DEE - Disability and Equity in Education

This course critically explores the historical, philosophical, and scientific foundations of educational and psychological assessment to understand their roles in the social construction of ability and disability and the maintenance of social hierarchies. Historical and contemporary theories and practices of assessment will be considered from positions of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and disability. Assessment and accountability practices embedded in policy will be scrutinized for their impact on particular social groups and institutional cultures. Theories and practices of assessment that promote assumptions of competence, independence, and a respect for the integrity of human diversity will be evaluated to understand fundamental principles. Pre-requisite(s): Admission to NCE Doctoral Program in Teaching and Learning or permission of the instructor. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

Participants in this course will critically examine multiple histories of disability and education. Historical research methods and methodologies will be explored to understand connections between assumptions, values, beliefs, epistemologies, and ethics evident in history and in historical representations. Course participants will engage in historical research to explore histories, social and political contexts, and material practices that inform contemporary practices and policies. Using primary and secondary sources, they will inquire into intertwining histories of disability and education to gain insights, evidence, and rationales to inform more intentional and emancipatory futures. Pre-requisite(s): Admission to NCE Doctoral Program in Teaching and Learning or permission of the instructor. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course in Applied Disability Studies explores disability advocacy through a Disability Studies in Education framework that centers the lived experiences, rights, and agency of disabled people. Students examine historical and contemporary models of advocacy that challenge ableism and advance social and institutional change toward disability justice and inclusion. Using Critical Disability Theory, students analyze collaborative approaches to advocacy that affirm disability as a valued form of human diversity. Through applied projects, students learn to advocate effectively with and for disabled individuals in educational, community, and policy contexts.

This doctoral seminar addresses current and relevant topics related to disability, equity, and education. Participants research, interpret and analyze the social, political, and educational dimensions of disability as it relates to experience, practice, and policy. Topics are researched from multiple standpoints, epistemologies, and theoretical positions providing participants with complex renderings and interpretations. Implications for praxis are formulated. Pre-requisite(s): Admission to NCE Doctoral Program in Teaching and Learning or permission of the instructor. Co-requisite(s): None. 1-12 semester hours

This seminar introduces the interdisciplinary field of disability studies. Foundations, tenets, traditions, and approaches to disability epistemology, ontology, theory, and research are considered, with a focus on the history and practice of their application to education. Developments and movements in the field, both as a whole and in relation to education, are examined. This includes conceptual models, intersectionality, culture, civil rights, disability justice, self-advocacy and representation. Contemporary issues, problems, and debates are explored as they relate to P-21 education and the disability community, with each candidate selecting a topic of interest for deeper research.