1. JANET VANHECK
Cultural and Linguistic
Diversity

2. Film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=hi6juLlhI6k&playnext=1&list=PL91BC4EA29874F
BD6

3. Cultural or linguistic diversity is not a disability
However, it can put children and families at risk
for discrimination, bias, and reduced
opportunities.
Diverse students educational outcomes and high
rate of being identified as having disabilities.
Poverty places them at risk for being exposed to
limited healthcare, homelessness, and attending
low-quality schools.

4. When diverse students have disabilities
This is of high concern to the government and has
been addressed in IDEA and its annual reports to
Congress.
Schools must address and pay attention to the
specific learning characteristics and needs of these
students.
The government provides extra funding to assist
schools serving students with and without
disabilities who live in poverty.
When disability is compounded by diversity, the
educational system’s response should be truly
special.

5. Where we’ve been…
America is a nation founded in diversity.
Since its beginning the face of the U.S. has been one
of perpetual change.
America’s school children are diverse in many
different ways.
The languages, beliefs, and traditions they bring
school represent cultures from all over the world.

6. What’s on the horizon
Their heterogeneity is marked along languages,
values, religions, perspectives, priorities, and
cultures.
Creating appropriate educational opportunities
where instruction is effective for every student is a
challenge faced by every classroom today.

7. The U.S. is clearly a multicultural country
We must judge ourselves in terms of
 What we do with our diversity
 How we treat each other
 How we understand each other’s similarities and differences,
and
 How we learn from one another.

8. Historical Context
Education in the U.S. has
faced issues of bilingualism
and multiculturalism
throughout its history.
During WWI, people looked
inward and fostered
“Americanization”, the idea
that the US. Should become a
“melting pot”.
But this model failed and led
to racism, segregation,
poverty and aggression.

9. Cultural Pluralism
A new model emerged by the
late 1960s called cultural
pluralism.
It is the idea that people
should not abandon their
home culture.

10. Legal Aspects
Some students with diverse backgrounds
came to be labeled as having mental
retardation.
Diana v. State Board of Education found that
using IQ tests to identify Hispanic students
was discriminatory.
Larry P. v. Riles revealed the
overrepresentation of African American
children with mental retardation.
Lau v. Nichols -schools must offer services to
help students overcome language barriers.

11. Language is a Continuing Issue
In Phyler v. Doe, it was found that
Mexican nationals living in Texas had
a right to a free public school
education.
However, in Proposition 187 in
California, the prohibited
undocumented immigrants from
receiving a free public education, and
was ruled illegal by the Supreme
Court.
Bilingual education is actually now
allowed in every state in the nation.

12. Challenges that Diversity Presents
There are a number of factors that put these students
at risk. Disproportionately, these students:
 Are poor
 Have limited access to health care
 Are homeless
 Live migrant lives

13. Challenges that Diversity Presents (Con’t.)
 Attend inferior schools.
 Have learning styles and
experiences at variance with
schools.
 Experience school failure
 Are more likely to be identified as
having a disability.
 Struggle with English language
acquisition.
 Drop out of school.

14. In this presentation, you will learn that:
Most diverse students do
not have disabilities but
have special needs
attributable to their
diversity.
You will learn about the
risk factors, but you will
see that their outcomes are
quite promising.
Quality education can and
does make a difference.

15. Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Defined
Students who are considered
“historically
underrepresented” in the
U.S. are those students who
fall into one of these federal
categories. They are often
referred to as minorities:
 African American
 Hispanic
 Asian/Pacific Islander
 American Indian/Alaska Native.

16. Generally, three groups of students are
thought of as diverse:
Culturally diverse
students
Linguistically diverse
And culturally and
linguistically diverse
students with
disabilities.

17. Cultural Diversity
Students who come from backgrounds different
from American mainstream society are thought of
as culturally diverse.
Students at risk of being identified as having a
disability because of misunderstandings of
culturally accepted behaviors and norms of
conduct.

