Deficit Thinking and Additional Language Learners in Exceptional Education

In the 2018–19 school year, additional language learners (ALL) represented 10% of total student enrollment K–12 schools with over 5 million ALL learners enrolled in U.S. schools. Additional language learners are the fastest growing population in education in America. There is a disproportionality in the number of ALL learners referred to exceptional education programing in the U.S. instead of being taught in culturally responsive ways specifically to develop language skills in additional languages. Teachers often refer for Exceptional Education assessments ALL learners who are not progressing as fast as students with English as their home language for a learning disability. This chapter aims to identify the acculturation process and best practices for teaching English as an Additional Language specifically in the acculturation period for learners. This chapter will give an overview of ALL learners, culture, acculturation, and differentiation in instruction and assessment for ALL learners in working towards more appropriate and effective programming for ALL learners in American schools.

#DeleteDeficitThinking

In this chapter, the authors propose that Universal Design for Learning can be a way to resist and reframe pervasive deficit thinking in exceptional education. While UDL is based on a radical framework, it has been taken up in practice in a diluted way, de-emphasizing the radical conception of learners at its core. In this chapter, the researchers argue that in order to eliminate deficit thinking in UDL, users and scholars alike will need to 1) interrogate gaps and erasures in UDL professional development that affect its anti-racist and anti-ablest potential and 2) provide professional development that can challenge deficit thinking. This chapter describes findings in two studies working towards these goals. The first preliminary study investigates gaps in the conceptualization of the “user” of UDL in professional texts on UDL. The second study reports on how a professional development course on UDL actively disrupted deficit thinking about disability.

Adopting the Power of Strengths Based Approaches

People with psychiatric and mental health conditions along with other disabilities have endured a long trajectory of inequalities and missed opportunities that have resulted in less than ideal conditions. This longstanding viewpoint has translated into and affected operations and treatment of students in the special education sector. A central factor that is significantly involved in this pervasive and prevalent issue is the mindset of deficit thinking which states that there is something inherently wrong with students who have exceptionalities. Such mindset leads to misaligned treatment and instruction and exacerbates developmental concerns. Key contributors in deficit thinking in the exceptional education arena involve a variety of methodologies that would benefit from changes in humanistic approaches. This chapter discusses key issues that comprise deficit thinking, principles and values that enhance the experience toward success in exceptional education. Discussion of potential solutions are also explored.

Utilizing the Intersectional Perspective to Shift Individual and Systems Practices

The chapter aims to help practitioners create more equitable learning environments and student outcomes using an intersectionality lens. The chapter first discusses what the intersectionality lens is and why it is essential. Then it discusses the impact of using an intersectional approach on exceptional education practitioners' abilities to understand better their students' lived experiences and needs, leading to more accurate and comprehensive decision making and subsequently providing more effective student placement, instruction, and support. The chapter provides guidance to practitioners concerning how to work with their teams and the school to create a continual commitment to cultural competence, reassessing structures and making necessary adjustments to maintain and enhance their utilization of culturally responsive practices.

The young Pascal : bourgeois origins, exceptional education, health.

“Pascal, the boy genius” – geometry, social geometry (i.e. sociology),etc. etc.

PROGRAM BIMBINGAN DAN KONSELING BAGI SISWA TUNANETRA DI SEKOLAH INKLUSIF

One of the basic change in exceptional education is inclusive program. The most perspective population to have inclusive program are blind students. Potential development of blind students in inclusive program is not adequate with educational intervening class but guidance and counseling. This research aims to formulate guidance and Counseling program for blind students who are studying at YPI Senior High School Bandung through inclusive program. The result of this research produce guidance and counseling program which consist of (1) information service guidance (2) academic guidance and (3) social personal guidance.