Dis/abling a learner diagnosed with autism: The dialectics of learning and development in higher education
Item
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Title
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Dis/abling a learner diagnosed with autism: The dialectics of learning and development in higher education
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:e7afec95f380:12079
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identifier
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12742
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Creator
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Podlucka, Dusana,
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Contributor
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Anna Stetsenko
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Date
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2013
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Developmental psychology | Higher education | activity theory | autism | development | learning | Vygotsky
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Abstract
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This dissertation examines the learning experiences of a young female student diagnosed with autism, referred to as Hannah, in the context of the community college from which she graduated with an associates' degree. The aim of this study is to examine the dialectical relationships between learning, identity development and autism as embedded and grounded in social practices. Drawing on Vygotsky's approach extended by the theory of Transformative Activist Stance (Stetsenko, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013) and Disability Studies, processes of learning, self, and autism were approached in this study as intersecting social practices, that is, as culturally and historically produced and enacted in the activities in the context of community college. Conceptualizing learning as a leading force of development, as a collaborative activity of knowledge production, and as an instrument of identity making, I focused on Hannah's learning experiences to understand her development. The emphasis of the analysis is on the dynamic negotiation of power as Hannah and the individuals who engage with other participants in learning activities position themselves and Hannah by employing various cultural tools (e.g. institutional and teaching practices, societal discourses on disability, autism and learning). In other words, my focus is on how Hannah's socially produced identity emerges in the context of community college, ranging from the position of an agentic active learner with a purposeful life project to the position of a disempowered disabled person. Exploration of these trajectories reveals Hannah's identity and development as a dynamic, interrelated and transformative process, constructed and embedded in collaborative human activities. Hannah's engagement in learning activities and other social practices within the college embody both individual and social transformation, as she changed herself and community practices. Thus, my analysis reveals that Hannah not only changed and developed as a college student and human being, but did so by instigating changes in community practices of the college, including its participants. In a dialectical manner, positioning Hannah as an agentic student and transformative activist within organized learning activities, and full recognition of her equal contribution to community practice by some instructors, promoted Hannah's development and transformation.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
