Abstract—Discursive practices enacted by educators in kindergarten create a blueprint for how the educational trajectories of students with disabilities are constructed. This two-year ethnographic case study critically examines educators’ relationships with students considered to present challenging behaviors in one kindergarten classroom located in a predominantly White middle class school district in the Northeast of the United States. Focusing on the language and practices used by one special education teacher and three teaching assistants, this paper analyzes how teacher responses to students’ behaviors constructs and positions students over one year of kindergarten education. Using a critical discourse analysis it shows that educators understand students’ behaviors as deficit and needing consequences. This study highlights how educators’ responses reflect students' individual characteristics including family background, socioeconomics and ability status. This paper offers in depth analysis of two students’ stories, which evidenced that the language used by educators amplifies the social positioning of students within the classroom and creates a foundation for who they are constructed to be. Through exploring routine language and practices, this paper demonstrates that educators outlined a blueprint of kindergartners, which positioned students as learners in ways that became the ground for either a limited or a promising educational pathway for them. Keywords—Behavior, early education, special education, critical discourse analysis. I. INTRODUCTION N the U.S. public school system, all children are supposed to enter kindergarten with equal opportunities for accessing a quality education. Scott and Dave were two of these students: They started their educational trajectory together but ended the year in very different places. What happened during their kindergarten year that created different trajectories, one toward inclusive education and one toward a special educational program? What blueprint positioned these students so differently in relation to learning, other students, and educators, and created such distinct possibilities for them? Students with disabilities that present non-compliant or unwanted behaviors comprise a vulnerable group that is routinely subjected to behavior management and physical control in schools, including restraint [1], [2]. The prevalent conceptualizations of disabilities and appropriateness of students’ behaviors preclude these responses, because they are deficit-based and the behavior management goal is to intervene, shape and control students’ behavior [3], [4]. From F. T. O. is with the Hussman Institute for Autism, United States, (e-mail: ftorsati@hussmanautism.org). a young age, students’ behavior and academic achievement are used to determine not just services, for which they are eligible, but also placement and discipline methods used to respond to their behaviors. The present study examines the use of discursive practices to respond to kindergarten students with disabilities who are considered to display non-compliant behaviors. The study also seeks to understand students’ educational trajectories at the end of their kindergarten year. A. Deficit-Driven Approach to Special Education Educators are inserted in different school discourses, and they juggle school pressures, theories, students’ needs, curriculum, approaches to special education, adaptations for students with disabilities and a variety of other factors to determine the everyday practices they adopt and the educator- student relationship they establish. They face several pressures in how they develop practices to respond to all students [5], [6]. Disability in traditional special education is understood as a deficit located in the individual. In this system, there is not enough space for diversity and the complexity of the human experience, thus the tendency is to force students artificially into the available standard practices and theories [7]–[9]. The dominant culture decides and enforces what is normal, accepted, and desired in the classroom [10]. Ferri and Connor [10] explained that schools function as sites that police normalcy, creating and maintaining students that look and act in accordance with the norms. In other words, students need to follow a behavioral standard to participate in schooling, particularly in general education. “Removal or exclusion of students who deviate from these norms has been understood as necessary to maintain the classroom as a normalized space” p. 128 to avoid exclusionary practices, a more complex understanding of special education must be concerned with political and social implications in society rather than just technical issues [9]. Therefore, professional in special education need to revisit the paradigm of disability this field, its relationship with societal demands, and its implications for individuals. B. Disability Studies Framework A disability studies framework provides new possibilities to understand difference and disability, both in implementing a just inclusive educational classrooms and understanding classroom connections with larger school and social systems. A Blueprint for an Educational Trajectory: The Power of Discourse in Constructing “Naughty” and “Adorable” Kindergarten Students Fernanda T. Orsati, Julie Causton I World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering Vol:9, No:9, 2015 3053 International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 9(9) 2015 scholar.waset.org/1999.10/10002235 International Science Index, Educational and Pedagogical Sciences Vol:9, No:9, 2015 waset.org/Publication/10002235