Runswick-Cole, K. orcid.org/0000-0001-9658-9718, Douglas, P., Fogg, P. et al. (6 more authors) (2024) “When Father Christmas is the gaslighter”: how special education systems make (m)others ‘mad’. Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies, 18 (4). pp. 475-493. ISSN 1757-6458
Abstract
The article is written with, by, and for (m)others whose children have been labelled as having “special educational needs” (SEN). The term (m)others is used to pay attention to the continued impact of the gendered nature of care for (disabled) children at the level of the individual, but also to recognize gender as a social construct, and the many ways of being a (m)other (Anderson). The broad aim is to explore the ways in which special education systems across the global North construct (m)others of disabled children as “mad.” This discussion is timely given the high levels of conflict between parents/carers and global North special education systems in contemporary times. The article explores “madness” as a mechanism of social control produced in special education systems by paying close attention to “intimate encounters” between (m)others and practitioners that occur day-to-day in (special) education settings. The developing analysis is shaped by the concept of “gaslighting,” which offers a useful framework both for understanding deeply affecting and effecting “intimate encounters” between (m)others and practitioners, and for exposing the operations of power in special education systems. The conclusion reflects on what new understandings of (m)others’ madness have been revealed and how they have the potential to (re)shape practice.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Authors. Except as otherwise noted, this author-accepted version of a journal article published in Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies is made available via the University of Sheffield Research Publications and Copyright Policy under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Keywords: | sociology of gaslighting; mad studies; critical disability studies; (m)others of disabled children; special education needs |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of Education (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 15 Jun 2023 10:10 |
Last Modified: | 07 Nov 2024 15:54 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Liverpool University Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3828/jlcds.2024.37 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:200003 |