Dangerous Assumptions and Unspoken Limitations: A Disability Studies in Education Response to Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, Mattison, Maczuga, Li, and Cook (2015)
In this article, we critically review the work of Morgan et al. (2015) and offer Disability Studies in Education (DSE) as an alternative conceptualization to traditional research within special education. We first unpack many of Morgan et al.'s (2015) assumptions, which are grounded in deficit discourses about children, family structures, economic status, and home cultures. Next, we identify flaws in their research design and methodology. Finally, we elaborate on how, through naming and making visible the workings of ableism and racism, DSE offers a way to counter the deficit discourses and inaccurate abstractions of lived realities upon which Morgan et al.'s (2015) work rests.
Contributor Notes
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Kathleen M. Collins, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Language, Culture and Society and codirector of the Center for Disability Studies in the College of Education at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research program investigates the production of educational (in)equity and deficit positioning at the intersections of literac(-ies), dis/ability, and race.
Beth A. Ferri, Ph.D., is a professor in the School of Education at Syracuse University. Her research focuses primarily on Disability Studies in Education and the intersections of disability, race, and gender.
David J. Connor, Ed.D., is a professor and chairperson of the Special Education Department at Hunter College, City University of New York. His research interests include inclusive education, learning disabilities, and disability studies in education.
Deborah Gallagher, Ph.D., is a professor of special education at the University of Northern Iowa. Her research interests include analysis of the research methodology debates in special education.
Jennifer F. Samson, Ed.D., is an associate professor of Special Education and faculty associate at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, City University of New York. Her research is focused on teacher quality for students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and special education.
All authors contributed equally to this article.
