Full Description
The Handbook of Critical Special Education proposes a transformative framework that reimagines special education as dialogic, relational, decolonial, and justice oriented. Critical special education calls for methodological pluralism, epistemic humility, and the integration of social and embodied understandings of disability to dismantle oppressive structures and rebuild education as a site of collective liberation and equity. Across the volume, chapter authors situate critical pedagogy as a critique of traditional special education, problematizing race and power in educational research and practice. The text highlights anti-oppressive education and intersectionality, critiques ableism, and challenges hegemonic educational structures while supporting the centrality of culture as an equally important factor in shaping the minds and the socialization process of children with dis/abilities. It also advocates for visions of justice, equity, and wellness for communities and collectives. Through the lenses of critical pedagogy, cultural studies, and positive psychology, this book provides comprehensive coverage of the reconceptualization of dis/abilities in research, practice, and policy. It is essential reading for scholars, graduate students, and teacher educators in the field of special education.
Contents
1. Introduction to Critical Special Education: Reimagining Epistemological Foundations and Shifting the Paradigm Part 1: Agency, Advocacy, and Lived Experience. 2. Unveiling the Intersections of Anti-Blackness, Misogynoir, and Parent Advocacy in Special Education: A Critical Examination of Access and Equity 3. Reforming Special Education Means Reforming Research Methods: Nothing About Us Without Us 4. Disability Joy: Producing Supportive Curricula for D/disabled Students Through a Framework of Historical Materials from Camp Jened Part 2: Intersectional, Critical, and Decolonial Frameworks 5. Toward a Global Affective Intersectional Epistemology in Inclusive Education 6. Critical Inclusive Education as a Full-Measure Solution for Equity, Justice, and Belonging 7. Using DisCrit as a Tool of Critical Special Education: Actively Challenging Deficit Perspectives of Disability and Race Embedded in Research and Practice 8. From Inclusion to Community: A Paradigm of Wholeness for Special Education Part 3: Transforming Policy and Practice 9. Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities Cannot Access Education Until IDEA Transforms Their Social Environment 10. From Margins to Center: Amplifying Voices in Equity-Oriented Special Education Policy Formulation with Learning Lab 11. Critical Literacy: Reframing Literacy Practices for Students with Learning Differences 12. Incorporating Social Justice and Equity into Evidence-Based Writing Instruction for Students with Learning Differences 13. Enacting Critical Special Education through Harm Reduction in Teacher Education 14. Radical Reimagination in Our Practices as School Psychologists: Interrogating Oppression Toward Liberation 15. Understanding the Role of School Counselors in Special Education Through a Critical Lens 16. Epilogue: Closing Thoughts from a Disabled Student
