DisCrit—Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education

This groundbreaking volume brings together major figures in Disability Studies in Education (DSE) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to explore some of today’s most important issues in education. Scholars examine the achievement/opportunity gaps from both historical and contemporary perspectives, as well as the overrepresentation of minority students in special education and the school-to-prison pipeline. Chapters also address school reform and the impact on students based on race, class, and dis/ability and the capacity of law and policy to include (and exclude). Readers will discover how some students are included (and excluded) within schools and society, why some citizens are afforded expanded (or limited) opportunities in life, and who moves up in the world and who is trapped at the “bottom of the well.”

Book Features:

• A unique exploration of the intersections of race, class, and dis/ability.
• New insights into longstanding problems of inequity in American education.
• An examination of the ways in which certain students come to fit into certain categories of dis/ability.
• Creative ways to achieve changes in theory, research, practice, and policy that will promote more socially just education systems.

David J. Connor is professor and chair of the Department of Special Education at Hunter College, CUNY. Beth A. Ferri is professor and coordinator of the doctoral program in special education at Syracuse University, New York. Subini A. Annamma is an assistant professor in special education at the University of Kansas.

"This volume extends an important discourse that critically renders visible the power dynamics that operate at the site of the production of disability among raced populations."

—Teachers College Record

" DisCrit invites all of us to be more alert to, and aware of, how we exist in relationship to the many others working in educational environments."

—H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences

"An excellent resource for practitioners (e.g., teachers, educational leaders) currently in education or related fields (e.g., social work, counseling), as well as graduate-level readers. Highly recommended."

—Choice

"The editors and contributors of DisCrit have changed the game in education. By naming and challenging the politics of ability in education, they have forged new and welcomed ground for the community of critical scholars committed to the larger project of justice in education. This is a must-read for those who witness the realities of urban school systems and are brave enough to do something about it."
—David Stovall, Educational Policy Studies and African-American Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago

"DisCrit: Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education offers those who sincerely seek to better understand the complexity of the intersection of race/ethnicity, dis/ability, social class, and gender a stimulating read that sheds new light on the root of some of our long-standing societal and educational inequities."
—Wanda J. Blanchett, distinguished professor and dean, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education

"With a stunning set of authors, this book provokes outrage and possibility at the rich intersection of critical race, class, and disability studies, refracting back on educational policy and practices, inequities and exclusions but marking also spaces for solidarities. This volume is a must-read for preservice and long-term educators, as the fault lines of race, (dis)ability, and class meet in the belly of educational reform movements and educational justice struggles."
—Michelle Fine, distinguished professor of Critical Psychology and Urban Education, The Graduate Center, CUNY