ERIC Number: EJ1021081
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0741-9325
EISSN: N/A
A Situated Analysis of Special Education Disproportionality for Systemic Transformation in an Urban School District
Bal, Aydin; Sullivan, Amanda L.; Harper, John
Remedial and Special Education, v35 n1 p3-14 Jan-Feb 2014
The disproportionate representation of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in special education programs is a complex issue that has long troubled practitioners, educational leaders, and researchers. This article reports on a mixed-method collaborative case analysis that examined local patterns of disproportionality in an urban school district and the district's systemic transformation effort to address disproportionality. In a close collaboration with the district's special education leadership team, we utilized student-level quantitative data from 2006 through 2010 to examine temporal patterns of disproportionality along with qualitative data on the leadership team's perceptions and actions. Our analyses showed that risk of overidentification was greatest for African American, American Indian, low-income, and male students. The study illustrates a method of collaborative analysis and the importance of such analyses for understanding and addressing variously localized patterns of disproportionality. The findings contribute to the literature on disproportionality and inform systemic change efforts in diverse sociocultural contexts of urban school districts.
Descriptors: Educational Change, Disproportionate Representation, Special Education, Cultural Differences, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Urban Schools, School Districts, Risk, Identification, Cultural Context, Instructional Leadership, Low Income, Males, At Risk Persons, African American Students, American Indian Students, Case Studies, Mixed Methods Research, Participant Observation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Wisconsin
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A