INEQUALITIES IN CHILDHOOD DISABILITY IDENTIFICATION AND SPECIAL EDUCATION PLACEMENT
MIKAEL VILLALOBOS: GOOD AFTERNOON. THANKS FOR COMING EVERYONE. I AM THE CHAIR OF THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY BOOK PROJECT. AND AGAIN, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR ATTENDING TODAY’S EVENT. JUST TO REMIND YOU, WE HAVE EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE FALL AND WINTER QUARTER. TOMORROW WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE WHICH IS GOING TO BE PRESENTED. AND WE INVITE ALL OF YOU TO ATTEND THAT. BEFORE I INTRODUCE OUR PRESENTER, A COUPLE THINGS. ON THE CHAIR IS AN EVALUATION AND BROCHURE. IF YOU CAN MAKE SURE TO COMPLETE THE EVALUATION AFTER THE PRESENTATION, AND JUST LEAVE THEM ON THE CHAIR, I WILL PICK THEM UP AFTERWARDS. AND YOU HAVE THE BROCHURE SO YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT ELSE IS IN STORE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR.
LET’S WELCOME JACOB HIBEL.
JACOB HIBEL: THANK YOU FOR THAT THOROUGH INTRODUCTION. THANK YOU ALSO FOR THE INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SERIES. IT IS A GROUP OF SERIES THAT IS DIVERSE, RELATED TO ISSUES SURROUNDING DISABILITY AND SOCIETY. IT IS PROBABLY MY MOST LONGSTANDING INTEREST. I WILL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE WORK I’VE DONE IN THIS AREA, NOT ALL OF IT, BUT AS I MENTIONED, SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN VERY INTERESTING. UNDERSTANDING HOW BROADER SOCIETAL INEQUALITIES CAUSE PATTERNS OF DISPROPORTIONATE REPRESENTATION AND HOW THAT FEEDS BACK INTO CAUSING MORE INEQUALITY IN THE SOCIETY AT LARGE.
IT IS A THREAD THAT IS CONTINUALLY INTERESTING AND A GREAT DEAL OF WORK REMAINS TO BE DONE. I WILL SORT OF GO OVER A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR.
MY WORK DOVETAILS NICELY WITH THE THEME OF THIS PROJECT. IN HER BOOK, “THINKING WITH PICTURES,” PROFESSOR GRANDIN DESCRIBES CHALLENGES AND SOME OF THE AMBIGUITIES INVOLVED. THEN SHE DESCRIBES THE FACT THAT DIAGNOSING AUTISM IS NOT LIKE DIAGNOSING MEASLES OR A CHROMOSOMAL DEFECT. SHE SAID THERE IS NO BLOOD TEST OR BRAIN SCAN THAT CAN GIVE A DIAGNOSIS. WHAT SHE IS MAKING A REFERENCE TO, IS THE IDEA THAT DISABILITY IS SOMETHING THAT HAS A READILY OBSERVABLE, BIOLOGICAL OR PHYSIOLOGICAL CAUSE, THAT GIVEN THE APPROPRIATE MEDICAL TEST, WE CAN SORT OF OBSERVE, IDENTIFY.
WITH AUTISM, WE KNOW IT IS A NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER, THERE DOESN’T HAPPEN TO BE A TEST. WITH SOME OF THE MORE PREVALENT DISABILITY TYPES, THE CATEGORIES THAT THE MAJORITY OF STUDENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS ARE CATEGORIZED WITH, THERE IS NOT EVEN THE IDEA THAT THERE IS SOME BIOLOGICAL CAUSE. RATHER, IDENTIFYING THE DISABILITIES RELIES ON THE COMPARISON OF THE INDIVIDUAL CHILD’S PERFORMANCE OR BEHAVIORS AGAINST THE NORMS OF WHAT A “TYPICAL” CHILD SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
WHEN THERE IS NOT THAT SUBJECTIVITY IN PLACING INDIVIDUALS IN CATEGORIES, THEREIN, ARISING THE POTENTIAL FOR SOCIAL INEQUALITIES TO WIELD THEIR INFLUENCE. MY WORK HAS LARGELY BEEN GEARED TOWARD UNDERSTANDING HOW THAT PROCESS MIGHT OPERATE.
