Beyond culture as group traits: Future learning disabilities ontology, epistemology and inquiry on research knowledge use

Alfredo Artiles, Kathleen King Thorius, Aydin Bal, Rebecca Neal, Federico R. Waitoller, David Hernandez-Saca

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

The construct of culture has been largely invisible in the research and long-standing debates in the learning disabilities (LD) field, such as those pertaining to the definition of LD and how research knowledge is used in local settings. When used, the idea of culture tends to be defined as unrelated to LD and studied as restricted to individual/group traits. We challenge the culture-LD dichotomy and the limited conception of culture used in this knowledge base. For this purpose, we make the case for a cultural model of learning that can inform scholarship about the nature of LD, and we propose a culturebased model for the study of research knowledge use in professional practices. Moreover, we offer a third perspective on culture to study the strategies that the LD research community might be using to demarcate and maintain a cultureless paradigm of LD. Our discussion offers potentially rich opportunities for a culturally minded and reflexive stance in the LD field that is urgently needed in our increasingly diverse society.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)167-179
Number of pages13
JournalLearning Disability Quarterly
Volume34
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2011

Keywords

  • Culture
  • Future research
  • Learning disabilities

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • General Health Professions
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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