Inequality and discrimination are common phenomena in the contemporary society. According Skiba, Simmons, Ritter et al. (2008), the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education programs has historically been defined by the unending discourse educational segregation and discrimination, making it the most longstanding intransigent issue in the field. Research has indicated consistency in disproportionality trends at national level, but state and local estimates show disproportionate variations. A number of factors have been put forwards as contributors to disproportionality including inequality in education, poverty, test bias, cultural mismatch or cultural reproduction, and issues in determination of behavior. Initially, Pierce (1969) highlighted the predicament of colored people in the US ghettos, and associated the bigotry treatment to the medical problems faced by this population segment. Subsequent studies, such as that by Garland, Lau, Yeh et al. (2005) corroborated Pierce’s argument by identifying ethnic and racial disparities as a major public health problem in the access of mental health related services.
The overall picture conceived from previous studies is that of an unbalanced society where minority groups suffer by virtue of their ethnicity or race. Consequently, the main discourse in this field has focused on examining the existence of racial and ethnic disproportionalities. While this represents a crucial step in the establishment of theoretical frameworks about the phenomenon, it can only be employed as a prerequisite when examining these issues. Deeper understanding of the causes referred to in Skiba, Simmons, Ritter et al. (2008) is needed with specificity to individual groups as previous research has demonstrated the existence disproportionality with little emphasis on attitudes of people towards the target group.. The purpose of this study is to examine attitudes towards minority groups with special needs in an educational setting. The assumption made by the researcher is that examination of the root causes of ethnic and racial inequality and discrimination can provide a comprehensive framework for redress.
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Importance of the Study
The existence of racial and ethnic disproportionalities has been demonstrated in many spheres of the society, but further research has highlighted the predicament of individual with special needs in the field of education. According to Park (2010), ethical and racial disproportion can take the form of underrepresentation or overrepresentation of minorities with special needs in the education system in comparison to the figures in the general population. Ward (2009) established that factors beyond the existence of intrinsic or basic family needs are responsible for overrepresentation of minority students with special needs in the field of education. The importance of this study is that in addition to corroborating empirical evidence from previous research through qualitative examination of attitudes towards this target population, it establishes a framework for addressing the plight of minority students with special needs in similar settings through development of informed and practical recommendations.
Research Questions
Ethical and racial disproportionality is an extensive field of research with many faucets and variables. To ensure significance of the study, the following research questions will be employed:
What are perceptions of teachers about attitudes towards minority students with special needs?
What are perceptions of minority students with special needs about attitudes of other towards them?
What are the underlying causes of attitudes towards minority students with special needs in educational setting?
Literature Review
Disproportionalities in the handling of minority students with special needs have proven to be problematic issues. According to Ward (2009) empirical evidence exists showing variation in post-high school outcomes of the differential treatment of this group of students. White graduates with disabilities have been demonstrated to remain in employment and earn more that their black counterparts, a situation compounded by assertions that such benefits are not merited, but rather an outcome of ethnic and racial inequalities and discrimination. The evidence critically highlights the importance of attitudes in determining the predicament of minority students with special needs in educational settings. While examining teachers’ perceptions of disproportionality in similar context, Park (2010) posited that subjective and judgmental categories of disabilities play an important role. The former refers to a scenario where professionals determine eligibility based on their individual judgment, observation, and inference of mild intellectual disability, emotional and behavioral disability, and special learning disability. The latter, which is biologically-based takes to into accounts more non-judgmental parameters with organic causes and include blind, deaf, and orthopedically impaired. It is possible that such subjective and judgmental inferences are based on underlying causes along racial and ethnic lines, which are demonstrated in attitudes towards this group of students.
Education is the pillar of any given society, and has for long been held as a tool for quintessential social mobility and justice worldwide. However, Harry and Klingner (2014) observed that problems arise when the system is used as a conduit for propagation inequalities, especially towards minorities who are victimized by virtue of race, ability level, language, or social class among others, leading to questions about the high disproportionate number of minority students in special education. This study makes the assumption that the differences are attitude related. Ouellette ‐ Kuntz, Burge, Brown et al. (2010) established that programs for inclusion of minority individuals with special needs in community opportunities have been derailed by the stigmatizing attitudes from the public. Older and less educated individuals have been shown to hold attitudes that increase the social distance; while those close to the person with special needs expressed mild social distance.
In the education sector, implicit and explicit teachers’ attitudes have been shown to have no correlation with their performance expectations of minority students with special needs (Hornstra, Denessen, Bakker et al., 2010). However, such outcomes are highly dependent on Park’s (2010) subjective and judgmental model. It is crucial to note that overrepresentation of minority students with special needs is continuing debate (Artiles & Trent, 1994; Skiba, Simmons, Ritter et al., 2008), and despite social inclusion programs, the trend has been consistent highlighting the need for better understanding of the scenario for development of effective redress strategies (Harris-Murri, King, & Rostenberg, 2006; Skiba, Simmons, Ritter et al., 2008).
Methodologies
Research Design and Philosophy
The research design and philosophy adopted for this project is based on Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2007) research onion model where research paradigms are represented by different layers starting from the exterior-most. Interpretivism was chosen as the preferred research philosophy because of the opinion based nature of the study. According to Easterby-Smith, Thorpe, and Jackson (2012), interpretivism emphasizes on reality as conducted by people as social actors rather than through subjectivity. Proponents of this research philosophy posit that it would be difficult to make sense of phenomena if everything depended on law and science. The society is dominated by human interactions, hence making the views of people crucial in the understanding of the phenomenon being studied. However, the philosophy is criticized for its lack of rigor because of the dependence on specific case studies. According to Bryman (2008), interpretivism is effective for the study of human experiences and viewpoints that are reflective of their behavior, making it suitable for use in qualitative research, thus provides a theoretical framework on which learning can be based.