IN THE BROADEST SENSE, I’M INTERESTED IN HOW, I GUESS AS I MENTIONED, HOW THE BROAD PATTERNS OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY AFFECT CHILDREN’S LIKELIHOOD OF BEING DIAGNOSED WITH WHAT MY COLLEAGUES I CALL, “A LEARNING DISABILITY AND PLACED SPECIAL EDUCATION.” THE BOLD TERMS ON THE SLIDE ARE TERMS I’M GOING TO DEFINE MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE THEY KEY CONCEPTS.
MORE SPECIFICALLY, I’M INTERESTED IN HOW SPECIAL CONTEXT AND FAMILY BACKGROUND DIFFERENCES ACROSS DIFFERENT SOCIAL GROUPS EXPLAIN PATTERNS OF DISPROPORTIONALITY IN SPECIAL EDUCATION AND UNEQUAL ACCESS TO KEY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES.
WHEN I DISCUSS LEARNING-RELATED DISABILITIES, I’M REFERRING TO A SUITE OF CATEGORIES THAT IS REFERRED TO BY RESEARCHERS AS “SOFT” DISABILITIES OR JUDGMENT DISABILITIES, WHICH PUTS A FINGER ON THE IDEA THAT IDENTIFICATION OF CERTAIN DISABILITIES RELIES ON JUDGMENT BY SOMEONE, NOT BASED ON A TEST OR IDENTIFIABLE OR PHYSIOLOGICAL CAUSE. WE OFTEN REFER TO THESE DISABILITY CATEGORIES AS HIGH INCIDENCE. BECAUSE THEY ARE IN FACT THE CATEGORIES WHICH MOST SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS – INTO WHICH THEY ARE GROUPED AS THIS PIE CHART DEMONSTRATES.
IN PARTICULAR, THE CATEGORY OF LEARNING DISABILITY ACCOUNTS FOR OVER 40% OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PLACEMENTS, FOLLOWED BY SPEECH AND LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS. THINGS LIKE EMOTIONAL BEHAVIORS ARE ALSO IN THIS CATEGORY. BECAUSE OF THESE DISABILITIES, THEN OTHER SORTS OF WHAT SOME PEOPLE CALL “HARD” DISABILITIES OR MEDICAL DISABILITIES LIKE ORTHOPEDIC OR DEAFNESS AND BLINDNESS.
BECAUSE, FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS HOW MOST STUDENTS END UP IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND BECAUSE THESE ARE THE CATEGORIES IN WHICH EDUCATOR JUDGMENTS AND BELIEFS OR OPINIONS HOLD MOST SWAY, THESE ARE THE CATEGORIES TOWARD WHICH RESEARCHERS HAVE DEDICATED THE MOST ATTENTION THROUGH UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIAL CAUSES OF UNEQUAL PLACEMENT PATTERNS.
THESE UNEQUAL PATTERNS ARE REFERRED TO AS DISPROPORTIONALITY. WHAT IT IS MOSTLY CONCERNED WITH IS THE OVERREPRESENTATION OF MEMBERS OF CERTAIN SOCIAL GROUPS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASSROOMS. HERE WHERE OVERREPRESENTATION REFERS TO PRESENTATION OF MORE STUDENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION THAT WE PREDICT BASED ON THE PRESENTATION OF THE OVERALL STUDENT POPULATION.
SO WHEN THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES MADE A REPORT TO THE U.S. CONGRESS IN EARLY PART OF THIS CENTURY – MAYBE WE CAN STILL SEE. I KNOW – LET’S SEE IF I CAN TALK WHILE I DO IT THOUGH.
SO WHEN THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES MADE THEIR 22ND ANNUAL REPORT TO THE U.S. CONGRESS – THIS IS GETTING WORSE – ON THIS ISSUE OF DISPROPORTIONALITY, THE WAY THEY DEMONSTRATED THIS SOCIAL PROCESS WAS BY SHOWING THAT SOMETHING LIKE 14.8% OF K THROUGH 12 STUDENTS IN THE U.S. ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN.
