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Interview 5: Professor Len Barton
Professor Len Barton, Editor of Disability and Society
This audio interview is the fifth in a series of interviews Routledge is conducting with the editors of some of its key Education journals.
The interview page has been split into sections which can be quickly accessed by selecting any of the links below:
Introduction
These interviews are aimed at students, educational researchers, academics and visitors to the Education Arena website who are interested in particular journals and would like to find out more.
Each interview provides information about the editor in question and details about the creation of their journal and its purpose and scope within the wider sphere of educational research. Each editor is also asked to offer advice, hints and tips to prospective authors who may be hoping to submit papers to their journal.
This fifth interview is with Professor Len Barton, co-founder and editor of the Routledge journal Disability and Society. This international journal provides a focus for debate about such issues as human rights, discrimination, definitions, policy and practices. It appears against a background of change in the ways in which disability is viewed and responded to.
Professor Len Barton answers the questions
The interview took place at the Beauchief Hotel in Sheffield.
Questions
Answers
Q1: When you founded Disability & Society in 1986, what was the rationale behind the creation of the journal?
Q2: What for you and your editorial board and your writers are the most contentious issues in contemporary debate in research and disability studies, that your journal seeks to address?
Q3: How has the outcome differed from what you expected and originally intended?
Q4: What do you see as the main triumphs of the journal?
Q5: What are your aspirations for the future?
Q6: Who or what do you feel is Disability Society's core audience and how do you maintain contact with your grass roots?
Q7: What are the most important cross-cultural issues that are discussed at the Disability Society?
Q8: How do you write the perfect article and what do you look for yourself when you are considering articles for submission to your journals?
Q9: Can you tell us a little bit about being an editor of a journal?
We also provide a transcription of this interview to overcome accessibility problems if you have hearing difficulties (or for those of you who may just prefer to read the interview).
More about Professor Len Barton
Professor Len Barton is one of the most highly respected academics in his field, having drawn international attention to disability studies whilst continuing to encourage the discussions and debates that this contentious issue carries with it. Len's achievements were recognised in 2007 when Len was awarded the Senior Scholar Award for outstanding contributions to international disability studies and the struggle for inclusive education.
A close friend of Len's and cofounder of Disability and Society, Professor Mike Oliver pays tribute to Len's many achievements, saying, 'Len was the founding editor of Disability and Society in 1986 and as Chair of the Editorial Board ever since he has enabled it to become the leading academic journal in disability studies in the world. He has overseen its development from 3 issues a year to its current 7, has ensured it operates a non-disablist language policy and that it has remained accessible to disabled people and students as well as established academics.'
Drawing from his background as a sociologist, Len has pursued a successful career in education, a career that has spanned a period of 29 years. In that time he has been the founder and editor of several international journals, including the British Journal of Sociology of Education; International Studies in Sociology of Education; Disability and Society, and Teaching in Higher Education. His work also features in a number of books whose aims are similarly geared towards disability studies and the sociology of education.
As well as Len's numerous scholarly triumphs, Len has proven to be an invaluable member of the executive board for several other journals. His contribution on the boards of journals such as Disability, Culture and Education and The Journal of Critical Education Policy, and as a referee for publishers Routledge, Polity Press and OUP, among others, clearly demonstrates his commitment to the publishing of the highest quality journals. He has also brought worldwide recognition to his subject by founding the International Sociology of Education Conference which runs to this day.
Len has recently retired as Professor of Inclusive Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, and has been a leading figure there since 2001. Throughout his long and successful career, Len directed his efforts towards the support of others, acting as mentor to hundreds of Masters students as well as a number of Ph.D. students choosing to study inclusive education. Previously a Professor and indeed Head of Department for the School of Education at the University of Sheffield, Len has a breadth of experience encouraging further discussion on this subject from not only his students, but from researchers, professionals, academics and all those who read and are influenced by his journals. His dedication to the development of others will undoubtedly have an effect on the future advancement of disability studies and the sociology of education.
For more information on Disability and Society please visit the journal homepage.
