Disability & Inclusive Ed

Disability and Inclusive Education examines the ways that disability has been constructed in the context of schooling, along with an exploration of the lived experiences of disabled students in schooling. The course begins with a critical inquiry into the ways that ableism shapes discourses and representations of disability and an exploration of disability affirming narratives and frameworks through insiders’ perspectives. We will learn about inclusion as both a service delivery model for special education and as a socio-cultural process that has taken shape against the grain of ongoing exclusionary forces of schooling. In this inquiry, we will examine legal structures and special education practices. We will work towards an understanding of what inclusive education is and how it can be realized through pedagogies, instructional design, and community building. Throughout the course we will take up an intersectional analysis of the ways disability status intersects with other facets of identity (such as one’s race, gender, sexuality, etc.) to understand how such intersections come into play in the socio-cultural processes of inclusion/exclusion in schools. This course is interactive with an emphasis on active and collaborative learning.