Disability Studies in Education (DSE) is a field of academic study concerned with education research and practice related to disability. DSE scholars promote an understanding of disability from a social model of disability perspective to "challenge social, medical, and psychological models of disability as they relate to education". A DSE perspective situates disability within social and political context and is concerned with the civil and human rights of students with disabilities, including issues of equity, access, and inclusion in educational settings, curricula, and activities. DSE emerged as a part of the broader, interdisciplinary Disability Studies movement and as a critique of special education. Special education (SPED) in the United States emerged after the signing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1975, marking the shift in educational rights by explicitly making the refusal of educational access illegal. Over the past few decades, special education has grown into an established academic curriculum and program which aims to enhance individuals with disabilities' performance by focusing on changing their given educational environments and the limitations placed on them to foster growth and opportunities. SPED aims to build a caring society that accepts and celebrates different abilities without stigmatizing individuals with disabilities. Through SPED, students should be able to engage in learning and have opportunities for growth through education each and every day. Though SPED has good intentions for creating learning opportunities for students, there is a constant tension between DSE and SPED, primarily around the idea that disability studies in education should be inclusive of students with and without disabilities in order to best foster awareness and understanding of disability studies. SPED lacks the challenge of the social model of disability which is seen in DSE.
History of DSE
DSE became more prominent around the 1990s when educators became leaders within the Society for Disability Studies (SDS) and research became more visible in the United States (U.S.) disability studies community. The SDS became a place in the U.S. that was labelled as the "clearinghouse of disability studies", and also held conferences and had a journal named, Disability Studies Quarterly. At the forefront of the SDS was three members in the Disability Studies in Education, Phil Ferguson, Susan Gabel, and Susan Peters. In the 1990s, these three individuals were highly active in the disability studies realm, keeping the connection between educational research visible within the disability studies community in the United States. In the late 1990s, DSE became more popular in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Some recognize the expansion and formalization of Disability Studies in education were caused by a small international conference funded by the Spencer Foundation and hosted by Linda Ware. This 1999 conference challenged the way the current ideology had decreased inclusive education and criticized the special education system. Also in 1999, Scot Danforth submitted a proposal titled Ways of Constructing Lives and Disabilities: The Case for Open Inquiry to the national conference of The Association for Persons With Severe Handicaps (TASH). This led to questions being asked about why research is important and then the expansion of what is considered legitimate research in special education journals, conferences, etc. It also led to new ways that ideate a different way of educating students with disabilities. Susan Gabel and Linda Ware insisted on affiliating special education with the academic discipline, Disability Studies. From there, Disability Studies in education strengthened as its own discipline.