“Learning on the job”: An exploration of teacher educators’ training and comfort with anti-ableist disability discussion

Abstract

As schools worldwide move toward including students with disabilities, preparing teacher candidates who can discuss disability is crucial. Using a qualitative multi-case design, this study investigated how teacher educators in the United States (N = 5) describe their training, comfort, and needs related to facilitating anti-ableist disability discussion with teacher candidates. Despite varying backgrounds, training, and comfort, teacher educators expressed similar desires for increased anti-ableist disability discussion within their own institutions as well as additional professional development. Results provide a call to action for further research and training focused on preparing teacher educators for anti-ableist disability discussion.