Are Teachers Talking About Disability?: An Investigation of Factors Associated with Discussion in PK-12 Classrooms

ABSTRACT

Teachers are uniquely positioned to mitigate ableism and address disability in the classroom; however, many hesitate to do so. This silence perpetuates bias and may teach children that difference is negative. Situated within the field of Disability Studies in Education, this investigation of PK-12 teachers (n = 256) aims to broadly characterise the types of discussions that occur in classrooms as well as identify obstacles and facilitators associated with disability discussions. Data reveal 71.9% of participants currently discuss disability with their students, mostly in relation to students’ own learning needs. Findings indicate that internal, rather than external, factors drive teachers’ decisions to discuss disability, laying the groundwork for pre-service and in-service programming to increase disability-related conversation.

KEYWORDS:

• Disability
• disability discussion
• disability studies in education
• teacher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.