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Development of african american studies
Social inequality between blacks and whites regarding education
Racial discrimination during civil rights
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Introduction African American Education During and After Segregation Education has always been valued in the African American community. During slavery freed slaves and those held captive, organized to educate themselves. After emancipation the value of education became even more important to ex-slaves, as it was their emblem of freedom and a means to full participation in American Society (Newby & Tyack, 1971). During this time many schools for African Americans were both founded and maintained by African Americans. African Americans continued to provide education throughout their own communities well into the 1930’s (Green, McIntosh, Cook-Morales, & Robinson-Zanartu, 2005). The atmosphere of these schools resembled a family. The teachers along with principals extended the role of parenting and shaped student learning and discipline (Siddle-Walker, cited in Morris, 1999). African American Schools were embedded within the community and were viewed as good. Brown’s Effect on African American Education In 1954 through Brown V. Board of Education, the Supreme Court decided that forced segregation denied African Americans equal protection under the law as stated in the Fourteenth Amendment. Brown mandated equal access and opportunity. This decision created a wave of effects throughout the African American community. Unequal outcomes were fueled by low expectation and cultural incompatibilities along with the drainage of resources such as the removal of the best teachers through reassignment to desegregated schools or through firing (Green et al., 2005). Black students were also bused to predominately White schools disproportionately, causing many African American schools to close (Morris, 1999). Morris further state... ... middle of paper ... ... problem of disproportionate minority representation in special education. The Journal of Special Education, 32(48), 48-51. Serwatka, T.S., Deering, S. & Grant P. (1995). Disproportionate representation of African Americans in emotionally handicapped classes. Journal of Black Studies, 25, 492-506. Skiba, R., Simmons, A., Ritter, S., Gibb, A. Rausch, M.K., Cuadrado, J., & Chung, C.G. (2008). Achieving equity in schools: History, status and current challenges. Exceptional Children, 74(3), 264-288. Skiba, R., Simmons, A., Ritter, S., Kohler, K., Henderson, M., Wu, T. (2006). The context of minority disproportionality: Practitioner perspectives on special education referral. Teacher College Record, 108(7), 1424-1459. Williams, E. (2007). Unnecessary and unjustified: African American parental perceptions of special education. The Education Forum, 74, 251-259.
In the 1954 court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of schools was unconstitutional and violated the Fourteenth Amendment (Justia, n.d.). During the discussion, the separate but equal ruling in 1896 from Plessy v. Ferguson was found to cause black students to feel inferior because white schools were the superior of the two. Furthermore, the ruling states that black students missed out on opportunities that could be provided under a system of desegregation (Justia, n.d.). So the process of classification and how to balance schools according to race began to take place.
The Ocean Hill Brownsville school controversy was a case study of race relations during the 1960’s. This predominantly black area wished to have jurisdiction over their schools’ operations and curricula. In 1967, the superintendent of schools granted Ocean Hill Brownsville “community control” of their district. The Board of Education’s action was part of a new decentralization policy that wanted to disperse New York City’s political powers locally. Once in place, the Unit Administrator, Rhody McCoy, fired several teachers inciting one of the most profound racial standoffs in the city’s history. The evolution of the national civil rights movement parallels the changing attitudes of blacks involved in Ocean Hill Brownsville. In addition, evidence of differing theories concerning assimilation to the American ethnicity is portrayed through the actions of the participants.
...vironments then blacks. Minority students are being over represented in special education programs. As an African American, I will need to prepare myself for my future as an educator. When I become a teacher, I may encounter a student that has difficulties keeping up with his peers. I need to know whether this student is a slow learner or a victim of the achievement gap. This research has taught me abo¬ut the factors that have disproportionately affected African-American, Latino, Asian, and other non-white students. I will use this information to contribute to both my future research and career.
A longstanding national issue that continues to concern the public is the disproportionate representation of children from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in special education. The fact is that the proportion of minority students in the population of school-age children has risen dramatically to over 35%, which is increasing the diversity of students in many public schools throughout the nation. This makes the phenomenon of disproportionality especially troubling. With a growing population of minority children comprising a greater percentage of public school students, we must be responsive to the growing needs of an increasingly diverse society. The overrepresentation of minority students in special education has been posed as an issue for more than 3 decades, but it is worth asking whether the efforts of legislative actions, educational reforms and legal challenges have really made improvements to this issue. More importantly, disproportionality should be examined as a correlation to underlying conditions that can pose a great effect upon not only the quality of a child’s education, but also ______.
