I critique in this article the construct of culture because of its centrality in creating the notion of "difference," which has been commonly applied to marginalized populations. I examine critically how the notion of culture has been theorized in educational research as a means to obtain theoretical clarity in research design and…

Discussion of complexities in serving economically disadvantaged culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities in inclusive settings uses cultural-historical activity theory to stress the need to consider issues in ethics, power, and privilege broadly and continually to promulgate more equitable and effective inclusive education…

In examining the disproportionate representation of minority groups in special education, this article recommends the inclusion of philosophical and ethical perspectives to broader theoretical paradigms and the open acknowledgement in research efforts that issues related to ethnicity, race, and language background are highly contentious in our…

Introduces the focus of articles that follow in the special issue, the education of minority or culturally diverse students with learning disabilities. Discusses the importance of examining the role of sociocultural variables in research on learning disabilities and what practitioners can do to incorporate sociocultural perspectives. Summaries of…

A study used data from the National Education Longitudinal Study to identify predictors of placement for eighth-grade ethnic-minority students (n=3,439) in learning-disability (LD) programs. Results found that although some factors predicted placement in LD programs for all ethnic groups, placement predictors also varied by student ethnicity.…

This article proposes a reconceptualization of multicultural teacher education and summarizes basic principles of cultural-historical theory. It also considers how cultural-historical theory can inform research design and offers examples from a preservice teacher education course of how constructs from cultural-historical theory can be used to…

This introductory article to the special issue summarizes following articles, which describe the status of research on multicultural education and special education, the development, implementation, and evolution of multicultural education courses at two major research universities, and findings about the impact of coursework on the thinking and…

This study examined the impact of multicultural education courses on preservice teachers' pedagogical knowledge and beliefs about culturally diverse learners. Part 1 reports on a study of 20 preservice teachers pursuing a masters degree in elementary education enrolled in a required multicultural education course and were examined for their…

This article reviews historically the overrepresentation of Latino and African-American students in special education; examines the influence of court cases, debate about systemic issues, demographic and socioeconomic changes, the construction of minority students' school failure, and the fallacy of the cultural diversity-disability analogy; and…

A study examined responses of 97 California teachers and 59 Guatemalan teachers to vignettes describing boys with and without learning disabilities (LD) who had failed a test. Guatemalan teachers felt more pity and less anger for boys with LD. Both groups provided more rewards to boys expending high effort levels. (Contains references.) (CR)

This brief, also available in Spanish, defines the concept of overrpresentation, identifies possible causes for the problem, and offers a variety of ways that parents and families can help prevent or decrease overrpresentation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education programs. (Contains 2 tables.) [This brief was…

Used concept maps and surveys to assess the effects of a multicultural education course on preservice teachers' cognitions. Found that Group B students' conceptualizations of effective teaching increased after the course, but other indicators showed that they did not actively reorganize their reconceptualization. Group A students exhibited the…

This longitudinal case study focused on the learning trajectories of two novice bilingual education teachers in urban schools. The changes in and relationships between the teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and interactive thinking about teaching culturally diverse learners was traced. Results have implications for the design of teacher education…