Today was Summer Institute day at Acadia University. This day is apparently organized every year for MEd graduate students, and showcases a range of presenters on a broad topic. This year's topic focus was on communities and families, and how these interact with schooling/education.
Acadia University Summer Institute 2012
By far the most interesting of the three sessions I attended was the afternoon session presented by Mike Ouellette, whose presentation was on Schooling and Social Capital. Mike guided us through a thought-provoking definition and exploration of the intangible nature of Social Capital, and how its value can be contextual and ranked depending on the setting in which it is evaluated.
Social Capital, simply defined, refers to the benefits people enjoy from the social interactions in their lives. For example, when we have family to support us during tough times, this is a form of Social Capital. The absence of family might be considered a deficit of Social Capital in some contexts. Furthermore, Social Capital doesn't necessarily look the same across all communities, cultures and other societal barriers. What is considered to be positive Social Capital in one community - the ability to hunt for food in a rural area - might not be of much value to other communities, e.g. an urban community, so the Social Capital is present, but under-valued by the dominant society.
Given that school is frequently focused through the dominant discourse lens, the Social Capital that students and their families bring isn't always valued as much as it could be. Ouellette argues that we as educators should endeavor to help students bridge their intrinsic Social Capital with that of the dominant discourse, so as to build the skills required but also develop a sense of pride and agency from the capital they bring themselves.
Relating this to Assistive Technology, we can surmise that some of the Social Capital a disabled student brings to school can often be severely under-valued, both by the school bureaucracy itself and by the student's peers. This is often viewed through a deficit lens - how can a disabled student be "helped"? What is "wrong" with him? Assistive Technology provides a tangible support for students that can, by extension, allow the student to increase the value of his Social Capital as determined by others, as well as allowing the student's strengths to become more apparent. If Assistive Technology allows for greater social interaction and increased engagement with the standard curriculum, the student builds his capital and benefits from the various positive measures this brings.
On reflection, this also seems to be linked to the concept of Universal Design for Learning. Social Capital relies on the interactions of people in society. That interaction isn't always positive: it can be messy, prejudicial and otherwise unkind. Assistive Technology that incorporates UDL principles might serve to level the Social Capital imbalance since it is technology that everyone can use for their own various needs.
Here's an overview of the UDL concept:
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