A phenomenological approach in special education: Deconstructing and reconstructing the modern philosophical underpinnings

This paper seeks to critique constructivism and realism from the perspective of students with pneumatic disabilities. Pneumatic disabilities are defined as disabilities that have limited or no physical cause such as Emotional Disturbance, Other Health Impairment, and Learning Disability. Constructivism and realism are criticized as having an undesirable perspective for educating students with pneumatic disabilities and being epistemologically invalid. An alternative of phenomenology is laid out to potentially create a framework for students with pneumatic disabilities. This centers on three areas, understanding thinking in time, dialogic goals, and common language as a contractual framework. The potential of an alternative approach to understanding and teaching students who often struggle with general education could help reform educating these and other students. An application of how this approach would look in practice is also included to bridge the gap between the theoretical and the practical centering on the students perspective being understood.