“It’s All in the Brain”?: An Invitation to Analyze the Discursive History of the Israeli Neurological Conceptualization of Learning-Disabilities — Oak Academic Publishing
Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
“It’s All in the Brain”?: An Invitation to Analyze the Discursive History of the Israeli Neurological Conceptualization of Learning-Disabilities
Oranim College of Education, Kiryat Tiv’on, Israel
1 Oranim College of Education, Kiryat Tiv’on, Israel
The intention of this article is to summon up novel thinking about the concept of Learning-Disabilities by scrutinizing the historical and social context in which it is embedded. The first part of the article presents the theoretical underpinnings of the sociological and cultural discourse on the field of disabilities, and reveals the obscurity that surrounds the concept of learning-disabilities through a short historical presentation of the evolution of the discourse and the various critiques that developed from it. In the second part, the researcher examines the definitions accepted in the Israeli disabilities discourse in comparison to that discourse in other countries. In contrast to the united front that the local field presents, it becomes apparent that the global discourse is heterogeneous and is characterized by a variety of opinions and disagreements. In the third part, the researcher examines one idiom which forms the basis for the Israeli disabilities discourse: the etiological one that deals with the connections between the disability and its neurological source. Through a discourse analysis of major texts of the Israeli disabilities field and of interviews with professionals, it becomes clear how central assertions were shaped into “medical and scientific facts”, even when their scientific foundations were quite shaky.
Algozzine, R. (1985). Low Achiever Differentiation: Where’s the Beef? Exceptional Children, 52, 72-75.
Al-Hano, I. A. (2006). Representations of Learning-Disabilities in Saudi Arabian Elementary Schools: A Grounded Theory Study. Ph.D. Dissertation, Wisconsin-Madison University. http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/alhano/Documents/dissertation-1.doc
American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Arazi, Sh. (1972). Learning-Disabilities among Children with Brain Damage—Clinical Diagnosis. Child Development, 1, 10-23. [In Hebrew].
Armstrong, T. (1987). In Their Own Way: Discovering and Encouraging Your Child’s Personal Learning Style. Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc.
Artiles, A. (2004). The End of Innocence: Historiography and Representation in the Discursive Practice of Learning-Disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37, 550-555. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00222194040370061001
Ayalon, H., & Margalit, M. (2004). Concessions in Matriculation Exams to Pupils with Learning-Disabilities: The Role of School Policy. Megamot, 43, 242-265. [In Hebrew].
Balgur, R. (1977). Psychology of Reading: Diagnosis of Disabilities and Correction Methods. Jerusalem: Shoken. [In Hebrew].
Bateman, B. (1974). Educational Implications of Minimal Brain Dysfunction. Reading Teacher, 27, 662-688.
Bazerman, C. (1988). Shaping Written Knowledge: The Genre and Activity of the Experimental Article in Science. Madison,WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Binshtok, O. (2007). A Guide to Parents of Pupils with Learning Disabilities. Israel: Ministry of Education. (In Hebrew)
Brantlinger, E. (1997). Using Ideology: Cases of Nonrecognition of the Politics of Research and Practice in Special Education. Review of Educational Research, 67, 425-459. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/00346543067004425
Bury, M. R. (1986). Social Constructionism and the Development of Medical Sociology. Sociology of Health and Illness, 8, 137-169. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.ep11340129
Chapman, J. W. (1992). Learning-Disabilities in New Zealand: Where Kiwis and Children with LD Can’t Fly. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 25, 362-370. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002221949202500604
Christensen, C. A. (1999). Learning-Disability: Issues of Representation, Power and the Medicalization of School Failure. In R. J. Sternberg, & L. Spear-Swerling (Eds.), Perspectives on Learning-Disabilities: Biological, Cognitive, Contextual (pp. 227-249). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Coles, G. S. (1987). The Learning Mystique: A Critical Look at Learning-Disabilities. New York: Pantheon Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.18.080192.001233
Conrad, P. (1992). Medicalization and Social Control. Annual Review of Sociology, 18, 209-232.
