Reflexivity before the collective starts Crenshaw (1994) established that people hold many identities, which intersect with one another illuminating the unique experiences of people. How a person experiences based on their race, class, gender, sex, ability, sexual orientation, and other constructs of identity shapes how they engage with the world and how the world receives them as well. Understanding one’s own position in the world and how that position exists in relation to others begins to describe positionality. For researchers, Jacobson and Mustafa (2019) highlighted the importance for researchers to engage in reflexive work to identify the identities researchers hold and the power they hold within these identities by mapping out their identities.
My Italian American family ran their own business for 47 years. All the children, including myself, worked at our family auto repair and gas station called, “the shop”. My father had a tradition of training young employees. He led you to where the sidewalk met the busy road and said, “You see these cars coming and going. They have one thing in common, they all need gas. You will see all kinds of people come into this shop. People who drive nice cars and others with clunkers. No matter who they are or what they drive, you will treat them with respect and dignity because that is who we are.” My family was incredibly proud of the service to our community because we got people to where they were going. Every person in my family contributed. My grandmother provided a three-course lunch out of her car trunk to her sons and any delivery person passing by. My mother and aunt provided unwavering emotional, physical, and spiritual support to all of us. My family believed in collectivism built on the belief that love is action. The men who were the driving forces in this business also had disabilities. My family created a business and a legacy with their determination and diverse abilities. I became a special educator because I struggled in school. When a high school teacher created an opportunity for me to demonstrate my knowledge in unconventional ways, I finally saw myself as a capable learner. I believe education discovers talents of students, cultivates them, and then creates spaces for the community to celebrate them. Special education goes beyond making concepts accessible or maintaining compliance, special education develops the vision of the child. Education fosters independence and greater involvement in the community. Education is emancipatory. Being a parent affirmed my educational philosophy and provided an emic perspective when working with families as an educator. My children have been diagnosed with learning disabilities, anxiety, and/or attentional needs. I know the depth of the love a parent has for their children. Through advocating for my own children, I witnessed how vital resources can advance the development of a child. I believe that in my role as an educator, I have a responsibility to support other families in gaining access to needed resources. This love and passion for my own children is a part of my practice and reflexivity when working with students and families. These emotions and experiences also call for critical reflection on the many barriers which exist for students and families (D’Cruz et al., 2007). As a researcher I seek to better understand human experience as it relates to special education and disability services. Whether welcoming customers at the shop or students into my classroom, I have seen the value of diverse accounts of human experience. Every role within a community is important, and people of all abilities are vital to its ecosystem. My ontological belief is that there are multiple truths, and these truths can evolve. Qualitative research provides insight into lived experiences and how people engage with the world (Ravitch & Carl, 2021). The epistemological approaches I would implement are social constructivism and critical theories. Social constructivism understands how people make meaning through their experiences, cultures, all forms of language, and action (Neubert, 2009). Social constructivism helps to understand lived experiences, and as knowledge is shared it is equally important to create change. A framework to enact change is through critical participatory action research (CPAR). CPAR researchers share the ownership of the research with the community from design of the research through to social action (Fine et al., 2021). This shared responsibility with the community is important when considering I identify as a part of the dominant culture as a white, cis-gender, heterosexual and able-bodied woman. My interest in utilizing CPAR is built on the foundation that knowledge is to be shared and love is action. The collective approach to understand experiences, identify problems, and work together to break down barriers and create accessible new ones is both familiar in my life and a necessity for those in my community.
