Identification of Hispanic English Language Learners in Special Education

Gail I. Becker · Editörden

18 citations0/0 files storedEducation Research International

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Multilingual Education and Policy EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning Second Language Learning and Teaching

Abstract

Overrepresentation of English language learners (ELLs) in special education is a current problem. Urban school professionals indicated that inappropriate placement is linked to a multiplicity of factors. Scarce data exist regarding the relationship between school professional efficacy beliefs, the availability of bilingual programs and personnel for ELLs, and successful academic outcomes. School employees are still confused about the proper placement of English language learners (ELLs). What is enough time to acquire a second language and learn with success? Without other substantial program choices, children are referred to special education. Furthermore, many students in need of special education may be overlooked and remain in ESL programs for their entire school career. The aim of this study was to identify the role staff member’s efficacy plays in the proper determination of an ELL with a language difference or disability. Child study team (CST) members ( n=14 ) working with a large Hispanic ELL population participated in semistructured interviews to determine the role their efficacy beliefs exert during assessment of linguistically diverse students. Overwhelmingly, staff members noted that they did not feel competent when making decisions regarding ELLs. Therefore, staff members placed the children into special education each time. The practice implications come from the prominent themes that include significant in-district professional development on second language acquisition, facilitation of second language through use of first language through bilingual staff, and committed bilingual programs to meet ELL needs. Additionally, universities must provide coursework that furthers second language acquisition theories and strategies for all teacher candidate programs.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 18 citations exist upstream.

References

2002Social Cognitive Theory in Cultural Context 2008Achieving Equity in Special Education: History, Status, and Current Challenges 2011Disproportionality in Special Education Identification and Placement of English Language Learners 2007Two-way and monolingual English immersion in preschool education: An experimental comparison 2007Dual language and literacy development of Spanish-speaking preschool children 2010Pre-service teacher beliefs about language learning: The second language acquisition course as an agent for change 2010One School’s Implementation of RTI With English Language Learners: “Referring Into RTI”2008The Impact of Time Spent Coaching for Teacher Efficacy on Student Achievement

Cited by

2022English Learner Teacher Advocates: A Systematic Literature Review 2025In between the fields of research of special educational needs and multilingual education – Swedish heritage language teachers’ perspectives on special educational needs in multilingual students

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.