“Indefensible, Illogical, and Unsupported”; Countering Deficit Mythologies about the Potential of Students with Learning Disabilities in Mathematics
Attallah College of Educational Studies, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA
Educ. Sci. 2018, 8(2), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8020072
Received: 28 February 2018
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Revised: 12 April 2018
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Accepted: 12 April 2018
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Published: 17 May 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dispelling Myths about Mathematics)
This paper describes two myths that circulate widely about the potential of students with Learning Disabilities to learn mathematics: (1) that students with Learning Disabilities cannot benefit from inquiry-based instruction in mathematics, and only from explicit instruction; and (2) that students with Learning Disabilities cannot construct their own mathematical strategies and do not benefit from engaging with multiple strategies. In this paper, I will describe how these myths have developed, and identify research that counters these myths. I argue that these myths are the unintended consequences of deficit constructions of students with Learning Disabilities in educational research. Using neurodiversity to frame disability as diversity rather than deficit, I assert that students with Learning Disabilities can learn mathematics to the highest levels, and that these limiting mythologies hold them back.
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Keywords:
mathematics education; disability studies; special education; equity; myths; neurodiversity
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Lambert, R. “Indefensible, Illogical, and Unsupported”; Countering Deficit Mythologies about the Potential of Students with Learning Disabilities in Mathematics. Educ. Sci. 2018, 8, 72. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8020072
AMA Style
Lambert R. “Indefensible, Illogical, and Unsupported”; Countering Deficit Mythologies about the Potential of Students with Learning Disabilities in Mathematics. Education Sciences. 2018; 8(2):72. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8020072
Chicago/Turabian StyleLambert, Rachel. 2018. "“Indefensible, Illogical, and Unsupported”; Countering Deficit Mythologies about the Potential of Students with Learning Disabilities in Mathematics" Education Sciences 8, no. 2: 72. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8020072
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