Research Approaches
A qualitative case study will be the approach used to conduct the study. The qualitative paradigm is chosen for its applicability in social research due to its naturalistic and interpretive aspects. The method is indispensable for collection and analysis of opinion based data (Bryman, 2008), which is expected for this particular project. However, critics of the qualitative paradigm argue that the techniques lacks rigor because of its dependence on viewpoints and opinions that are vulnerable to subjectivity and are statistically unquantifiable, implying that errors cannot be regulated. Nevertheless, qualitative methods have proven to be effective in social research and their use in the field has increased significantly in the past years. Its use in the field of pedagogical research is based on the capacity for phenomena such as human behavior that cannot be expressed quantitatively. Qualitative techniques are explorative and descriptive in nature, making them suitable for better understanding of the topic of study. Case research is chosen because of its efficiency in studying phenomena under complex settings such as education, which is defined by numerous variables that may create bias in the findings. Learning is constructive, a concept it shares with case research, hence justifying its use. Case research allows centralizes of the study to a specified context, thereby generating crucial data whose consumption inculcates knowledgeability in the field.
Sampling Procedures
The sampling process will be influenced by data collection method to be used. The nature of the study dictates a comprehensive approach that will capture details perceptions of participants. The researcher will employ in-depth interviews, implying that the sample size will be limited to a maximum of 25 participants (15 students/parents and 10 teachers). This is done to ensure that data generated is manageable and reliable for providing inference about the population being studied. Simple random sampling will be used to obtain the two groups of participants who will be adults, and capable of giving informed consent to take part in the study. The assumption that being a case study, the research will take place at the chosen institution for special needs hence recruitment of participants will be less challenging.
Data Collection
Data collection will done through interviews, with open ended questions used to elicit participant’s views on attitudes towards minority students with special needs in the study setting. Interviews have the ability to generate deeper truth because of the trust developed between the research and participant, hence are crucial for understanding of the topic of study. Interviews will be face to face and will be conducted individually for teachers and done in groups for students. The use of interviews as qualitative techniques allow the study of phenomena under natural settings, and attempt to make sense of it, or interpret it in terms of meaning people associate to it, using holistic perspectives that have the capability to preserve the complexities related to human behavior. Interviews will be time to last for 50 to 80 minutes.
Data Analysis
Qualitative techniques will be employed in the management and analysis of data, implying that a thematic approach will be adopted to comparing responses from different interviews to establish recurring themes. The method is time consuming because of data complexity; hence, an opinion-based analysis will be used to collate data into manageable units to create a narrative around it. Only trends of the two categories of shoppers will be judged because of the difficulty in generating numerical data. The technique has the capacity to provide information on individual viewpoints constructed by their personal sense and importance. The non-numerical data generated in qualitative research is useful in developing continuous in depth understanding of the phenomenon depicted form individual feelings and thoughts that make it possible to determine behavioural practices. This human orientation of the method helps in understanding attitudes towards minority students with special needs in education settings.
Ethical Considerations
The use of human participants implies that the study design and approach must conform to the relevant ethical requirements. Therefore, approval will be sought from the institutional ethics committee and the administration of the school in which the study will be set. Consent of participants will also be sought emphasizing on voluntary participation. In addition, it will be assumed that dealing with minority students with special needs is a sensitive endeavour, hence necessary measures will be employed by the researcher to ensure identity and information of participants remains confidential.
References
Artiles, A. J., & Trent, S. C. (1994). Overrepresentation of minority students in special education: A continuing debate. The Journal of Special Education , 27 (4), 410-437.
Bryman, A. (2008). Why do researchers integrate/combine/mesh/blend/mix/merge/fuse quantitative and qualitative research?. Advances in Mixed Methods Research, pp. 87-100.
Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R., & Jackson, P. R. (2012). Management research . A Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Garland, A. F., Lau, A. S., Yeh, M., McCabe, K. M., Hough, R. L., & Landsverk, J. A. (2005). Racial and ethnic differences in utilization of mental health services among high-risk youths. American Journal of Psychiatry , 162 (7), 1336-1343.
Harris-Murri, N., King, K., & Rostenberg, D. (2006). Reducing disproportionate minority representation in special education programs for students with emotional disturbances: Toward a culturally responsive response to intervention model. Education and Treatment of Children , 779-799.
Harry, B., & Klingner, J. (2014). Why are so many minority students in special education? . Teachers College Press.
Hornstra, L., Denessen, E., Bakker, J., van den Bergh, L., & Voeten, M. (2010). Teacher attitudes toward dyslexia: Effects on teacher expectations and the academic achievement of students with dyslexia. Journal of learning disabilities , 43 (6), 515-529.
Ouellette ‐ Kuntz, H., Burge, P., Brown, H. K., & Arsenault, E. (2010). Public attitudes towards individuals with intellectual disabilities as measured by the concept of social distance. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities , 23 (2), 132-142.
Park, K. H. (2010). Teacher perceptions of disproportionality of minorities in special education (Doctoral dissertation, Liberty University).
Pierce, C. M. (1969). Is bigotry the basis of the medical problems of the ghetto? . Community control, voice, and participation, 301-312.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007). Research methods for business students. Financial Times/Prentice Hall.
Skiba, R. J., Simmons, A. B., Ritter, S., Gibb, A. C., Rausch, M. K., Cuadrado, J., & Chung, C. G. (2008). Achieving equity in special education: History, status, and current challenges. Exceptional Children , 74 (3), 264-288.
Ward, S. M. (2009). Bridging the gap: Documenting Clinton school district's (CSD's) journey addressing racial/ethnic disproportion in special education . (Doctoral dissertation, University of Winsconsin-Madison).
