Challenges for Education Changing demographics –“Minority” groups are expected to comprise...

Challenges for Education• Changing demographics

– “Minority” groups are expected to comprise more than 40% of the population by 2020, and 50% by 2040

• Poverty– Poverty and single parent families are the two variables most

highly correlated with increased risk for childhood disability

• School dropout– Culturally and linguistically diverse students drop out of

school at a much higher rate than do white students

• Disproportional representation in special education– Culturally and linguistically diverse students are both

underrepresented and overrepresented in special education

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Why Are There Disproportionate Placements of Culturally Diverse Students in Special Education?

• Incongruity in interactions between teachers and culturally diverse learners

– Definition of culture: Values, traditions, social and political relationships, and world views created, shared, and transformed by a group of people

– Four basic characteristics of culture:• Is learned• Is shared• Is an adaptation• Is a dynamic system that changes constantly

– A solid understanding of how culture influences both students and school personnel is essential for teachers of culturally diverse students


Why Are There Disproportionate Placements of Culturally Diverse Students in Special Education?

• Inaccurate assessment and referral– The likelihood of obtaining valid, accurate, and unbiased

assessment results is lower when the student is from a culturally different background

• Ineffective curriculum and instruction– Educators who do not adapt the curriculum to meet the needs

of their students place the student at risk for school failure

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Becoming a Culturally Proficient Educator

• Teacher awareness and development– Cultural self-awareness is the bridge to learning about other

cultures– Learn to understand differences in verbal and nonverbal

communication styles– Knowledge of the different significance attached to touch,

interpersonal distance, silence, dress, and gestures is important

• Understanding multicultural terminology– The term “minority” represents an attempt to categorize by

race, not by culture– The term “culturally diverse” implies no judgment of a

culture’s value and does not equate cultural diversity with disability


Working with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families

• Barriers that might exist in working with families from diverse backgrounds include:– Parents may be English-language learners, less well

educated, have low socioeconomic status, or be undocumented immigrants

– Families may have differing views about disability, and some may hold idiosyncratic ideologies and practices about the cause and treatment of disability

– The educational system may be extremely intimidating to the family

• To overcome these barriers, teachers should have a general understanding of the cultural background of the student


Appropriate Assessment of Culturally Diverse Students

• Alternative assessment supplements the results of standardized tests

• Alternative methods of assessment– Direct observations– Portfolios– Self-reports– Inventories– Interviews

• Alternative assessment allows for exploration of the numerous factors and confounding variables that may be responsible for the child’s difficulties


Culturally Responsive Curriculum and Instruction

Questions a teacher should ask about a new culture1.What is the group’s history?

2.What are the important cultural values?

3.Who are outstanding individuals who claim group membership?

4.What are the group’s major religions and beliefs?

5.What are the current political concerns?

6.What are the group’s political, religious, and social celebration days?

7.What are the educational implications of the answers to the preceding questions?

– [Source: From C. Grant, & M.L. Gomez. Campus and Classroom: Making Schooling Multicultural (2nd ed.) (pp.131-132)]


Bilingual Special Education

• Transitional approach: The student’s first language and culture are used only to the extent necessary to function in the school until English is mastered

• Maintenance approach: Helps the student function in both English and native language

• Restoration model: Seeks to restore ancestral language

• Enrichment programs: Teach a new language and culture to a group of monolingual students


Thinking about Your Own Practice

• Six promising practices to reduce disproportional representation in special education:– Special education reform– Prereferral intervention– Training– Recruit and retain teachers from culturally diverse backgrounds– Family involvement– Alternative assessment strategies

• Regardless of cultural background, all children benefit from good, systematic instruction

• The teacher must be sensitive to the effect of cultural and language differences on a child’s responsiveness to instruction


Challenges for Education Changing demographics –“Minority” groups are expected to comprise...

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