First Report

Introduction
It has been estimated that within the next two decades, the United States
will become increasingly multiethnic and multilingual (Rodriguez, 1990). The
number of students in the educational system living in poverty will substantially
increase, and there will be an increase in the number of homes where children
speak a primary language other than English.
Minority students are at risk of needing special education services when they are
poor or classified as English as a second language (Baca & Cervantes, 1998);
therefore, it is important that special education address issues if their results
are to apply to the special education population. This report reviews scientific and
methodological problems related to race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status.
There are certain areas that will be investigated which include:
* Defining terms accurately.
* Reviewing epistemological considerations as they relate to racial and ethnic groups.
* Developing unbiased research methodology and procedures.

Review of Literature
In its earliest days special education was limited almost entirely to specific
attempts to teach certain groups, namely young students who were either blind,
deaf or what some would consider mentally challenged (retarded). Work on the
instruction of the individual student’s of those specific categories can be traced to
the 17th century. The American Association on Mental Deficiency had its origin in
an 1876 meeting of school administrators of special institutions for persons who
were labeled mentally retarded. “Special Schools” were separated from all other
schools and usually from each other. In the early stages of education, there was
a major division in the areas of special education and regular education. While
the educational leadership of each area understood certain functions of the other
area, the belief at the time was that there was that each division had little to do
with the other, that teaching procedures and materials had little in common.
Instructors for schools of special education were usually recruited separately and
had different instructor preparation. While special education schools for children
with vision, hearing and cognitive disabilities increased in number in the 19th
century, some exceptional groups began to receive notice from the regular
education community.

The notice began in large communities, mainly cities
which marked a new beginning for special education. Special education began
to include children with speech and language problems, gifted and talented
children and children who has shown evidence of possible emotional
disturbance. The new emphasis on children with special needs was placed to
the forefront of the United States with compulsory school attendance laws which
began in Rhode Island in 1840. (Huber, T. & Parscal, J. 1991)
Children with special needs were now forced to follow new policies such as
attending school, however, teachers and administrators did not know how to
assimilate the new students into mainstream education. Measures were taken
regarding how to assimilate the students.

Special day classes were started in 1869 for students who had a hearing disability or for students classified as mentally retarded. There is not a clear date of when the term “Special Education” became associated with the teaching of exceptional children.
It is evident though that the realities of historical effectiveness in dealing with
children with special needs contributed to its initial definition:
“Education that could not be carried out in the regular classroom.”
There are many definitions of race, ethnicity, culture, and socioeconomic
status. Society the criteria for determining the category to which individuals
belong. It is important to review any inherent assumptions or limitations
associated with definitions.

Ethnicity and Race: The classification scheme developed by the U.S. Bureau of
Census: There are some concerns about the classification system used when
members of a population do not “fit” the format.
The amount of information gathered on the ethnicity of a particular group varies
among groups . Ethnicity and race may cause confusion when one group may
fall under more than one category such as Latino, Mexican American
or Hispanic. Segments of the population may prefer to be acknowledged by
categories different from those offered such as Black rather than African-
American.

Socioeconomic Level. This term has been used to group people by
such criteria as education, occupation, values, income. The categories typically
include classifications such as lower class, working class, middle class, and
upper class (Banks, J. A. (1986). In traditional research studies,
socioeconomic level is determined by a member of the home whose income level
has the most effect on the economic status of the family. There is an inherent
problem with this definition. This definition does not reflect the fact that many
minority families in America are diverse, with children residing in single-parent,
dual-parent, and stepparent families. Economic status of the family may be
determined by a variety of sources. It is important to consider the sources.
When considering multicultural issues at it relates to special education, two
considerations should be examined, regardless of methodological approach
used. , Presumptions related to use of racial categorizations and inferences
made to explain differences in group data.

Race Categorization. The construction of race categories by the personnel in the
educational system tends to be problematic. Traditional descriptions of racial
groups with distinct attributes have been linked to presumptions about
personality, behavior, and intelligence, most of which are often depicted in a
negative way (Luft, P.1995). These presumptions not only undermine research,
but add to stereotypic thinking about diverse cultural groups.
It is also important to note that in quantitative research, that the use of
homogeneous descriptions often use the underlying assumption that each
individual has a similar racial identity. This may cause the results to show
individuals who "look" a certain way and/or who have a certain identity
characteristic, are therefore "alike" (Rodriguez, Y. E., & Sjostrom, B. R. 1996).
Pertaining to developing an explanation for group differences research has
indicated with racial and ethnic groups, the issues of ethics and human values
are extremely important and controversial. Value-neutral methods of data
collection and interpretation are key to ensuring that research findings promote
an accurate view of racial and ethnic groups.

In an attempt to develop unbiased procedures, personnel involved in special
education should consider 3 areas: sampling, instrumentation, and
measurement.

Sampling. A definition and description of the demographic characteristics of the
sample under study is important for researchers to replicate work.
Instrumentation. There are specific areas of concern pertaining to
instrumentation along with measurement as they relate to racial groups. central
to understanding research conclusions. Using research instruments such as
achievement tests may be appropriate measures for middle-class majority
children, but may not be appropriate for research with other racial and ethnic
groups. It can be noted that groups may respond differently to test-taking
strategies when responding to the same information, thereby biasing results. A
key question that addresses this issue is: Do students of different cultures
respond to the research questionnaires and other data collection instruments in
the same manner?

Measurement. Multicultural factors may affect issues of reliability and validity
Crichlow, W., Goodwin, S., Shakes, G., & Swartz, E. (1990).
Constructs may have different meanings across racial groups.
Multicultural factors can have a far-reaching impact on special education studies,
and these factors are predicted to have an even greater impact in the future.
Special education researchers can take a proactive approach to assuring
unbiased, valid and reliable research results by addressing issues of race,
ethnicity, and socioeconomic level in their research design, and methodology.
The disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities in
special education and the inequities in educational opportunities are among the
most important issues faced by the educational system in the past 30 years. In
general, disproportionate representation, or disproportionality, is defined as the
over- or underrepresentation of a given population group often described by
racial and ethnic backgrounds, and in many cases defined by socioeconomic
status, English proficiency, gender, and sexual orientation in a specific population
category. A child's race and ethnicity influence the child's probability of being
misidentified, misclassified, and inappropriately placed in special education
programs. There is a relationship between race and ethnicity and other factors
for students' placement in special education classes. Factors such as, poverty,
assessments, inequities, and professional development opportunities for
teachers have been cited as factors that result in disproportionate representation.