The mediating role of exclusionary school organizations in pre-service teachers’ constructions of inclusion

Whiteness and Ability: Discourses in Disability History Curriculum Legislation

“…This opposition particularly impacts students with disabilities; disability in these terms is “an organizational pathology, a matter of not fitting the standard programs of the prevailing paradigm of a professional culture” (p. 169). In the context of “decades of professionalizing special education and bureaucratising public education” (Beneke et al, 2020, p. 12) that created professional divisions between general and special education, attempts to reform teacher preparation for inclusive education through stand-alone courses on disability reinforced unidimensional views of students (disabled vs. nondisabled) and reified the separation of general and special education. Voulgarides (2022) highlighted how legislative efforts to mandate racial equity in special education can lead to a school focus on compliance with the law without examining root causes of racial inequities.…”

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

“…For example, preservice educators often struggle to acknowledge ways in which racism continues to be present in educational settings and institutional structures (Haviland, 2008). Early educators’ attitudes play an essential role in the implementation of inclusive practices (Barton & Smith, 2015; Stites et al, 2020), and researchers have found that preservice educators’ beliefs about the value and feasibility of inclusive education are mediated by their own schooling experiences (Beneke et al, 2020). Furthermore, beliefs and attitudes are context-dependent; preservice educators may indicate that they have more progressive views but still demonstrate hesitation when confronted with instances of racism (Garrett & Segall, 2013).…”