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Department
Graduate School of Education
Description
The field of early childhood special education continues to be dominated by deficit-based perspectives of young disabled children. In contrast, Descriptive Inquiry supports educators to see children as multifaceted and full of strengths, promoting the democratic aim of schooling to nurture individual human flourishing for the good of society. Through a qualitative discourse analysis, we explore how 36 graduate students applied Descriptive Inquiry to their work with young disabled children. We highlight four cases of graduate students and their focus children in this article. Our findings indicate that Descriptive Inquiry can serve an important means of advancing democracy for young disabled children. We recommend that early childhood special education teacher educators consider incorporating Descriptive Inquiry into their programs if they hope to instill democratic dispositions in their teacher candidates.
Publication Date
9-2025
Publisher
Sage Journals
Disciplines
Disability and Equity in Education | Early Childhood Education | Special Education and Teaching | Teacher Education and Professional Development
Recommended Citation
Park, S., & Leeper, R. (2025). Descriptive Inquiry to Advance Democracy in Early Childhood Special Education Teacher Preparation. Sage Journals. https://educate.bankstreet.edu/faculty-staff/60
Included in
Disability and Equity in Education Commons, Early Childhood Education Commons, Special Education and Teaching Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
Comments
Park, S., & Leeper, R. (2025). Descriptive Inquiry to Advance Democracy in Early Childhood Special Education Teacher Preparation. Teacher Education and Special Education, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/08884064251365586