Darrell L. Williams

Series: Education in a Competitive and Globalizing World
BISAC: EDU026020

Many factors contribute to increased numbers of African American students in special education programs. In many large urban school districts, these students constitute the majority of students served in special education programs (e.g., programs for students with learning disabilities, emotional disturbances, and attention deficit disorders). While they are over represented in these programs, they are underrepresented in gifted and talented programs (Ford, 1998).

Furthermore, according to Delpit (1995), African American boys are disproportionately assigned to special education when they do not have to be. She contended that such circumstances can be avoided if teachers simply rearranged their classrooms to accommodate their learning styles. Sadly, this over representation frequently contributes to the deferred dreams of many culturally diverse (CLD) students, particularly African Americans, as they are denied the opportunity to maximize their potential in school and ultimately in life (Ford & Harris, 1994; Harris & Ford, 1999). This book exposes this phenomenon. (Imprint: Nova)