Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The reading trajectory of African Americans males within the PreK-12 special education system has been at the forefront of scholarship. This case study was to understand how Zion's misidentification may have influenced his reading experiences. The inequalities Zion encountered in Special Education are examined through the Critical Race Theory and DisCrit lens. The article is illuminating the racialized impact of special education practices and policies, analyzed through Zion's experiences of receiving services for an emotional/behavioral disability identification rather than receiving specific reading services and accommodations.

Keywords

race identity reading special education programs qualitative scale construction achievement gap social black males subjects minority academic success urban education

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ahram

Kramarczuk Voulgarides

Cruz

R. A.

(2021). Understanding disability: High-quality evidence in research on special education disproportionality. Review of Research in Education, 45(1), 311-345. https://:doi.org/102.3/1002/900197137322X2098850560969

Akinyode

B. F.

Khan

T. H.

(2018). Step by step approach for qualitative data analysis. International Journal of Built Environment and Sustainability, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.11113/ijbes.v5.n3.267

Anderson

Henry

(2020). “Listen and let it flow”: A researcher and participant reflect on the qualitative research experience. Qualitative Report, 25(5). https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.3673

Anderson

K. A.

Howard

K. E.

Graham

(2007). Reading achievement, suspensions, and African American males in middle school. Middle Grades Research Journal, 2(2), 43-63.

Annamma

Connor

D. J.

Ferri

B. A.

(2013). Dis/ability critical race studies (DisCrit): Theorizing at the intersections of race and dis/ability. Race Ethnicity and Education, 16(1), 1-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2012.730511

Annamma

Morrison

(2018b). Discrit classroom ecology: Using praxis to dismantle dysfunctional education ecologies. Teaching and Teacher Education, 73, 70-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.03.008

Annamma

Morrison

(2018a). Identifying dysfunctional education ecologies: A DisCrit analysis of bias in the classroom. Equity & Excellence in Education, 51(2), 114-131. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2018.1496047

Annamma

S. A.

Ferri

B. A.

Connor

D. J.

(2018). Disability critical race theory: Exploring the intersectional lineage, emergence, and potential futures of DisCrit in education. Review of Research in Education, 42(1), 46-71. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18759041

Annamma

S. A.

Handy

(2019). Discrit solidarity as curriculum studies and transformative praxis. Curriculum Inquiry, 49(4), 442-463. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.2019.1665456

10.

Annamma

S. A.

Handy

(2021). Sharpening justice through DisCrit: A contrapuntal analysis of education. Educational Researcher, 50(1), 41-50. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20953838

11.

Annamma

S. A.

Winn

(2019). Transforming our mission: Animating teacher education through intersectional justice. Theory into Practice, 58(4), 318-327. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2019.1626618

12.

Artiles

A. J.

(2019). Fourteenth annual Brown lecture in education research: Reenvisioning equity research: Disability identification disparities as a case in point. Educational Researcher, 48(6), 325-335. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19871949

13.

Aviv

(2018). Georgia’s separate and unequal special-education system. The New Yorker.

14.

Bacon

J. K.

Lalvani

(2019). Dominant narratives, subjugated knowledges, and the righting of the story of disability in K-12 curricula. Curriculum Inquiry, 49(4), 387–404.

15.

Bal

Afacan

Cakir

H. I.

(2018). Culturally responsive school discipline: Implementing learning lab at a high school for systemic transformation. American Educational Research Journal, 55(5), 1007-1050. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831218768796

16.

Bal

Betters-Bubon

Fish

R. E.

(2019). A multilevel analysis of statewide disproportionality in exclusionary discipline and the identification of emotional disturbance. Education and Urban Society, 51(2), 247-268. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124517716260

17.

Basile

York

Black

(2019). Who is the one being disrespectful? Understanding and deconstructing the criminalization of elementary school boys of color. Urban Education, 57(9). https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085919842627

18.

Baxter

Jack

(2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544–559.

19.

Blanchett

J. W.

(2010). Telling like it is: The role of race, class, & culture in the perpetuation of learning disability as a privileged category for the white middle class. Disability Studies Quarterly, 30(2). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v30i2.1233

20.

Blanchett

W. J.

(2006). Disproportionate representation of African American students in special education: Acknowledging the role of white privilege and racism. Educational Researcher, 35, 24-28. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X035006024

21.

