Young children with and without disabilities who are bilingual or in the process of learning multiple languages have many strengths; however, educational policies and bias related to bilingualism for children from linguistically minoritized groups have typically included deficit-based views. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify…

Young children with and without disabilities who are bilingual or in the process of learning multiple languages have many strengths; however, educational policies and bias related to bilingualism for children from linguistically minoritized groups have typically included deficit-based views. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify…

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the existing relationships between main concepts associated with labelling exceptional students and impact on their self-esteem. The aim was to examine how these concepts are presented in the existing research literature, and what the implications are for educational practice of labelling…

This qualitative study explored the perspectives of parents and teachers in the US with regard to the meaning and implications of disability in the context of schoolling, and of raising a child with a disability. The findings revealed broad conceptual differences in the perspectives of these two groups. Teachers' beliefs were generally consistent…

Assessing the influence of Beatrice Wright, a groundbreaking rehabilitation psychologist, is the purpose of this article. She is best known for her books (1960, 1983) in which she elaborated numerous original concepts that describe, explain, and aim to improve outsiders' perception and insiders' experience of life with a disability. A panel of 15…

This article explores the benefits and challenges of operating an inclusive elementary and special education teacher preparation program within a disability studies framework. How does such a program balance issues of theory and practice? How does it provide students with a critical approach that essentially views disability as a social and…

Len Barton has pioneered the sociological study of education in the areas of disability studies and inclusive education. This paper addresses an argument developed by Len Barton that social exclusion, of which disablism is one element, (1) has many compounding forms of differing exclusions, (2) is not a natural but a socially constructed process,…

College and university students with disabilities, both visible and invisible, must deal with what sociologist Erving Goffman called information management; they must control and protect their stigmatized identity by considering who to tell what, how much to tell, and when to tell. A growing body of stigma-related educational research, as well as…

Through examining the case of people with epilepsy (which, as we demonstrate, has an ambiguous status in relation to both popular and academic conceptions of disability) we explore the fluid, negotiable and contingent nature of identity and, in particular, the identification as "disabled". Disability, we argue, cannot be reduced to either biology…

Investigated the effect of violating politically correct label protocol in a counselor-profession relationship. Results taken from surveys which used either politically correct or politically incorrect labels showed that the group responding to the latter survey exhibited a more positive attitude than did those responding to the politically…

Analysis of the responses to the Issues in Disability Scale made by 244 disabled and nondisabled persons suggests that the strain that frequently occurs during interactions between disabled and nondisabled individuals may derive more from misunderstandings of one another's expectations than from negative intentions. (Author/BJV)

Since attitudes, expectations, and practices related to minorities and handicapped individuals are similiar, it is suggested that teacher education programs for these groups also be similar. Compatible components of special education and multieducational teacher competencies are discussed. (DF)

Recalls the publication of the 1948 special issue of "Journal of Social Issues" on the social psychology of disability, speculates on the magazine's influence on changes in the field between 1948 and 1988, and discusses possible future developments. (Author/BJV)

Critiques the assumptions about the nature and meaning of disability advanced in social-psychological writing, suggests the origins of these assumptions, and proposes a return to a Lewinian/minority-group analysis of the situation of people with disabilities. Introduces the other articles in this issue. (Author/ BJV)

Proposes a new conceptual framework, based on the fundamental values of personal appearance and individual autonomy, for assessing the "aesthetic" and "existential" anxiety aroused by persons with disabilities. Investigations using this perspective might contribute to determining the attitudinal foundations of the competing…