Dominant narratives, subjugated knowledges, and the righting of the story of disability in K-12 curricula

Abstract

Dominant stories, as upheld through K-12 curricula, are influential in reproducing systems of power and privilege in schools and society. In this article, we suggest that stories of people with disabilities are either missing in K-12 curricula, or told in ways that are highly ableist. We use discourse theory as a frame for considering the role of curricula in reproducing power/knowledge in schools, and promote critical pedagogy as a tool for teaching students to recognize and disrupt the ableism inherent in dominant educational discourses. We provide concrete strategies for infusing counter-narratives and subjugated knowledges into the curriculum where silences or authoritative presences exist. Overall, this article is a call to educators to tackle, head-on, ableist discourse in the curriculum with a goal of promoting liberatory knowledges about disability in schools.