The Misrepresentation of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students in Special Education

Abstract

Young, Wright, and Laster (2005) stated that since the Brown v. Board of Topeka, Kansas decision, gaps in educational achievement have been a recognized problem across the United States. Particularly, differences in achievement levels for elementary and secondary African American students have remained. Daniels (1998) stated that students who are culturally and linguistically diverse have always been challenged with inequality in our system of education. This article examines the critical issues resulting in the misrepresentation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education classes in America’s schools.

Promoting Social and Cultural Competence for Students from Diverse Backgrounds with Disabilities

“…It is suggested that cultural variance contributes to stereotyping and discounts the values and norms of a given culture. Educators must consider their own cultural background and experiences (Allday, Duhom, BlackburnEllis, & Van Dycke, 2011;Fitts & Gross, 2012;Grant & Barger-Anderson, 2009) and the extent to which it impacts their views about individuals from other cultures. Determining how a primary culture impacts attitude, behavior, and communication provides a first step to understand key differences between the majority culture of a school and underrepresented populations.…”

Evaluating the perceptions of pre-service teachers' personal and professional readiness to teach culturally and linguistically diverse students

“…Culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students are significantly overrepresented in special education and are unnecessarily and inappropriately referred for special education services by teachers who lack cultural competence, conflate diversity with disability (Ferri & Connor, 2005;Grant & Barger-Anderson, 2009;Anastasiou & Kauffman, 2012;Winzer & Mazurak, 2017), racialize disability, and who have implicit biases that affect the referral decision (Artiles, 2013;Seidl & Pugach, 2009;Sleeter, 2008;Sleeter, 2017). As a result, students without disabilities are wrongfully removed from the general education setting, leading to limited access to the general education curriculum.…”