Abstract
When teachers lack cultural competence, any gap between students' home life and school life can disadvantage learners. In this case study of a school where one-quarter of the student population is Native American, I examine how two White general-education teachers decided to refer students to the special education pre-referral team. All referred students were Native American.1 Analysis of interviews, observations, and documents revealed several themes: (a) the use of antiquated frameworks to make referral decisions, (b) dissonance between participants' perceptions and actions, and (c) complicated understandings of culture's influence on referrals. Participants claimed to see all students the same while believing that Native American and White students learn differently. Lack of multicultural competence generates these contradictory notions, which can result in overrepresentation of minority students in special education. I conclude with implications for teacher-preparation programs.
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