Page 164 - Vseživljenjsko učenje kot temelj trajnostne družbe

Maja Lebeničnik and Karmen Drljić

2016). The overarching concern of a sustainable society is to focus on the re-
moval of barriers, including discriminatory practices towards persons with
disabilities in the education system. Discriminatory practices may be the re-
sult of prejudice (Sherwood & Kattari, 2023).

Ableism
Prejudice against people with disabilities is referred to as ableism (Bog-
art & Dunn, 2019), which manifests in either discrimination against people
with disabilities or favouritism towards people without disabilities (Conley
& Nadler, 2022). An essential characteristic of ableism is that its nature is not
always overt and thus readily identifiable. Indeed, it is often identified in its
subtle form, for example, in its patronizing and protective attitude, as well
as in its overstated expressions of empathy (Nario-Redmond et al., 2019; Sell-
wood et al., 2022).
Despite the growing focus on ableism in societal research, it remains a rel-
atively understudied phenomenon within the educational context (Storey,
2007; Evans et al., 2017). Parekh (2022) identifies the origins of ableism in ed-
ucation in meritocracy, the recognition of one’s responsibility for one’s suc-
cess, and the consequent favourable treatment of students who can achieve
theexpectedgoalsanddemonstratehighschoolperformance.However,this
perspective has the consequence of failing to acknowledge the role of edu-
cators in fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment. Conse-
quently, this perspective results in low expectations for students with disabil-
ities and special needs (Damianidou & Phtiaka, 2017).
In addressing issues of ableism within the context of higher education of
future educators, providing students with direct experience of people living
with disabilities has been shown to contribute towards a reduction in ableist
prejudicial attitudes (Rizzo et al., 2021). Drljić and Lebeničnik (2025) identi-
fied a four-dimensional construct of ableism in students – future educators,
which includes the following components: (1) Personal Responsibility, (2) In-
spirational Portrayal of Disability, (3) Discrimination, and (4) Low Empathy for
Disabled People. Personal responsibility is the first dimension of the ableism
construct, emphasizing individual effort as the sole determinant of success.
Future teachers, who exhibit stronger ableism, endorse the notion that per-
severance alone ensures positive outcomes for disabled people, disregard-
ing systemic barriers. The second factor, inspirational portrayal of disability,
is more subtle, advocating that an individual’s determination can overcome
any disability-related challenges. This perspective implicitly frames disabil-
ity as primarily an attitudinal limitation. Discrimination, the third factor of

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