18. Linguistic Diversity
Individuals whose home language is other than
English are referred to as linguistically diverse.
Most educational professionals use the term
English language learners (ELLs).
Limited English Proficient (ELP) is the term
used in IDEA.
The majority of ELLs speak Spanish and
represent the most rapidly growing segment of
the U.S. student population.

19. Diversity and Disability
Culturally and linguistically diverse students with
disabilities are a third subgroup of diverse learners.
Diverse students, like all others, have disabilities, and their
diversity can affect their disability in many different ways.
It is important to remember that they are particularly
vulnerable.
Although their diversity can and should be enriching, it can
also result in additional challenges that negatively affect
school success.

20. Characteristics
Many of their circumstances are
situational.
These students are often confusing
to educators.
Teachers misinterpret a difference
as a problem or disability.
Teachers should try to understand
that these differences may be
addressed through a change in
teaching approach or an
accommodation.

21. Three areas that present difficulties to diverse
learners and their teachers:
Language differences and
language disorders.
Clashes between home and
school cultures.
Behavioral differences,
behavioral disorders, and
attention deficit
hyperactivity disorders.

22. Language
It is not always easy to tell a speech or language
impairment from a language difference.
Some children may speak forms of a language that
vary from its literate or standard form. This may
simply be an accent.
Detecting the differences among language
impairments, learning disabilities, and language
differences can be difficult, even for well-trained
professionals.
They must look to see if the impairment occurs in
both languages.

23. Code Switching
Referred to when students use both English and
their home language within the same
communication.
It is not a disorder.
It is a way for people to achieve mastery of two
languages.
It is a sign that dual language proficiency is
developing.

24. Ebonics as a Dialect
Spoken by many African Americans,
its use at school is considered
inappropriate. Students must learn
to “switch codes.”
Many African American leaders
believe that schools must teach
standard English yet celebrate
student diversity and ability to
communicate effectively in a variety
of settings.

25. Cultural Comprehension
Children come to school with a
good understanding of the
norms of their home cultures.
Once students start school,
however, the rules of home may
not match the rules of school.
Parents and students must
learn a new culture, the one of
schooling

26. A Few Cultural Terms
Culturally competent – knowing and understanding
the cultural standards from diverse communities.
Culturally responsive – A curriculum that includes
multiple perspectives.
Cross-cultural dissonance – Mismatch that occurs
when the home and school cultures are in conflict.

27. Competitive vs. Cooperative Learning
Competition pervades
American learning.
However, many Native,
Asian, and Latino
cultures find
cooperation is more
valuable.
Such students may learn
more readily when
assigned to cooperative
learning groups.

28. Caught Between Two Cultures
 Describes the experience of many
Native students who do not attend a
tribal school.
 Communication at home tends to be
nonverbal and filled with nuances.
 Adults at school can seem to talk too
much, seek direct eye contact, and as
inappropriately personal questions.
 The result can be incorrect referrals to
special education, misidentification as
having a disability, and eventual
dropout.

29. Behavior Leads to Special Education
Inappropriate behavior can begin the
special education referral process.
Black males may be identified as
having behavioral disorders because
they may not comply with
expectations at school and have
trouble controlling their anger.
This also may explain why so many
black youth are diagnosed with
ADHD, particularly when tested by
White teachers.
Cultural conflicts may also explain
why culturally diverse students find
themselves in trouble at school.

30. Classroom Management Problems
Some people tend to share while
the dominant approach is that
what is mine is mine.
This can lead to confusion,
arguments and classroom
management problems.
Most children must learn to sort
out different behavioral
expectations across a variety of
settings.
Children must be taught to sort
out the different behavioral
expectations at school, home,
and in the community.

31. Prevalence
The demographics of American students are changing
– they reflect growing numbers of different immigrant
groups.
National data about diversity and students must be
interpreted carefully.
Not everyone fits neatly into the five categories used
to describe ethnicities: White, Black, Hispanic,
Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American.
Multiracial is not a category.
And there is no distinction between first and multi-
generational.

32. Demographics
Common assumptions about the
backgrounds of diverse individuals
and where they live may well be
wrong because population
demographics are not static.
Generalizing about individuals who
belong to a group can lead to
mistakes.

