The over-representation of students from cultural and linguistic minorities in special education pathways: a review of the literature in Europe

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5902/1984686X67417

Keywords:

Cultural and linguistic minorities, Special educational needs, intersectionality.

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to review the European literature published between 2000 and 2020, on the issue of the overrepresentation of cultural and linguistic minority (CLM) students who are diagnosed and labelled by educational administrations as students with disabilities, or with Special Educational Needs (SEN). The searches, which were conducted in the ERIC, SCOPUS, and Web of Science databases, focused on the theoretical and methodological approaches of these studies. The articles analyzed were categorized into 4 types of contributions: a) school organization and students' academic performance; b) professional biases; c) diagnostic and labelling procedures; and d) the relationship between structural inequalities and overrepresentation. One of the main findings of this study indicates that, although in many cases a uniaxial perspective has been adopted as the key to understanding the phenomenon, with a focus on individual factors such as professional bias, school performance, the nature of diagnostic tests, in recent years there has been a shift in the way research on overrepresentation is addressing the issue.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Maria Antonietta Chieppa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid

Doctoranda en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, España.

Marta Sandoval, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid

Profesora doctora en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, España.

References

AINSCOW, Mel. Promoting inclusion and equity in education: lessons from international experiences. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, vol. 6, n. 1, p. 7-16, mar. 2020.

ANNAMMA, Subini Ancy; CONNOR, David; FERRI, Beth. Disability critical race studies (DisCrit): theorizing at the intersections of race and disability. Race Ethnicity and Education, v. 16, n. 1, p. 1–31, oct. 2012.

ANNAMMA, Subini Ancy; JACKSON, Darrel; MORRISON Deb. Conceptualizing color-evasiveness: using dis/ability critical race theory to expand a color-blind racial ideology in education and society. Race Ethnicity and Education, vol. 20, n. 2, p. 147-162, nov. 2016.

ARTILES, Alfredo et al. Over-identification of students of color in special education: a critical overview. Multicultural Perspectives, vol. 4, n. 1, p. 3-10, en. 2002.

ARTILES, Alfredo et al. Justifying and explaining disproportionality, 1968-2008. Exceptional Children, vol. 76, p. 279–299, jul. 2010.

ARTILES, Alfredo. Fourteenth Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research: Reenvisioning equity research: disability identification disparities as a case in point. Educational Researcher, vol. 48, n. 6, p. 325–335, sept. 2019.

BELL, Derrick. Serving two masters: Integration ideals and client interests in school desegregation litigation. Yale Law Journal, vol. 85, n. 4, p. 470-516, en. 1976.

BLANCHETT, Wanda; KLINGNER, Janette; HARRY, Beth. The Intersection of race, culture, language, and disability: implications for urban education. Urban Education, vol. 44, n. 4, p. 389-409, ago. 2009.

BERHANU, Girma. Ethnic minority pupils in swedish schools: some trends in over-representation of minority pupils in special educational programmes. International Journal of Special Education, vol. 23, n. 3, p. 17-29, 2008.

BERATAN, Gregg. Institutionalizing inequity: ableism, racism and IDEA 2004. Disability Studies Quarterly, vol. 26, n. 2, 2006.

BERATAN, Gregg. The Song Remains the Same: Transposition and the Disproportionate RepresenTation of Minority Students in Special Education. Race Ethnicity and Education, vol. 11, n. 4, p. 337–354, dic. 2008.

BRANDENBURG, Janin; FISCHBACH, Anne; LABUHN, Andju Sara; RIETZ, Chantal Sabrina; SCHMID, Johanna; HASSELHORN, Marcus. Overidentification of learning disorders among language-minority students: Implications for the standardization of school achievement tests/Überidentifikation von Lernstörungen bei Kindern mit Deutsch als Zweitsprache: Implikationen für die Normierung von. Journal for Educational Research Online, vol. 8, n. 1, p. 42–65, 2016.

BRANTLINGER, Ellen. Who benefits from special education?: Remediating (Fixing) other people's children. 1St ed. Oxfordshire: Routledge, 2006.

CAMA, Alessandra. La sobrerrepresentación de escolares de nacionalidad extranjera en el grupo de alumnado con necesidades educativas especiales. Revista internacional de estudios migratorios, vol. 8, n. 1, p. 1-22, 2018.

CASHMAN, Laura. New label no progress: institutional racism and the persistent segregation of Romani students in the Czech Republic. Race Ethnicity and Education, vol. 20, n. 5, p. 595-608, 2017.

CAVENDISH, Wendy; ARTILES, Alfredo; HARRY, Beth. Tracking inequality 60 years after "brown": does policy legitimize the racialization of disability? Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, vol.14, n. 2, p. 30-40, en. 2014.

CONYERS, James. Racial inequality: emphasis on Explanations. Western Journal of Black Studies, vol. 26, n. 4, p. 249-254, invierno 2002.

COUTINHO, Martha; OSWALD, Donald. Disproportionate representation in special education: a synthesis and recommendations. Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 9, n. 2, p. 135–56, jun. 2000.

DYSON, Alan; GALLANNAUGH, Frances. Disproportionality in special needs education in England. Journal of Special Education, vol. 42, n. 1, p. 36–46, 2008.

DONOVAN, Suzanne; CROSS, Cristopher. Minority students in special and gifted education. Washington: National Academy Press, 2002.

ESSED, Philomena. Understanding everyday racism: an interdisciplinary theory. Thousand Oaks (CA): SAGE Publications, Inc., 1991.

GABEL, Susan; CURCIC, Svjetlana; POWELL, Justin; KHADER, Khaled; ALBEE, Leen. Migration and ethnic group disproportionality in special education: An exploratory study. Disability and Society, vol. 24, n. 5, p. 625–639, 2009.

GILLBORN, David; WARMINGTON, Paul; DEMACK, Sean. QuantCrit: education, policy, 'Big Data' and principles for a critical race theory of statistics. Race, Ethnicity and Education, vol. 21, n. 2, p. 158-179, sept. 2017.

GONZALEZ Taucia; HERNANDEZ-SACA David; ARTILES Alfredo. In search of voice: theory and methods in K-12 student voice research in the US, 1990–2010. Educational Review, vol. 69, n. 4, p. 451-473, oct. 2016.

GUZMÁN, Norma; FERNANDEZ, Mary Ruth. Rates of representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in South Texas. Journal of Case Studies in Education, vol. 6, p. 1-17, sept. 2014.

GOTANDA, Neil. A Critique of ‘Our Constitution is Color-Blind’. Stanford Law Review, vol. 44, p. 1-68, nov. 1991.

HALLINGER, Philip. Surfacing a hidden literature: a systematic review of research on educational leadership and management in Africa. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, vol. 46, n. 3, p. 362-384, mar. 2017.

HARRY, Beth; ARNAIZ, Pilar; KLINGNER, Janette; STURGES, Keith. Schooling and the construction of identity among minority students in Spain and the United States. Journal of Special Education, vol. 42, n.1, p. 15-25, 2008.

HARRY, Beth; KLINGNER, Janette. Why are so many minority students in special education?: Understanding race & disability in schools. New York: Teachers College Press, 2006.

HARRY, Beth; ANDERSON, Mary G. The disproportionate placement of African American males in special education programs: A critique of the process. The Journal of Negro Education, vol. 63, n. 4, p. 602-619, otoño 1994.

ISMU FONDAZIONE, Alunni con Cittadinanza non Italiana. La scuola multiculturale nei contesti locali. Rapporto nazionale A.S. 2014/2015. Milano, 2016. 185 p.

KEARNS, Tori; FORD, Laurie; LINNEY, Jean Ann. African American Student Representation in Special Education Programs. The Journal of Negro Education, vol. 74, n. 4, p. 297-310, otoño 2005.

KINCAID, Aleksis; SULLIVAN, Amanda. Parsing the relations of race and socioeconomic status in special education disproportionality. Remedial and Special Education, vol. 28, n. 3, p.159-170, mayo-jun. 2017.

LADSON-BILLINGS, Gloria. From the achievement gap to the education debt: understanding achievement in U.S. schools. Educational Researcher, vol. 35, n. 7, p. 3-12, oct. 2006.

LADSON-BILLINGS, Gloria; TATE, William. Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education. Teachers College Record, vol. 97, n. 1, p. 47-68, otoño 1995.

LOSEN, Daniel; SKIBA, Russel. Suspended Education: Urban Middle Schools in Crisis. University of California. K-12 Racial disparities in school discipline, 2010. Disponible en: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8fh0s5dv. Acceso en: 6 january 2021

LOSEN, Daniel; ORFIELD, Gary. Racial inequity in special education. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2002.

MEYEN, Edward. Let’s not confuse test scores with the substance of the discrepancy model. Journal of Learning Disabilities, vol. 22, n. 8, p. 482-483, oct. 1989.

MIGLIARINI, Valentina; D’ALESSIO, Simona; BOCCI, Fabio. SEN Policies and migrant children in Italian schools: micro-exclusions through discourses of equality. Discourse: studies in the cultural politics of education, vol. 41, n. 6, p. 887-900, 2018.

MIGLIARINI, Valentina; STINSON, Chelsea; D’ALESSIO, Simona. ‘SENitizing’ migrant children in inclusive settings: exploring the impact of the Salamanca Statement thinking in Italy and the United States. International Journal of Inclusive Education, vol. 23, n. 7-8, p.754-767, 2019.

MIGLIARINI, Valentina. ‘Colour-evasiveness’ and racism without race: the disablement of asylum-seeking children at the edge of fortress Europe. Race Ethnicity and Education, vol. 21, n. 4, p. 438-457, 2017.

MILNER, Richard. What does teacher education have to do with teaching? Implications for diversity studies. Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 61, n. 1-2, p. 118-131, oct. 2009.

