What is anti-ableist teaching?

The Anti-Ableist Teaching Project is a multi-year project that sparked from the relationship between the Johnson Family Foundation and the Department of Learning and Teaching at the University of San Diego who desire to improve teachers’ capacity for working with disabled students. In directing the Johnson Fellows Program, a program designed to support teachers who want to resist ableism at their schools, we have identified a need to provide enhanced resources for challenging ableism.

This project builds from the work of disability studies in education scholars and teachers who provide model lesson plans and professional development materials that new teacher leaders can use. The project also invites teacher leaders to create and share materials of their own to help build a repository that teachers can draw from as they work to include disability studies in their pedagogy and to more broadly create communities that support access and belonging.

“Disability intersects with race, ethnicity, gender, social class, sexual and gender identity, religion, and all other forms of difference. Understanding inclusion and diversity from the perspective of disability studies in education can help teachers facilitate learning environments that respect and honor difference in its many forms."

Dr. Susan Gabel

How can schools become more inclusive?

Disability Studies in Education (DSE) scholars understand that pedagogy informs society’s conceptions of disability. While the State of California mandates the incorporation of disability history (along with LGBTQ history) in K-12 teaching with the Fair Act of 2011, few teacher-friendly resources are available. A number of other states have similar legislation. The curriculum models shared here aim to transform conceptions using Disability Studies in Education (DSE), an asset-based framework. The creation and dissemination of the “Anti-Ableist Teaching” website supports the goal to widely share and encourage new creation of accessible disability curriculum.