Teacher education: doing justice to UNCRPD Article 24?

Abstract

ABSTRACT The unjust schooling experiences of many disabled students is the impetus for this conceptual paper, which investigates the complexity involved in developing future teachers’ knowledge and commitment to putting into practice disability rights-related provisions. The paper focuses on the components of Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) (United Nations 2006. United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Accessed March 1, 2020. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/ConventionRightsPersonsWithDisabilities.aspx#24) that relate specifically to teacher education programmes. The concepts of dysconciousness (King 1991. “Dysconscious Racism: Ideology, Identity, and the Miseducation of Teachers.” Journal of Negro Education 60 (2): 133–146) and dysconscious ableism (Lalvani et al. 2015. “Teacher Education, Exclusion and the Implicit Ideology of Separate but Equal: An Invitation to a Dialogue.” Education, Citizenship, and Social Justice 10 (2): 168–183) are explored to facilitate theoretical understanding of possible reasons for injustices, including the marginalisation of many disabled students within/without the education system. Discussion then focuses on relevant research and practical strategies that may support student teachers to narrow the distance between theoretical understandings of Article 24 and its implementation in their teaching practice. In closing, the notion of dysconscious ableism is revisited in relation to its impact on teacher educators’ own thinking and practice. In order to do justice to Article 24 within teacher education, and in turn, to disabled students in schools, much is possible, and we as teacher educators, alongside our student teachers, have much to (un)learn.