A DisCrit-Informed Person-Centered Approach to Inclusive Education in Italy

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Expansive Theoretical Considerations for Disability Studies in Education

Abstract

In this paper, we present DisCrit-informed person-centred strategies to reframe inclusive education in Italy through an equity prism. The aim is to provide teachers in mainstream secondary schools with practices that inform the design and implementation of Individualised Education Programs (IEPs) and Personalised Teaching Plans (Piano Didattico Personalizzato [PDP]), through non-deficit, intersectional, and culturally relevant approaches. Drawing on a case study carried out in a school in Rome, we analyze the challenges that teachers face in including students at the intersections of race, ability, language, and citizenship. We intend to advance critical thinking about the use of inclusive tools, and the importance of reframing them through the DisCrit framework, rooted in indigenous theory (Annamma & Morrison, 2018).

Authors

• Valentina Migliarini, University of Birmingham

• Brent C. Elder, Rowan University

• Simona D'Alessio, other