Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
2-2015
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Urban Education
Advisor
David Connor
Subject Categories
Education | Special Education Administration | Special Education and Teaching
Keywords
learning differences, learning disabled, narratives
Abstract
Learning disabled (LD) is both a politically and socially contentious term. In the eyes of the public, the label is synonymous with special education (SE). SE's vision of LD remains the dominant discourse of deficit-based understanding of human differences. This has resulted in its adherence to segregated services for many students that often result in additional behavior problems exacerbating their struggles to learn in school. A lack of student representation in school affairs is exemplified in the absence of LD pupils' voices in the decision-making that frames how they are viewed by others. This absence of voice also influences how they ultimately regard themselves. Professional research on LD in traditional journals has also neglected the lived experiences of LD students. To counter the absence, this study examines first-person LD narratives through a framework based upon an interpretation of disability studies influenced heavily by the work of Thomas Skrtic and is designed to enable new knowledge to emerge that sheds light on how learning disabilities are experienced by individuals. Students with and without LD, parents, teachers, and policy makers can benefit from this information that presents alternative conceptions to LD monopolized within traditional special education research.
Recommended Citation
Haitz, Charles Christian, "Courage to Speak, Fortitude to Listen: A Model for the Study of First-Person LD Narratives" (2015). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/573