Addressing Special Education Inequity Through Systemic Change: Contributions of Ecologically Based Organizational Consultation

Abstract

Since the inception of special education, scholars and practitioners have been concerned about the disproportionate representation of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds among students identified with disabilities. Professional efforts to address this disproportionality have encompassed a range of targets, but scholars increasingly view disproportionality as a complex, multiply-determined problem that requires systemic change to ameliorate disparities. In this article, we describe a framework for systemic change to foster equity in special education identification and placement. We discuss the use of ecologically oriented organizational consultation as a means of facilitating systemic change, emphasizing the role of stakeholders, and the implications for school psychology practice and training.

Additional information

Funding

The second author acknowledges the support of the Equity Alliance at ASU. The third author acknowledges the support of the US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs Leadership Grant “Special Education for School-wide Equity and Access” (#H325D080027).

Notes on contributors

Amanda L. Sullivan

Amanda L. Sullivan, PhD, is an Associate Professor of School Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University of Minnesota. In her research, she employs a socioecological perspective to (a) understanding the school, family, health, and child factors that place children and youth at risk for educational disabilities and mental health problems, (b) identifying disparities in the educational and health experiences and outcomes of diverse students, including those with special needs, and (c) exploring professional issues related to the provision of culturally-responsive evidence-based services.

Alfredo J. Artiles

Alfredo J. Artiles, PhD, is the Ryan C. Harris Professor of Special Education at Arizona State University. His scholarship focuses on understanding and addressing educational inequities related to the intersections of disability with sociocultural differences. His sponsored projects aim to advance policies, personnel preparation programs, and inclusive educational systems in multicultural contexts. He directs the Equity Alliance and co-edits the International Multilingual Research Journal (Taylor & Francis) and Teacher College Press' book series Disability, Culture, & Equity. He was Vice President of AERA's Division on the Social Contexts of Education (2009–2011). Dr. Artiles is a Commissioner in President Obama's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. He is the author of Inclusive Education: Examining Equity on Five Continents that was published by Harvard Education Press (2011, with Kozleski & Waitoller).

David I. Hernandez-Saca

David I. Hernandez-Saca, MA, is a doctoral candidate at Arizona State University in the Mary Lou Teacher College. He is in the Division of Educational Leadership and Innovation in the doctoral program: Special Education Leadership for School-Wide Equity and Access. His research is grounded in investigating the intersection of Learning Disabilities (LD) with emotion, spirituality, race, class, gender and other categories of difference. He does this by culling from various social theories in order to reframe long-standing conceptual and theoretical assumptions within the traditional LD field. Central to this investigating is critically examining the impact of LD labeling on identity, learning and human development, and reframing how literacy is defined.

Note: The authors report that to the best of their knowledge neither they nor their affiliated institutions have financial or personal relationships or affiliations that could influence or bias the opinions, decisions, or work presented in this article.