Journal of Special Education and Rehabilitation (Oct 2017)
THE REPRESENTATIONS OF TYPE OF DISABILITY, ETHNICITY AND AGE AND HOW THESE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICIPATION IN TEXTBOOKS
Abstract
Introduction Textbooks matter for an inclusive education. I examined the way in which 30 textbooks in history, religion, civics, and biology represent disability-related issues. Aim: The overall aim is to find out if textbooks represent the type of disability in association with age, ethnicity, and participation. Specifically, this research addresses the question: Are textbooks’ representations of the type of disability, age, and ethnicity associated with participation? By participation I refer to whether textbooks represent people with disabilities as (a) engaged in daily activities located outside of institutionalized residence. Engagement in activities may be indicated by sports, being a wage earner, voting, protesting, spending time with family or friends or (b) only being at their institutionalized residence/flat. Methods: I examined three hypotheses regarding representations of type of disability, ethnicity, and age and how these are associated with participation. I analysed the data using a combination of qualitative coding of the content as well as qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). Results: Although most textbooks do mention disability, people with a disability remain largely invisible, and less than half of the textbooks represent people with disabilities as active participants. Conclusions: First, I demonstrate that physical disability is associated with active participation. Second, I demonstrate that disability is associated with ethnic majority. Third, I demonstrate that the participation of people with disabilities is associated with both young and old age groups.
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