How Are Children Researched and Framed? Disentangling the Deficit-Based Web of Theory, Problematizing, and Interventions in Early Childhood Special Education Research (Stage 1, 12:17 PM)

• In Event: e-Lightning Ed-Talk Session 22 - Stage 1

Abstract

This multi-stage literature review of 136 studies from 2015 to 2023 analyzes how 32,987 children were studied in Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE) research. Dominant images in this literature reflect a White, male, monolingual, and non-disabled or autistic child. We highlight three interconnected issues: (a) misrepresentation of children in EI/ECSE scholarship, (b) how research engages with children, and (c) the cyclical nature of theoretical frameworks that problematize and target children for intervention. Drawing on Disability Critical Race Studies and Disabled Childhood Studies, we argue for justice-oriented, asset-based research that un-forgets the exclusionary history of EI/ECSE. Findings aim to inform consequential research practices that support the thriving of all children, particularly those marginalized by race, disability, and language.

Authors

• Ruby Batz, University of Nevada - Reno

• Courtney O'Grady, University of Alabama

• Megan Vinh

• Asha Yadav, University of Oregon