ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces teachers to the central ideas in social justice education (SJE), and, drawing from these ideas, the authors propose methods for engaging in critical inquiry about disability and ableism in K–12 classrooms. It discusses the ways in which oppression operates as a restrictive, pervasive, and cumulative process, in which personal bigotry becomes fused with institutional practices. Teachers will learn about the differing concepts of inequality and inequity in educational practices, and about the ways in which power and hegemony operate to uphold ableism. The authors stress the importance of attending to intersectionality of identities. The key premises of critical pedagogy, grounded in constructivist theories of learning, are discussed as they relate to emancipatory and transformative learning. This chapter presents a cogent argument for infusing anti-bias education within K–12 curricula.
