Lifting the Voices of Black Students Labeled With Emotional Disturbance - Calling All Special Education Researchers

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr

Ill-defined behaviors tied to emotional disturbance (ED) classification and limited cultural competence have fueled the over-representation of Black children in special education. Although meta-analyses and systematic reviews have examined this issue, debate persists, and quantitative work rarely centers students’ own voices. This forum paper reviews existing qualitative studies that interview Black students labeled with ED about their school experiences and issues a call to action for special education researchers.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Disproportionality in Special Education

Lifting the Voices of Black Students Labeled With Emotional Disturbance: Calling All Special Education Researchers Behavioral Disorders 2023, Vol. 48(2) 121–133 © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2022 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/01987429221130729](DOI: 10.1177/01987429221130729)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/01987429221130729)[journals.sagepub.com/home/bhd](journals.sagepub.com/home/bhd) Justin D. Garwood, PhD 1, and Kelly M. Carrero, PhD2 Abstract Ill-defined behaviors related to emotional disturbance (ED) classification and a lack of cultural competence have contributed to the over-representation of Black children in special education. Several meta-analyses and systematic reviews of the literature have been conducted to examine the topic of over-representation, but to date, there remains debate surrounding this issue. At the same time, and in recognition of the fact that statistical analyses from quantitative research do not lend voice to the participants in research studies, there is a dearth of qualitative research studies focused on Black students eligible for special education under an ED label where the researchers spoke to the students themselves, rather than asking others (e.g., teachers, parents) about them. In the current forum paper, we call attention to this issue by reviewing the existing studies where researchers have spoken to Black students with ED about their school experience, and we place a call to action before the field of special education researchers. Keywords differences, cultural, emotional disturbance, disorders/disabilities, disproportionate representation, qualitative methods Federal legislation suggests special education services are designed—and deemed necessary—to help students with disabilities access the accommodations and supports they need to achieve academic success and educational equity in schools across the United States (Gatlin & Wilson, 2016) . In practice, many students have experienced benefits (e.g., improved academic achievement, high school graduation, social-emotional development) from specialized education services (Kauffman et al., 2017) . At the same time, the low expectations that often accompany come along with the federally required labels (e.g., learning disability, intellectual disability, emotional disturbance [ED]) to make students eligible for special education have also harmed students’ educational experiences (Gold & Richards, 2012; Shifter, 2013) . Students with disabilities are often viewed with pity rather than promise, which promotes discrimination in the form of ableism (i.e., a preference for able-bodied people; Devlin & Pothier, 2006) . Black students with disabilities are a twicemarginalized and discriminated-against group (Gatlin & Wilson, 2016), as they are among the most over-represented demographic in special education (McKenna, 2013; Parrish, 2002; U.S. Department of Education, 2021) . Disproportionality in Special Education The most recent report to the U.S. Congress on the implementation of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) indicated Black students ages 6 to 21 were more likely than their non-Black peers to receive services across almost all special education categories, except those related to visual, hearing, and speech impairments (U.S. Department of Education, 2021) . Students with medically diagnosed disabilities—or “hard disabilities” (e.g., hearing and visual impairments)—are less likely to be misidentified than students being served under IDEA for disabilities with subjective classification systems—or “soft disabilities”—such as ED (Garwood & Adamson, 2022; Garwood & Moore, 2021; Harry & Klinger, 2014; Whitford & Carrero, 2019) . The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) defines ED as: “A condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics

FAQs

为什么“情绪困扰（ED）”标签会影响美国特殊教育中的黑人儿童比例？

文中指出，与ED分类相关的行为界定不清以及文化能力不足，促成了黑人儿童在特殊教育中的过度代表。

现有研究为什么仍存在争议？

虽然已经有多项关于“过度代表”的元分析和系统综述，但截至目前该问题仍存在争论。

本论文希望通过什么方式让研究更贴近学生自身声音？

文中强调量化研究难以让参与者发声，因此呼吁并回顾与ED相关的定性研究，即由研究者直接与黑人学生访谈其校园经历，而非仅听取教师或家长等他人意见。

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr