Equity by Design - Using Peer-Mediated Learning to Advance Equity for All Students

Oct 15, 2026

Equity by Design examines how students with disabilities have often been educated in segregated settings with restricted access to the general education curriculum and fewer opportunities to engage with nondisabled peers. It traces consequences such as stigmatized difference, entrenched racial segregation, lower achievement, and limited learning opportunities. The paper defines key terms for significant disabilities and peer-mediated learning, then argues that peer-mediated learning can increase both academic engagement and social participation for students with disabilities while also benefiting nondisabled students through collaborative learning and shared responsibility.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Using Peer-Mediated Learning to Advance Equity for All Students

Key Terms

Advancing Peer-Mediated Learning to Promote Equity

Equity by Design: Using Peer-Mediated Learning to Advance Equity for All Students Paulo Tan Erin M. Macey Kathleen A. K. Thorius Marsha Simon May 2013 Using Peer-Mediated Learning to Advance Equity for All Students Historically, students with disabilities have been educated in self-contained or separate environments with limited access to general education curriculum and few opportunities to engage with nondisabled peers (Ferri & Connor, 2005) . Separate program participation can inhibit emotional and social development, leading students to appear more “disabled” in school contexts (Christensen, 1996); that is, while students with disabilities are typically not segregated in many aspects of their daily family and community lives (e.g. , going to the mall or a restaurant), they are commonly segregated in schools. Those identified as having a disability and subsequently isolated in self-contained classrooms have been disproportionately students of color (Skiba, Poloni-Staudinger, Gallini, Simmons, & Feggins-Azziz, 2006), and the consequences of such placements often include stigmatized difference, entrenched racial segregation, lower achievement, and limited opportunities to learn (Frattura & Topinka, 2006; Valle & Connor, 2011) . Key Terms Significant disabilities (also referred to as low-incidence disabilities) -those disabilities occurring less frequently in the general population, such as intellectual disabilities and blindness. While people with significant disabilities are likely to experience challenges associated w the biological, cognitive, and/or physical characteristics of their disability, it is the social and political construction of those characteristics as problematic that limits access, participation, and outcomes for individuals with significant disabilities. Instead, these characteristics are representative of the diversity of human experiences for which all educational environments should be designed. Non-disabled-The word non-disabled is used in this brief to represent the privilege of not being identified with a disability (Johnson, 2006) . For example, whereas individuals identified as having an intellectual disability are often treated as inferior and helpless, individuals not identified as having a disability are privileged not to be subjected to such treatment. Peer-mediated learning-A pedagogical approach that shifts the responsibilities of teaching and learning from the teacher to the students and where students work collaboratively. Collaboration-A practice involving two or more individuals interdependently working together and building on each other’s strength toward a shared goal. In response to these consequences, advocates from multiple perspectives have called for better access and outcomes for these historically underserved groups of students. For students with significant disabilities (e.g. , autism, intellectual disabilities) who were denied public education prior to the 1960’s, efforts to expand educational access have resulted in a continuum of services ranging from receipt of free public education services in separate schools or separate programs to inclusion in general education classrooms (Gartner & Lipsky, 1987) . Recent reports confirm the trend toward an increasing number of students with disabilities being educated in general education classrooms (U.S. Department of Education, 2011) . However, access to core academic content (e.g. , mathe- * 2 * matics) for these students still remains elusive (Wehmeyer, 2006) . Moreover, mere placement in a general education classroom is inadequate; rather, high expectations and strong supports are necessary to academically and socially empower students with significant disabilities to become full participating members of the school community (Kluth & Straut, 2003; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), 2000) . Peer-mediated learning (PML) has emerged as one pedagogical approach to advance this vision.

FAQs

Why are students with disabilities often segregated in schools, despite not being segregated in daily life?

The paper notes that students identified with disabilities are commonly isolated in self-contained classrooms, unlike many aspects of family and community life. This segregation limits access to general education opportunities.

What does “peer-mediated learning” mean in the paper?

Peer-mediated learning is described as a pedagogical approach that shifts teaching and learning responsibilities from the teacher to students, where they work collaboratively. It often includes training nondisabled peers to use specific strategies to engage students with disabilities socially.

How can peer-mediated learning support equity for both students with and without disabilities?

The paper argues that peer-mediated learning promotes greater engagement and active social learning opportunities for students with disabilities in general education classrooms. It also benefits nondisabled students by giving them chances to work with and learn from all peers, while shifting some learning responsibility from teachers to students.

Oct 15, 2026

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