33. Diverse Students
According to the National Center for Educational
Statistics, 47.7 million students are enrolled in
school:
 1% American Indian
 3.8% Asian/Pacific Islander
 17.5% Hispanic
 14.8% Black
 62.9% White
“Minorities” are not the minority
 In California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico,
and Texas, minorities make of the majority population.
They are not ELLs – less than a third of minorities.

34. Diverse Students with Disabilities
Breakdown of students receiving special education
services:
 62% White
 20% Black
 15% Hispanic
 2% Asian/Pacific Islander
 1% American Indian/Alaska Native

35. Over- and Underrepresentation of Diverse Students
Overrepresentation: if a group’s percentage in the general
population is lower than its percentage in special education.
Underrepresentation – a group’s percentage in the general
population is higher than it is in the special education
population.
Disproportionate representation – any variance between a
group’s representation in the general population and in one
of these subgroups

36. African Americans and Asians
Blacks tend to be
overrepresented in the
mental retardation and
emotional and
behavioral disorders
category.
Asians tend to be
underrepresented in
general.

37. Causes and Prevention
Clearly, diversity, poverty, and disabilities are related.
It is important to understand how they are related,
and how they are not:
 Diversity does not cause disabilities.
 Poverty places students at substantial risk for disabilities.
 Not all diverse students are poor, although they are
disproportionately likely to be poor. (The majority of poor
children are White).
 Issues of cultural and linguistic diversity, along with poverty,
are complex and intertwined. It is important not to
oversimplify them.

38. Causes
There are several causes of disabilities:
 Some are genetic such as Fragile X Syndrome.
 Others are health related such as a virus that causes deafness.
 Environmental factors can cause disabilities such as toxins and
lead based paints.
Many situations can put our children at risk for disabilities and
conditions that cause special needs.

39. Poverty
The link among childhood poverty, poor school
outcomes, and disabilities is now clear and well
documented.
Race and ethnicity are related to poverty (34% of
Black and 29% of Hispanic children are poor;
compared to only 9% of White children).
Far more poor students arrive at kindergarten
already identified as having a disability.

40. Each Day in America
390 babies are born to
mothers who received late or
no prenatal care.
860 babies are born at low
birth weight
1,186 babies are born to teen
mothers
1,707 babies are born without
health insurance
2,171 babies are born into
poverty

41. Homelessness
Homeless children and those of
immigrants and migrant workers
often experience disruption and
dislocation, which can adversely
affect their physical, mental, and
academic abilities.
These students are at high risk of
fragmented education,
absenteeism, and a likelihood of
health problems.

42. Homelessness Con’t.
Being homeless is difficult for
children.
The number of homeless families is
on the rise.
46% of children living in one
shelter had a disability, most
common being emotional or
behavioral disorders.
Because of the high percentage of
homeless children who also have
disabilities, IDEA pays special
attention to them.

43. Prevention
How can disabilities in diverse children be
prevented or avoided?
Remove risks of poverty by:
 Improving their access to health care.
 Guaranteeing universal vaccinations against disease.
 Ensuring safe living environments.
 Making parents aware of free medical services can serve
to prevent disabilities from occurring.

44. Overcoming Challenges
Three barriers to diverse students with special
needs:
 Little or no access to high-quality preschool experiences.
 Attending inferior schools.
 Disengagement, alienation, and dropping out of school.

45. How Do We Improve the Situation?
Provide students with high-
quality early education
experiences.
Give them intensive and
sustained instruction during
their school years.
Make education relevant to
them.
Anchor instructional content
and activities to students’
culture and backgrounds.

46. Assessment
There are several reasons for
testing students:
 To measure how well students are
doing on state standards.
 To get an indication of how a
student is learning the subject they
are being taught.
 To determine whether a student
has a disability.

47. Early Identification
More culturally and
linguistically diverse children
come to kindergarten and first
grade already identified as
having disabilities and already
having an IEP.
One likely explanation is
poverty and limited access to
health care.

