2016 TASH Conference

Literacy represents a Gateway to Equity across the globe. Yet, as students with intellectual disabilities are increasingly included in general education middle school settings, the expectation for and access to contextual literacy instruction remains severely limited. In this ethnographic study, the literacy culture of two middle school general education social studies teachers was explored. The learning environment and the general education teachers??? perceptions and expectations of the nature of literacy for students with intellectual disabilities in the general education setting were observed over a nine week period through dual theoretical frameworks; the culture of inclusion (Giangreco, Cloninger, Dennis, & Edelman, 1994) and socio-cultural literacy (Barton & Hamilton, 1998). The data gathered are reflective of the literacy practices used with the four students with intellectual disabilities who agreed to participate in the in-depth analyses. The presentation will focus on the primary themes that emerged; socialization for students with intellectual disabilities in general education classes and the immersion in and isolation from literacy practices within the general education social studies literacy culture. Implications for practice will be discussed. By the end of the session, participants will be able to a) discuss the disconnects between general and special education which impede students with intellectual disabilities??? success in an inclusive middle school social studies course, b) identify barriers to literacy access for students with intellectual disabilities in inclusive middle school social studies classes, and c) identify successful strategies to implement toward literacy access for students with intellectual disabilities in inclusive middle school social studies classes.