📝 Episode Description:
Join us as we dive into a transformative understanding of inclusion in education, moving beyond outdated “technical” definitions to center the lived experiences of disabled students. This podcast explores the innovative conceptualization of inclusion as intersubjective experiences associated with feelings of belonging, acceptance, and value.
Drawing from the insights of Justin A. Haegele and Anthony J. Maher, we will discuss:
• Why the traditional focus on physical presence in integrated settings is insufficient for true inclusion, often ignoring students’ actual feelings and satisfactions.
• The dynamic, ephemeral, spatial, and in-flux nature of inclusion, emphasizing that feelings of belonging, acceptance, and value can change moment-to-moment and across different educational spaces, including self-contained settings.
• The critical importance of amplifying the voices of disabled students as experts of their own embodied experiences, shifting away from professional-centric views and challenging power disparities.
• How “feeling a sense of belonging,” “feeling accepted,” and “feeling valued” are crucial components of authentic inclusion, emphasizing reciprocal relationships, non-judgmental environments, and the celebration of individual capabilities.
• The role of ableism and power dynamics in shaping educational spaces and often undermining disabled students’ experiences of inclusion.
• Practical implications for educators, policymakers, and scholars, advocating for participatory research, valuing student knowledge over checklists, and involving disabled students in policy and curriculum decisions to foster truly inclusive environments.
Tune in to reshape your understanding of inclusion and discover how we can actively endeavor to construct learning spaces that genuinely foster feelings of belonging, acceptance, and value among disabled students and their peers.
