Joy and success as resistance: Perceptions of students with EBD in South Florida

• In Event: Black and Latina South Floridian special education scholars resist against the dying of the light

Proposal

The public education system in the United States of America was formed during colonial times, and many question whether a school system designed to meet the needs of wealthy, White, male students can meet the needs of the quickly diversifying population of the US public K-12 system (NCES, 2023; Sadker et al., 2022). When analyzing identification, placement, and outcomes for the most marginalized students in the public school system, it becomes apparent that it cannot. For example, racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse students are overrepresented in the category of emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD; Connor et al., 2019). Once identified with EBD, students are more likely to be placed in self-contained settings (e.g., spending the least amount of time with typical peers; IES, 2019), and students with EBD continue to have the poorest in-school and post-school outcomes of any disability group, with increased interaction with the juvenile justice system (IES, 2018; Wagner, 2014). This is compounded in the state of Florida where inclusion and diversity initiatives and curriculum are under scrutiny.
When set up to fail, sometimes the most radical protest is a quiet resistance (Banks et al., 2022, Chapter 6, pg. 96). Joy and success for students with EBD feels akin to protest when statistics say that neither is possible. Using the theory of Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit; Annamma et al., 2013), I will be surveying a sample of 50 middle school students with EBD in inclusive classrooms, about their peer relationships, teacher relationships, and experiences of culturally responsive practices (CRPs). DisCrit acknowledges that race and disability interact in socially constructed ways, yet have real, material impacts. The theory explores how racism and ableism are connected and upheld, and how individual identities are inseparable and influence experience. DisCrit urges researchers to use their privilege to push marginalized voices to the forefront and requires activism (Annamma et al., 2013).
Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods analysis, I will collect (1) quantitative data (i.e., questionnaires, academic records) and (2) qualitative data (i.e., interviews, observations). For this panel, I will only be discussing results from the quantitative phase of data collection. Using the seven tents of DisCrit and knowledge of the state of education for students with EBD, I am asking: (a) What are middle schoolers with EBD’s perceptions of their: teacher and peer relationships and CRP experiences? (b) To what extent do students’ perceptions of teacher and peer relationships, and CRPs, relate to students’ academic outcomes? I will analyze the relationship between student perceptions and grades through a series of regressions to explore what factors lead to positive experiences (joy) and success.
Through analysis and subsequent parts of the study, I will center student voices and seek to become an activist in the community and through policy based on the results. This study will be one of the few studies to investigate the current state of inclusion for students with EBD and one of the first to examine the extent salient factors (e.g., dyadic relationships) shape inclusion experiences and student outcomes.

Author

• Helen Flores, Florida International University