Abstract
During the post-pandemic return to campus, lingering expectations for instructor flexibility illuminated the need for classroom cultures that support inclusivity and belongingness for all students. Yet power asymmetries between students and instructors, along with implicit expectations about what it means to be normal, make disclosure of personal disability, precarity, or other concealable stigmatized identities a risky prospect for those who most need accommodation. By taking a dialogical approach to classroom culture and inviting students to identify areas where flexibility is needed, instructors can increase group cohesion and feelings of belongingness, improve student-instructor relationships, and promote non-stigmatized access to accommodations. In this critical commentary, we use Critical Communication Pedagogy to explore how constitutive dialogue between instructors and students can set reasonable expectations for instructor flexibility and clarify student needs to increase feelings of belongingness while promoting academic achievement.
Recommended Citation
Coffman, Madelaine A. and Winkelseth, Meagan
(2024)
"Disability, Belongingness, and Accommodations in Post-Pandemic Learning,"
Feminist Pedagogy: Vol. 5:
Iss.
2, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/feministpedagogy/vol5/iss2/3