Reframing the Master Narratives of Dis/ability at my Intersections: An Outline of an Educational Equity Research Agenda

This article outlines a call for a renewed research agenda on the social and emotional dimensions of Learning Disabilities (LD). This research agenda reframes LD by interrogating the academic, social and emotional master narratives of LD through the talk of Latina/o students with LD using an interdisciplinary and socio-cultural historical developmental perspective. In particular, this reframing entails exploring the social and emotional construction of LD at the intersections of the Latina/o student population. Interweaving my own history with LD, I describe the overwhelming feelings of discomfort and anxiety from wrestling with the label. I came to see the label as an imposed identity from the educational system in response to my unique constellation of differences. Examining LD through the lens of emotion and from the perspectives of those living under the label helps us better recognize that it cannot be detached from the other socio-cultural identities that are part of being and becoming a whole person.KeywordsLearning disabilities; intersectionality; Disability Studies in Education; emotionality; race Redéfinir les principaux récits sur le handicap à mes intersections:  Un aperçu d'un programme de recherche sur l'équité en éducation RésuméCet article présente un appel pour un programme de recherche renouvelé sur les dimensions sociales et émotionnelles des troubles d’apprentissage (TA).   Ce programme de recherche redéfinit le TA en interrogeant le monde académiques, sociaux et émotionnels de TA à travers une discussion d'étudiant (e) latino avec TA en utilisant une perspective de développement socioculturel historique et interdisciplinaire. En particulier, ce recadrage implique l'exploration de la construction sociale et émotionnelle des TA aux intersections de la population étudiante latino. Entremêlant ma propre histoire avec TA, je décris les sentiments accablants d'inconfort et d'anxiété de la lutte contre l'étiquette.  Je suis venu à voir l'étiquette comme une identité imposée du système éducatif en réponse à ma constellation unique de différences. En examinant le TA à travers une lentille d’émotion et du point de vue de ceux qui vivent sous l’étiquette nous aide à mieux reconnaître qu'il ne peut être détaché des autres identités socioculturelles qui font partie de l'être et qui aident à devenir une personne entière.Mots clefs Troubles d'apprentissage; intersectionnalité; études sur le handicap dans l'éducation; émotivité; rac

Examinando a narrativa-mestra do “grit”: Contra-narrativas com alunos negros e latino-americanos com deficiências durante uma era de testes “high-stakes”

In this study we trouble the notion of “grit” and “high-stakes” testing by focusing on the experiences and perspectives of Black and Latinx students labeled with dis/abilities with the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). Through interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations with 15 Black and Latinx students labeled with dis/abilities, we utilize the power of student voice and counterstories to problematize the master narrative of a “grit”/no “grit” binary in education policy discourse. This binary has contributed to an educational culture that reinforces victim blaming, reifies inequities for Black and Latinx students with dis/abilities, and undermines students’ emotional wellbeing. Harnessing the power of the students’ experiences and perspectives, we conclude with recommendations for policy and practice.En este estudio, examinamos la noción de pruebas de “grit” y de “high-stakes” centrándonos en las experiencias y perspectivas de los estudiantes negros y latinx con discapacidades con el California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). A través de entrevistas, grupos focales y observaciones en el aula con 15 estudiantes negros y latinx con discapacidades, utilizamos el poder de las voces y las contra-narratives de los estudiantes para problematizar la narrativa magistral de un discurso binario “grit” / no “grit” dentro de política educativa. Este binario ha contribuido a una cultura educativa que refuerza el culpar a las víctimas, refuerza las inequidades para los estudiantes con discapacidades y socava el bienestar emocional de los estudiantes. Aprovechando el poder de las experiencias y perspectivas de los estudiantes, concluimos con recomendaciones para políticas y prácticas.Neste estudo, examinamos a noção de “grit” e “high-stakes” com foco nas experiências e perspectivas de alunos negros e latinos com deficiência, com o California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). Por meio de entrevistas, grupos focais e observações em sala de aula com 15 alunos negros e latinos com deficiências, utilizamos o poder das vozes e contra-narrativas dos alunos para problematizar a narrativa-mestra de um discurso binário “grit” / “não grit” dentro da política educacional. Esse binário tem contribuído para uma cultura educacional que reforça a responsabilização das vítimas, reforça as desigualdades para os alunos com deficiência e prejudica o bem-estar emocional dos estudantes. Aproveitando o poder das experiências e perspectivas dos alunos, concluímos com recomendações de políticas e práticas

A Critical Systematic Literature Review of Global Inclusive Education Using an Affective, Intersectional, Discursive, Emotive and Material Lens

