The inner self-narratives and academic self-perceptions of those with learning disabilities in post-secondary settings

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the various disabled identities of those with learning disabilities in higher educational settings, and its impact on academic self-worth. The majority of scholarship has essentialized both disabled identity and academic self-perception, fostering the victimization of those with learning disabilities in the pursuit of their education. This study problematized the medical model, viewing disability as an internal and fixed identity, negatively implicating self-worth. In contrast, this study incorporated a critical disability theory, to highlight the social construction of disability, complimented with a postmodernist lens to appreciate the fluidity of identity and perceptions. A narrative methodological approach was utilized to give voice to the experiences and stories of five self-identifying learning disabled students from Ryerson University. The findings of this research suggest that learning disabled student relate to three different types of disability narratives or identities, implicating their academic worth in many ways.