Misrepresentation of Students of Color in Special Education--Capstone Project

Abstract

Many scholars have argued that one potential factor leading to a misrepresentation of Students of Color (SoC) in special education is educator bias (Wiley et al., 2013; Matias, 2013; Hosp & Reschly, 2004; Kincaid, Kincaid, & Sullivan, 2017; Echevarria, Powers & Elliott, 2004). This research question for this project is: How can we support educators, especially general education teachers, to ensure there is minimal misrepresentation of students of color in special education and gifted and talented programs? An online professional learning module was developed to help educators interrogate their own biases. . Throughout the module, educators can expect to: (1) interrogate their own biases, (2) critically reflect on the power structures in society that privilege and marginalize certain groups of people, and (3) rethink how to structure classrooms/schools to create more equitable learning environments for all students.