Deconstructing Not to Build

• In Event: Inclusion or Illusion? Student-Informed Reflexive Practices in K-12 Settings

Abstract

Developmental psychology has a long history in education and special education, influencing everything from what is considered “normal” to age based grading. Burman (2017) makes the argument that the first and foremost (and sometimes only) goal is to deconstruct, not to rebuild developmental psychology. The work of understanding children in space and time is found in the process of deconstruction. This analysis is grounded in Burman’s deconstruction where I utilize critical theory and modified meaning fields analysis (Carspecken, 2013) with an interview of one 7-year-old child with Autism and ADHD about her school experiences. In this analysis I reveal societal messages inherent in what the child is experiencing in school about her worth and what disability means.

Author

• Kristen Luppino Witzling, University of Wisconsin - Madison