OTHER RESEARCHERS, MYSELF INCLUDED, WILL MAKE A SIMILAR COMPARISON AND SAY, OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS IN THE U.S., SAY WHAT PROPORTION ARE SOME SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASSROOMS AND COMPARE THAT PROPORTION TO WHITE AND LATINO OR ASIAN. TO THE EXTENT THAT WE SEE DIFFERENCES. WHITES, WE TAKE THAT AS EVIDENCE OF MINORITY OVERREPRESENTATION AND DISPROPORTIONALITY. THIS IS NOT JUST AN ACADEMIC CONCERN, THOUGH, THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS POLICY ISSUE AND BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE A WHILE. IT GOES BACK EVEN TO 1968, WHERE WE FIRST BEGAN SEEING RESEARCH ON MINORITY STUDENT OVERREPRESENTATION. AND IT IS A CONCERN THAT HAS TAKEN HOLD IN SCHOOLS AND POLICY CIRCLES AS WELL.
SO THE POINT WHERE IN 2004 THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ISSUED AN AMENDMENT TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT, THE FEDERAL LAW REQUIRED THAT STATES MUST HAVE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES DESIGNED TO AFFECT THE OVERDESIGNED (READING TEXT) RACE AND ETHNICITY OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES. THE IDEA IS THAT IT BECAME PART OF FEDERAL LAW. TO RECEIVE MONEY, STATES HAD TO ENSURE THAT MINORITY STUDENTS WERE NOT DISPROPORTIONATELY PLACED IN SPECIAL ED.
WHILE THIS HAS BEEN A SERIOUS POLICY CONCERN AND AN ISSUE THAT ROUTINELY CROPS UP IN THE RESEARCH LITERATURE, UNTIL RECENTLY, WE’VE KNOWN LITTLE ABOUT WHERE DISPROPORTIONALITY COMES FROM. WHAT IS DRIVING THE PATTERNS OF OVERREPRESENTATION, IN PARTICULAR, AFRICAN AMERICAN AND AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE STUDENTS EDUCATION? MUCH OF THE RESEARCH THAT HAD BEEN DONE WAS CONDUCTED USING SMALL, BUT IN DEPTH STUDIES OF INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS OR SCHOOLS. THE OTHER SPECTRUM END OF THE RESEARCH WAS DONE AT A HIGH MACRO LEVEL, COMPARING SCHOOLS TO EACH OTHER, HOW MUCH FUNDING THEY WERE RECEIVING, HOW LARGE THE DISTRICT WAS AND THE PROPORTION OF REPRESENTATION OF STUDENTS THAT DISTRICT.
THE PROBLEM THERE IS THAT SCHOOL DISTRICTS CAN BE QUITE LARGE AND YOU CAN MASK A LOT OF HETEROGENEITY ACROSS SCHOOLS. SO, WHAT I HAVE SOUGHT TO DO FOR A WHILE NOW IS UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH OF THIS DISPROPORTIONALITY, HOW MUCH IT DUE TO DIFFERENCES EARLY CHILDHOOD ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE ACROSS DIFFERENT RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS. HOW MUCH CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE DIFFERENT SCHOOL CONTEXTS THAT STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT RACIAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS FIND THEMSELVES IN. CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHOOLS THAT MAY LEAD SOME STUDENTS TO BE PLACED IN SPECIAL EDUCATION VERSUS OTHERS.
THE WAY WE HAVE GONE ABOUT DOING THIS RESEARCH IS TAKING NATIONALLY REPRESENTED DATA ON INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS AND FAMILIES, TEACHERS, SCHOOLS THEY ATTEND, DATA COMING FROM THE EARLY CHILDHOOD LONGITUDINAL STUDY, WHICH FOLLOWED A GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM KINDERGARTEN TO THE END OF MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARS. HERE I WILL JUST TALK ABOUT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL YEARS.
THIS SAMPLE THAT IS REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL STUDENTS IN THE COUNTRY, INCLUDES, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE PRESENTATION TODAY, ABOUT 11,000 STUDENTS NEARLY 1,000 SCHOOLS. WE TAKE THIS DATA AND WE BUILD STATISTICAL MODALS THAT AIM TO ESTIMATE THAT THE LIKELIHOOD OF A WHO STUDENT ENDS UP IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, WITH A PARTICULAR DISABILITY AT A TIME POINT, THESE MODELS ESTIMATE THE STUDENT’S PROBABILITY OF BEING PLACED IN SPECIAL EDUCATION BASED ON THEIR OWN CHARACTERISTICS. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FAMILY IN WHICH THEY GREW UP, AS WELL AS FACTORS FROM THE CLASSROOM AND THE TEACHERS AND STUDIES AND SCHOOLS THAT THEY ATTEND.
