Empowering Disabled Voices: A Practical Guide for Methodological Shifts in Biology Education Research

Abstract

Biology education research provides important guidance for educators aiming to ensure access for disabled students. However, there is still work to be done in developing similar guidelines for research settings. By using critical frameworks that amplify the voices of people facing multiple forms of marginalization, there is potential to transform current biology education research practices. Many biology education researchers are still in the early stages of understanding critical disability frameworks, such as Disability Critical Race Studies (DisCrit), which consists of seven tenets designed to explore the intersecting experiences of ableism and racism. Our Research Methods Essay uses DisCrit as a model framework and pulls from other related critical disability frameworks to empower disabled voices in biology education research. Drawing from existing scholarship, we discuss how biology education researchers can design, conduct, and share research findings. Additionally, we highlight strategies that biology education scholars can use in their research to support access for participants. We propose the creation and sharing of Access and Equity Maps to help plan-and make public-the steps researchers take to foster access in their research. We close by discussing frequently asked questions researchers may encounter in taking on critical frameworks, such as DisCrit.

FIGURE 1.

Theoretical origins and approximate timeline of DisCrit’s emergence. The figure summarizes the foundational theoretical origins of DisCrit and includes an approximate timeline of when critically-informed, disability-specific theories emerged or gained prominence in the literature. Many of the ideas that would eventually be recognized as Disability Studies and Critical Disability Studies first appeared in scholarship before the 1980s (Vehmas and Watson, 2014; Smagorinsky et al., 2017). The various theories here are presented as stand-alone entities. However, these theories often intersect and draw from one another. Bolded blue outlines indicate foundational theories (squares) and key disability-specific theoretical developments (circles) in the origins of DisCrit. Description.  Figure 1 is a modified timeline diagram. The intent of the figure is to show the foundational theories of Disability Studies, Critical Disability Studies, Disability Studies in Education, and DisCrit. The figure also includes an approximate timeline of when Disability Studies, Critical Disability Studies, Disability Studies in Education and DisCrit emerged. The timeline begins in the 1980s and ends in the 2010s. The figure shows that Disability Studies’ foundational theories are the Medical Model of Disability, Critical Theory, Vygotsky’s Cultural Historical Action Theory, and the Social Model of Disability. The foundational theories for DisCrit are Critical Race Theory, Gift Theory, Black Feminist Theory, and Feminist Theory. The figure also shows that Disability Studies is closely related to Critical Disability Studies. Disability Studies is shown to emerge roughly in the early 1980s, Critical Disability Studies to emerge in the late 1980s and early 1990s. From there, the figure shows Disability Studies in Education emerges in the early 2000s, which led to the emergence of DisCrit in the early 2010s.