Teacher Candidates Talking (but Not Talking) About Dis/ability and Race in Preschool

Abstract

In educational contexts, including early childhood settings, ableism and racism circulate interdependently to define normalcy and deviance. Book reading offers an important platform for dismantling these interlocking ideologies with young children. In this article, we examine dis/ability and race talk in the context of picture-book reading, analyzing the ways four white, nondisabled teacher candidates attempted to discursively resist deficit-based framings of dis/ability and race with small groups of young children in preschool classrooms. Findings revealed how—despite stated intentions to advance educational justice—teacher candidates drew on discourse models that reinforced status quo notions of normativity. We argue that understanding how teacher candidates navigate dis/ability and race talk with young children in the context of literacy instruction can lend insight into the teacher education experiences needed to support these critical conversations.

Counteracting Dysconscious Racism and Ableism Through Fieldwork: Applying DisCrit Classroom Ecology in Early Childhood Personnel Preparation

“…However, some research examines preservice early educators’ preparation and practice regarding intersectional understandings of race and ability. Beneke and Cheatham (2020) and Beneke (2020) explored how White, nondisabled preservice early educators were prepared for and engaged in classroom practices to talk about race and ability, and identified ways in which program processes and preservice early educator practices reinforced Whiteness and ability as normative. Through phenomenological interviews and qualitative mapping with the preservice early educators, Beneke (2020) found that processes within their preservice program compartmentalized learning about race and ability such as through a single required course on multicultural education.…”

“…Through phenomenological interviews and qualitative mapping with the preservice early educators, Beneke (2020) found that processes within their preservice program compartmentalized learning about race and ability such as through a single required course on multicultural education. Focusing on preservice early educators’ shared book reading during preschool fieldwork experiences, Beneke and Cheatham (2020) identified discursive practices used by preservice early educators that ultimately oversimplified the meaning and implications of race and ability, despite the educators’ commitments to promoting educational justice.…”

“…Racism and ableism are woven together in educational contexts through policies, practices, curricula, and interactions that (re)produce narrow expectations of normalcy to uphold White, nondisabled norms as most desirable and marginalize those perceived as different (Annamma et al, 2013; Waitoller & Thorius, 2016). Following Beneke and Cheatham (2020), examples of how racism and ableism interdependently reinforce norms of Whiteness and ability in early childhood contexts include frameworks for understanding child development that interpret “typical” development through predominantly White, Eurocentric perspectives and mandates to identify children unlikely to reach milestones associated with those perspectives of development. In addition, the interconnected nature of racism and ableism is apparent in deficit-based perspectives that lead to labeling Children of Color as “at risk,” disciplinary practices that disproportionately suspend and expel Children of Color, and classroom materials that maintain and reinforce Whiteness and ability as normal (Beneke & Cheatham, 2020).…”

Investigating Young Children’s Conceptualizations of Disability and Race: An Intersectional, Multiplane Critique

“…In my own research, I examined how white, enabled teacher candidates (TCs) and racially diverse groups of young children (with and without disabilities) talked about disability and race while reading recommended social justice picture-books. Through a participatory multiple case study (Beneke, 2017; Beneke & Cheatham, 2020), I observed and video-recorded read-alouds during ongoing classroom routines to understand how ideas about disability and race were interpersonally constructed. I interviewed young disabled Children of Color multiple times, following their leads as they shared personal connections to books through words and gestures.…”

“…peers, family members, teachers). For instance, children's disability and race conceptualizations may be mediated by how adults actively resist or reify ableism and racism through talk (Beneke & Cheatham, 2020) or by how children relate to one another through play (Adair & Doucet, 2014). Children, and disabled Children of Color in particular, play powerful roles in this process.…”