WHAT I HOPE TO PUT UP ON THE SCREEN VERY SOON ARE SOME DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS FROM THIS STUDY. DESCRIBING – THE DOWN SIDE OF THIS IS I’M GOING HAVE TO LOOK UP HERE INSTEAD OF AT YOU, WHICH WE ALL LEARN IS MISTAKE NUMBER ONE IN PUBLIC SPEAKING. IS THIS MY GOOD SIDE FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE VIDEO IN THIS IS IMPORTANT.
WHAT WE SEE HERE FROM ONE OF THE EARLIER PAPERS THIS LINE OF RESEARCH IS DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW RACE AND ETHNICITY IS DISTRIBUTED A PROCESS. AND WE SEE WHAT IS A FAMILIAR PATTERN, NON-LATINO WHITE AND LATINO STUDENTS HAVE COMPARABLE LEVELS OF PLACEMENTS. AFRICAN AMERICAN AND STUDENTS IN THIS OTHER ETHNICITY CATEGORY, WHICH MOSTLY COMPRISES AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENTS, A GROUP THAT I EXAMINED IN SUBSEQUENT WORK, THOSE STUDENTS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY OVERREPRESENTED IN SPECIAL EDUCATION. ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENTS ARE FAR LESS LIKELY TO BE PLACED IN SPECIAL EDUCATION. WE HAVE THIS CATCH ALL CATEGORY BROKEN DOWN BY CATEGORY AND YOU CAN SEE A CONSISTENT PATTERN WHERE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND SOME CASES LATINO STUDENTS ARE FAR MORE LIKELY TO BE SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS LABELED WITH DISABILITIES THAN ARE NON-WHITE STUDENTS.
OUR FIRST STEP IN ESTIMATING THE ROOTS OF THIS PATTERN OF DISPROPORTIONALITY INVOLVED – IT SEEMS LIKE WHEN I MOVE THIS HAPPENS. COULD THAT BE POSSIBLE?
OUR FIRST STEP WAS TO LOOK AT THE ROLE OF FAMILY RESOURCES. WE DID THAT BY CONSTRUCTING A SCALE OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS OR SOCIAL CLASS THAT WAS MADE UP OF MEASURES OF CERTAIN FAMILY RESOURCES THAT SOCIOLOGISTS HAVE KNOWN FOR A LONG TIME. THINGS LIKE FAMILY’S FINANCIAL RESOURCES MEASURED BY YEARLY INCOME, OCCUPATIONAL PRESTIGE OF THE PARENTS. FACTORS THAT ARE KNOWN FOR QUITE SOME TIME ARE HIGHLY PREDICTIVE OF SEVERAL ACADEMIC OUTCOMES, NOTABLY ACHIEVEMENT. WHEN WE LOOK AT ACHIEVEMENT GAPS, WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT THAT BETWEEN RACES. THESE FACTORS ARE THE STRONGEST PREDICTORS OF THOSE DISPARITIES. THEY ARE ALSO THE STRONGEST PREDICTORS OF ANY INDIVIDUAL’S ACADEMIC OUTCOMES, ALL THE WAY THROUGH COLLEGE AND GRADUATION AND YEARLY INCOME AS ADULTS. KNOW ABOUT THE PERSON’S PARENTS TELLS YOU ABOUT HOW WELL THEY ARE GOING TO DO IN SCHOOL. IT SEEMED LOGICAL TO US TO THINK IT MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION RISK AS WELL. AND WE FIND THAT SOCIAL ECONOMIC STATUS IS STRONGLY RELATED TO RISK OF PLACEMENT. CHILDREN FROM HIGHER STATUS FAMILIES ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE PLACED IN SPECIAL EDUCATION DURING THEIR ACADEMIC CAREERS THAN STUDENTS OF LOWER STATUS.
