E-grāmata: Disability and Teaching

Some people do not want to practice special education. It is not that they cannot, they just do not have the time. Others think the experiment with including special education students in the normal K-12 classroom has just about run its course, and the special education students will be segregated again, soon. Gabel (doctoral program in education, Chapman U.) and Connor (special education, City U. of New York) urge that all educators take a reflective approach, learn the foundations of the issue, analyze them, and figure out how to utilize what they have learned. They begin with a series of case studies, reflecting on inclusion, ableism, racism and self-knowledge as an educator. They give three types of public arguments for special education: the conservative view, the liberal/progressive view, and the disability-centered view. They then give resources for further study and refection. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Disability and Teaching highlights issues of disability in K-12 schooling faced by teachers, who
are increasingly accountable for the achievement of all students regardless of the labels
assigned to them. It is designed to engage prospective and practicing teachers in examining their
personal theories and beliefs about disability and education.

Part I offers four case studies dealing with issues such as inclusion, over-representation in
special education, teacher assumptions and biases, and the struggles of novice teachers. These
cases illustrate the need to understand disability and teaching within the contexts of school,
community, and the broader society and in relation to other contemporary issues facing teachers.
Each is followed by space for readers to write their own reactions and reflections, educators’
dialogue about the case, space for readers’ reactions to the educators’ dialogue, a summary, and
additional questions. Part II presents public arguments representing different views about the
topic: conservative, liberal-progressive, and disability centered. Part III situates the authors’
personal views within the growing field of Disability Studies in education and provides exercises
for further reflection and a list of resources.

Disability and Teaching is the 8th volume in the Reflective Teaching and the Social Conditions of
Schooling Series, edited by Daniel P. Liston and Kenneth M. Zeichner. This series of small,
accessible, interactive texts introduces the notion of teacher reflection and develops it in relation
to the social conditions of schooling. Each text focuses on a specific issue or content area in
relation to teaching and follows the same format. Books in this series are appropriate for teacher
education courses across the curriculum.