Between Language and Symbolic Violence: Training Teachers to Recognize and Counter Hate Speech on Women with Disabilities

• magnanini_qtimes-jetss_apr26.pdf

Abstract

This contribution investigates the role of teacher education in countering hate speech, discrimination, and forms of symbolic violence, with specific reference to the linguistic representation of violence against women with disabilities. Within a critical and intersectional pedagogical perspective, language is considered a key device in the construction of stereotypes and marginalization in educational contexts. The article presents the design and implementation of a training module addressed to pre-service support teachers in lower secondary school, aimed at developing critical-reflective competences. The module involved the analysis of autobiographical narratives drawn from online video content, selected for their thematic relevance and examined through an analytical framework focused on representations and language use. The study adopts a qualitative exploratory design, based on thematic and discourse analysis of pre- and post-intervention data (open-ended questionnaires and reflective diaries). Findings highlight changes in participants’ linguistic repertoires, increased awareness of symbolic violence, and the emergence of some forms of resistance. The contribution emphasizes the transformative potential of teacher education focused on language and intersectionality. 

• #Hate speech
• #teacher education
• #disability and gender