Contextualizing Multilingual Learner Disproportionality in Special Education: A Mixed-Methods Approach

Abstract

One of the most complex and systemic challenges U.S. public schools face is the disproportionate identification of multilingual learners in special education. Currently, students with multidimensional identities are often trapped in ambiguous and contradictory education policies and practices that contribute to both under- and over-representation in special education. Given the legacy of racial discrimination in the United States and in Virginia due to its history, students who have multidimensional identities where social categories intersect and interact with power dynamics are more likely to have their needs and outcomes overlooked. For these reasons, this mixed-methods study, situated within a Virginia school district, built on extent disproportionality research by applying a multilevel model of intersectionality to understand the relationship between social categories (i.e., race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status [SES]), practices, and policies and the disproportionate representation of multilingual learners in special education. We also examined the extent to which multilingual learners are disproportionately over- or under-represented in special education in Virginia, and how disproportionality varies by school level (i.e., grades K–5 for elementary, grades 6–12 for secondary), race/ethnicity, gender, and SES. The quantitative findings from phase one were used to focus on one school district to find out how eligibility processes and services are impacted by organizational structures and school and community contexts. Our results demonstrate disparities for multilingual learners with disabilities by race/ethnicity, gender, and SES. Quantitative findings from this study both support and refute what is known in the extant literature about outcomes related to grade level, race/ethnicity, gender, and SES of multilingual learners with disabilities. The qualitative results, however, illustrate how the larger sociopolitical landscape and perceptions of ability/disability shape eligibility processes and outcomes for these students. Our qualitative data provide insight into multilingual learner disproportionality and the role of context and educational practices that contribute to these types of disparities in special education. The implications of these results for future practice, policy, and research are discussed. Generally speaking, this mixed-methods study shows that (1) using intersectional framing in a risk analysis of multilingual learner disproportionality reveals disparities a one-dimensional approach obscures, (2) representation in special education is associated with a multilingual learner’s social categories (i.e., race/ethnicity, gender, SES), and (3) contextual factors impact how multilingual learner eligibility policies and practices are communicated and implemented within schools. The fact that multilingual learner identification with a disability is correlated with social categories suggests that how we address learning challenges may reflect social problems rather than issues related to learning.