DisCrit-Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education

by David J. Connor, Beth A. Ferri, Subini A. Annamma

Overview

This groundbreaking volume brings together major figures in Disability Studies in Education (DSE) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to explore some of today’s most important issues in education. Scholars examine the achievement/opportunity gaps from both historical and contemporary perspectives, as well as the overrepresentation of minority students in special education and the school-to-prison pipeline. Chapters also address school reform and the impact on students based on race, class, and dis/ability and the capacity of law and policy to include (and exclude). Readers will discover how some students are included (and excluded) within schools and society, why some citizens are afforded expanded (or limited) opportunities in life, and who moves up in the world and who is trapped at the “bottom of the well.”

Contributors: D.L. Adams, Susan Baglieri, Stephen J. Ball, Alicia Broderick, Kathleen M. Collins, Nirmala Erevelles, Edward Fergus, Zanita E. Fenton, David Gillborn, Kris Guitiérrez, Kathleen A. King Thorius, Elizabeth Kozleski, Zeus Leonardo, Claustina Mahon-Reynolds, Elizabeth Mendoza, Christina Paguyo, Laurence Parker, Nicola Rollock, Paolo Tan, Sally Tomlinson, and Carol Vincent

“With a stunning set of authors, this book provokes outrage and possibility at the rich intersection of critical race, class, and disability studies, refracting back on educational policy and practices, inequities and exclusions but marking also spaces for solidarities. This volume is a must-read for preservice, and long-term educators, as the fault lines of race, (dis)ability, and class meet in the belly of educational reform movements and educational justice struggles.”
—Michelle Fine, distinguished professor of Critical Psychology and Urban Education, The Graduate Center, CUNY

“Offers those who sincerely seek to better understand the complexity of the intersection of race/ethnicity, dis/ability, social class, and gender a stimulating read that sheds new light on the root of some of our long-standing societal and educational inequities.”
—Wanda J. Blanchett, distinguished professor and dean, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807773864
Publisher:	Teachers College Press
Publication date:	01/29/2016
Series:	Disability, Culture, and Equity Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

David J. Connor is professor and chair of the Department of Special Education at Hunter College, CUNY. Beth A. Ferri is professor and coordinator of the doctoral program in special education at Syracuse University, New York. Subini A. Annamma is an assistant professor in special education at the University of Kansas.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Truncated Genealogy of DisCrit Subini A. Annamma David J. Connor Beth A. Ferri 1

Touchstone Text: Dis/ability Critical Race Studies (DisCrit): Theorizing at the Intersections of Race and Dis/ability Subini A. Annamma David J. Connor Beth A. Ferri 9

Part I Race, Class, and Ability

1 The Black Middle Classes, Education, Racism, and Dis/ability: An Intersectional Analysis David Gillborn Nicola Rollock Carol Vincent Stephen J. Ball 35

2 What a Good Boy: The Deployment and Distribution of "Goodness" as Ideological Property in Schools Alicia A. Broderick Zeus Leonardo 55

Part II Achievement/Opportunity Gap

3 Understanding the Intersection of Race and Dis/ability: Common Sense Notions of Learning and Culture Elizabeth Mendoza Christina Paguyo Kris Gutiérrez 71

4 Expanding Analysis of Educational Debt: Considering Intersections of Race and Ability Kathleen A. King Thorius Paulo Tan 87

Part III Overrepresentation

5 Reifying Categories: Measurement in Search of Understanding Elizabeth B. Kozleski 101

6 Social Reproduction Ideologies: Teacher Beliefs About Race and Culture Edward Fergus 117

Part IV School-to-Prison Pipeline

7 Shadow Play: DisCrit, Dis/respectability, and Carceral Logics D. L. Adorns Nirmala Erevelles 131

8 The Overrepresentation of Students of Color with Learning Disabilities: How "Working Identity" Plays a Role in the School-to-Prison Pipeline Claustina Mahon-Reynolds Laurence Parker 145

Part V School Reform

9 Race, Class, Ability, and School Reform Sally Tomlinson 157

10 Toward Unity in School Reform: What DisCrit Contributes to Multicultural and Inclusive Education Susan Baglieri 167

Part VI Race, Disability, and the Law

11 A DisCrit Perspective on The State of Florida v. George Zimmerman: Racism, Ableism, and Youth Out of Place it Community and School Kathleen M. Collins 183

12 Disability Does Not Discriminate: Toward a Theory of Multiple Identity Through Coalition Zanita E. Fenton 203

Conclusion: Critical Conversations Across Race and Ability Beth A. Ferri Subini A. Annamma David J. Connor 213

References 223

About the Contributors 257

Index 264

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The editors and contributors of DisCrit have changed the game in education. By naming and challenging the politics of ability in education, they have forged new and welcomed ground for the community of critical scholars committed to the larger project of justice in education. This is a must-read for those who witness the realities of urban school systems and are brave enough to do something about it."
—David Stovall, Educational Policy Studies and African-American Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago

"DisCrit: Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education offers those who sincerely seek to better understand the complexity of the intersection of race/ethnicity, dis/ability, social class, and gender a stimulating read that sheds new light on the root of some of our long-standing societal and educational inequities."
—Wanda J. Blanchett, distinguished professor and dean, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education

"With a stunning set of authors, this book provokes outrage and possibility at the rich intersection of critical race, class, and disability studies, refracting back on educational policy and practices, inequities and exclusions but marking also spaces for solidarities. This volume is a must-read for preservice and long-term educators, as the fault lines of race, (dis)ability, and class meet in the belly of educational reform movements and educational justice struggles."
—Michelle Fine, distinguished professor of Critical Psychology and Urban Education, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Editorial Reviews

"This volume extends an important discourse that critically renders visible the power dynamics that operate at the site of the production of disability among raced populations."

—Teachers College Record

" DisCrit invites all of us to be more alert to, and aware of, how we exist in relationship to the many others working in educational environments."

—H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences

"An excellent resource for practitioners (e.g., teachers, educational leaders) currently in education or related fields (e.g., social work, counseling), as well as graduate-level readers. Highly recommended."

—Choice

From the Publisher