Understanding the Identities and Practices of Women Teachers with Learning Dis/abilities

This study used a qualitative constructivist grounded theory methodology to investigate the identities and experiences of women teachers with learning disabilities (LD). Participants included 11 current or former K-12 women educators who identified (or self-identified) as having a LD. The researcher conducted intensive individual semi-structured interviews with each of the participants to understand their experiences as women with LDs. Following data collection, constant comparative analysis led the researcher to generate a theory about the experiences of women teachers with LD. This theory includes the importance of an individual’s self-identity and the ways in which they intersect along with the importance of early experiences (family life and education). Women teachers with LD experience the ongoing process of renegotiating experiences and society’s stigma of LDs, and then become ‘a different kind of teacher.’ The results of this study suggest that women teachers with LDs bring a uniqueness into their teaching practice, largely because of their experience as a woman with a LD. Findings from this study indicate the important contribution of women teachers with LDs.

Author

• Massey, Chloe

Language

• English

Date created

• 2024

Type of Work

• Dissertation

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Curriculum & Instruction

Degree

• Ed.D.

Advisor

• Rice, Lisa

Committee Member(s)

• Tate, Patricia
• Ihrig, Karen

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/jq085k80d