My name is Lys Pinkerton. Welcome to my thesis!
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There is also a CROCHET ONLY tab to view the crocheted art pieces on their own. 

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Crocheting inclusion: a critical arts-based autoethnography

ABSTRACT

Traditional, colonial  measures of what makes a “good” teacher or “good” student are inseparable from white, neoliberal, neurotypical norms. In turn, interlocking forces of ableism and racism continue to harm students and teachers alike. Inclusive education scholars call for a paradigm shift towards more critical, intersectional understandings of inclusion. However, in teacher education, inclusive education is often approached through deficit-based practices that prioritize compliance and reinforce normativity. Limited research addresses the intimate, embodied process of educators unlearning normative structures and engaging in anti-oppressive, inclusive frameworks. To address this gap, this study used critical arts-based autoethnography to examine the six-year trajectory of a white queer, neurodivergent educator across a four-year elementary/special education undergraduate degree and a two-year inclusive education master’s degree. The study is ethically grounded in Disability Justice, prioritizing collective access through its multimodal website design (https://www.inclusioncrochet.com). Data included 70 post-secondary course assignments, analyzed through fiber arts-based reflexive thematic analysis. The conceptual lens operationalizes Anti-Racism, Anti-Ableism, DisCrit, InCrit, and Neuroqueer Theory. Six main themes arose: (1) White, Nondisabled Protection; (2) Recipe for Reduction; (3) Compliance as Baseline; (4) Teacher as Savior; (5) Naming Oppression Directly; (6) Interdependent Communities. In this study, the ongoing process of unlearning normativity was guided by decentering individualistic and savioristic beliefs and engaging with anti-oppressive frameworks through multimodal expression and reflection.