Elementary Students’ Conceptualizations of Disability in Written and Illustrated Forms
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22410029 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John Freer (0000-0002-2626-4907, School of Community Studies, St. Clair College, Windsor, ON, Canada, corresponding author), Monique Somma (0000-0003-4910-3396, Brock University), Erica Miklas (University of Windsor), Lillian Scibetta (Brock University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-12 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Educational Research Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-8312 • E-ISSN: 1935-1011 |
| Publisher | American Educational Research Association (AERA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3102/00028312261460584 |
| OpenAlex | W7168178824 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 46 |
Children often develop (mis)understandings of disability at young ages. Forming stereotypes about disability can contribute to ableist attitudes and social exclusion of peers with disabilities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate children’s conceptualizations of disability in written and illustrated forms. Students in grades three to seven from 10 classes ( n = 192) at a midsize inclusive school in Ontario, Canada, were prompted to define the term disability and to draw a character with a disability. As with findings from previous studies, most of the participants’ definitions were rooted in deficit thinking, and students’ drawings tended to be of characters with physical disabilities. Findings less commonly reported with these methods also were identified (e.g., drawings depicting mental health concerns).
Character (mathematics) · Inclusion (mineral) · Learning disability · Mental health · Physical disability · Primary education · Qualitative analysis · Qualitative research · Disability Rights and Representation · Hearing Impairment and Communication · Inclusion and Disability in Education and Sport
Students’ Attitudes towards Peers with Disabilities
The impact of Covid-19 lockdown on child and adolescent mental health
The effects of the Tripartite Intervention on students’ attitudes towards disability
Disability Discourse
Is replication relevant for qualitative research
Mapping Jordanian students’ understanding of disability
Could you hold the door for me? Including disability in diversity
Children's perceptions of their disabled siblings
Children’s developing disability concepts
Limited representation of individuals with disabilities in early childhood classes
Students’ attitudes toward disability
You can lose what you never had
A comparative study of representations about disability in primary school children's drawings
Disability studies as a framework to design disability awareness programs
The conflict within
A picture is worth 1000 words
Children’s conceptions of the word ‘disabled’
Dominant narratives, subjugated knowledges, and the righting of the story of disability in K-12 curricula
Development of children's understandings of physical disabilities and stigmatization in a Japanese cultural context
Non-disabled children’s ideas about disability and disabled people
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Using Drawings and Collages as Data Generation Methods With Children
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |