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Teaching and Teacher Education 52 (2015) 56e65

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Teaching and Teacher Education

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Does physical disability affect the construction of professionalidentity? Narratives of student teachers with physical disabilities*

Nurit DvirThe Kibbutzim College of Education, The School of Professional Development in Mofet Institute, Israel

h i g h l i g h t s

� This article examines the construction of personal-professional identities among student teachers with physical disabilities.� Based on their life stories, identity formation includes exclusion; a turning point; and professional self-efficacy.� Student teachers with disabilities can contribute to the school system and teacher training.

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 5 April 2015Received in revised form25 August 2015Accepted 4 September 2015Available online xxx

Keywords:Life storiesStudent teachers with physical disabilitiesProfessional identity constructionInclusion/exclusion

* There is a lot to be learned from investigationsschool that could be used to inform policy and practiused life history to explore the inclusion in mainstrevarious kinds of special need could yield informationnot provide: information that could help individual splan and work more effectively in this area and informand national policy.

E-mail address: nurit.dvir@smkb.ac.il.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.09.0010742-051X/© 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

a b s t r a c t

This article uses case studies of student teachers with physical disabilities to examine their attitudestoward teaching students with disabilities, and the construction of their professional identity. Narrativeanalysis of their life stories shows a process of identity formation that begins with a sense of failure andexclusion early in life, continues through a turning point, and concludes with a sense of professional self-efficacy and ability to empower their students, whether with or without disabilities. The article alsohighlights the unique contribution of student teachers with physical disabilities to their colleagues,teacher-training institutions, and the professional community of educators.

© 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction

The aim of this article is twofold: to explore the views and ideasof student teachers with disabilities regarding the inclusion ofdisabled students in the school/classroom context, and to addressways in which student teachers with physical disabilities constructtheir personal-professional identity, as reflected in their life stories.Three such narratives will be studied, involving different physicalconditions: a disability of the leg, deafness, and scoliosis. The pur-pose of the article is to examine the formative experiences of theparticipants as a result of their physical disability, and how these

of how students experiencece. For instance, a study thatam schools of students withthat other approaches wouldchools, parents and teachersation that could inform local

experiences shaped their professional identity. The article will alsofocus on the “added value” of student teachers with disabilities inteacher-training institutions and as future teachers in the schoolsystem.

1.1. Literature review

In recent decades, the notion of inclusion has gained increasingmomentum, with diversity issues challenging school systems inmulticultural societies around the world. To address these con-cerns, school systems have established various policy guidelines oninclusion of students with diverse needs and abilities that teachersand lecturers are required to implement in their curricula andpractices (Crul & Holdaway, 2009; Leeman & Reid, 2006;Ramaekers, 2010; Sang-Hwan, 2011; Vogel & Sharoni, 2009).

Gal, Schreur, and Engel-Yeger (2010) have identified child-basedfactors (i.e., physical, cognitive, or emotional limitations) as well asenvironmental factors (attitudinal, architectural, administrative,and programmatic) that can challenge the success of inclusion.These elements are reflected in every aspect of teaching (goals,

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learning materials, didactics, and assessment), and form part of theinclusion policy known as Universal Design for Learning (UDL),which has been implemented in several countries (Spencer, 2011).But despite government mandates (in the U.S., for example) toeducate students in the least restrictive environment, teacherscontinue to have mixed feelings about their own preparedness toeducate students with disabilities in a general education setting(Taylor & Ringlaben, 2012). It has been found that implementinginclusion with (physically and otherwise) “different” students isdependent on teachers' professional identity as shaped by their lifeexperiences (Woodcock, 2013) and formed through their narrativesabout themselves (Connelly & Clandinin, 2000). Teachers' profes-sional identity has been described as “standing at the core of theteaching profession” (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009, p. 178), aframework through which they develop their self-perceptions,values, attitudes, practices, educational approaches and discourse.As such, the narratives that emerge from their experiences of in-clusion or exclusion (or of disability) have a decisive effect on theirperceptions and practices with regard to inclusion of students withdifferences or disabilities. For example, teachers who have experi-enced exclusion of any kind as members of a minority group, orthose from first- or second-generation immigrant families, aremore willing to teach children from different cultures and displaygreater empathy and commitment toward them (Crul & Holdaway,2009). Further, they tend to encourage greater involvement inlearning and to adopt multicultural educational methods in theirclassrooms when minority students come from an ethnic back-ground similar to their own (Leeman & Reid, 2006). Similarly,teachers who have experienced exclusion as a result of physicaldifference show empathy, sensitivity, and a desire to embrace theneeds of children with physical and/or learning disabilities. Theyfeel capable of integrating them socially, emotionally, and scho-lastically (Burns & Bell, 2010; Gal, Schreur, & Engel-Yeger, 2010;Vogel & Sharoni, 2009). Likewise, teachers who have visual im-pairments, as compared with those who do not, feel that theypossess unique strategies andmethods that can help teach studentswith visual impairments while also seeing themselves as rolemodels who can empower their students (Lewis, Corn, Erin, &Holbrook, 2003).

The attitude of “normative” teachers without physical disabil-ities to special-needs students is also influenced by the teachers'past encounters with significant figures with special needs. In their2010 study, Gal, Schreur, and Engel-Yeger found three categories ofsuch figures: (a) children with disabilities in their immediateenvironment during their formative years, (b) friends with dis-abilities, and (c) family members with disabilities. Teachers whohad known children with disabilities in close proximity showedmixed attitudes: on the one hand, they indicated less worry abouttheir health and their perceived tendency to “give up” than didteachers who had had no close contact with such children; yet onthe other, they stated that children with disabilities were lesssuccessful than “typical” children. Teachers who had friends withdisabilities in their immediate environment showed a significantlymore positive attitude than those without such friends. However,teachers with family members with disabilities in close proximitydid not differ significantly in their attitudes from those who did nothave disabled family members, though the former group expressedgreater awareness of the need for accommodation of children withdisabilities.

According to Block & Obrusnikova (2007), attitudinal barriersare at the root of all environmental obstacles, and are the mostdifficult to change. These are reflected in misconceptions, stereo-types, stigmatization, fear of the unknown, resistance, lack ofclarity regarding the rights and opportunities of the disabled, andisolation of children with disabilities.

With respect to teachers' attitudes to difference, they reportedmore positive feelings toward students with social or physicallimitations than those who were academically or behaviorallychallenged. More specifically, teachers were more receptive toincluding students with sensory and physical impairments thanthose with other disabilities (Woodcock, 2013).

At the same time, it was found that students with disabilities areperceived much less favorably by longtime teachers who arewithout disabilities themselves. Such students make them un-comfortable, and are seen as slow, loud, and less outgoing, but alsoas vulnerable individuals who require protection, warmth, andconcern (Gal et al., 2010; Hutzler, 2003). Everhart (2009) found thatmany student teachers in the U.S. have little or no experience inworking with students with special needs, and as a result feelinadequately prepared for their future classrooms. This limitedexposure and preparation increases their anxiety and fear of stu-dents with disabilities. Woodcock and Vialle (2011) also cite lack ofexperience as one of the reasons for negative opinions towardlearning-disabled students among student teachers in elementaryschools in Australia, with a tendency to see such students as lackingacademic competence in comparison with “normative” students.Such attitudes are even more pronounced among student teachersin secondary schools (Woodcock, 2013). But as shown by Taylor andRinglaben (2012), student teachers who have been trained to workwith “different” students develop a more positive attitude to in-clusion and are more likely to adjust their teaching and curriculumto meet the individual needs of their students. They also attest thatthey have the skills, professional confidence, and knowledge towork with special-needs students. The narratives of studentteachers in a course on teaching in multicultural classrooms simi-larly demonstrate the tools they have acquired to adapt theirteaching to the diverse needs of their students as well as theirability to create an atmosphere in the classroom that respects dif-ferences (Kang & Hyatt, 2010).

Nonetheless, it was found that positive attitudes toward stu-dents in diverse classrooms are contingent on their physical orcognitive limitations not holding back the progress of the otherstudents. Student teachers noted the scholastic, social, and personalbenefits of inclusion along with their fears of disciplinary problemsand difficulties adapting the curriculum (Kodish, Kulinna, Martin,Pangrazi, & Darst, 2006; Konza, 2008; Martin & Kudl�a�cek, 2010;Nonis & Jernice, 2011; Sharma, Forlin, & Loreman, 2008).

To summarize, the literature indicates that perceptions ofteachers and student teachers regarding students with disabilitiesare influenced by several factors: their own experiences of inclu-sion or exclusion, and those of people close to them; ideologies,stereotypes, and social constructs regarding difference; and thequality of the diversity education they receive. Yet despite theabundant research in this area, few studies have been conducted onattitudes toward difference among student teachers who them-selves have physical disabilities. The purpose of the present study isto expand the professional knowledge in the field of diversity ed-ucation, in particular regarding student teachers who themselveshave physical disabilities, by exploring their attitudes on inclusionof students with disabilities, and examining the ways in whichstudent teachers with physical limitations construct their profes-sional identity with respect to inclusion of disabled students. Theteachers' personal experiences of exclusion in childhood are high-lighted, along with critical turning points in their lives.

2. Methodology

2.1. Research method

This study employs a narrative inquiry approach based on three

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life stories. In his theory of the “narrative turn,” Bruner (1987)emphasized that identity is constructed subjectively from themeaning that individuals assign to their reality. Based on Erikson'swork, Baddeley and Singer (2007) suggested a tapestry of personal(biological, psychological), social-cultural, and professional identi-ties that change and develop throughout one's lifetime. Themeaning ascribed to one's physical-biological identity is formed inmore than one context: At the personal level, body image is influ-enced by visual and sensory-motor self-perception, attitudes to-ward the bodies of others, attitudes of meaningful figures to theindividual's body and disabilities, and formative life experiences(Hancock, 2009; Spector-Mersel, 2010; Yair, 2009). On a broaderlevel, social and cultural embodimentdwhich is a product of powerrelations that change over time and from one culture to anoth-erdaffects the perceptions of outward appearance, beauty, andbody in the society where the individual grows up, definingnormalcy, difference, and attractiveness (Lindblom & Ziemke,2007).

Narrative research is relevant to this study for several reasons:First, in recent years, there has been growing recognition of thecontribution of life-stories research to the study of professionalidentity (Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004). Second, the essentialquality of narratives is not their factualitydthat is, the actual his-torical events they recountdbut their role in the process of identityconstruction and transformation, in exploring beliefs, conceptions,professional goals, and the best ways to accomplish them (Chan,2012). This article will therefore be addressing the life stories ofpeople with physical disabilities to better understand their unique“physical disability identity” and its formation.

2.2. Study population

This article is based on the life stories of three student teacherswith physical limitations: Michal (all pseudonyms) is a studentteacher in an elementary school, who has a disability of the leg;Shai, who is deaf, is a student teacher training to work with stu-dents with disabilities; and Anna is a student teacher in a disabilitystudies program, who has scoliosis.

2.3. Data collection

The three participants were students at a teacher-training col-lege in Israel for both regular and special-education settings. Aspart of a Qualitative Research Methods course, they were asked towrite their life stories in a professional context, relating to theirchoice of teaching as a profession. The story was written in stages,and went through several drafts until its final form.

2.4. Narrative analysis and interpretation

Qualitative narrative analysis was employed, based on theinterpretive (hermeneutic) approach (Josselson, 2006) and a the-matic, holistic examination of content and structure (Lieblich,1998). The analysis began with repeated readings of the stories,and the identification and extraction of four major recurring ele-ments: experiences of exclusion during childhood based on phys-ical difference; a significant turning point that influenced, orstemmed from, the decision to go into teaching; professionalempowerment; and construction of an inclusive educationalapproach. Though each individual is unique, the focus of thenarrative analysis was to understand not only the experiences thatdistinguished each story but also the common threads (Josselson,2006). The narratives were coded by theme, reflexive interpreta-tion (based on the author's life experiences as the daughter of aphysically disabled mother-teacher), restructuring of reality, and

theoretical conceptualization. The structural analysis of the storiesfocused on an introduction, “plot” development, and shaping of thecharacters.

2.5. Ethical considerations

A year after the course was completed and grades wereassigned, the students were asked to submit their life stories forresearch purposes and publication. In that call it was explainedboth the proposed research and the implications of participation init (HREC, 2007, p. 16). Twelve different stories were received, fromwhich three were chosen that dealt with the identity of studentswith physical disabilities.

A range of relationships between participants and researchersmay develop as a result of the duration and nature of the interac-tion in qualitative research (HREC, 2007, p. 25). In this research, theparticipants read this article, reacted to it, and gave their writtenapproval for the final version of their life stories (HREC, 2007, p. 26),with the assurance that ethical principles of research would beupheld, including anonymity and the removal of any identifyinginformation (HREC, 2007, p. 27). In this way, they were givencontrol over the final product, and any content they felt uncom-fortable with was altered or deleted. This collaboration wasimportant for maintaining the integrity of the narratives, ensuringthat they were a reflection of the participants' voices.

3. Findings

The findings were divided into three sections based on ananalysis of the participants' experiences: (a) past exclusion basedon physical difference, (b) a significant turning point, and (c) con-struction of an educational approach to difference.

3.1. Past exclusion based on physical difference

The life story of each of the three students was marked byexclusion as a result of their physical disability. These feelingsaffected the course of their lives.

Born deaf, Shai recounts with obvious pain the experiences ofhis childhood:

When I was little, I didn't have deaf friends living nearby or inmy neighborhood. I spent time only with my family or walkingthrough the fields. Once a month, a classmate who was deafwould sleep over from Friday to Sunday …. Most days, I had toread a book or play games at home, or play by myself outsidewith a ball and imagine that I had “friends” around.

Shai felt lonely as a child, and longed for the company of otherchildren. His social interactions were very limited, involving onlyone deaf friend. With this friend, he experienced a sense ofbelonging, and felt that he was “like” him. But when he tested hisdeaf identity against that of a group of hearing children, his physicallimitation excluded him, turning him against his will into someonewho did not belong:

On the Sabbath, I saw a bunch of children dressed in khaki“uniforms”walking in a certain direction, and then coming backin the evening with their clothes dirty, and it piqued my curi-osity. I wanted to be a Scout like them.

The difference between him and the hearing children stands outin his description of the Scouts uniform, which symbolized hisexclusion from the rituals and activities shared by other children.

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Forming friendships and playing with hearing children was, forShai, a “mission impossible,” due also to his mother's fears:

My mother told me that it was dangerous because of theviolence, and it was only for hearing kids, and that it would behard for me to fit in there. I gave up on the idea, and wanted tojoin a karate club instead.

His mother's need to protect him made it difficult for him toform ties with hearing children. She may have feared that he wouldbe hurt by them whether physically or emotionally. Dunn andBurcaw (2013) study on the social adjustment of deaf andhearing-impaired children found that they feel confident amongother deaf children but experience loneliness and exclusion in thecompany of hearing children, since children tend to connect withothers like them. Shai blames himself for his isolation and exclu-sion, but at the same time holds his mother responsible for hissocial situation. Accusations of this type are typical of the first stageof identity formation in individuals with physical disabilities,referred to by Gibson (2006) as “passive awareness.”

Shai is aware of his difficulty communicating, and does notblame hearing society: “Hearing people can't really understand myfeelings and thoughts, so I prefer to be among deaf or hearing-impaired people.” It emerges from his account that the exclusionof the physically different takes place not only at the micro level(the physical limitation) but also at the macro level (membership ina separate culture, in this case the deaf culture). At the same time,hearing people, who are the dominant, normative group, areinfluenced by the medical model with its attitudes toward the body(Lindblom & Ziemke, 2007). Their understanding of deafness oftendeters them from including, or becoming close to, a deaf or hearing-impaired person, since communication with him is impractical orcumbersome. The power relations between hearing individuals andthe hearing impaired are expressed in the form of exclusion, stig-matization, and alienation. Such behavior reflects an unwillingnessto take responsibility for accepting those who are physicallydifferent, and underscores the message that the responsibility forintegrating into society lies with the individual with disabilities(Block & Obrusnikova, 2007; Parasuram, 2006).

Similar experiences emerge from the story of Michal, who has adisability of the leg. Her story, which she titled “The Girl With theCane,” opens with a passage from the Hebrew song “Barba'aba,”which talks about a strange, ridiculed, unpopular “creature,”attesting to her poor self-image. Later on in her story, she describesa traumatic experience that she underwent at the age of ten, whichled to her disability and changed her life:

I was a ten-year-old whowent into a simple operation onmy legas an ordinary girl and came out a deformed, “ruined” personwith a short leg, a huge shoe and a cane, relearning how towalk,and waddling like a duck.

Michal defines herself in terms of her physical disability, seeingherself as a duck. She observes herself through her body, comparingherself to “normal” children. The meaning that she ascribes to herentire life is focused on her injury and the narrow perspective ofher limitations. Her entire being is reduced to her perception of herdisability, to which she attaches social and emotional meaning:

I overheard some kids frommy class talking about how our classalways learns on the ground floor, and it's really a bummer thatthe teachers arrive so quickly, right after the bell. And I thoughttomyself: It must be because of me. They know it's my fault, andthey curse me to themselves.

She blames the school for her social difficulties. From herperspective, the means of access provided to adapt to her physicaldisability only made things harder for her socially. Her descriptionsuggests that the school adopted a humanistic educationalapproach, according to which it is the responsibility of society (inthis case, the school) to include people with disabilities and limi-tations as whole individuals, and to develop and offer access toservices so that they can maximize their potential (Spencer, 2011).But interestingly, she feels that this approach, and the accessibilityprovided to her, actually magnified her disability in her own eyesand those of the people around her. This raises another point,inasmuch as the school is expected to offer a solution to childrenwith physical disabilities and to create an environment withoutobstacles that limit their movement (during recess, dancing, classtrips, etc.). Inclusion aims to provide full access to schools and fa-cilities, and equal opportunities for all students, regardless of theirlevel of ability or disability, together in one educational environ-ment, while meeting the needs of each individual (Leyser, 2011;Reiter & Schalock, 2008).

Michal attempts to cope with these feelings in an inner dialoguethat she conducts with herself, during which she imagines herselfas “normative” and as someone who can alter her disabilities:

In gym class, I really wanted to be like Forrest Gump, who wasborn with a crooked spine and walked with a “bridge” on hislegs from a young age, and in the end, while running from theschool bullies, broke the brace and didn't have to wear itanymore.

Michal's physical disability stands out even more than usualduring gym class, and she imagines herself as Forrest Gump, who,despite his crooked spine and low IQ, integrated into a regularschool. Her flights of fancy serve as an escape of sorts from a painfulreality. But her inner conflict, which arises from the clash betweenimagination and reality, leaves her hurting due to her differencefrom the other students.

Michal also has difficulty reconciling herself to her limitations inencounters with friends outside of school: “At class parties, I alwaysfelt like ‘the onewith the cane’ and the special shoes with the raisedsole, whose friends took turns staying on the side with her becauseshe couldn't dance.” Coping with her disability was difficult forMichal. She tends to blame not only the school for her sense ofexclusion but also her friends, in whose company she felt different.She recounts that she was hurt when she heard them talking abouther, and at times she understood things that were not actually said,as a result of her own feelings. From this perspective, it was difficultfor her to accept the friendly gesture when they stood by her side atparties so that she would not feel alone and different. She found ithard to feel the embrace of her friends due to her difficultyaccepting herself as different. The major emphasis in her words ison her limitations and difficulties with movement and dancing.While she did try to integrate with the “normal” children, inpractice she invested the bulk of her energies in “running awayfrom herself” and in efforts to deny her different-ness: “I alwaystried to show that I could do everything like everyone else, despitethe fact that it was not always easy, or even possible …. I wasted alot of energy on being like everyone…”Herwords contain echoes ofthe medical model, which places responsibility on the person withdisabilities to act “normatively” despite his or her physical state; yetat the same time, her story embodies the humanistic approach,which stems from the overt and covert ideologies concerning dis-abilities that were prevalent in the society and school systemwhereshe grew up (Spector-Mersel, 2010).

Her social and emotional difficulties are a salient aspect of her

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story:

Despite all those attempts [to include her], I did feel different,like someone who messes up the neat impression of cute,healthy children, athletes and hikers, “beautiful Israelis” whocan do anything and for whom the sky's the limit. In their eyes,and in my own, I was always “Barba'aba” whom they made funof because of his strange appearance, and whom they felt sorryfor.

Michal describes how difficult the experience of being differentwas for her, and how much her personal and social identity wasshaped by her bodily self-perception, already during childhood. Atthat point in her life, she focused on her disability and her physicallimitations, which affected her social ties. She found it hard torecognize her own uniqueness and strengths (as posited by thehumanistic approach), and discounted the possibility that she hadsomething to offer to others, and that she could be as “good” as theywere, or even better. Her efforts to be like them came from a placeof weakness, of struggle with/about herself, and not just in relationto others.

Like many adolescent girls, Michal was troubled by questions ofbody image and identity (Clay, Vignoles, & Dittmar, 2005), and waspreoccupied with outward appearances, body size, body bound-aries, and her on limitations. Her bodily identity is created, andfrequently changed, in accordancewith her psychological strengthsand the influence of collective social and cultural forces (Lindblom& Ziemke, 2007).

Her experience was similar to that of Anna, who underwent anoperation during adolescence for scoliosis. Early in her life story,she writes:

I've askedmyself more than once:What led me to decide to be aspecial education teacher? To answer this question, I wouldhave to go back in time (about ten years) and try to see where itall began. At age 17, I was found to have severe scoliosis thatrequired an urgent operation and several months of rehabilita-tion. Up until the moment that they diagnosed me with scoli-osis, I was a regular girl, a dancer, an athlete, someone flexible.Despite the hump that, in hindsight, stood out, I didn't notice it,and didn't feel abnormal. But theminute they diagnosedme and“labeled” me, I began to feel different.

Anna (training toworkwith students with disabilities) identifiesan initial turning point in her life, when scoliosis was discovered inher back and she needed an operation. Her life changed; instead ofa vibrant young woman, an athlete, a dancer, she was transformedinto a girl with disabilities. The scoliosis affected her self-image:

I understood that from now on I would be a different person.From that moment, the path that I had planned for my life wasgoing to change. I wasn't drafted into the army like all my girl-friends. My sense of self-worth began to deteriorate, and alongwith it, came depression. After the operation, I hated every partof my body that had changed as a result. True, I got up every dayfor school, and outwardly, everything looked great. The opera-tion had been a success, and now I could get back to life as usual.But when I returned home, I closed myself up in my room andwallowed in self-pity, asking myself: What did I do to deservethis? Every passing glance in the mirror was accompanied byweeping. Time passed, and the depression remained.

Like the other study participants, Anna describes loneliness,depression, damage to her body image, which in turn harmed her

self-perception. She felt that her world had been destroyed, withthe change in her body shaping her life as a disabled person. Shetried to carry on as usual, but in fact cut herself off from her peers,became depressed, and descended into self-condemnation.

The three story tellers recount similar experiences related totheir body image that occurred between childhood and adoles-cence and had sweeping effects on their lives. All three viewed theirentire identity through their physical being, their limitations andweaknesses, and found it hard to attachmeaning to other aspects oftheir identity. They blamed themselves, or their surroundings(school, society, or family members), for their situation.

3.2. Significant turning point

The turning point in their life stories stands in contrast to theharsh feelings that the narrators experienced in the past. For eachof them, this change took place at a different point in their lives (insome cases, prior to choosing teaching, and in others, following thedecision). It is highly significant to them, but is described only inbrief.

Shai's turning point emerged from a recognition of the strengthsthat he does have despite his limitations:

I used to not have the tools to obtain information, and I wasdependent on others to provide me with it. So I always made aneffort to integrate into hearing society. I hadmoments of conflictbetween the desire to be independent and the dependence onhearing people for information. By contrast, today I am able tofind information on the Internet. When I get most of my owninformation, I have the ability to decide what's good for me.

The shift depicted by Shai was made possible, in his view, bytechnological developments and increased access to information,which encouraged him to reexamine his connections with thosearound him. This process was accompanied by inner conflictaround his dependence-independence in relation to others. Theinformation he received, and the exposure to new conceptsregarding his disability, enabled him to interpret his reality in morecomplex ways. The change grew out of his inner strength, and therealization of his independence and ability to be the master of hisfatedto run his own life and make decisions in an autonomousfashion, without depending on hearing individuals. The conflictbetween dependence and independence that Shai felt as a childwith disabilities played an important role in constructing hisidentity as a deaf person. In the course of this process, he realizedthat he could not change his physical limitations, but the ways ofdealing with the consequences of his disability were up to him. Themoment that he ceased blaming those around him for his fate (hismother, deaf children, hearing children), he managed to free him-self of his dependence on others and to understand that he is hisown person. The power to be who he chooses to be helped him tosee his relations with the hearing world in a new light, and torecreate his identity:

My view of hearing people is now grounded on reciprocity,partnership, mutuality. Not being dependent as in the past, andnot conductingmy life out of lack of choice. This already changesthe balance of power vis-�a-vis hearing people.

The internal process that Shai underwent influenced his inter-personal relations. His turning point was his acknowledgment andacceptance of himself as disabled. He is aware of the power re-lations in society, and positions himself as someone with powerwho can give and receive based on a reciprocal relationship with

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his surroundings.A similar insight emerges from Michal's story, in which she re-

fers to a turning point that she experienced in adolescence, prior toher decision to become a teacher. She alludes to an “inner journey,”but does not go into detail about the process. It can be understoodthat the shift occurred when she recognized her own innerstrengths:

At the place where I'm at emotionally and socially, I don't feeldifferent from other people, and I don't make allowances formyself because I'm disabled, nor do the people around me. Thechange took place when I came to the understanding thatphysical disability does not make the person, and that in mostcases I can do exactlywhat a healthy person can do, and can helpothers no lessdand perhaps moredthan they can help me.

Michal's turning point came when she made peace with herlimitations, accepted herself as she is, and learned to maximize herstrengths. As she asserts, her discovery of her own sources ofstrength, and of new insights concerning her bodily difference anddifference in general, boosted her self-esteem. The change enabledher to rebuild her identity and, instead of focusing solely on herphysical limitations, to recognize her unique skills and abilities anddraw upon them to better integrate in society. Nonetheless, theterm “healthy person” stands out in Michal's narrative as a reflec-tion of the prevailing perceptions of beauty and physical health,which serve as the macro context of the stories (Spector-Mersel,2010). Despite the changes that have taken place in recent yearsin society's views on accepting difference, attitudes of exclusionand the hegemony of dominant groups still exist.

In Anna's story as well, the turning point involved testing herlimitations in relation to “others”dexcept that in her case, theirdisabilities were greater than hers:

I wasn't drafted like all my girlfriends because of my disability,but I served in the army as a volunteer for one year. On my firstday, I got to the place where 100 volunteers from around thecountry were gathered. They included deaf people, disabled,amputees, people with deformities, and other kinds of handi-caps. I sat in the room and looked at everyone who came in andasked myself: ‘What am I doing here? How am I, a normal girl,connected with all these handicapped people?’ This was aturning point in my life. I remember that I decided that day thatinstead of letting my disability bring me down, make memiserable, and cause me to feel abnormal or limited, I wouldallow my disability to be part of me and to feel that this is whatmakes me special and strengthens me…

Another turning point in my life came after the army, when Idecided to study special education. I sat down with myself andthought about my future. At that point, I understood that bychoosing teaching as a profession, I could channel my disabilityin a positive, empowering, evolving way. Today I understandthat I did this out of strength and a sense of self-efficacy, andthat it was important to me to convey this message to childrenwith disabilities.

The encounter with other disabled people caused Anna toobserve her body in relation to their physical disabilities. Like theothers study participants, Anna too decided to take responsibilityfor her life and steer herself in a positive direction where she canrealize her strengths and serve as a meaningful model for others.From her perspective, teaching is a profession that can influencethe lives of children with disabilities.

In all three stories, it is evident that the turning point in thespeakers' lives was made possible due to an “awakening” that theyexperienced which spurred them to take responsibility for theirlives and relationships. Gibson (2006) refers to the second stage ofidentity formation in individuals with disabilities as “realization.” Itis the result of a defining moment in which they recreatethemselves.

This theme of a turning point marks the structure and “plot” ofall three stories, which include descriptions of events both “before”and “after” the moment of change. The shift is presented followinga description of exclusion and of internal and interpersonal pro-cesses that they experienced during a particular period in theirlives. Such episodes can constitute opportunities for self-discoveryand personal transformation. Yair (2009) described “key experi-ences” that actors subjectively define as the most important eventsin their lives. They causally link these incidents to various out-comes, and regard them to be the most decisive events in theirsocialization.

In each of the three stories, the turning point altered their self-image and helped them see their disabilities in a new light. It wasnot a sudden, key moment, nor a brief, one-time encounter with acertain person or a powerful, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Thechange in self-image was a process that was recognized only inretrospect, but that presumably influenced their choice of career. Ina study by Hancock (2009) on career change, he distinguishedbetween three types of turning points that affect the choice ofteaching as a career: breeze, gale, and hurricane. Using this typol-ogy, the shift experienced by the participants in this study can bestbe described as a “hurricane,” whose effects are described byHancock as powerful and enduring. The ability to view their livesand identities in a new and totally different light was the result of aprocess during which they accepted themselves, made peace withtheir physical limitations, and succeeded in recasting theirdisability as a strength. This is reflected in the structure of their lifestory: a narrative of “victimhood” in their youth, which led them (atleast indirectly) to choose teaching as a career, where they found apractical expression of their new identity and of the strengths theyhad discovered in themselves. In some cases, they were unawarethat they possessed these skills, or did not realize that they couldact on them. The shift that they experienced in their lives gave themthe opportunity to engage in reflection and reevaluate theirstrengths and self-efficacy. Moreover, it prompted them to discovertheir uniqueness, and, at the same time, to feel accepted by the verygroup where they had previously felt excluded and estranged.

According to Spector-Mersel (2010), the change in identitygenerally takes place via three parallel processes: personal (inter-nal), interpersonal, and intercultural. On the personal level, theidentity construction of persons with physical disabilities can beseen as a confrontation between various conflicting parts of theinner self: their identity as weak, excluded, fragile, oppressed, andhelpless, which merges, clashes, and changes as a result of theiracceptance of themselves and their self-worth as individuals withmental, physical, and emotional strengths. On the interpersonallevel, their identity is constructed in relation to the people aroundthem whom they perceive as “normative” and “healthy,” or incomparison with others with the same or more severe disabilities.This process allows them to discover their uniqueness and their“added value.” From an intercultural perspective, their identity isconstructed based on self-examination in relation to ideologies,stereotypes, and perceptions in the society and culture where theywere raised and where they function at present. The interculturalaspect of identity construction also embraces public discourse andpolicy-making in education systems with regard to the acceptanceof diversity along multiple axes of difference (Crul & Holdaway,2009; Leeman & Reid, 2006; Ramaekers, 2010; Sang-Hwan, 2011).

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3.3. Construction of an educational approach to difference

The third chapter in the life stories of all three participants isdevoted to their decision to become teachers. The common threadin all the narratives is exclusion stemming from their physicaldifferences during childhood and youth as a decisive factor in theirchoice of teaching as a profession. Based on these experiences, theyadopted various approaches to difference in their work with theirstudents.

In Michal's words:

I decided to become a teacher in general education because Ihave tremendous ability to accept “the other,” in particular tosupport him from a place of genuine understanding of his sit-uation. Based on the place where I once was, and where I felt myown difference, I can guide normative students in how tobehave toward “the other,” and perhaps most importantly, hownot to behave toward him.

Michal's choice of teaching stemmed from her need to createimprovement by empowering the weak and generating socialchange in relation to “the other.” In her perception, this processentails encouraging acceptance of those who are different, inte-gration with other children, and self-realization based on respect.The discrimination and exclusion that Michal experienced inchildhood served as a springboard to professional strength, whichis reflected not only in the empowerment of children with dis-abilities but in the awareness of the need to teach their friends toaccept students with differences and include them respectfully intheir group.

As Shai likewise attests:

I wanted to be a teacher because, in the education I receivedwhen growing up, the focus was primarily on the goal of being“normal.” They thought that if a deaf person would be able tospeak with hearing people around him, he would be seen asnormal. On the other hand, a deaf person who wasn't able tocommunicate with his surroundings was considered problem-atic. I wanted to be a different kind of teacher, one who acceptsthe deaf person as he is, and gives him the tools to integrate insociety.

Anna writes similarly:

Where I once used to look in the mirror and cry, today I look inthe mirror and accept the operation, the scar, the brace, and thedisability with total peace. They are part of me, and it is thesethings that shaped my personality. One of the key messagesfrom this whole story is to accept yourself the way you are fromthe day you are born, with all the changes that life holds in storefor you. Today I feel that I've found my place in the field ofspecial education. I don't presume to be a savior, but it isimportant to me to convey the message that I learned throughpersonal experience, to love yourself and make peace with whoyou are.

For Shai and Anna, their choice of disability studies representsan empowering form of self-improvement and proof to themselvesof their unique strengths and skills in this role. They feel that theexperiences they underwent with their disabilities help them in-fluence the lives of children, particularly those in need ofempowerment, such as students in special-education settings. Atthe same time, however, Anna's words emphasize humility and asense of proportion: “I don't presume to be a savior.” She

understands that her power is limited, and that her major contri-bution is in transmitting a message and being able to serve as a rolemodel.

In all three cases, the decision to become teachers honed thenarrators' sense of purpose, enhanced their self-efficacy and pro-fessionalism, and enabled them to reexamine and reshape their lifestories as ones of empowerment rather than victimization. Theirprofessional identities were thus affected by their life narrativesand by the exclusion they experienced as a result of being different(Burns & Bell, 2010). The intensity of this exclusion left its mark ontheir teaching approach, helping them to build their educationalphilosophy. Likewise, recounting their story enabled them toreexamine their values and motivated them to utilize theirstrengths and life experience to work in diverse classrooms, andspecifically, to integrate students with disabilities. The survivalskills that they developed in coping with their physical limitationsempower them in adulthood, while their sense of professional ef-ficacy pushes them to seek ways to help those who are “different.”

These processes can be viewed as the third stage of identityconstruction in individuals with disabilities, which Gibson (2006)referred to as “acceptance.” This stage calls for self-acceptance,identification of strengths, and reconciliation with limitations.The steps that the subjects went through in building their physicalidentity helped them turn weakness into power and aided them inconstructing their professional identity. Teachers are seen by all ofthe participants as playing a central role in the empowerment andinclusion of students. It is the teacher's task to help them acceptthemselves as different, and to encourage the other students toinclude them socially, while serving as a significant adult figure andsolid anchor for the students with disabilities. Echoes of thesenarratives can be found in studies of attitudes toward special-needsstudents among student teachers who do not themselves havedisabilities (Kodish et al., 2006; Konza, 2008; Martin & Kudl�a�cek,2010; Nonis & Jernice, 2011; Sharma et al., 2008).

The type of educational approach depicted in the three storiesfocuses on the emotional and social aspects of inclusion of studentswith disabilities. Shai, for instance, refers to inequality in the powerrelations between deaf and hearing individuals. He criticizes thepressure exerted on children with disabilities in a one-sidedattempt by the system to include them in the classroom whileignoring their special needs and, especially, their identity as peoplewith physical limitations. His educational philosophy attachesimportance to creating a dialogue stripped of power relations, inwhich hearing children learn the deaf identity and become familiarwith the culture of the different child:

The most important thing is to integrate deaf people into thehearing public in the sense of accepting them, and not changingthem based on the needs and convenience of hearing people. Itis important that there be dialogue and not dependence be-tween them.

But Shai's narrative is unique in that it is the only one that alsocontains pedagogical and didactic insights about teaching hearing-impaired children. He has a clear plan of what should be done ateach stage in the educational system to enhance the dialogue be-tween student with disabilities and their peers:

I think that people should be introduced to the deaf identity andour language, and start doing this as early as preschool …. Atelementary school age: deepening the familiarity with the deafidentity; grammar, language, cultural codes of deaf and hearingpeople (I and “the other”); and familiarization with the tech-nological equipment and the use of sign-languageinterpretation.

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At junior high school age, the points to be worked on arecommunication, the shattering of myths and resolving of frus-trations, and familiarization with the deaf culture and commu-nity, including an introduction to the history of deaf people andto famous deaf personalities (such as Helen Keller, ThomasEdison, who became deaf, and leaders who established andcontributed to the deaf community).

And in high school, there should be a course in leadership fordeaf and hearing students so that they develop a personalcommitment to the deaf community. They'll get to know thehistory of the deaf community and their struggles to alter ste-reotypes, and be exposed to technological solutions that helpthe deaf, relevant laws and rights, and mediation and educationto correct misconceptions about deaf people. The hearingcommunity will receive material to raise their awareness so asto encourage integration, and the deaf population will be giventools to empower them.

Shai's approach includes various practices and study content tomake the learning environment more accessible to deaf students(Spencer, 2011), to strengthen social and emotional aspects of deafidentity, and to promote dialogue between deaf students and theirhearing peers. In addition, he proposes the use of pedagogical anddidactic tools coupled with technology:

It is important that deaf or hearing-impaired children commu-nicate easily in whatever language is most suitable andcomfortable for them. For this reason, all essential resourcesshould be accessible to them so that they can absorb informa-tion and integrate easily into hearing classrooms or a hearingenvironment. They should also receive guidance and tools forpersonal awareness, for instance by asking them what theirlimitations are and how they can integrate easily into both deafand hearing environments. They must be given every opportu-nity to decide for themselves on the method of communicationthat is appropriate and comfortable for them so that they canmake progress in their lives and integrate in whatever com-munity they choose.

Critical reflection on his approach points to a well-orderededucational philosophy regarding the inclusion of children withdisabilities. He attaches importance to accepting the “other,”making the physical environment accessible to enable inclusion,and implementing change in school curricula so as to invite dia-logue between deaf people and the surrounding environment.While emphasizing the teacher's role in creating the necessaryconditions, he calls for students with disabilities to be responsiblefor their own fate and autonomous in their dealings with theirsurroundings. But he does not relate only to accessibility and in-clusion, which are necessary for those with limitations; he alsospecifies unique learning strategies that should be implemented inteaching deaf children:

I think that there is a need to change the methods to a pedagogysuited to deaf students, that is, to introduce a grammar class insign language as a formal lesson, similar to a regular class inHebrew grammar.

In keeping with the humanistic approach and the model ofuniversal learning (Universal Design for Learning - UDL), Shai ex-tends the concept of inclusion and access to pedagogical-didacticmethods. UDL highlights three pedagogical aspects of inclusion:accessibility, participation, and progress of all students within a

general curriculum (Shavit& Tal, 2013; Spencer, 2011). According tothis approach, it is the teacher's responsibility to create a “leastrestrictive environment,” with pedagogical and social access for allstudents, by reducing or removing environmental obstacles, andrelating to the individual's strengths and not his disabilities (Reiter& Schalock, 2008).

4. Summary

This article presented the narratives of three student teacherswith physical disabilities, showing their professional approach toinclusion of students with differences. It should be noted, that thisstudy focuses on the personal and subjective perceptions and ex-periences of individual people. Small sample, as features qualitativeresearch (Crouch & McKenzie, 2006), can provide a meaningful,depth, richness of information and can explore new insights intothe experiences of teachers with disabilities, from which creativepossibilities for learning might grow. This is important because it isin the potential of life stories to make ‘imaginative contact’ withreaders (Goodson & Sikes, 2001, p. 50), that much of the power oflife stories lies.

An analysis of the content and structure of the participants' lifestories in accordance with Lieblich (1998) model underscores thecentrality of these narratives in the construction of their personaland professional identityda process that entailed three stages:

4.1. First stage of identity construction

The narrators describe childhoods characterized by difficultexperiences of exclusion based on physical difference, duringwhichthey blamed themselves and their surroundings for their scholastic,social, and emotional situation.

4.2. Second stage of identity construction

The recurring theme in this stage is at least one turning point intheir lives that led to a change in their self-image, and presumablyinfluenced their choice of teaching as a profession. The decision tobecome a teacher represents a transition from a narrative of failure(in their youth) to one of victory (in their choice of teaching), fromexclusion and nullification to professional efficacy and empower-ment, and from victimhood to responsibility not only for their ownlives but for those of others.

The dramatic change that took place in their lives is reflected inboth the content and the dichotomous structure of the narratives,which shift from past to present, failure to success, dependence topower, and the longing for inclusion to the ability to realize it. Theturning point that they experienced affected not only their educa-tion but also their personality, values, choice of profession, modesof thinking, and worldview (Yair, 2009).

