Erasure or empowerment?: how pre-service teachers address disability when using children’s literature

Abstract

Research suggests that in classrooms across the United States, teachers are hesitant to engage students in a discussion about disability. However, if children are not given opportunities to talk about disability, they run the risk of internalizing disability stereotypes or believing that discussing disability is not appropriate. In this paper, we use an explanatory, instrumental qualitative case study design to understand how 30 pre-service teachers (PSTs) notice and name disability when describing ideas for using children’s literature in the classroom. Additionally, we operationalize and build on Sapon-Shevin’s categorization of teachers’ responses to ableist behavior to examine the nuances of PST discussion. We found that most PSTs chose not to talk about disability or presented disability in a generic or potentially problematic way. This research provides necessary insight into the ways that teacher education programs can work with PSTs to effectively engage in disability discussion.