Keywords

emotionally/behaviorally disabled, gifted and talented, referral, placement, perceptions, classrom teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers

Abstract

Socio-culturally diverse students with disabilities are underrepresented in gifted and talented programs. This study investigated the differences in educators' referral and placement decisions based on a students' disability label, socio-economic status (SES), and ethnicity. Two hundred and eighty five educators' (classroom teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers) across a Florida school district participated in the study. Educators' were randomly assigned to treatment and control case vignettes that described a student with emotional/behavioral disabled (EBD) and gifted characteristics. Treatment case vignettes explicitly stated the students' disability label, socio-economic status, and ethnicity. Control case vignettes described of the student examined and did not mention the disability label, ethnicity, or socio-economic status of the student. After reading the case vignette, participants responded to a two-item questionnaire that explained their referral and placement decisions of the student described in the vignette. Participants responses to the two item questionnaire were indicated by selecting one of six choices: strongly agree, slightly agree, agree, disagree, slightly disagree, and strongly disagree. Reponses were the dependent variables being measured. A three-way factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to measure the differences in educators' referral and placement decisions based on a student's disability label, socio-economic status, and ethnicity. Results indicate educators' awareness of a students' disability label, socio-economic status, and ethnicity influence referral decisions. Implications are discussed and recommendations for future research are made.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2007

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Little, Mary

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Child, Family, and Community Sciences

Degree Program

Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0001777

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0001777

Language

English

Release Date

September 2007

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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