Dudley-Marling, C. (2004). The Social Construction of Learning-Disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37, 482-489. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00222194040370060201
Elkins, J. (2001). Learning-Disabilities in Australia. In D. P. Hallahan, & B. K. Keogh (Eds.), Research and Global Perspectives in Learning-Disabilities (pp.181-196). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Eyal, G., Hart, B., Onculer, E., Oren, N., & Rossi, N. (2010). The Autism Matrix: The Social Origins of the Autism Epidemic. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Fairclough, N. (2003). Analyzing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research. London: Routeledge.
Finlan, T. G. (1994). Learning-Disability: The Imaginary Disease. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
Fletcher, J. M., & Lyon, G. R. (2005). Learning-Disabilities. In B. L. Maria (Ed.), Current Management in Child Neurology (pp. 232-239). Hamilton: BC Decker Inc. http://web.squ.edu.om/med-Lib/MED_CD/E_CDs/CHILD%20NEUROLOGY/docs/ch39.pdf
Forness, S. R., & Kavale, K. A. (2000). What Definitions of Learning-Disability Say and Don’t Say: A Critical Analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33, 239-256. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002221940003300303
Foucault, M. (1967). Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. London: Mentor Books.
Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L. S., Mathes, P. G., Lipsey, M. W., & Roberts, P. H. (2001). Is “Learning-Disabilities” Just a Fancy Term for Low Achievement? A Meta-Analysis of Reading Differences between Low Achievers with and without the Label. Proceedings of the Special Education Program’s LD Initiative Conference, Washington DC, 27-29 August 2001, 737-762.
Gerber, M. M., & Semmel, M. I. (1984). Teacher as Imperfect Test: Reconceptualizing the Referral Process. Educational Psychologist, 19, 137-148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00461528409529290
Gilbert, G. N., & Mulkey, M. (1984). Opening Pandora’s Box: A Sociological Analysis of Scientists’ Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gottlieb, J., Alter, M., Gottlieb, B. W., & Wishner, J. (1994). Special Education in Urban America: It’s Not Justifiable for Many. The Journal of Special Education, 27, 453-465. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002246699402700406
Green, V. A. (2010). Global Perspectives on Learning-Disabilities and Emotional/Behavioral Disorders. Intervention in School and Clinic, 46, 51-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1053451210370784
Gross, A. G. (1990). The Rhetoric of Science. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Haight, S. L., Patriarca, L. A., & Burns, M. K. (2001). A Statewide Analysis of the Eligibility Criteria and Procedures for Determining Learning-Disabilities. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 11, 39-46.
Hallahan, D. P., & Mercer, C. D. (2001). Learning-Disabilities: Historical Perspectives. http://www.nrcld.org/resources/ldsummit/hallahan.html
Hammill, D. D. (1990). On Defining Learning-Disabilities: An Emerging Consensus. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 23, 74-84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002221949002300201
Hedd, S. (1990). Learning-Disabilities—Young and Adults: Parental Expectations and Conflicts in the Family. Master’s Thesis, Tel-Aviv: Tel-Aviv University. (In Hebrew)
Heiman, T. (2000). Learning-Disabilities. Tel-Aviv: The Open University. (In Hebrew)
Katchergin, O. (2012). Between Negative Stigma (Cultural Deprivation) and Positive Stigma (Learning-Disability): The Historical Development of Two Special Education Tracks. Culture Medicine & Psychiatry, 36, 679-711. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11013-012-9281-z
Katchergin, O. (2012). So What Is This Thing Called “Learning-Disability”? A Discussion of the Definition and Its Implications. Dvarim, 5, 67-82. (In Hebrew)
Katchergin, O. (2013). “The Good Parent” and “the Other Parent”: Othering and Social Exclusion in Professional Discourse Regarding Learning-Difficulties. Dvarim, 6, 77-98. (In Hebrew)
Katchergin, O. (2014). “Learning-Disabilities” as a “Black Box”: On the Different Conceptions and Constructions of a Popular Clinical Entity in Israel. Culture Medicine & Psychiatry, 38, 669-699. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11013-014-9398-3
Kavale, K. A., & Forness, S. R. (1985). The Science of Learning-Disabilities. San Diego, CA: College-Hill.
Kavale, K. A., & Forness, S. R. (1995). The Nature of Learning-Disabilities: Critical Elements of Diagnosis and Classification. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Kavale, K. A., & Forness, S. R. (2003). Learning-Disability as a Discipline. In H. L. Swanson, K. R. Harris, & S. Graham (Eds.), Handbook of Learning Disabilities (pp. 76-93). New York: Guilford Press.
