About this episode

Federico R. Waitoller discusses the complexities of inclusive education with David J. Connor, exploring its roots, challenges, and the importance of understanding disability as human diversity.

What does inclusive education actually mean? Is it a place, a practice, a political commitment—or an aspiration we may never fully achieve? In the first episode of Season 4 and the opening conversation of DiveIn’s special series on inclusive education, Federico talks with David J. Connor, Professor Emeritus at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and one of the leading scholars in Disability Studies in Education and DisCrit. Connor traces the roots of inclusive education beyond legislation and special education policy to the Civil Rights and Disability Rights movements. He reflects on the emergence of Disability Studies in Education, its complicated relationship with traditional special education, and why he believes disability should be understood as a form of human diversity rather than simply a deficit to be fixed. But this is not a conversation without pushback. Federico challenges Connor with some of the strongest arguments against full inclusion: Does inclusive education actually have a strong empirical base? Can separate schools provide meaningful disability community and collective identity? What about students with complex support…

People in this episode

Host: Federico R. Waitoller

Guest: David J. Connor

Topics covered

• inclusive education
• Disability Studies
• Civil Rights movements
• Disability Rights movements
• special education policy
• human diversity
• empirical research in education

Keywords

• inclusive education
• Disability Studies
• special education
• Civil Rights
• Disability Rights
• empirical research
• disability community
• support needs

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hunter College, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Disability Studies in Education, DisCrit

More episodes of DiveIn: Diving into Special Education's Most Complex and Pressing Debates

• Trailer Season 4 · June 17, 2026 · 4 min
• An old episode to start a new series: Inclusive Education with Maya Kalyanpur · June 17, 2026 · 40 min

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