Investigating Student Teaching Directors’ Definitions of “Teacher” and Paradigms of Disability in Canadian Teacher Education Programs

Authors

  • Laura Sokal University of Winnipeg
  • Debra Woloshyn University of Winnipeg
  • Alina Wilson University of Winnipeg

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v68i1.70328

Abstract

Directors of Student Teaching from teacher preparation programs across Canada were surveyed and then interviewed in follow-up focus groups to determine the opportunities and barriers they perceived during processes of placing pre-service teachers with disabilities into practicum settings. These data are interrogated within three theoretical frameworks about disability—the medical model, the social model, and the critical disability theory—to determine whether decision-making by Directors of Student Teaching reflects a predominant paradigm of disability. Deconstructions of the current concept of “teacher” are presented with reference to these three paradigms of disability.
Key words: Teacher identity, disability theory, equity.

Les directeurs de stages des programmes de formation à l'enseignement de tout le Canada ont été interrogés, puis interviewés dans le cadre de groupes de discussion de suivi, afin de déterminer les possibilités et les obstacles qu'ils perçoivent au cours des processus de placement des enseignants ayant un handicap dans des milieux de stage. Ces données sont étudiées selon trois cadres théoriques sur le handicap - le modèle médical, le modèle social et la théorie critique du handicap - afin de déterminer si la prise de décision des directeurs de stages reflète un paradigme prédominant du handicap. Des déconstructions du concept actuel « d'enseignant » sont présentées en référence à ces trois paradigmes du handicap.
Mots clés: identité de l'enseignant, théorie du handicap, équité

Author Biographies

Laura Sokal, University of Winnipeg

An award-winning teacher, Laura Sokal has published over 70 articles and three edited books about psycho-social issues in schooling, including issues of accommodation, inclusion, and student psychological health and well-being. Her most recent SSHRC-funded research project involves a partnership with a Winnipeg school division, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and the EdCan Network to examine ways to mediate teacher burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. Laura enjoys learning with and from her students, and she is looking forward to being with them again.

Debra Woloshyn, University of Winnipeg

Deb Woloshyn is the Director of Student Teaching in the Faculty of Education at the University of Winnipeg. Deb has held this position for 16 years, where she manages programming for approximately 900 placements in 200 schools in Winnipeg, surrounding areas, and international sites. Her areas of interest include accommodation for students with disabilities, transformative learning in international settings, and Mathematics Education.

Alina Wilson, University of Winnipeg

Alina Wilson is a practicing classroom teacher and a recent graduate of the University of Winnipeg, where she earned degrees in History (2016) and Education (2018). Alina is a current graduate student at the University of Manitoba. This is her fifth publication.

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Published

2022-03-10

How to Cite

Sokal, L., Woloshyn, D., & Wilson, A. (2022). Investigating Student Teaching Directors’ Definitions of “Teacher” and Paradigms of Disability in Canadian Teacher Education Programs. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 68(1), 37–49. https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v68i1.70328

Issue

Vol. 68 No. 1 (2022): Spring

Section

ARTICLES

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