Eric Claravall

Eric Claravall is a scholar-practitioner in the field of literacy, educational psychology, and special education. His main research interest falls within the intersection of cognition, instruction, literacy development, and social justice pedagogy. His overall research agenda is to understand the teaching and learning of text-based literacies within the social justice framework for students with learning differences in both paper-based and digital environments. Eric uses the term learning differences (ld) to refer to the mainstream construct of learning disabilities and struggling readers and to highlight the asset/strength-based approach in my research. The disabilities label precludes many teachers from thinking that students with “disabilities” have the capacity to access meaning when reading complex and sophisticated texts. This is even more pronounced when teachers work with “disabled” students who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). Eric aims to challenge this notion around “disabilities” and acknowledge its social construction. Finally, he believes that special education is a social justice and equity issue. He is especially interested in how compassionate pedagogy can be a tool to dismantle the deficit-thinking model in special education and train teachers, through critical contemplative practices, to be socially just and equitable teachers.