48. Pre-Referral
General education and special
education teachers work together
to identify students who may need
testing for services.
The hope is that this step will help
avoid misidentifying diverse
students as having disabilities.
Teams are formed that work to
individualize instruction, create a
special education identification
process, and work collaboratively.

49. Identification
Differences in culture and in
language contribute to some
students being misidentified
as having a disability.
Discrimination in the
assessment process often
occur. IDEA requires that
nondiscriminatory testing be
established in each state.

50. How to Remove Bias
By broadening the view found in standardized tests,
one may be able to reduce the number of students
unidentified when they need special education, and to
be misidentified as needing special education. IDEA
refers to this as nondiscriminatory testing.
Using multiple intelligences may help:
 Verbal
 Logical/mathematical
 Visual/spatial
 Musical
 Kinesthetic

51. Making High Stakes Testing More Fair
Provide early pre-referral
intervention.
Develop assessment portfolios.
Conduct assessments in the
student’s dominant language.
Use interpreters if necessary.
Use qualified personnel
competent in their own and the
student’s language and familiar
with the student’s culture.

52. Including Diverse Learners in High Stakes Testing
Native language accommodations:
 Have test passages in both English and native language.
 Provide questions in both languages.
 Accept answers in either language.
 Translate directions.
English language accommodations:
Read questions orally.
Explain the directions.
Simplify the test’s language.

53. Positive Outcomes of Including Diverse
Learners in High Stakes Testing
High-stakes accountability
has put pressure on schools
to get their ELLs to learn
English faster and earlier.
Learning problems are
addressed early and
intensively.
An atmosphere of high
expectations is created.

54. Early Intervention
The Head Start program helps children get that extra
help they need when compared with children from
impoverished backgrounds.
This results in better academic outcomes, lower
dropout rates, and fewer referrals to special
education.

55. Teaching Diverse Students with Disabilities
Three critical components
must be present in their
education:
 It must be steeped in the practices
of multicultural education.
 It must include intensive support
for language development.
 It must incorporate the most
current evidence-based practices
to address each student’s
particular disabilities.

56. Multicultural Education
Who is it for? Everyone.
All students benefit from learning about other
students and their home communities.
Students whose home cultures are understood,
valued, and respected do not feel marginalized,
rejected, or isolated.

57. Teachers who use multicultural education:
Connect instruction to students’ experiences
and background by incorporating examples that
celebrate diversity.
Understand differences between home and
school cultures.
Avoid clashes resulting from differences of
traditions of the home and those of school.
Provide assignments that come from many
different sources, where the characters
represent many different ethnicities.

58. Contextualized Instruction
Instruction that incorporates
students’ cultures, interests,
and backgrounds into course
content.
Teachers can use
contextualized instruction by
teaching with examples from
many American experiences.

59. Examples of Multicultural Education
Magazines such as Ebony,
Essence, Canales, Latina, or
Indian Country Today.
Groups such as ESL clubs,
African American sororities
and fraternities, Movimiento
Esudiantil Chicano de Atzlan
(MEChA), music, dance, and
craft clubs.

60. Levels of English
Conversational English – Level
of English mastery adequate for
general communications but not
necessarily for academic
learning.
Classroom English – Level of
English mastery required to
access the general education
curriculum and profit from
instruction.

61. A few more terms
Bilingual education – Teaching in and seeking
mastery of students’ native language and English.
English as a Second Language – Instructing students
in English until English proficiency is achieved; does
not provide support in the student’s native or
primary language.
Sheltered English – Restating concepts and
instructions, explicitly teaching vocabulary, using
visuals, and concrete examples, and relating new
language skills to students’ experiences to provide
language support to ELLs

62. The law has been violated if:
Students cannot participate in
instruction because they do not
understand English.
They are assigned to Special
Education due to lack of English
skills.
They are not taught English as
quickly as possible.
Parents receive notifications
from the school in a language
they do not understand (i.e.
English).

