Learning Disabilities and Inequality

Abstract

Functionally speaking, students are labeled with learning disabilities (LDs) and placed into special education to enable them to achieve up to their potential. Nonetheless, potential links between LDs and inequality have been a dominant research theme. Inequality may determine who experiences LDs, or who receives the LD label, just as inequality may result from LDs, or from the LD label. This article reviews broad theoretical perspectives of LDs, as well as research focused specifically on LDs and inequality. With significant data and methodological limitations hindering this body of research, this article also demonstrates how theoretical perspectives and methodologies from sociology of education and sociology of health could make significant contributions to the literatures and policy focused on this group of students.

Examining Learning Disabilities in Schools through an Intersectional and Equitable Lens

“…LD label can also be understood as an intentional tool of inequality. From a social perspective in understanding LDs, LDs can be understood as a social construct that is defined relative to the context and situation, argued to be more prevalent in Western societies due to the emphasis on speed, literacy, and numeracy in the school system [30]. In other words, students labeled with LDs do not experience inequities due to their LD but the society that is structured to benefit students with normative qualities (i.e., Caucasian, middle-class).…”

“…In other words, students labeled with LDs do not experience inequities due to their LD but the society that is structured to benefit students with normative qualities (i.e., Caucasian, middle-class). Due to the lack of objective and uniform diagnostic criteria in identifying LDs, variations across students can be understood as natural, with everyone possessing some level of 'disability' in different contexts relative to their peers [13,30]. Therefore, LD identification can be understood as an inequity due to the societal emphasis on specific Western values (speed, literacy, and numeracy).…”

Oppimisvaikeudet, toimintavalmiudet ja toimijuus elämänkulussa

“…tetty, että sosiologia on pitkälti sivuuttanut oppimisvaikeudet ja heikon lukutaidon eriarvoisuuden tutkimuksessa (Shifrer 2013;Cieslik & Simpson 2015). Sosiologiset tutkimukset ovat kiinnittäneet erityistä huomiota oppimisvaikeuksien diagnosointiin.…”

“…2020). Eriarvoisuutta koskevat tutkimukset eroavat sen suhteen, kuinka vahvasti eriarvoisuuden arvioidaan johtuvan yksilöllisistä tekijöistä ja millä tavoin erilaisten yhteiskuntaan ja koulutukseen kytkeytyvien rakenteellisten tekijöiden nähdään vaikuttavan koulutuksellisen eriarvoisuuden syntyyn (Shifrer 2013).…”

“…Siinä missä lääketieteellinen malli painottaa vamman tai sairauden merkitystä vammaisuuden rakentumisessa, vammaisuuden sosiaalinen malli pyrkii tarkastelemaan yhteiskunnallisia tekijöitä, jotka vaikuttavat mahdollisuuksiin osallistua täysimääräisesti yhteiskuntaan. (Thomas 1999;Shifrer 2013. ) Lähestyn tässä tutkimuksessa oppimisvaikeuksia vammaisuuden sosiorelationaalisen mallin avulla.…”