4.3. Third stage of identity construction

The final stage involved a process of maturation in which thenarrators not only made peace with their limitations but mobilizedthem as professional strengths. They ascribed educational meaningto their choice of teaching, recognizing their disabilities as theirunique “added value” as future teachers. The description of theiradulthood focuses on their teaching studies and their ability togenerate personal and systemic change by including and empow-ering “different” students. One of the participants emphasized hisdesire to effect change in attitudes and practices of fellow teacherswho are not disabled, while all three underscored the teacher'sresponsibility to establish an inclusive, accessible environmentbased on the humanistic model of integration as opposed to the

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behavioral and medical models popular in Israel and worldwideduring their childhood. But above all, they saw themselves asmeaningful models for students with disabilities and limitations(Oliver, 1996). Their personal experiences, and the changes theyhad made in their lives, were viewed as a source of inspiration fortheir students with disabilities, in terms of improving their self-image, yet also as a way of spearheading change among “regular”students. Grenier, Horrell, and Genovese (2014) reached a similarconclusion in their study of a novice physical education teacherwith disabilities, finding that he became an inspiration to his non-disabled students while coping with his own limitations in gymclass.

5. Conclusions

It is important to note that while all the study participantsexpressed the need to integrate students with disabilities in theirclassroom, with the exception of Shai's narrative no conceptuali-zation of practical or theoretical knowledge was offered on thesubject of difference among students. Thus for example, there werefew explicit references to “inclusion” or “exclusion,” nor were theredetailed accounts of acquiring practical knowledge or formulatingcomprehensive theories about pedagogical/didactic tools forclassroom integration. Likewise, the narratives did not yield asystemic overview of the changes needed in teachers' attitudestoward disability, or any expression of the necessity or ability totake action in his regard.

Nonetheless, the study findings carry a number of internationalimplications related to inclusion policies in schools; methodolog-ical aspects of the use of narrative; and teacher education, includingthe contribution of teachers with disabilities to the professionalcommunity.

5.1. Implications for inclusion policies

The need to educate teachers to integrate students with differ-ences or disabilities has taken on added urgency in light of theinclusion policies that many countries are instituting in theirschools. In Israel, for instance, a new policy was recently introducedby the Ministry of Education expanding the inclusion of a range ofstudent populations with disabilities into the general educationsystem (Shemesh, 2013). The necessity of educating teachers whoare aware of the need for inclusion, and have the appropriate toolsto implement it, only underscores the added value of teachers whohave experienced exclusion or are themselves disabled.

The findings arising from this study bolster the claim thatteachers who have felt excluded as a result of difference of any kind,including physical disability, are uniquely capable of accepting andincluding their students. For example, teachers who have experi-enced exclusion on ethnic grounds are more sensitive to studentsfrom minority groups, and make a greater effort to include them intheir classroom (Leeman & Reid, 2006). Further, teachers withdyslexia attest to their added value to classrooms with diversity(Burns & Bell, 2011; Vogel & Sharoni, 2009). In a similar vein,teachers such as those in this study can make use of their personalexperience not only in promoting inclusive policies in their class-rooms but in contributing to changes in awareness and practiceamong their peers.

5.2. Implications for methodology

As shown in this study, the narratives of student teachers canserve as a tool for those engaged in teacher education to reexaminethe construction of professional identity (Ambler, 2012; Beijaardet al., 2004; Gidron, Turniansky, Tuval, Mansur, & Barak, 2011;

Pritzker, 2012). In particular, they can be used as a means ofdeveloping awareness and sensitivity with respect to difference inthe classroom and teachers' methods of coping with it. Kang andHyatt (2010) found that narrative analysis helped student teach-ers develop a deeper understanding of, and connectionwith, issuesof multiculturalism and diversity. The narratives of student teach-ers with disabilities can be helpful in constructing the professionalidentities not only of the narrators themselves but also of theirfellow students. Their stories can expose their peers to the expe-rience of being different, reveal the strengths of disabled students,and show ways of integrating students emotionally, socially, andscholastically based on their life experience as individuals withdisabilities.

5.3. Implications for teacher education

The narratives in the present study indicate a readiness tointegrate students with differences. At the same time, there is anoticeable absence in two of the narratives of a clear plan of action,concepts, and theories on the subject of inclusion. Talmor's (2007)study of student teachers in Israel showed that they ascribeimportance to integrating students scholastically, socially, andpersonally, yet they expressed concerns about disciplinary prob-lems and difficulties adapting the curriculum to diverse students.These findings reinforce studies by Malinen et al. (2013) and Taylorand Ringlaben (2012) that point to the need to intensify teachertraining for diverse classrooms within the general school system,and to include theoretical and practical aspects of difference(including physical difference) in the curricula of teacher-trainingprograms. Such an approach would enhance students' sense ofprofessional efficacy with regard to teaching in classrooms withdiversity (Burns & Bell, 2011).

Listening to what student teachers with disabilities have to sayabout their educational experiences contributes to determininghow best to support students with special needs. Such knowledgecan assist schools anywhere in the world in developing inclusivepractices (such as the implementation of organizational changesand specialized curricula), and improving individual learning out-comes to enable young people with disabilities to fully participatein mainstream schools. Similarly, reading their life stories can in-crease empathy toward students with physical and otherdisabilities.

Although this paper is based on only three narratives by Israelistudent teachers on their personal experience of disability, itsfindings support those of Connelly and Clandinin (2000) on theconstruction of professional identity among pre-service teachers ingeneral, and are applicable to other countries as well. The data fromthe present study can serve as a basis for international comparativeresearch that can shed light on the generic components of teacheridentity and what inclusion means to student teachers. The nar-ratives can also add to the body of knowledge about inclusionwithin the professional community of teachers, reframing andconceptualizing these experiences for the benefit of all those inteaching and teacher education.

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