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Changing student demographics have challenged the field of education, especially reflected in the continued poor academic progress and high drop-out rates among students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds, resulting in their being referred for special education services (Artiles, Trent, & Palmer, 2004). Consequently, the validity of the referral process has been a major concern, because students who are CLD have been disproportionately represented in special education (Echevarria, Powers, & Elliott, 2004; Garcia & Ortiz, 2004; Heller, Holtzman, & Messick, 1982). The special education referral process is usually initiated by a classroom teacher. He/she has reasonable justification to suspect a student needs special education services (Ortiz, 1997; VanDerHeyden, Witt, & Naquin, 2003). Furthermore, the research on special education referrals suggests that the most significant factor is the teacher's reason for referral (VanDerHeyden et al., 2003). The way teachers perceive a student can greatly influence his/her academic performance and behavior in school. The incompatibilities of CLD students with school standards makes teachers view them as deviant and puts them in a disadvantaged position (Gay, 2002). Research also has identified that a disproportionate representation of CLD students in special education is due to inappropriate diagnosis (Echevarria et al., 2004; Garcia & Ortiz, 2004; Ortiz, Wilkinson, Robertson, & Kushner, 2006). The inappropriate diagnosis of children of different racial, cultural, social, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds may be the result of confusing disability with diversity (Gay, 2002; Ortiz, 1997). Furthermore, the over- and under-representation of students of color in some disability categories exists because educators may not be aware of the differences between disability and diversity. For example, African American students are twice as likely to be referred to receive services for mental retardation than White students (Echevarria et al., 2004). This may happen because some of the behaviors of CLD students that are acceptable by cultural standards of the home culture are incongruent with the school culture. These behaviors, then, are seen as biological malfunctions or intellectual limitations (Gay, 2002; Ortiz et al., 2006). Teachers must organize their classrooms in ways that take into account the students' cultural background, language, learning styles, values, and knowledge they encounter at home within their community (Gay, 2002; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Villegas & Lucas, 2002). In addition, research over the last three decades has documented that teacher efficacy has an effect on students' learning (Armor et al., 1976; Ashton & Webb, 1986; Bandura, 1997); some have argued that teacher efficacy can be viewed as the most significant factor in student achievement (Armor et al., 1976; Tschannen-Moran, Hoy, & Hoy, 1998). Given the continuous patterns of disproportionate representation of CLD students in special education, it is important to understand the relation between teacher efficacy and the educational success of this population. Specifically, the disproportionate representation has drawn the attention of researchers and educators, but there have been few studies that address teachers' sense of efficacy toward educating CLD students at risk of or with disabilities. On the other hand, researchers (e.g., Valencia, Valenzuela, Sloan, & Foley, 2001) further contend that the concept of the deficit model still exists in today's schools, which also results in the limitation of teachers' use of instructional practices responsive to the students' academic and developmental needs. It is believed that the lack of achievement among students of color and the discontinuity between home and school cultures are closely interrelated (Gay, 2002). Taking the notion of teacher efficacy, it is important to obtain information about teachers' beliefs in terms of their ability to bring about change that can lead to better teacher preparation when addressing the needs of CLD students at risk of or with disabilities. …
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