63. Providing Language Supports for English
Language Learners
Build vocabulary as an anchor
to curriculum.
Use visuals to support
vocabulary acquisition.
Implement cooperative
learning and peer tutoring.
Use the native language
strategically.
Adjust demands of expressive
language

64. Validated practices - a few definitions
Cooperative learning – small
groups of students working
together to learn the same
material.
Peer tutoring – Classmates
helping each other in pairs.
Reciprocal teaching – a tactic
where teachers and students
switch roles reading stories
and asking questions, and
clarifying reading passages.

65. Some Key Features of
Multicultural Education
Sensitivity to students’ home
cultures.
High expectations for
success.
Family and community
involvement.
Support and inclusion.
Accommodations.
Individualized instructions.
Documented results.

66. Technology
Digital divide – unequal
availability to technology as a
consequence of differences in
socio-economic status.
Computerized language
translators – very useful for
teaching, completing writing
assignments, and
communicating with home.

67. Transition
Diverse students are underrepresented in
postsecondary education and have a high rate of not
completing college.
Diverse students with disabilities graduate from high
school with a standard diploma at a much lower rate
then their White peers with disabilities.

68. Collaboration
Different personnel come
together to work with diverse
students with disabilities.
They form a multi-disciplinary
team that may include
bilingual
paraprofessionals.
(classroom assistants fluent in
at least two languages).

69. Partnerships with Families and
Communities:
Develop an atmosphere of trust and
respect.
Make families feel welcome at
school.
Identify families’ preferred means of
communication and use it effectively.
Communicate on a regular, on-going
basis.
Use interpreters who are
knowledgeable about schools, special
education, and its programs.

70. Conclusion
Education should reflect the rich diversity of
culture and language found across America.
Special education should capitalize on each
student’s background as an appropriate
individualized education program is created.
Many exceptional children are bilingual, and many
more come from diverse cultural backgrounds.
The combinations of disability, giftedness, cultural
diversity, and ELL present many challenges to
educators, as schools attempt to ensure that special
education services are delivered to children who
need and are entitled to them.

71. Discussion Questions
Please form five groups, and each group answer one
of the following questions. We will share answers at
the end.
 1. What is meant by the term diverse?
 2. How does poverty put many culturally and
linguistically diverse students at risk for low educational
results and having disabilities?
 3. What are the key features of multicultural education?
 4. How can schools and teachers be more responsive to
English language learners?
 5. What additional considerations do diverse students
with disabilities and their families require?

72. Some answers to Question 1:
What is meant by the term diverse?
Being from one of these groups: African American
(Black), Hispanic (Latino/a), Asian/Pacific Islander,
American Indian/Alaska native.
Being from a culture different from “mainstream”
America.
Speaking a language at home other than English.
Whether accurate or not, considered a minority.

73. Some answers to Question 2: How does poverty put many culturally and
linguistically diverse students at risk for low educational results and
having disabilities?
Poverty results in reduced access to health care.
Diverse young children are less likely to attend
preschool.
Poor children are more likely to be homeless or to
live a mobile or migrant life.
Fewer poor children have computers at home.
Schools attended by poor students have low
expectations, few resources, unqualified teachers,
and a less demanding curriculum.

74. Some Answers to Question 3:
What are the key features of multicultural education?
Students’ cultural backgrounds and traditions are
integrated into the curriculum.
Students’ home cultures are respected and understood.
Relevant and meaningful examples anchor instruction.
Clashes between home and school cultures are
minimized.
Culturally diverse family members and communities
feel included and welcome.
All educators are culturally competent.

75. Some answers to Question 4: How can schools and teachers
be more responsive to English language learners?
Be sensitive to the different patterns and rates of
language acquisition.
Understand the differences between conversational
and classroom English.
Encourage quick mastery of English through ESL,
bilingual, and sheltered instruction.
Ensure meaningful communications and
partnerships with families and communities.

76. Some answers to Question 5: What additional considerations do diverse
students with disabilities and their families require?
All the components of multicultural education.
Intensive assistance in learning English.
Explicit instruction.
Intensive efforts for family involvement.
Application of validated practices.