Blanchett

W. J.

Klingner

J. K.

Harry

(2009). The intersection of race, culture, language, and disability: Implications for urban education. Urban Education, 44, 389-409. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085909338686

22.

Bogart

K. R.

Dunn

D. S.

(2019). Ableism special issue introduction. Journal of Social Issues, 75(3), 650-664. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12354

23.

Brown

M. R.

Dennis

J. P.

Matute-Chavarria

(2019). Cultural relevance in special education: Current status and future directions. Intervention in School and Clinic, 54(5), 304-310. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451218819252

24.

Browne

A. P.

Battle

(2018). Black family structure and educational outcomes: The role of household structure and intersectionality. Journal of African American Studies, 22(1), 77-93. 10.1007/s12111-018-9395-7

25.

Cartledge

Keesey

Bennett

Gallant

Ramnath

(2015). Effects of culturally relevant materials on the reading performance of second-grade African Americans with reading/special education risk. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 15(1), 22-43. https://doi.org/10.56829/2158-396X.15.1.22

26.

Chambers

T. T. V.

Huggins

K. S.

(2014). The influence of school factors on racial opportunity cost for high-achieving students of color. Journal of School Leadership, 24(1), 189-225. https://doi.org/10.1177/105268461402400107

27.

Chang

(2008). Autoethnography as a method. Left Coast Press.

28.

Christian

Seamster

Ray

(2019). New directions in critical race theory and sociology: Racism, white supremacy, and resistance. American Behavioral Scientist, 63(13), 1731–1740.

29.

Compton-Lilly

(2015). Reading lessons from Martin: A case study of one African American student. Language Arts, 92(6), 401-411. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24577532

30.

Connor

D. J.

(2017). Who is responsible for the racialized practices evident within special education and what can be done to change them? Theory Into Practice, 56(3), 226-233. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2017.1336034

31.

Connor

D. J.

Ferri

B. A.

(2005). Integration and inclusion – A troubling nexus: Race, disability, and special education. The Journal of African American History, 90(1/2), 107-127.

32.

Cooc

(2022). Disparities in general education inclusion for students of color with disabilities: Understanding when and why. Journal of School Psychology, 90, 43-59. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2021.10.002.

33.

Cooc

Kiru

E. W.

(2018). Disproportionality in special education: A synthesis of international research and trends. The Journal of Special Education, 52(3), 163-173. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466918772300

34.

Craft

Howley

(2018). African American students’ experiences in special education programs. Teachers College Record, 120(10), 1-35. https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681181200100

35.

Creswell

J. W.

(2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage.

36.

Cruz

R. A.

Firestone

A. R.

(2022). Understanding the empty backpack: The role of timing in disproportionate special education identification. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 8(1), 95-113. https://doi.org/10.1177/23326492211034890

37.

Curenton

S. M.

Harris

Rochester

S. E.

Sims

Ibekwe-Okafor

(2022). Promoting racial literacy in early childhood: Storybooks and conversations with young black children. Child Development Perspectives, 16(1), 3-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12440

38.

Dixson

A. D.

(2018). “What’s going on?”: A critical race theory perspective on Black lives matter and activism in education. Urban Education, 53(2), 231-247. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085917747115

39.

Dixson

A. D.

Rousseau, Anderson

(2018). Where are we? Critical race theory in education 20 years later. Peabody Journal of Education, 93(1), 121–131.

40.

Domina

Penner

(2017). Categorical inequality: Schools as sorting machines. Annual Review of Sociology, 43, 311. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-060116-053354

41.

Earle

G. A.

Sayeski

K. L.

(2017). Systematic instruction in phoneme-grapheme correspondence for students with reading disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 52(5), 262-269. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451216676798

42.

Ehri

L. C.

(2020). The science of learning to read words: A case for systematic phonics instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 55, S45-S60. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.334

43.

Fish

R. E.

(2019b). Standing out and sorting in: Exploring the role of racial composition in racial disparities in special education. American Educational Research Journal, 56(6), 2573-2608. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831219847966

44.

Fish

R. E.

(2019a). Teacher race and racial disparities in special education. Remedial and Special Education, 40(4), 213-224. https://doi.org/71/00.17147179/03724511938285108483104

45.

Foorman

Dombek

Smith

(2016). Seven elements important to successful implementation of early literacy intervention. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2016(154), 49-65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20178

46.

