Multicultural Special Education Research Articles

Multicultural special education for inclusive classrooms—Intersectional teaching and learning. By A.Perzigian, N.Aziz, Abingdon: Routledge, 2023

Multicultural special education for inclusive classrooms—Intersectional teaching and learning. By A.Perzigian, N.Aziz, Abingdon: Routledge, 2023

A Call for Multicultural Special Education in Hong Kong: Insights from a Case Study

The increasing number of Mainland Chinese immigrant children with difficulties in Hong Kong schools mandates understanding of the complex interactions between cultural-linguistic differences and disabilities. This case study adopted narrative inquiry to probe deep into participants’ lived experiences to reveal that the special education teacher was primarily concerned about the student participant's difficulty associated with his disabilities, totally unaware of the impact of her limited proficiency in the child's first language. Researchers called for government policies to integrate special and multicultural teacher education.

Intersectionality as a Framework for Transformative Research in Special Education.

Multicultural and bilingual special education scholars have long advocated that research and practice situate (dis)ability in its social, cultural, racial/ethnic, linguistic, historical, legal, and political contexts. Still, the special education literature reflects more restricted conceptualizations of culture, language, and diversity than required to understand how these mutually influence an individual’s, family’s and/or community’s response to (dis) ability and how organizations address the needs of diverse populations. We propose that an intersectionality framework offers a starting point for conceptualizing, developing and conducting transformative research related to disability and difference. We begin by defining intersectionality and exploring related assumptions, followed by implications for two key aspects of such research: deep understanding of the intersections among multicultural/ multilingual students, communities and schools; and researcher reflexivity.

Moving beyond disproportionality: the role of culturally responsive teaching in special education

For over 30 years the field of special education has grappled with the problem of disproportionality. The discourse around this issue has predominately focused on possible causes, and yet the problem persists. This paper will provide an overview of the research on disproportionality and multicultural special education. In addition, the authors will examine the extent to which culturally responsive teaching has been implemented in special education and will propose future directions for research and practice.

Assessing Diverse Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Assessing Diverse Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Preparing Culturally Diverse Special Education Faculty: Challenges And Solutions

This paper describes why more bilingual culturally responsive special education faculty are needed to meet the needs of the increasing number of culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities in the United States. In addition, the paper presents the successes and challenges in the journey to prepare university faculty leaders in bilingual multicultural special education. The NAU Faculty for Inclusive Rural-multicultural Special Educators (FIRST) program is a bilingual/multicultural special education program which prepares doctoral students from Latino and Indigenous backgrounds to become highly qualified university faculty in the areas of teaching, research, technology, and cultural/linguistic diversity.

Mapping the Field of Teachers’ Multicultural Special Education in Greece: A New Era Emerges

Mapping the Field of Teachers’ Multicultural Special Education in Greece: A New Era Emerges

Multicultural Special Education

In this era of accountability, schools are challenged to leave no child behind, which includes making schools more responsive to students' needs. For many multicultural learners, the noble ideal of leaving no child behind has not yielded the desired dividends in general and special education. The processes of identification, assessment, categorization, placement, and instruction have tended to downplay their cultural and linguistic differences. This article focuses on multicultural special education as an effective intervention for today's schools.

Building Successful Multicultural Special Education Programs Through Innovative Leadership

Building Successful Multicultural Special Education Programs Through Innovative Leadership

The Impact of PBL Technology on the Preparation of Teachers of English Language Learners

This article presents qualitative results of the instructional usefulness of a Web-based multimedia problem-based learning module designed to simulate the special education referral process. The multicultural special education (MUSE) module uses three interactive phases to highlight the complexity of determining the nature of academic difficulties when a student has English language limitations. Interviews with instructors and pre-service teachers indicated that the multimedia components of the module created a realistic portrayal of the special education referral process. Furthermore, the group work within the module provided a unique opportunity for pre-service teachers to begin to collaborate with a team to make educational decisions for students they will likely encounter in their future professions.

The stories we must tell: Developing a research agenda for multicultural and bilingual special education

Disproportion in special education based on race, ethnicity, language, and class persists. In this paper, we argue that to address this and other perpetual problems of underachievement for culturally and linguistically diverse children and youth requires examination of disability within its full sociocultural context and inclusion of the stories of those who are most affected by educational research, policy, and practice. We conducted a qualitative analysis of the existing professional literature of multicultural and bilingual special education published over 27 years in major special education journals to document omissions in the empirical research and conceptualize a research agenda around four themes: authenticity, legitimization, and multiplicity of voices; validation of culturally and linguistically responsive special education service delivery models and intervention; multicultural preparation of special educators; and underserved populations in special education.

Self-determination for students with learning disabilities: Is it a universal value?

Teaching students with learning disabilities to be self-determining during postsecondary transition planning is considered beneficial for students. Few self-determination studies, however, have focused on the impact students' cultural identities may have on the practice of self-determination during transition planning. A review of self-determination literature is presented and includes concept definition, characteristics, and example components of model programs. Additionally, multicultural special education literature helps frame the need to consider the interplay between programs that promote self-determination and culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Qualitative research methods, used with student participants, have the potential to inform preferred practices as well as research gaps in special education by capturing how diverse students respond to self-determination during postsecondary transition planning.

Bilingual Multicultural Special Education An Integrated Personnel Preparation Program

Addressing the needs of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who have disabilities has become a growing area of concern, especially as the demographic composition of the nation's public schools continues to change. The challenge to provide appropriate educational opportunities for studsnts from diverse backgrounds is most directly addressed through personnel preparation programs. These programs need to be developed according to competencies that are specific to bilingual multicultural special education. In this article, the authors present guidelines for the development and implementation of a graduate program in bilingual multicultural special education. The program at New Mexico State University is described as a model.

General and Special Educators' Perceptions of Teaching Strategies for Multicultural Students

This article focuses on a recent study that investigated perceptions of regular and special educators working with multicultural students with and without disabilities throughout the State of Kansas. The Multicultural Special Education Survey was distributed to 403 general and special educators who represented geographical areas, as well as school districts with an enrollment equal to or greater than 10 percent. This instrument consisted of items related to categories of demographics, professional development, cultural knowledge, linguistics, and teaching strategies. In the area of professional development, the most noteworthy and frequently cited response was "no training" in multicultural education course work. The highest percentage of respondents reported that cultural knowledge would help them understand the influence of their students' verbal and nonverbal learning/behavioral styles. The highest percentage of respondents reported that knowledge about the language of multicultural students and child language development were the most important areas of training. Respondents indicated that teacher-student discussion, cooperative learning, and peer tutoring were useful teaching strategies with multicultural students with and without disabilities. These results are discussed relative to the knowledge base of general and special educators and the future direction of teacher preparation programs.

Multicultural Education and Special Education: Parallels, Divergences, and Intersections

Multicultural Education and Special Education: Parallels, Divergences, and Intersections