ERIC Number: ED647716
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 256
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-8417-4732-1
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
We're Still Emerging: A Poetic Inquiry Exploring the Tensions between Inclusive Mindsets, Teacher Identity and Disability Stigma
Kerry K. Cormier
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Rowan University
This poetic inquiry sought to understand the tensions, perspectives and experiences of teachers as they work to create more inclusive mindsets and identities despite working in a system that allows for ability profiling and disability stigma in schools. This work fills a gap in the literature in that not much is known about the journeys teachers take as they come to identify as inclusive educators. The conceptual framework drew from scholarship in the fields of Disability Studies in Education, Studies in Ableism, critical pedagogy, and teacher identity. Conducted in a professional development school, I worked as the university's professor-in-residence to provide professional development for teachers that centered a disability memoir and critical reflection. Qualitative data was gathered through interviews and book club discussions. Lines from these transcripts were then used to construct transcription poems. After creating these initial poems, threshold poems were then created that juxtaposed a transcript poem with a found poem from each of the four key areas of the conceptual framework. These poems brought theory and praxis into dialogue, supplemented by my own analytical thinking inspired by the theorists' and participants' words. Significant findings indicate that: (1) ableism is deeply embedded in schools, policy and practice, with teachers inadvertently working from a place of dysconscious ableism; (2) inclusion must be presented as both an ideological commitment and actionable process; (3) teachers' stories to live by must be reframed so that inclusive mindsets are magnified among the school community; and (4) PDSs partnerships can be a driving vehicle to develop inclusive cultures among schools. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Professional Identity, Inclusion, Social Bias, Disabilities, Negative Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, Teaching Experience, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Professional Development Schools, Praxis, Partnerships in Education, School Culture, Disability Discrimination, Equal Education
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
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