Ford

D. Y.

Russo

C. J.

(2016). Historical and legal overview of special education overrepresentation: Access and equity denied. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 16(1), 50-57.

47.

Gardner

III Hsin

(2008). Reading and children with emotional/behavioral disorders. Balanced Reading Instruction, 15(2), 25-40.

48.

Gaskins

I. W.

(2011). Interventions to develop decoding proficiencies. In McGill-Franzen

Allington

R. L.

(Eds.), Handbook of reading disability research (pp. 232-241). Routledge.

49.

Gillborn

(2015). Intersectionality, critical race theory, and the primacy of racism: Race, class, gender, and disability in education. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(3), 277-287. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800414557827

50.

Graves

S. L.

F. F.

(2017). Are special education labels accurate for black children? Racial differences in academic trajectories of youth diagnosed with specific learning and intellectual disabilities. Journal of Black Psychology, 43(2), 192-213. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798416636280

51.

Greer

Clark-Louque

Balogun

Clay

(2022). Race-neutral doesn’t work: Black males’ achievement, engagement, and school climate perceptions. Urban Education, 57(7), 1259-1287. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085918804015

52.

Gust

Hanushek

E. A.

Woessmann

(2022). Global universal basic skills: Current deficits and implications for world development (No. w30566). National Bureau of Economic Research.

53.

Harry

Klingner

(2007). Discarding the deficit model. Educational Leadership, 64(5), 16-21.

54.

Hebert

T. P.

Beardsley

T. M.

(2001). Jermaine: A critical case study of a gifted black child living in rural poverty. Gifted Child Quarterly, 45(2), 85-103.

55.

Hikida

(2018). Holding space for literate identity co-construction. Journal of Literacy Research, 50(2), 217-238. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296X17751824

56.

Hughley

K. S.

Larwin

K. H.

(2021). Is there a disproportionate representation of African American males in special education? A causal-comparative investigation. Journal of Organizational and Educational Leadership, 7(1), 1-32. https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/joel/vol7/iss1/3

57.

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 (2004).

58.

Janz

J. R.

Banbury

M. M.

(2009). Challenges in classifying students with emotional disturbance: Perspectives of appraisal professionals. Spaces for Difference: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(1), 16-34. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5734n13w

59.

Kaczmarczyk

Allee-Herndon

K. A.

Roberts

S. K.

(2019). Using literacy approaches to begin the conversation on racial illiteracy. The Reading Teacher, 72(4), 523-528.

60.

Kauffman

J. M.

Anastasiou

(2019). On cultural politics in special education: Is much of it justifiable? Journal of Disability Policy Studies, Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044207318822262

61.

Kea

C. D.

Campbell-Whatley

G. D.

Bratton

(2003). Culturally responsive assessment for African American students with learning and behavioral challenges. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 29(1), 27-38. https://doi.org/10.1177/073724770302900104

62.

Keefe

E. S.

(2022). From detractive to democratic: The duty of teacher education to disrupt structural ableism and reimagine disability. Teachers College Record, 01614681221086994. https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681221086994

63.

Kennedy

B. L.

Soutullo

(2018). “We can't fix that”: Deficit thinking and the exoneration of educator responsibility for teaching students placed at a disciplinary alternative school. Journal of At-Risk Issues, 21(1), 11-23.

64.

Kozleski

E. B.

Stepaniuk

Proffitt

(2020). Leading through a critical lens: The application of DisCrit in framing, implementing and improving equity driven, educational systems for all students. Journal of Educational Administration, 58(5), 489-505. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-12-2019-0220

65.

Kumah-Abiwu

(2020). Educational inequity in America’s urban communities. In Global encyclopedia of public administration, public policy, and governance. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_4044-1

66.

Ladson-Billings

(1998). Just what is critical race theory and what's it doing in a nice field like education? International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 11(1), 7-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/095183998236863

67.

Ladson-Billings

Tate

W. F.

IV . (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers College Record, 97(1), 47-68.

68.

Lalvani

Bacon

J. K.

(2019). Rethinking “We are all special”: Anti-ableism curricula in early childhood classrooms. Young Exceptional Children, 22(2), 87-100.

69.

Lane

K. L.

Barton-Arwood

S. M.

Nelson

J. R.

Wehby

(2008). Academic performance of students with emotional and behavioral disorders in a self-contained setting. Journal of Behavioral Education, 17, 43-62.