Kidron, R. (1972). Remarks Regarding the Paper of Dr. Shifra Arazi “Learning-Disabilities among Children with Brain Damage—Clinical Diagnosis”. Child Development, 1, 24-27. (In Hebrew)
Kidron, R. (1988). Reading, a Diagnostic-Didactic Test. Jerusalem: The Pedagogical Secretariat, The Special Education Department, Ministry of Education and Culture. (In Hebrew)
Latour, B., & Woolgar, S. (1986). Laboratory Life: The Social Construction of Scientific Facts. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Lerner, J. W. (1985). Learning-Disabilities: Theories, Diagnosis, and Teaching Strategies (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Levy, R. (2009). The Unique Child—A Therapeutic Privilege and Challenge: Integrative Psychotherapy for Children with Learning-Disabilities within the Framework of the Psych-Educational Service of the Municipality of Jerusalem. Ashalim: The Association of Planning and Development Services to At-Risk Children, Youth and Their Families. (In Hebrew)
Lynch, M. (1993). Scientific Practice and Ordinary Action: Ethnomethodological and Social Studies of Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lyon, G. R. (1987). Severe Discrepancy: Theoretical, Psychometric, Developmental and Educational Issues. Learning Disabilities Research, 3, 10-11.
Lyon, G. R. (1996). Learning-Disabilities. In E. Marsh, & R. Barkley (Eds.), Child Psychopathology (pp. 390-434). New York: Guilford Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1602494
Lyon, G. R., Fletcher, J. M., Shaywitz, S. E., Shaywitz, B. A., Torgesen, J. K., Wood, F. B., Schulte, A., & Olson, R. (2001). Rethinking Learning-Disabilities. In C. E. Finn Jr., A. J. Rotherham, & C. R. Hokanson Jr. (Eds.), Rethinking Special Education for a New Century (pp. 259-287). Washington DC: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
MacMillan, D. L., & Reschly, D. J. (1998). Overrepresentation of Minority Students: The Case for Greater Specificity or Reconsideration of Variables Examined. The Journal of Special Education, 32, 15-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002246699803200103
MacMillan, D. L., Siperstein, G. M., & Gresham, F. M. (1996). A Challenge to the Viability of Mild Mental Retardation as a Diagnostic Category. Exceptional Children, 62, 356-371.
Mather, N., & Goldstein, S. (2001). Learning-Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors—A Guide to Intervention and Classroom Management. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
McDermott, R., Goldman, S., & Varenne, H. (2006). The Cultural Work of Learning-Disabilities. Educational Researcher, 35, 12-17. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/0013189X035006012
McKnight, R. T. (1982). The Learning-Disability Myth in American Education. Journal of Education, 164, 351-359.
Mercer, C. D., King-Sears, P., & Mercer, A. R. (1990). Learning-Disabilities Definitions and Criteria Used by State Education Departments. Learning Disability Quarterly, 13, 141-152. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1510657
Ministry of Education and Culture (2003). Concessions in Ways of Examinations to Internal Learning-Disabled Examinees. Jerusalem: General Director Circular—Standing Orders 64/4 (2). (In Hebrew)
Oakland, T., Mpofu, E., Gregoire, G., & Faulkner, M. (2007). An Exploration of Learning-Disabilities in Four Countries: Implications for Test Development and Use in Developing Countries. International Journal of Testing, 7, 53-70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15305050709336858
Ong-Dean, C. (2009). Distinguishing Disability: Parents, Privilege, and Special Education. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226630021.001.0001
Opp, G. (2001). Learning-Disabilities in Germany: A Retrospective Analysis, Current Status and Future Trends. In D. P. Hallahan, & B. K. Keogh (Eds.), Research and Global Perspectives in Learning-Disabilities (pp. 217-238). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Peterson, K. M. H., & Shinn, M. R. (2002). Severe Discrepancy Models: Which Best Explains School Identification Practices for Learning-Disabilities? School Psychology Review, 31, 23-33.
