The discursive practice of learning disability: Implications for instruction and parent-school relations.
J Learn Disabil
; 37(6): 466-81, 2004.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-15586465
ABSTRACT
This article serves as an invitation to rethink and to broaden the scope of learning disabilities (LD) research and practice. We begin with 3 assumptions Education in a representative democracy is inevitably a political enterprise; social justice is everyone's responsibility, but educators have a special role to play; and segregated schooling is neither equal nor equitable. After an analysis of the primary extant discourses, we argue for a more comprehensive and more openly political vision of the LD field, which we think is supported by Disability Studies in Education. Finally, we draw 3 conclusions relevant to our collective work as researchers and educators. First, learning disabilities are not objective fact; they are historically and culturally determined. Second, disability is both a personal and a societal attribute. Finally, learning disabilities are not and have never been immutable. We contend that we are ethically bound to transform educational practices to both welcome and accommodate everybody's children.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Politics
/
Social Justice
/
Education, Special
/
Learning Disabilities
Aspects:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
/
Ethics
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Learn Disabil
Year:
2004
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States