Scot Danforth, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Contact Info:
Mailing Address:
- 1945 N. High St.
- Columbus, OH 43210-1172
Biographical Information:
Scot Danforth is an Associate Professor in the School of Teaching and Learning. He taught in public school special education programs for seven years prior to pursuing a Ph.D. in Education at the University of South Florida. He then served on the faculty of the University of Missouri-St. Louis for ten years before coming to Ohio State in Fall, 2005. His research includes practice-oriented publications on working with troubling students, sociological studies of the social construction of disability in everyday language, and philosophical analyses of the politics of disability in educational research. Most recently, his work has fallen within the growing field of disability studies in education, an interdisciplinary area of educational scholarship that investigates social and political interpretations of disability within schooling and the community. His University teaching primarily focuses on inclusive education, the creation and maintenance of learning communities that do not require the absence of disabled students in order to operate in a productive, peaceful, and supportive manner.
Education
- 1994 University of South Florida, Tampa Ph.D. (Special Education)
- 1987 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill M.Ed. (Special Education)
- 1984 College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA B.A. (English)
Research Biography
Scot's research falls under the broad umbrella of disability studies, an interdisciplinary field drawing from the humanities and social sciences devoted to investigations of a variety of disabilities as social and political phenomena in schools and society. His philosophical inquiry has focused on issues involving philosophy of social science and the politics of disability. Additionally, he has investigated the educational thought of John Dewey in regard to both disability research and the schooling of students with disabilities. His primary current project is a book on the history of the science of learning disabilities, unearthing the contributions of neurology, psychology, and education, as well as the involvement of a number of social theories, to the formulation of a human science of LD.
Activities and Honors
- Co-Founder (with Susan L. Gabel) of Disability Studies in Education Special Interest Group of the American Education Research Association
- Co-Editor (with Susan L. Gabel) of Disability Studies in Education book series, Peter Lang Publishing, New York
- Co-Editor (with Professor Brenda Brueggemann OSU English Department) of Disability Studies Quarterly
Selected Publications
- Danforth, S. (2009) The Incomplete child: An Intellectual History of Learning Disabilities. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
- Danforth, S. & Gabel, S. (eds.) (2007) Vital questions facing disability studies in education. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
- Danforth, S. & Smith, T. J. (2005) Engaging troubling students: A constructivist approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
- Danforth, S. (2008) Contributions of John Dewey to an educational philosophy of intellectual disability. Educational Theory, 58, 1, 45-62.
- Danforth, S. and Kim, T. (2008) Tracing the metaphors of ADHD: A preliminary analysis with implications for inclusive education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 12, 1, 49-64.
- Danforth, S. (2007) Disability as metaphor: Examining the conceptual framing of emotional behavioral disorder in American public education. Educational Studies: A Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, 42, 1, 8-27.
- Danforth, S. (2006) From epistemology to democracy: Pragmatism and the reorientation of disability research. Remedial and Special Education, 27, 6, 337-345.
- Danforth, S. (2001) A Deweyan perspective on democracy and inquiry in the field of special education. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 26, 4, 270-280.
- Danforth, S. & Navarro, V. (2001) Hyper talk: Sampling the social construction of ADHD in everyday language. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 32, 2, 167-190.
- Danforth, S. (1999). Pragmatism and the scientific validation of professional practices in American special education. Disability and Society, 14, 6, 733-752.
- Danforth, S., & Navarro, V. (1998). Speech acts: Sampling the social construction of mental retardation in everyday life. Mental Retardation, 36, 1, 31-43.
- Danforth, S. (1997). On what basis hope? Modern progress and postmodern possibilities. Mental Retardation, 35, 2, 93-106.
Courses
- Edu T & L 809 Inclusive Education
- Edu T & L 842: Diverse Approaches to Research on Teaching and Learning
- Edu T & L 857: Inclusive Education Research
- Edu T & L 925 Disability Studies in Education