70.

Learned

J. E.

Morgan

M. J.

Lui

A. M.

(2019). “Everyone’s voices are to be heard”: A comparison of struggling and proficient Readers’ perspectives in one urban high school. Education and Urban Society, 51(2), 195-221.

71.

Lewis

C. W.

Landsman

(2011). White teachers, diverse classrooms. Stylus.

72.

Lichtenberger

J. P.

(1913). Negro Illiteracy in the United States. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 49(1), 177-185. https://doi.org/10.1177/000271621304900120

73.

Lindo

E. J.

(2006). The African American presence in reading intervention experiments. Remedial and Special Education, 27(3), 148-153. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325060270030301

74.

Lindsay

Varahra

Ahmed

Abrahamson

Pulver

Primucci

Wong

(2021). Exploring the relationships between race, ethnicity, and school and work outcomes among youth and young adults with disabilities: A scoping review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1-20.

75.

Linneberg

M. S.

Korsgaard

(2019). Coding qualitative data: A synthesis guiding the novice. Qualitative Research Journal, 19(3), 259-270. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-12-2018-0012

76.

Locke

M. A.

Guzman

Hallaran

A. E.

Arciniegas

Friedman

T. E.

Brito

(2022). Counternarratives as DisCrit praxis: Disrupting classroom master narratives through imagined composite stories. Teachers College Record, 124(7), 150-173. https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681221111433

77.

Martinez

D. C.

Caraballo

Winn

M. T.

(2018). A transformative justice approach to literacy education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62(2), 219-221.

78.

McCall

Skrtic

T. M.

(2009). Intersectional needs politics: A policy frame for wicked problem of disproportionality. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 11(2), 3-23.

79.

Merriam

(2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.

80.

Migliarini

Annamma

(2019). Applying Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) in the practice of teacher education in the United States. In Oxford research encyclopedia of education.

81.

Moats

L. C.

(2020). Speech to print: Language essentials for teachers. Paul H. Brookes Pub.

82.

Moore

J. L.

III Ford

D. Y.

Milner

H. R.

(2005). Recruitment is not enough: Retaining African American students in gifted education. Gifted Child Quarterly, 49(1), 51-67. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698620504900106

83.

Moore

J. S.

Phelps

(2020). Changing the narrative on African American boys: A systemic approach to school success. Improving Schools, 24(2), 112-123. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480220962865

84.

Morningstar

M. E.

Kurth

J. A.

Johnson

P. E.

(2017). Examining national trends in educational placements for students with significant disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 38(1), 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932516678327

85.

Morrison

Hessler

(2016). Teaching the teachers eliminating gaps to better serve children with dyslexia. Perspectives on Language and Literacy, 42(4).

86.

Nguyen

B. M. D.

Nguyen

M. H.

(2020). Extending cultural mismatch theory: In consideration of race/ethnicity. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 29(3), 224-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2020.1755881

87.

O'Byrne

W. I.

Smith

S. A.

(2015). Multicultural education and multiliteracies: Exploration and exposure of literacy practices with preservice teachers. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 31(2), 168-184. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2014.968695

88.

Peters

A. L.

(2019). Desegregation and the (dis) integration of Black school leaders: Reflections on the impact of Brown v. Board of education on Black education. Peabody Journal of Education, 94(5), 521-534. https://doi.org/10.1080/0161956X.2019.1668207

89.

Peters

S. J.

(2022). The challenges of achieving equity within public school gifted and talented programs. Gifted Child Quarterly, 66(2), 82-94. https://doi.org/10.1177/00169862211002535

90.

Phuong

DiPasquale

Rivera

(2021). “If you’re gonna be inclusive, you have to be inclusive on all levels”: Ableism in teacher collaboration. TESOL Quarterly, 55(3), 684-693.

91.

Pigott

R. L.

Cowen

E. L.

(2000). Teacher race, child race, racial congruence, and teacher ratings of children’s school adjustment. Journal of School Psychology, 38, 177-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4405(99)00041-2

92.

Reid

(2015). Disproportionality in special education: A persistent reality for African American students. Justice, Spirituality & Education, 3(1), 1-14. https://digitalcommons.biola.edu/jsej/vol2015/iss2015/2

93.

