Term of Award

Fall 2024

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

College of Education

Committee Chair

Robert Lake

Committee Member 1

Ming Fang He

Committee Member 2

Abraham Flanigan

Committee Member 3

Robert Helfenbein

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of teachers with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Specifically, it focuses on how their neurodevelopmental disorder impacts their teaching practice, their ability to form relationships, and how they interact with the spaces they inhabit. Using tools of narrative inquiry and critical disability narrative such as observations, interviews, artifacts, etc., I have gathered and analyzed the stories of my four participants who have been diagnosed with ADHD, including myself, over a period of eight months in order to create a framework within which to shine a light on these teachers' experiences. Theoretically, my dissertation draws upon critical disability studies and critical geography to analyze how the experiences of these teachers fit into larger structures of disability, power, and space. The study shows that the nature of the disorder has a profound impact on how teachers operate within the classroom, both in positive and negative ways. Five major findings have emerged throughout this inquiry: (1) The teaching styles of my four teacher participants are fundamentally different from those of their neurotypical peers, which is reflected in the ways the teacher participants empathize with their students, the unique challenges they face, and how they develop curriculum. (2) The abilities of teachers with ADHD to form relationships are influenced heavily by their differences from other teachers and their empathetic demeanors. (3) Teachers with ADHD shape the spaces around them in ways that both not only compensate for their symptoms but also create safe spaces, material-spatial and the psychosocial spatial, to express themselves freely. (4) Since the combination of ADHD symptoms and the prevalent stigma surrounding disability in academic settings heavily influence the identity development of teachers with ADHD, causes them to repress their natural tendencies, and leads to their self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy, there is a need to create spaces for teachers with ADHD to cultivate a thriving sense of self-confidence and bring out their worth and best potential. (5) Listening to and learning from the stories of nuanced lives of the teachers with ADHD reveals an undercurrent of challenges that often remain hidden from their coworkers and students.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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