Are Minority Children Disproportionately Represented in Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education?

作者：Morgan Paul L^*; Farkas George; Hillemeier Marianne M; Maczuga Steve

来源：Educational Researcher, 2012, 41(9): 339-351.

DOI：10.3102/0013189X12459678

• minority disproportionate representation
• racial-ethnic disparities
• special education
• early intervention
• preschool
• minorities
• early childhood
• at-risk students
• educational policy
• longitudinal studies
• demography
• regression analyses
• observational research

We investigated whether and to what extent children who are racial-ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in early intervention and/or early childhood special education (EI/ECSE). We did so by analyzing a large sample of 48-month-olds (N = 7,950) participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a nationally representative data set of children born in the United States in 2001. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicate that boys (odds ratio [OR] = 1.66), children born at very low birth weight (OR = 3.98) or with congenital anomalies (OR = 2.17), and children engaging in externalizing problem behaviors (OR = 1.10) are more likely to be represented in EI/ECSE. Children from low-socioeconomic-status households (OR =.48), those displaying greater numeracy or receptive language knowledge (ORs =.96 and.76, respectively), and children being raised in households where a language other than English is primarily spoken (OR =.39) are less likely to be represented in EI/ECSE. Statistical control for these and an extensive set of additional factors related to cognitive and behavioral functioning indicated that 48-month-old children who are Black (OR =.24) or Asian (OR =.32) are disproportionately underrepresented in EI/ECSE in the United States.

• 出版日期2012-12