This article examines the ways that meanings about the concept Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are socially constructed within the everyday language use of lay persons. The 224 language events referencing ADHD, including media sources, were recorded in journals by student assistants. These data reveal five patterned ways that lay persons appropriate and interpret discourses originating in medical and school communities of practice. Conclusions raise issues about the moral opportunities and responsibilities afforded and occluded by specific discourse practices.
Modern and postmodern versions of hope as they apply to services for persons labeled as having mental retardation were examined. Proponents of modernism construct hope as relying on an ever-improving science to accurately comprehend mental retardation and other disabilities and the effectiveness of professional interventions. This myth of scientific progress is traced in various forms through American intellectual history to the development of special education as interventionist social science. Advocates of postmodernism cast doubt upon the grand narrative of modernism and critique modern social science as perpetuating stigmatized "mentally retarded" identities through the exercise of power. A rhetorical analysis of the current controversy over facilitated communication demonstrates the utilization of the language of modern science for its power effects in special education discourse.
This article offers derrida's deconstruction as a philosophy and practical strategy that challenges the assumed, factual nature of "disability" as a construct explaining human differences. The appeal of deconstruction lies in the contradictory philosophy currently articulated by the inclusion movement, a philosophy that simultaneously supports the disability construct as objective reality while calling for students "with disabilities" to be placed in educational settings designed for students considered nondisabled. This article proposes deconstruction as one coherent philosophical orientation for inclusion, an approach that critiques the political and moral hierarchy of ability and disability. A deconstructionist critique of disability is explained and demonstrated. Practical suggestions for the utilization of deconstruction by special educators are outlined.
In this article we describe the efforts of one university's department of special education to respond to the major changes occurring in public education. The structural changes and philosophical redirections of public education policy, together with the basic changes in the demographic characteristics of students, have created a context in which the fundamental assumptions and the professional practices of special education are being reconsidered. The restructuring movement in education and the inclusion movement in special education affect every aspect of education and schooling, including teacher education. The perspective and activities described in this article tell a story of a department that has changed its approach to educating special education teachers by making a total commitment to align its work with public schools in developing a network of Professional Development Schools to reflect a collaborative model of training and research.
Numerous scholars have suggested that the standard knowledge base of the field of special education is not a suitable intellectual foundation for the development of research, policy, and practice in the field of inclusive education. Still, we have yet to have a dialogue on what conceptual foundations may be most generative for the growth and development of the field of inclusive education. This article imagines and initiates such a new dialogue among educational researchers and teacher educators about the intellectual resources that can best support inclusive educators everywhere. As inclusive education gets increasingly taken up within international policy discourses, it may be imperative to explore and identify theories and ideas that can be responsive to diverse and hugely unequal contexts of schooling. This article forwards an initial collection of intellectual resources for an inclusive education that can accommodate such complex schooling conditions and invites rich scholarly exchange on this issue.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.