Understanding High School English Teachers' Beliefs About Dis/ability

• In Event: Exploring Teachers' Attitudes and Perspectives Toward Inclusion

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the ways high school English Language Arts general and special education teachers describe their beliefs about intelligence and what contributes to disabled students’ success in school. Since a Disability Studies in Education (DSE) framework challenges dominant deficit-based narratives of disability, we determined how teachers’ beliefs aligned with DSE tenets. From examining the types of instructional and educational opportunities teachers offer students with disabilities, we found that teachers with and without DSE alignment conceptualized inclusion as a privilege for students considered non-normative. Teachers without much alignment promoted earned membership. Younger teachers with higher levels of education were more strongly aligned with DSE principles and more likely to conceptualize inclusion as social justice.

Authors

• Ashley Pollitt, Montclair State University

• Nicole Barnes, Montclair State University