Tensions of perceiving and practice: an intersectional raciolinguistic DisCrit inquiry

Abstract

ABSTRACT This longitudinal qualitative case study contextualizes the dynamic interplay of race, language, and disability through a conceptual framework grounded in the principles of Raciolinguistics, DisCrit theory, and Intersectionality to surface the tensions between the way a language-racialized student labeled as a ‘long-term English learner’ and disabled is institutionally perceived by mechanisms of education policy and practice and the ways the student perceives herself. Findings shed light on how racism, linguicism, and ableism intersect and overlap to disenfranchise one student through dynamic encounters with institutional mechanisms of education policy and practice. In centering student voice, we bear witness to a narrative that speaks against the institutional record that depicts language use and disability as deficient. Findings illustrate two critical tensions: 1) the student perceives herself as a powerful language user who, unlike the process and practices of the school, see her as not fully capable of engaging with grade-level content, and 2) the student’s classification as having a disability contrasts with her belief that she is just like other students, highlighting the tension between her self-identification and the institutional classification ascribed to her.