OMI, Michael; WINANT, Howard, Racial formation in the United States. 3 ed. New York: Routlege, 2014

ORTIZ, Alba; YATES, James. Incidence of exceptionality among Hispanics: Implications for manpower planning. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, vol. 7, p. 41-54, mayo 1983.

OSWALD, Donald et al. Impact of sociodemographic characteristics on the identification rates of minority students as having mental retardation. Mental Retardation, vol. 39, n. 5, p. 351-367, nov. 2001.

PAPASTEPHANOU, Marianna. Globalisation, globalism and cosmopolitanism as an educational ideal. Educational Philosophy and Theory, vol. 37, n. 4, p. 533-551, ago. 2005.

PIT-TEN CATE, Ineke; GLOCK, Sabine. Teacher expectations concerning students with immigrant backgrounds or special educational needs. Educational Research and Evaluation, vol. 24, n. 3-5, p. 277-294, 2018.

PLEVITZ, Loretta. Special schooling for indigenous students: a new form of racial discrimination? The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, vol. 35, p. 44-53, en. 2006.

REID, Kim; KNIGHT Michelle. Disability justifies exclusion of minority students: a critical history grounded in disability studies. Educational Researcher, vol. 35, n. 6, p. 18-23, ago-sep. 2006.

SKIBA, Russell et al. Unproven Links: can poverty explain ethnic disproportionality in special education? The Journal of Special Education, vol. 39, n. 2, p. 130-144, otoño 2005.

SKIBA, Russell et al. Achieving equity in special education: history, status, and current challenges. Exceptional Children, vol. 74, p. 264-288, abr. 2008.

SKIBA, Russell et al. Risks and consequences of over simplifying educational inequities. Educational Researcher, vol. 45, p. 221-225, abr. 2016.

STRAND, Steve; LINDSAY, Geoff. Evidence of ethnic disproportionality in special education in an english population. Journal of Special Education, vol. 43, n.3, p.174-190, 2009.

SULLIVAN, Amanda; ARTILES, Alfredo. Theorizing racial inequity in special education: applying structural inequity theory to disproportionality. Urban Education, vol. 46, n. 6, p. 1526-1552, nov. 2011.

SULLIVAN, Amanda; BAL, Aydin. Disproportionality in special education: effects of individual and school variables on disability risk. Exceptional Children, vol. 79, n. 4, p. 475-494, verano 2013.

UNIÓN EUROPEA. European Union Agency For Fundamental Rights. Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey Roma. Bruxelles, 2016. 52 p. Disponible en: https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2016-eu-minorities-survey-roma-selected-findings_en.pdf. Acceso en: 15 jan. 2021.

UNIÓN EUROPEA. European Agency Statistics on Inclusive Education. Dataset Cross-CountryReport. Bruxelles, 2018. 253 p. Disponible en: https://www.european-agency.org/resources/publications/european-agency-statistics-inclusive-education-2018-dataset-cross-country. Acceso en: 15 jan. 2021.

VOUYOUKAS, Constantinos; TZOURIADOU, Maria; ANAGNOSTOPOULOU, Eleni; MICHALOPOULOU, Lito. Representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students among students with learning disabilities: A Greek paradigm. SAGE Open, vol. 7, n.1, en. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016686150

WAITOLLER, Federico; ARTILES, Alfredo; CHENEY, Douglas. The miner’s canary: a review of overrepresentation research and explanations. The Journal of Special Education, vol. 44, n. 1, p. 29-49, 2010.

WAITOLLER, Federico; ARTILES, Alfredo. A decade of professional development research for inclusive education: a critical review and notes for a research program. Review of Educational Research, vol. 83, n. 3, p. 319-356, sept. 2013.

WALKER, Gabriela. Overrepresented Minorities in Special Education in the United States and Romania: Comparison between African-American and Roma Populations in Disability Studies. Research in Comparative and International Education, vol. 3, n. 4, p. 394-403, 2008.

WERNING, Rolf; LOSER, Jessica; URBAN, Michael. Cultural and social diversity: An analysis of minority groups in German schools. Journal of Special Education, vol. 42, n.1, p. 47-54, 2008.

ZHANG, Dalun; KATSIYANNIS, Antonis. Minority Representation in Special Education A Persistent Challenge. Remedial and Special Education, vol. 23, n. 3, p. 180-187, mayo-jun. 2002.

ZOUGANELI, Anna; MASTROTHANASIS, Konstantinos. Representation of Immigrant students in Special Education: Evidence in Greece during 2003-2013. European Journal of Special Education Research, vol. 4, n. 2, p. 53-72, 2019.

Published

2021-12-27

How to Cite

Chieppa, M. A., & Sandoval, M. (2021). The over-representation of students from cultural and linguistic minorities in special education pathways: a review of the literature in Europe. Special Education Magazine, 34, e67/1–25. https://doi.org/10.5902/1984686X67417

Issue

Section

Dossiê – Deficiência e Interseccionalidade: culturas, políticas e práticas educacionais em debate