This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Reid, D. K. Articles by Weatherly Valle, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Reid, D. K. Articles by Weatherly Valle, J. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Learning Disorders Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Discursive Practice of Learning Disability

Implications for Instruction and Parent—School Relations

Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University

Jan Weatherly Valle

School of Education at the City College of New York

This article serves as an invitation to rethink and to broaden the scope of learning disabilities (LD) research and practice. We begin with 3 assumptions: Education in a representative democracy is inevitably a political enterprise; social justice is everyone's responsibility, but educators have a special role to play; and segregated schooling is neither equal nor equitable. After an analysis of the primary extant discourses, we argue for a more comprehensive and more openly political vision of the LD field, which we think is supported by Disability Studies in Education. Finally, we draw 3 conclusions relevant to our collective work as researchers and educators. First, learning disabilities are not objective fact; they are historically and culturally determined. Second, disability is both a personal and a societal attribute. Finally, learning disabilities are not and have never been immutable. We contend that we are ethically bound to transform educational practices to both welcome and accommodate everybody's children.

Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 37, No. 6, 466-481 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/00222194040370060101


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Ryan Learning Disabilities in Australian Universities: Hidden, Ignored, and Unwelcome J Learn Disabil, October 1, 2007; 40(5): 436 - 442. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E. C. Bouck Lost in Translation?: Educating Secondary Students With Mild Mental Impairment Journal of Disability Policy Studies, January 1, 2007; 18(2): 79 - 87. [Abstract] [PDF]