The disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in exclusionary discipline practices is a well-documented practice in education. This paper synthesizes current literature that points to a cultural incongruence between students and teachers as an underlying mechanism for disparity in school practices involving…

Developing educators' attitudes toward and skills in working with families is vital, given both legislative mandates and the different and potentially difficult experiences with home-school collaboration for families. This study explores 17 educators' expectations of parents' acquisition and use of cultural and social capital through focus group…

The disproportionate representation of poor, working class, and racial/ethnic minority students in special education is a wicked policy problem because its formulation involves choosing among alternative problem interpretations and associated consequences. Integrating the work of Patricia Hill Collins and Nancy Fraser, the authors propose…

In this article, I propose a model to re-frame disproportionality research, which addresses key limitations in this literature. I present a brief overview of the problem and situate it in the historical context in which race and ability became intertwined. I then argue that a cultural-historical understanding of disproportionality requires…

Rapid demographic changes in culture, race/ethnicity, and language in the United States have exerted a powerful influence on public schools, raising significant concerns or issues relative to the ability of the educational system to successfully educate all of its children as future citizens of a democratic society. Educational outcome data for…

This article presents a brief overview of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) requirement that schools use instructional strategies based on scientifically-based research (SBR) to improve the academic performance of students. Controversies resulting from the definition of SBR, complexities encountered in conducting research in schools, and the…

Response to Intervention (RTI) was encoded into the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, and is being adopted on a wide scale as an alternative approach to identification of students with learning disabilities. For RTI to be an effective mechanism for addressing disproportionate representation of culturally and…

The No Child Left Behind Act's emphasis on universal standards of academic performance, defined as proficiency in grade-level core curriculum and state academic assessments, challenges general education program personnel to higher standards of professional practice. Because schools must report student achievement by subgroups, including students…

"Good" schools are typically defined as environments in which good students attend, good teachers teach, good parents participate, and good communities exist. This definition suggests that students maintain high test scores with the focus on going to college. In other words, good schools are typically exclusive in maintaining high standards for…

In virtually every school district nationally, Black students are underrepresented in gifted education programs, including advanced placement (AP) classes. This underrepresentation exists regardless of grade level and school type. Building on a previous publication, this article addresses a central question in gifted education: Why does…

The Dawn Project is a system of care responsible for creating and implementing an interagency collaborative approach to service provision. Systems of care are spectrums of services organized to meet the needs facing youth with serious emotional and behavioral difficulties. This study examined the relationship between school involvement in the Dawn…

For English Language Learners (ELLs), the process of becoming literate in English is daunting. Not only are these students faced with the same literacy challenges faced by native English-speaking students, but they are also challenged with extensive diversity issues relating to substantial differences in linguistic, cultural, and academic…

The study conducted included four school districts that were addressing New York State Chapter 405 citations related to disproportionality. The purpose of this study was to identify the districts' common characteristics related to disproportionality, as well as common approaches and processes used to address the issue. An action research,…

This study explored the impact of a Cultural Self-Analysis (CSA) Project on early childhood undergraduate preservice teachers' cultural awareness and dispositions toward working with culturally diverse students and families. The project was based on the ABC's of Cultural Understanding and Communication, a model designed to facilitate the…

This article provides an overview of the major factors and interventions affecting migrant students' academic performance/outcomes. Factors outside the school, such as poverty, family, and English language proficiency, are discussed. Next, factors inside the school, such as student records, credit accrual, and school curriculum, will be reviewed.…