Ratio profiling: the discursive construction of the continuum of alternative placements

Abstract

This study highlights how the continuum of alternative placements, a requirement of U.S. federal legislation to ensure that students with disabilities are educated in the least restrictive environment, becomes a discursive tool to exert power. Using institutional ethnography, the researcher investigates the experiences of one set of parents who are experiencing conflict with their school district’s special education administrator over the placement of their child with autism. The use of Critical Discourse Analysis to examine the discussion shows how the continuum of alternative placements is used to create problematic, one-dimensional profiles of students with disabilities.

Keywords:

• Disability studies in education
• institutional ethnography
• special education policy
• critical discourse analysis
• least restrictive environment

Notes

1. I use identity-first language when discussing Autistic people in general because I believe autism is an important part of someone’s identity. Steve and Caroline prefer person-first language and since I don’t know Nick’s preference, I have chosen to use that language when discussing Nick. See Brown (2011, August 4) for a full discussion about the difference between the two terms.