Poplin, M. S. (1988). The Reductionistic Fallacy in Learning-Disabilities: Replicating the Past by Reducing the Present. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21, 389-400. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002221948802100702
Prucher, F., & Langfeldt, H. (2002). How German Teachers in Special Education Perceive and Describe Children with a Learning-Disability. International Journal of Development and Education, 49, 399-411. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1034912022000028367
Reid, D. K., & Valle, J. W. (2004). The Discursive Practice of Learning-Disability. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37, 466-481. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00222194040370060101
Sanders, M. (1984). Clinical Assessment of Learning-Problems. Tel Aviv: Ha’Poalim Library. (In Hebrew)
Scriven, M. (1985). Comments on Gene Glass. Paper Presented at the Wingspread National Invitational Conference on Public Policy and the Special Education Task Force of the 1980s. In D. P. Hallahan, J. Kauffman, & J. Lloyd (Eds.), Introduction to Learning-Disabilities (p. 298). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Shapin, S. (1995). Here and Everywhere: Sociology of Scientific Knowledge. Annual Review of Sociology, 21, 289-321. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.21.080195.001445
Sharan, S. H., & Sharan, Y. (1969). Learning-Disabilities and Their Correction. Tel-Aviv: Ha’Poalim Library. (In Hebrew)
Shepard, L., Smith, M. L., & Vojir, C. P. (1983). Characteristics of Pupils Identified as Learning-Disabled. American Educational Research Journal, 20, 309-331. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/00028312020003309
Shesh, R. (1996). Learning-Disabilities: Definition Difficulties, Professional Literature Survey. Jerusalem: Sold Institute. (In Hebrew)
Siegel, E., & Gold, R. (1982). Educating the Learning-Disabled. New York: Macmillan.
Simpson, S. H. (1985). Brain Damage and Learning-Disability. Tel-Aviv: Tel-Aviv Univeristy. (In Hebrew)
Skrtic, T. M. (1999). Learning-Disabilities as Organizational Pathologies. In R. J. Sternberg, & L. Spear-Swerling (Eds.), Perspectives on Learning-Disabilities: Biological, Cognitive, Contextual (pp. 193-226). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Skrtic, T. M. (2005). A Political Economy of Learning-Disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 28, 149-155. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1593616
Sleeter, C. E. (1986). Learning-Disabilities: The Social Construction of a Special Education Category. Exceptional Children, 53, 46-54.
Sleeter, C. E. (1995). Radical Structuralist Perspectives on the Creation and Use of Learning-Disabilities. In T. M. Skrtic (Ed.), Disability and Democracy: Reconstructing Special Education for Postmodernity (pp. 153-165). New York: Teachers College Press.
Spear-Swerling, L., & Sternberg, R. J. (1998). Curing Our “Epidemic” of Learning-Disabilities. Phi Delta Kappan, 79, 397- 401.
Spector, N. (1979). Learning-Disabilities Rehabilitation. Ramat-Gan: Massada. (In Hebrew)
Torgesen, J. K. (2004). Learning-Disabilities: An Historical and Conceptual Overview. In B. Y. L. Wong (Ed.), Learning about Learning-Disabilities (pp. 3-40). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-012762533-1/50004-4
Vaughn, S., & Fuchs, L. S. (2003). Redefining Learning-Disabilities and Inadequate Response to Instruction: The Promise and Potential Problems. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 18, 137-146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1540-5826.00070
Vogel, S. (2001). The Challenge of International Research in Learning-Disabilities. In D. P. Hallahan, & B. K. Keogh (Eds.), Research and Global Perspectives in Learning-Disabilities (pp. 327-334). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Wedell, K. (2001). British Orientations to Specific-Learning-Difficulties. In D. P. Hallahan, & B. K. Keogh (Eds.), Research and Global Perspectives in Learning-Disabilities (pp. 239-254). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Winzer, M. A. (1993). The History of Special Education: From Isolation to Integration. Washington DC: Gallaudet University Press.
Wong, B. Y. L. (2004). Learning about Learning-Disabilities (3rd ed.). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Zola, I. (1978). Medicine as an Institution of Social Control. Sociological Review, 20, 487-504. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.1972.tb00220.x
Zuriff, G. E. (2007). The Myths of Learning-Disabilities. In R. Curren (Ed.), Philosophy of Education: An Anthology (pp. 291-297). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.