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Given the subjective nature of some disability diagnoses, one way to mitigate the disproportionate referral of students of color for Special Education in the United States is by unearthing teachers' deep-seated biases regarding race and ability. Drawing on Freire's (1970) theory of critical consciousness, we unpack the role that teacher dispositions play in upholding racism and ableism, and we offer strategies aimed to address teacher bias and ableist/racist practices. We use the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as an example of institutional racism and ableism in the United States and consider how teacher dispositions can fuel disproportionality. Because of the importance of teacher training as an entry point into one's career in education, we specifically focus on the teacher preparation period as a time and space where pre-service teachers (PSTs) can engage with their dispositions and offer concrete strategies that teacher educators can employ with PSTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been increasingly acknowledged that universities need to include and support students with disabilities in order to benefit these individuals. Yet, university students with disabilities often face significant barriers that impact their ability to succeed. Traditional higher education practices and belief systems have been identified as problematic, in how they influence students' feelings and attitudes towards disability, and their self identity construction. Our qualitative research study was thus originally designed to understand how higher education students engaged with medical and social constructions of disability. The study findings prioritise these students' perspectives and voices through interpretative phenomenological analysis and poetic interpretations. The findings are further nuanced in terms of how several students took up positions of identity that reflect social relational and affirmative disability conceptions. Aside from individuals with disabilities, this study has implications for university staff, medical and human services professionals, and disability researchers focused on higher education. Despite increased enrollments of students with disabilities in higher education, concerns have been raised about these students' university achievement and completion. There is a gap in research when it comes to examining the views and experiences of university students with disabilities, from their own perspectives and voices. Research was carried out with university students with different disabilities in order to gauge the impact of the social and medical models on their perspectives. The research found that there was no single model that dominated their individual identities, as various life experiences resulted in complex and multifaceted understandings of disability. This research is important not only for the service providers who work with individuals with disabilities, but also family members, researchers, and other university staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the globe, disabled girls of color have unique school experiences and perspectives. However, they are often left out of educational research. In addition, their experiences are not included in conversations focused on transforming school systems and practices, even though they have solutions for educational equity and justice. Grounded in intersectionality and critical spatial theory, this study expands current understandings of how school systems and practices impact disabled youth of color broadly by considering the distinct intersectional educational trajectories of disabled girls of color in middle and high school in the United States. Through their counter-narratives, photographs, and maps, focal participants revealed how materializations (e.g. school geographies, learning tools) and adult actions impacted their academic and social opportunities at school. This study adds to the current literature with a purposeful focus on the experiences and solutions of disabled girls of color. Implications for research and practice are discussed. This article looks in detail at the experiences of disabled girls of color in the U.S. in one middle school and one high school. Disabled girls of color were often accompanied by adults throughout the school day. Few girls could travel to classrooms on their own or with friends or store personal materials in their own lockers. Disabled girls of color had limited access to many school spaces and classrooms. Most disabled girls of color did not have access to preferred writing tools (e.g. pencils, pens). Most girls had fewer math and science materials and electronic devices (e.g. laptops, tablets) to learn with compared to other students at their school. The researchers recommend teachers ask disabled girls of color about their experiences to ensure they have access to spaces and materials for meaningful learning. Teachers could use photography and map-making to learn about student experiences and modify their teaching practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attainment of a college degree is an opportunity for upward social and economic mobility. The benefits of a college degree are wide-ranging and include lower rates of unemployment, higher income, increased job security, and a higher quality of life. Historically underrepresented students, including students with disabilities, are attending college and attaining degrees in increasing numbers in the United States. However, there is evidence from prior research suggesting that not all underrepresented students are being discussed equally by the higher education academic community. For all students to succeed in college and beyond, they must all be part of the important conversations surrounding the American higher education system. This research project investigated the academic discourse of four major academic organizations by analyzing the topics presented at their national annual conferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parent involvement in the process of creating an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is authorized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a federal law in the United States that ensures children with disabilities have the opportunity to receive a free appropriate public education alongside their peers without disabilities in the least restrictive environment. Yet much research has shown that parents often feel like outsiders during the process. To understand parent perspectives about how educators might help make the IEP process more collaborative and inclusive, this study collected qualitative data from 35 parents of students with disabilities who have worked to develop an IEP with a school team. Our findings provide insight into parent experiences and evidence that parents have many suggestions for how educators can improve the IEP process. In our discussion section, we provide educators with strategies to address parent suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Students with disabilities face obstacles in their encounters with higher education. The aim of this study is to investigate how the institutional context shapes students’ experiences of unequal opportunities in higher education. In comparing disabled students’ experiences from universities in Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the United States, the study makes visible the kind of experiences that students share and how experiences differ between these countries within the global context of higher education. The study has shown that students’ possibilities for equal participation are shaped by the institutional context that is based on medical diagnosis and compensation for an inaccessible education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This qualitative study described the lived experience of media workers with disabilities in the United States during postsecondary education and their transition to the professional media workplace. While there is ample literature about disability narratives in media products, there is a significant gap in the research about media workers and students with disabilities. Three participants provided face-to-face interviews and submitted media artifacts that they felt provided abstract representations of their experience. Invariant structural themes that emerged were that participants possessed a high level of self-efficacy, and while their colleges provided supportive environments, they faced discrimination in the media workplace. Additionally, they received few or unhelpful educational accommodations and little guidance from faculty as they transitioned from education to work. Findings suggest a need for faculty training in inclusive pedagogies, review of media curricula that considers students with disabilities, and assistance for students as they progress from postsecondary education to the media workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) was developed as a part of US Public Law 94-142 related to educating students with disabilities. The aim of the IEP process was to ensure that educators and parents are involved in collaboratively creating a formalized plan for instruction that will address unique students’ needs. However, the IEP process has created unintended consequences such as depersonalized meetings, and a focus on paperwork and compliance rather than collaboration with parents. The parents interviewed in this study offered a number of recommendations on how to make both the process and the product of IEP meetings more meaningful. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]