Disability Studies in Education and Justice-Oriented Teacher Preparation: Understanding the Barriers and Possibilities of Integrating Critical Visions of Disability

ABSTRACT Our self-study examines our integration of concepts from the field of Disability Studies in Education (DSE) into our introductory special education and educational foundations courses in two different accredited teacher preparation programs. Using narratives and shared dialogues about our curricular deliberations, we explored the barriers and possibilities of bringing critical visions of disability into the dominant teacher education curriculum. While barriers such as our positioning as contingent faculty and graduate students hindered our adaptation of the “official” curriculum of our programs, we found that such changes afforded important possibilities for justice-oriented teacher preparation. We discuss our realization of DSE as the “null curriculum” in our programs and the need to break away from the curricular status quo in our courses. Our conclusions explore how the integration of DSE informed concepts generated unique opportunities for exploring social justice concepts with the next generation of teachers.