, and Anti-Ableism in K-12 Education

Abstract

This session applies Disability Sustaining Pedagogy (DSP), which draws on the knowledge and experiences of disabled educators to ask, “what strategies do educators with disabilities use to sustain their own disability identities and support disabled and nondisabled youth?” Semi-structured interviews with sixteen disabled educators suggest that (despite the ongoing ableism they encountered in schools both as students and teachers), these educators leverage their expertise and understanding of the social, cultural, and medical aspects of disability in non-stigmatizing, humanizing teaching practices which can inform all teachers and teacher educators. In a second on-going study, we found that sharing the stories and practices of disabled teachers with pre-service teachers in DSP-informed teacher preparation can foster disability cultural competence and anti-ableist teaching stances.

Authors

• Amy Leigh Tondreau, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Laurie M. Rabinowitz, Skidmore College

• Katryna Andrusik, University of Maryland