LOWER STRATIFICATION, PEOPLE WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE ACHIEVEMENT DISPARITIES LITERATURE, FIND THIS SURPRISING. IT IS ONE OF THE THINGS AS I TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT THIS RESEARCH, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE SURPRISED ABOUT THIS. INCLUDING PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH SPECIAL EDUCATORS OR WHO ARE THEMSELVES AND WHO INTERACT WITH PARENTS. IT IS THE HIGHER STATUS PARENTS WHO LOBBY FOR THEIR CHILDREN. IT IS THE MOST EDUCATED, THE WEALTHIEST PARENTS WHO SHOW UP AND KNOCK ON THE PRINCIPAL’S DOOR AND SAY MY CHILD NEEDS SPECIAL EDUCATION. I’M NOT DISCOUNTING THE POSSIBILITY, THAT ESPECIALLY WITH THE RISE IN AUTISM DIAGNOSIS, THIS IS MORE OF A PROMINENT PATTERN. THIS IS SOMETHING I’M INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT FURTHER IN MY FUTURE WORK.
WHAT WE FIND THOUGH IS NOT ONLY IS SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS STRONGLY RELATED, ONCE WE ACCOUNT FOR DIFFERENCES IN SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ACROSS RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS, WE NO LONGER SEE OVERREPRESENTATION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDENTS. LATINO STUDENTS IF WE COMPARE ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE PLACED, THAN NON-WHITE STUDENTS.
IN THIS RESPECT, FAMILY BACKGROUND CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS A STRONG CAUSE OF DISPROPORTIONALITY IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, WHICH RAISES THE QUESTION, WHY? WHY WOULD THAT BE THE CASE?
TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, WE TURN OUR ATTENTION BACK TO A PHENOMENON THAT I MENTIONED, FAMILY SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS IS PREDICTIVE OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. WE KNOW THAT CHILDREN WHO COME FROM HIGHER SES FAMILIES ARRIVE AT SCHOOLS MORE PREPARED. CONCEPTS THAT ARE SOMETIMES GROUPED UNDER THE TERM, SCHOOL READINESS. HIGHER STATUS KIDS ARE MORE READY.
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT RISK OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PLACEMENT, PARTICULARLY FOR A JUDGMENT DISABILITY, DISABILITY THAT MANIFESTS ITSELF IN PROBLEMS WITH LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT. WE EXPECT THAT KIDS WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO DO WELL IN SCHOOL FROM THE OUTSET WILL BE CONSEQUENTLY LESS LIKELY TO BE IDENTIFIED WITH A DISABILITY AND PLACED SPECIAL EDUCATION.
WHAT WE DID WAS ADJUST FOR AVERAGE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT ACROSS READING AND MATHEMATIC TASKS AS WELL AS TEACHER RATINGS OF CHILDREN, INTERNALIZING BEHAVIORS AND TASK-RELATED BEHAVIORS IN THE CLASSROOM. THE STUDENT’S ABILITY TO PAY ATTENTION AND FOLLOW THROUGH ON TASKS, TEACHERS ASKING THE STUDENTS TO SIT QUIETLY AND NOT DISTURB OTHERS.
WHEN WE ADD THE FACTORS TO THE PREDICTIVE MODEL, WE FIND THEY ARE STRONGLY RELATED TO SPECIAL EDUCATION PLACEMENT IN THE WAY WHAT WE’D EXPECT. STUDENTS WHO ARRIVE AT KINDERGARTEN DOORS, BECAUSE THE READINESS IS CLOSELY TIED TO SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, WE FIND THAT MECHANISM IS WHAT EXPLAINS THE SES EFFECT. THE REASON THAT HIGHER STATUS KIDS ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE PLACED IN SPECIAL EDUCATION IS BECAUSE THEY SHOW UP AT SCHOOL WITH HIGHER LEVELS OF READINESS. CHILDREN WHO FACE GREATER CHILDHOOD DISADVANTAGE PRIOR TO ENTRY, ARE LESS LIKELY TO ARRIVE AT SCHOOL READY TO JUMP ON A FAST TRAJECTORY OF SUCCESS. THERE MAY BE AN UNDERLYING DISABILITY THAT LEADS.