Attaining a Just Future

Disability Studies Examines Curriculum and Transition for Students Labeled with Intellectual Disability

Jessica K. Bacon

• Publisher: Myers Education Press
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9781975509491
• eBook ISBN:
  9781975509507
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Curricula

Attaining a Just Future: Disability Studies Examines Curriculum and Transition for Students Labeled with Intellectual Disability is a critical volume in the area of Disability Studies in Education that investigates current trends in curricular access for 14- to 21-year-old students with intellectual disabilities (ID), offering revelatory insights into how students with ID are understood and taught in U.S. schools. By analyzing the state of curricular access for students with ID through a myriad of perspectives, this book reveals that ideological barriers, educational policies, and neoliberal priorities substantially contribute to ongoing segregation and unequal outcomes for people with ID in U.S. schools and society. It examines how commonly used school curricular practices play a role in sustaining segregation and negative outcomes experienced by people with ID labels.

The book centers the experiences of six young adults with ID labels, who, along with their families, were qualitatively interviewed with the goal of understanding the complexities of curriculum access and future planning from a first-person perspective. In addition, professionals who work with young adults with ID labels were also interviewed, including transition program directors, teachers, child study team members, administrators, a curriculum specialist, a transition advocate and a state-level employee. A mixed-methods survey was disseminated, which received 77 responses from teachers, administrators, and transition specialists regarding their usage and understanding of curriculum for their students. Finally, an analysis of publicly available documents from the websites of five commonly used published curricula targeted to students with significant disabilities was conducted.

The first chapter in the book offers the readers information about the six students centered in this project and then provides contextual policy frameworks, a review of literature, and an overview of the intersectional theoretical approach that guides the analysis throughout the book. Chapter two considers the role that the Least Restrictive Environment policy plays in concretizing tracking in alignment to curricular opportunities for students with ID. Chapter three digs into the kinds of content curricular publishing companies target to high school and transition-aged students with ID, professional beliefs about curriculum for students with ID, and the learning goals students and families have for themselves. Chapter four unpacks the concept of "independence" within special education and how it becomes a justification for funneling students away from academic learning. Chapter five evaluates both segregative and inclusive practices found in 18-21 transition program planning, curricula and programming. Finally, chapter six highlights best-practices, advocacy tactics, and teaching approaches that can lead to improved outcomes for young adults with ID labels.

This book reveals that the curricular choices made on behalf of many young adults with ID are often not aligned with their desires and are often based upon ideologies about intellectual functioning itself, rather than being based on the individual interests, cultural backgrounds, potential, skills, or ambitions of the young person. Ultimately, the book offers educators, administrators, advocates, disabled people, and families tools and ways of thinking that can lead to more just and inclusive futures for transition-aged students with ID labels.

Perfect for courses such as: Foundations of Inclusive Education; Foundations in Curriculum Studies; Special Education and Educational Leadership; Inclusion and Educational Leadership; Special Education Law and Policy; Pedagogy in Secondary Inclusive Education; Disability Studies in Education; Foundations and Philosophies in Inclusive Education; Issues, Policies, and Trends in Inclusive Education; Inclusive Methods for Middle and Secondary Schools

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Series page
• Halftitle page
• Title page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Foreword
• Chapter 1: Theoretical, Research, and Policy Contexts for Understanding Curriculum and Intellectual Disability in the United States
• Chapter 2: Connections Between the Least Restrictive Environment Continuum and Curricular Access
• Chapter 3: Multiple Perspectives on What Students with Intellectual Disabilities Should Spend Time Learning in School
• Chapter 4: The In/dependence Curricular Quandary for Students with Intellectual Disabilities
• Chapter 5: “It’s Not Like They’ve Transitioned to Anywhere”: An Analysis of 18 to 21 Transition Program Planning and Curricula
• Chapter 6: Understandings and Implications for Knowing and Responding to Students with Intellectual Disability Labels in School
• Appendix A: Research Methods
• Appendix B: Curriculum Adaptation Decision-Making Guide: Keeping Expectations and Support High
• Appendix C: Person-Centered Student Information Sheet
• Appendix D: Inclusive Versus Segregative Features of 18 to 21 Transition Programs
• About the Author
• Index