There are a number of possible causes behind the amount of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students in the special education system. One of the main causes is the potential for racial bias to affect the diagnostic and referral process. Arnold and Lassmann, (2003) suggest that by looking closely at the diagnostic process, it is possible to find sources of unconscious bias against specific races or ethnic groups. F...
...concerns, and many others, delineated in the CEC Special Education Professional Practice Standards and the Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators, are echoed in the Professional Dispositions and Behaviors Rubric of the State University of West Georgia for Advanced Programs in Special education. These three instruments provide a framework to which candidates in preparation programs, teachers, and administrators can return for problem resolution, and professional growth and development. Not only does this framework house the concerns of collaboration, professionalism and the belief that all can learn, it also safeguards the integrity of the field of education, and ensures students will be able to receive an education in an environment that makes every effort to “respect the culture, dignity, and basic human rights of individuals with exceptionalities” (CEC-SEPPS 1.7).
Morgan, P. L., Farkas, G., Hillemeier, M., & Maczuga, S. (2012, December). Are minority children disproportionately represented in early intervention and early childhood special education? Educational Researcher, 41(9), 339-351.
Special education is a large part of the education system, which includes the mentally retarded, people with learning disabilities, the emotionally disturbed, hearing impaired, visually impaired, etc. Many people fail to include this system as one that can possibly involve discrimination, but those enrolled in special education has increased among all racial classifications. Between 1980 and 1990, the entire population enlisted in special education has increased. European American increased by 6%, African Americans increased by 13%, Hispanic Americans increased by 53%, and Asian Americans/Pacific Americans increased by 107.8% (Ford, Obiakor, p. 8). In the end, it is these students who ultimately experience low rates of employment, low income, and growing rates of incarceration. Another survey indicates t...
It is not surprising that racism plays a significant role in the decision of African American parents to homeschool their own children. Especially, when traditional schools institution displays their racism through their own White teachers’ negative attitudes and behaviors toward Black children, then disproportionate placement of Black children into special education classes, and disproportionate number of African American children targeted for punishment in schools.
Researchers have done studies in order to find why there is a great difference between the identification of high incidence disabilities of males and females, finding three possible explanations. The first explanation is biological differences between males and females. The second reason is gender bias on referral and admission to special education services. The third explanation is difference in the exhibition of behavior problems between the two sexes. By further studying these possibilities, we can begin to find different approaches to identifying and referring students for special education services, specifically fo...
In modern times, special education refers to individualized instruction provided by school districts that fit the needs of a student’s exceptionality (Turnbull, Turnbull, Wehmeyer & Shogren, 2013). Special education is a rewarding field that encompasses the success of all learners with exceptionalities. Consequently, professionals in this discipline have to exhibit characteristics such as patience, ardor, and empathy. These individuals also have to be “self-aware culturally,” and by meeting that idea, they have to “become aware of [their] stereotypes, biases, and prejudices” (Turnbull et al., 2013, p. 74).
The overrepresentation of minority cultures in special education is the result of minority children being referred to special education who do not have a disability but rather a cultural barrier that hinders their learning.
This description shows that segregation has enlarged dangerously from corner to corner in the country for students, who are existence more powerfully segregated. In spitefulness of waning housing segregation for black families and significant association to the suburbs in most parts of the state, school integration remains very elevated for black students. It is also binary segregation by mutually race and poor quality. All over the country, the classic black student is now in a discipline where almost two out of all the classmates are low-income, almost double the level in schools of the characteristic white or Asian student. School desegregation for black students is rising most noticeably in the South, somewhere, after a period of forceful confrontation; sturdy action was taken to put together black and white students.
The issue of minority representation in special education came into the forefront for educators, parents and politicians during the mid 1990’s. In 1992, Black students accounted for 16 percent of the total U.S. student population, but represented 32 percent of students in programs for mild mental retardation, 29 percent in programs for moderate mental retardation, and 24 percent in programs for serious emotional disturbance (Robertson, Kushner, Starks, & Dreschler, 1994). This overrepresentation of Black and other minority students in special education is an ongoing national problem. This problem will be addressed according to the following criteria regarding minority representation in special education.
I posed this question prior to my research; do special education students receive the same attention and level of education as students in regular education? Through investigation and observation, I explored the differences between regular education classrooms and special education classrooms to see if there were in fact inequalities between the two. Prior to doing research, I assumed that all education was alike, and that regardless of special needs, the educational institution provided an equal opportunity for all students to learn. This paper will show the level of equity and reflect on the social justice of special education in the current school platform. It will outline the research that I have conducted and demonstrate the negative assumptions about special education teachers and their students, and show examples of the lack of funding and resources for special education departments.