Rhew

Piro

J. S.

Goolkasian

Cosentino

(2018). The effects of a growth mindset on self-efficacy and motivation. Cogent Education, 5(1), 1492337. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2018.1492337

94.

Robinson

S. A.

Robinson

I. V

. (2020). Doctor dyslexia dude volume 2: The battle for resilience.

95.

Sabatini

Weeks

O'Reilly

Bruce

Steinberg

Chao

S. F.

(2019). SARA reading components tests, RISE forms: Technical adequacy and test design. ETS Research Report Series, 2019(1), 1-30.

96.

Saldaña

(2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.). Sage.

97.

Scharp

K. M.

Sanders

M. L.

(2019). What is a theme? Teaching thematic analysis in qualitative communication research methods. Communication Teacher, 33(2), 117-121. https://doi.org/10.1080/17404622.2018.1536794

98.

Schrank

F. A.

McGrew

K. S.

Mather

Wendling

B. J.

LaForte

E. M.

(2014). Woodcock-Johnson IV tests of cognitive abilities. Riverside.

99.

Scott

T. M.

Gage

Hirn

Han

(2019). Teacher and student race as a predictor for negative feedback during instruction. School Psychology, 34(1), 22. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000251

100.

Serpell

Hayling

C. C.

Stevenson

Kern

(2009). Cultural considerations in the development of school-based interventions for African American adolescent boys with emotional and behavioral disorders. The Journal of Negro Education, 321-332.

101.

Stegemann

K. C.

Jaciw

A. P.

(2018). Making it logical: Implementation of inclusive education using a logic model framework. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 16(1), 3-18.

102.

Sue

D. W.

Lin

A. I.

Torino

G. C.

Capodilupo

C. M.

Rivera

D. P.

(2009). Racial microaggressions and difficult dialogues on race in the classroom. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(2), 183. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014191

103.

Superfine

B. M.

Goldman

S. R.

Richard

M. S.

(2019). Toward a synergistic model for improving the use of research in court-driven educational reform: Examining Gary B. v. Snyder and literacy improvement in detroit. Educational Researcher, 48(8), 543-548.

104.

Tatum

A. W.

(2021). Teaching black boys in the elementary grades: Advanced disciplinary reading and writing to secure their futures. Teachers College Press.

105.

Tatum

A. W.

Johnson

McMillon

(2021). The state of black male literacy research, 1999–2020. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 70(1), 129-151. https://doi.org/10.1177/23813377211038368

106.

Telesman

A. O.

Konrad

Cartledge

Gardner

III Council

III (2019). Preventing reading failure for first-grade students in an urban school. The Journal of Special Education, 53(2), 85-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466918806494

107.

Terry

N. P.

(2021). Delivering on the promise of the science of reading for all children. The Reading Teacher, 75(1), 83-90. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2031

108.

Thomas

Dyches

(2019). The hidden curriculum of reading intervention: A critical content analysis of Fountas & Pinnell’s leveled literacy intervention. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 51(5), 601-618. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2019.1616116

109.

Tometten

Heyder

Steinmayr

(2021). Links between teachers’ knowledge about special educational needs and students’ social participation and academic achievement in mainstream classes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 67, 102022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.102022

110.

Tyler

K. M.

Boykin

A. W.

Walton

T. R.

(2006). Cultural considerations in teachers’ perceptions of student classroom behavior and achievement. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22(8), 998-1005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.04.017

111.

Verkuyten

Thijs

Gharaei

(2019). Discrimination and academic (dis) engagement of ethnic-racial minority students: A social identity threat perspective. Social Psychology of Education, 22(2), 267-290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-018-09476-0

112.

Wagner

R. K.

Zirps

F. A.

Wood

S. G.

(2022). Developmental dyslexia. In The science of reading: A handbook (pp. 416-438).

113.

Westwood

(2008). What teachers need to know about spelling. Australian Council for Educational Research.

114.

Wigfield

Cambria

(2010). Students’ achievement values, goal orientations, and interest: Definitions, development, and relations to achievement outcomes. Developmental Review, 30(1), 1-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2009.12.001

115.

Wolf

(2007). Proust and the squid: The story and science of the reading brain. Harper Collins.

116.

Wright

B. L.

(2018). The brilliance of Black boys: Cultivating school success in the early grades. Teachers College Press.

117.

Yosso

(2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 81, 69-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006

The Reading Journey of Zion—A Case Study of Race in the Context of Special Education

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References