The Reductionistic Fallacy in Learning Disabilities
- 1 August 1988
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Learning Disabilities
- Vol. 21 (7) , 389-400
- https://doi.org/10.1177/002221948802100702
Abstract
Theoretical and empirical debates and political schisms have characterized the movement of the field of learning disabilities from its early medical and psychological process model orientations through the more recent behavioral and cognitive strategy phases. These debates have elucidated, perhaps even exaggerated, the differences between these models. It is proposed here that the four models are far more similar than they are different and that the similarities are grounded in the fact that each defines, assesses, and instructs students with learning disabilities in a reductionistic manner. It is the author's contention that the reductionistic fallacy undergirds the efficacy problems that have plagued the field since its inception.Keywords
This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- Learning Disabilities TheoryJournal of Learning Disabilities, 1986
- Summary Rationalizations, Apologies and Farewell: What We Don't Know about the Learning DisabledLearning Disability Quarterly, 1984
- A New Perspective in Teacher EducationJournal of Learning Disabilities, 1981
- The nature and limits of psychological knowledge: Lessons of a century qua "science."American Psychologist, 1981
- Figural and Verbal Creativity in Learning Disabled and Nondisabled ChildrenLearning Disability Quarterly, 1980
- The Field of Learning Disabilities: A Futuristic PerspectiveLearning Disability Quarterly, 1980
- The Role of Theory in Learning Disabilities Research Part II. A Selective Review of Current Theories of Learning and Reading DisabilitiesJournal of Learning Disabilities, 1979
- The Role of Theory in Learning Disabilities ResearchJournal of Learning Disabilities, 1979
- Applied Behavior Analysis and Learning DisabilitiesJournal of Learning Disabilities, 1975
- Auditory Discrimination, Speech, and ReadingThe Elementary School Journal, 1960