Perceived causes of ethnic disproportionality in special education: consideration of factors for the purpose of professional development

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  • March 21, 2019
Creator
  • Hawkins, Anita Moore
    • Affiliation: School of Education
Abstract
  • The issue of ethnic disproportionality in special education has been a focus of much research. The purpose of the present study is to add to the current dialogue regarding the perceived causes of the disproportionate numbers of African-American students in both the mild to moderate intellectual disability and behavioral/emotional disability categories. For the current research, 424 Exceptional Children's Services (EC) directors, general education teachers, special education teachers, and school psychologists were randomly selected from 20 counties across North Carolina and asked to complete an online survey regarding what they perceive to be the primary cause(s) of ethnic disproportionality within the aforementioned disability categories. Additionally, the influence of cultural competency training on the primary cause endorsed was also examined. Results of the current research suggest that the perceptions of the 103 school personnel, who completed the survey, regarding the primary cause of ethnic disproportionality in special education are not as disparate as was originally hypothesized indicating factors related to student and family characteristics. In addition, results also suggest that cultural competency training did not have the effect on the primary cause endorsed as was initially hypothesized. Given the current results, factors for professional development and training are considered as a means of decreasing the ethnic disproportionality that currently exists within school systems.
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  • In Copyright
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  • "... in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Education (School Psychology)."
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  • Knotek, Steven
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  • Chapel Hill, NC
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  • Open access
Date uploaded
  • March 18, 2013

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