We conducted a critical systematic literature review on global inclusive education and law. The critical review questions were: (1) how have scholars theorized, conceptualized, and studied global inclusive education? (2) How do scholars define global inclusive education? (3) And what do scholars cite as prominent international inclusive education law? We ask such questions given the ongoing global crises that situate historically marginalized groups in even more precarious positions—including students with dis/Abilities. Given this framing, we employed a critical systematic literature review that is cognizant of our positionalities, writing from the Global North, so that we can identify lines of inquiry related to global inclusive education that can disrupt global cultural hegemony. Global inclusive education was defined broadly from access to employment through a human right, systemic change, academic, social and emotional frameworks for students with dis/Abilities’ inclusion of all “regardless” of markers of difference. International inclusive education law was approached by affirming the aspirational visions of numerous United Nations’ conventions and policies that focused on social justice for Black, Indigenous and Youth of Color with dis/Abilities in education and global society, without necessarily accounting for the interactions between how macro (legal), meso (local contexts) and micro (student voices) are or are not considered in the global inclusive space

"If It Wasn't My Race, It Was Other Things Like Being a Woman, or My Disability": A Qualitative Research Synthesis of Disability Research

This Qualitative Research Synthesis (QRS) explored how K-16 students of color make meaning of their disability labels and negotiate the prevailing dominant ideologies surrounding dis/ability labels, race, gender, and other forms of identity. Scholars in Disability Studies in Education (DSE) have explored critical connections between Disability Studies (DS) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) (Annamma, Connor & Ferri, 2013; Erevelles, Kanga & Middleton, 2006). This study identified such critical connections by synthesizing 13 qualitative studies from 2006-2018 and explored the lived experiences of students of color labeled with disabilities. Our goal for this QRS was to advance the theoretical work in DSE through a synthesis of qualitative literature within the field. QRS is a methodologically rigorous approach that "uses qualitative methods to analyze, synthesize, and (re)interpret the results from [existing] qualitative studies" (Major & Savin-Baden, 2010, p. 10). We employed a resistance theory of disability at the intersections (Gabel & Peters, 2004; Giroux, 1983a, 1983b), that foregrounded the psycho-emotional disablism model of disability (Thomas, 1999), to recognize that students' acts of resistance directly relate to systematic oppression within the education system. Findings from our second order thematic analysis suggest that students identified disability labels as an assigned identity, which limited their educational opportunities and left a psychological and emotional impact on their well-being. However, students also used multiple strategies and acts of resistance to negotiate the stereotypical master narratives surrounding their intersectional identities. Through a timely methodological and conceptual counter-narrative of its own within educational equity research, our QRS contributes to theory, research, and praxis, with implications for a more humane and just education system for all students

“It Is Like a Feeling”: Theorizing Emotion in Mathematics through Complex Embodiment

Conversations of educational equity in mathematics necessitate a more deliberate, nuanced look at the mathematical processes of learning for students of color from historically marginalized communities. This paper describes the theoretical work of a research collaborative that seeks to develop understanding of the experiences around mathematical identity of Latinas labeled with Learning Disabilities in mathematics classrooms. Expanding the theory of Complex Embodiment from Disability Studies, we explore new interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological tools to analyze the emotional, embodied experience of learning mathematics in the social worlds of mathematics classrooms, using emotional discourse. We take up theoretical and methodological practices around intersectionality through analysis of how power and positioning operate in mathematics identity development. We find that the young woman whose narratives we explore in this paper is positioned through deficit discourses around disability and multilingual learners, yet she understands herself through a positive mathematical affinity she shares with her mother. Over time, we see her narratives shift emotionally away from mathematics, as well as away from this connection with her mother. Her narratives help us develop a theoretical perspective that understands emotion in mathematics learning as both embodied and socially constructed

“It Is Like a Feeling”: Theorizing Emotion in Mathematics through Complex Embodiment

Conversations of educational equity in mathematics necessitate a more deliberate, nuanced look at the mathematical processes of learning for students of color from historically marginalized communities. This paper describes the theoretical work of a research collaborative that seeks to develop understanding of the experiences around mathematical identity of Latinas labeled with Learning Disabilities in mathematics classrooms. Expanding the theory of Complex Embodiment from Disability Studies, we explore new interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological tools to analyze the emotional, embodied experience of learning mathematics in the social worlds of mathematics classrooms, using emotional discourse. We take up theoretical and methodological practices around intersectionality through analysis of how power and positioning operate in mathematics identity development. We find that the young woman whose narratives we explore in this paper is positioned through deficit discourses around disability and multilingual learners, yet she understands herself through a positive mathematical affinity she shares with her mother. Over time, we see her narratives shift emotionally away from mathematics, as well as away from this connection with her mother. Her narratives help us develop a theoretical perspective that understands emotion in mathematics learning as both embodied and socially constructed