Disproportional representation of minorities in special education

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann S. Maydosz
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
African American ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
School Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Identification Process ◽  
American Students ◽  
Special Education Identification ◽  
Disproportional Representation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a brief exploration of the disproportional representation of African American students in special education with a focus on addressing racial bias in the identification process at the school level. Design/methodology/approach – This inquiry was conducted through a literature search of data and extant literature on school-level remedies to disproportional representation, particularly bias in the process of special education identification. Findings – While racial bias in any process remains difficult to expose, it cannot be eliminated as a contributing factor in the disproportional representation of African American students in special education. This review will acquaint the reader with competing explanations and proposed remedies. Originality/value – Critics have proposed that the disproportional representation of African American students in special education and in discipline statistics has become a way to segregate minority students, therefore an exploration of this practice merits concern.

How Teachers and Schools Contribute to Racial Differences in the Realization of Academic Potential

2012 ◽  
Vol 114 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Wildhagen
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Hierarchical Linear Modeling ◽  
White Students ◽  
African American Students ◽  
School Level ◽  
Racial Gap ◽  
American Students ◽  
Academic Potential

Background/Context The fulfillment of academic potential is an underdeveloped area of inquiry as it relates to explaining racial differences in academic outcomes. Examining this issue is important for addressing not only differences in the typical outcomes for African American and White students but also the severe underrepresentation of African American students among the highest achieving students. Whereas other studies have operationalized lost academic potential as unfulfilled expectations for educational attainment, this study takes a different approach, measuring whether students earn higher or lower grades than the grades predicted by earlier tests of academic skills. Students whose grades are equal to or exceed those predicted by their earlier test scores are said to have fulfilled their academic potential, whereas those whose grades are lower than predicted have not realized their potential. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study finds that African American high school students are less likely than their White peers to realize their academic potential. The analyses test several explanations for the racial gap in the realization of academic potential, focusing on the students themselves, their teachers, and their schools. Research Design This study uses hierarchical linear modeling to analyze data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002. Conclusions/Recommendations The results suggest that teachers perceive African American students as exerting less classroom effort than White students, which accounts for a substantial proportion of the racial gap in unrealized academic potential, even with several student characteristics held constant. At the school level, there are larger racial gaps in unrealized academic potential in segregated schools and schools with strict disciplinary climates. Strikingly, the negative effect of strict disciplinary climate exists net of students’ own receipt of disciplinary actions. That is, the negative association between strict disciplinary climate and the realization of academic potential for African American students applies to African American students regardless of whether they themselves have been in trouble at school. This study reveals that characteristics of schools that lack immediately obvious racial implications, such as a school's approach to student discipline, may be just as harmful as overtly racialized inequality within and between schools.

Self-Concept of African-American Students: An Operational Model for Special Education

1992 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Festus E. Obiakor
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
African American ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Operational Model ◽  
School Programs ◽  
American Students ◽  
Multicultural Perspectives

African-American students who fail in school programs are presumed to have a “low” self-concept. However, this view fails to recognize self-concept as an observable, describable, situation-specific, and measurable phenomenon. In addition, it ignores the cultural biases and prejudices inherent in current self-concept assessment tools. In contrast, the operational model of self-concept, which defines self-descriptive behavior, permits identification of styles, strengths, and weaknesses in the areas of self-concept. The article explores methods for enhancing self-concepts of African-American students and accommodating multicultural perspectives.

Understanding the Empty Backpack: The Role of Timing in Disproportionate Special Education Identification

2021 ◽  
pp. 233264922110348
Author(s):  
Rebecca A. Cruz ◽  
Allison R. Firestone
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
African American ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Specific Learning Disability ◽  
Labeling Theory ◽  
School Level ◽  
Special Education Placement ◽  
School Careers ◽  
Special Education Identification ◽  
Specific Learning

Studies related to disproportionate special education identification of students from historically marginalized groups have used increasingly complex analyses to understand the interplay of factors that cause and maintain disparities. However, information regarding the influence of students’ grade level at initial special education placement remains limited. Situated in labeling theory and life course theory, we used discrete-time survival analysis to examine temporal student- and school-level factors related to patterns of placement for minoritized students within one large urban school district. Results showed that gender, race, and socioeconomic status were all factors generally associated with special education identification, and that African American and Latinx students were more likely to be placed into special education later in their school careers. This disproportionality in delayed placement was associated with particular special education labels; for example, African American students identified post-elementary school were more likely to be labeled with emotional disturbance and specific learning disability compared to same-age White peers, and Latinx students were more likely to be labeled with specific learning disability and intellectual disability compared to same-age White peers. These results implicate inequities that emerge at the intersections of age, race, and perceptions of ability that should be considered in future studies of educational equity.

African American Students’ Experiences in Special Education Programs

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Eleanor Craft ◽  
Aimee Howley
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
African American ◽  
General Education ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Institutional Racism ◽  
Victim Blaming ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Special Education Referral ◽  
American Students

Background/Context Disproportionate placement of African American students into special education programs is likely to be a form of institutional racism, especially when such placement stigmatizes students. If placement also fails to lead to educational benefits, the practice becomes even more suspect. Some studies have explored disproportionate placement (i.e., over-representation) from the perspectives of policy makers and educators, but few have looked at the practice from the vantage of the African American students experiencing it. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study explored how nine African American students in secondary special education placements perceived their school experiences and the benefits, challenges, and detriments associated with their placements and accompanying disability labels. Setting Participating students attended one of three high schools in an urban district in the midwestern United States. Respectively, the schools had low, medium, and high percentages of students on individualized education programs (IEPs). Population/Participants/Subjects Three students from each of three schools participated in the study. With the help of school personnel, the researchers selected students who (a) were African American, (b) were juniors or seniors, (c) carried the label of learning disabilities or mild cognitive impairment, and (d) had received special education services for at least three years. Research Design The researchers used an in-depth interview design including three increasingly detailed interviews with each student. Verbatim transcripts of interviews provided the data the researchers analyzed using (a) inductive coding, (b) development of case-specific profiles, (c) organization of codes to identify patterns in the data, and (d) identification of emergent themes. Findings/Results Three emergent themes suggested that, in most cases, students found the negative consequences of their special education placement to outweigh any benefits. The limited benefits of placement included interactions with responsive teachers and, in a few cases, more suitable instructional pacing. The negative consequences included the experience of being stigmatized by peers, making limited academic progress because of a slow-paced curriculum, and confronting barriers that kept them from returning to general education placements. Conclusions/Recommendations The study found that traumatic events in the students’ lives led to academic difficulties, which subsequently led to placement in special education. Rather than supporting the students through a difficult phase of their lives, educators used special education referral and placement as a form of victim blaming. This response had the effect of excluding the students from engagement with the general education curriculum and from interaction with friends. The dynamics of victim blaming led the researchers to judge special education referral and placement of the nine African American students as a form of institutional racism.

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