Understanding Disproportionality: Learning the Lessons of Four Decades of Research to Remove the Albatross

• In Event: Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Special Education, Special Needs, and Disproportionality Related to Race, Gender, and Empowerment

Abstract

For more than forty years, educational researchers have documented the disproportionate representation of students of color in special education programs. Despite the amount of research conducted, the problem persists. A review of this research reveals studies without a theoretical perspective, terms that do not have consistent definitions, measures that are not consistently operationalized, and disagreement regarding the relevant data to calculate. In order for the research community to impact the lives of children, these inconsistencies and disagreements must be resolved.

Author

• Kristin K. Hall, Texas A&M University - College Station