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Overrepresentation of Minorities Special Education
Overrepresentation of Minorities in Special Education
The national debate over special education has no easy answers. On one hand, many parents of affected children want more resources catering to their children's special needs. However, the 'mainstreaming' movement, which was and is supported by many parents, stresses the need to place children in the least restrictive environment possible. There is clearly a need to balance placement in special education to promote educational success with a need for normalcy. Into this debate is the concern that minority children are disproportionately represented in special education classes, and that racist and classist assumptions may cause what would be seen as mere difficulties in non-minority children to be 'disabilities' in minority children (Shippen 2009; Rogers 2002). Ironically, greater support...
Department of Education data indicates that at least thirteen states labeled more than 2.75% of black students intellectually disabled. Nationally, the prevalence of white students labeled mentally retarded was approximately 0.75% in 2001, and in no state did the incidence of labeling white students rise above 2.38%" (Torin 2012). Despite the fact that special education may be viewed as 'helping' students, it can also hold them back, as in the case of one black student labeled "educable mentally retarded" who was gifted at football -- the principal decided to enroll the boy in regular classes based upon his obvious intelligence as a player with extra support from teachers to help him 'catch up.' Eventually, "Billy Hawkins went…
Despite the rosy assessment of the benefits of special education, "academic outcomes for students with disabilities fall substantially below outcomes for non-classified students, leading to skepticism among disproportionality adherents that students of color will truly benefit from special education" (Feldman 2012). Minority students tend to be treated substantively differently than whites within special education -- they are more often placed in restrictive classrooms than receive supportive instruction while in a mainstream environment or are placed in special education as punishment for perceived disobedience (Feldman 2012; Bryan, Griffin & Thomas 2012)
"The identification and assessment processes, IQ test, and practitioner bias are most frequently cited as contributing to overrepresentation" (Mills 2003: 7). Black young men are particularly overrepresented in schools dominated by whites, suggesting that behaviors not viewed as 'normative' or resistant are punished with placement (Mills 2003: 71). Minority students who are struggling are often not identified early on in their academic careers and placement in special education is seen as the only recourse. Also, economically-related struggles and cultural deficits are misread as disabilities. "The social construct of the 'normal child' became racialized through the special education referral and classification process, and subsequently produces disproportionality" (Ahram, Fergus, & Noguera 2011).
Clearly, special education is failing our children: particularly our young, black male children who are disproportionately represented in special education classes. But the solution is elusive: to what extent is instructor bias the major factor in placement is uncertain, versus real deficits? The solution is likewise unclear. Same-sex education, more mainstream classroom support and less biased forms of testing, screening, and instruction are all potential solutions (Piechura-Couture, Heins, &
" According to Patton (1998) the overrepresentation of African-American children in special education programs that are intended for students that have serious emotional or behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and mental disabilities has continued to be a problem even though many researchers have recognized the problems that have occurred as a result of such overrepresentation. In fact there is exhaustive amounts of literature that explains the "causal factors that range from failure
Thus, the relation between students is imperative for determining such disorders (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 2007). As with the previous two categories, this is seen as incredibly subjective in the idea that no medical diagnosis or visible physical symptoms are needed to be placed within the category. Stratification. Stratification is essentially the ranking of individuals within a hierarchy based on the structures present in a functioning society. Sullivan and
Ethical Dilemmas in Special Education The ethical issues involved in special education are manifold. In many cases, the students are unable to perform certain activities unimpaired, and in many cases they will not ever attain a legal majority or emancipation. This already puts the educator in a more proprietary position than the mere invocation of in loco parentis could ever hope to capture. Yet this seems to point toward a greater degree
Research Questions The questions that follow will guide the study. By responding to these two questions, the study will have addressed the problem cited in the problem statement and at the same time achieved the purpose of the study: 1). What perceptions are held by school administrators as regards the influence that cultural difference has on the placement of students in the special education programs? 2). what theme informs the perceptions held by
gifted and talented education for minority students. The writer explores the screening process for gifted and talented programs and the various problems that screening process causes when it comes to locating and educating minority students. The writer also explores the societal mindsets and the urban areas that play a part in the overlooking of minority gifted students. The bulk of the exploration is done with a literature review on
104).. Berlin district mayor, Neukolln, asserts that multiculturalism in German has fallen short. Evidence shows that the recent increment in immigration is because of economic refugees from southern European nations because of the euro disaster (Conradt 2013, p.117). However, the debate regarding the considerable rise in immigration in German falls back to the Turkish community integration, which depicts the uppermost number of foreigners in Germany, the Europe largest economy. Scores of