Overrepresentation of Immigrants in Special Education / Die Überrepräsentation von MigrantInnen in der Sonderpädagogik

Front matter

Inklusion, Behinderung, Gesellschaft Bildungs- und sozialwissenschaftliche Beiträge

Seyda Subasi Singh Overrepresentation of Immigrants in Special Education

Die Überrepräsentation von Migrantinnen in der Sonderpädagogik

Foreword

In this book, I tackled the overrepresentation of students from a migrant background in special education referrals in the Austrian context. This study was conducted in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It recruited migrants from a Turkish background and others such as teachers, school directors, school inspectors, and school psychologists who have experiences with special education referrals of students from a Turkish background. As the first qualitative study with this specific group of immigrants, the study aimed to offer insight into the discussion of immigrant-overrepresentation in special education and the discussion of the overrepresentation of students from a Turkish background. It gave voice to people who have experience in the referral process. My aim was to analyze this topic from a holistic perspective by including several stakeholders and relying on their first-hand experiences. The overrepresentation of immigrant children in special education schools or in other low-achieving schools is a complex topic that should not be diminished to the lack of language competence of these groups. Similarly, the literature has pointed to the need for more sophisticated research to understand this phenomenon. Trying to explain such complexity through statistical data of parental background, socio-economic status or language competence has been proven inadequate as well. Therefore, this study strived going beyond the description of the situation or identifying the most relevant cause regarding family background. It can be said that this study tackled a topic that is known, discussed but not researched. Findings showed that there was a need for such a study. What the study reached suggested that the emphasis on the lack of language competence or on the family background would be only an underestimation of the problem. The referral process indeed bears a more manifold nature which requires collaboration among stakeholders to avoid any misdeed for students. However, this study demonstrated distrust and a weak collaboration among them which confirmed the necessity of research on the topic. Including Turkish immigrants, non-German speakers, asking about the overrepresentation of students with a Turkish background in special education in a culturally sensitive way, reaching several stakeholders included in the process such as teachers, school directors, school inspectors, or school psychologists as a foreigner researcher, and doing research about such a sensitive topic an immigrant was not a smooth and easy process. However, every single step of this research brought the hope that the findings will reach a wide range of readers and it will have an influence on practices. Hopefully, this goal will be achieved through this book.

This book presents the study in eleven chapters. The first chapter introduces the study in terms of its background, relevance, purpose, and significance. The literature that formed the frame of the discussion for this study is discussed in the second chapter. The next chapter gives detailed information about the research context by presenting the Austrian education system, teacher education system, special education context, as well as the immigrant context. The fourth chapter discusses the methodological approach and the epistemological stance of the research. The fifth and sixth chapters present the data collection and data analysis processes respectively. The presentation of findings starts with the seventh chapter that explains the categories reached at the end of data analysis. This chapter provides quotations from the participants as well. Following, the eighth chapter shows how the core category emerged while the ninth chapter presents the theory generation. The tenth chapter, on the other hand, discusses the generated theory in terms of its relevance to literature by making use of visuals. The last chapter summarizes the previous chapters and discusses the implications of the study by reflecting on critical issues.

Foreword

We live in a time of selectivity and rivalry, where people are more individualistic and ask for the best only for themselves. However, asking the best for all can defeat the disadvantages of all. Hence, I would like to finish this foreword with a quotation from John Dewey.

“What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy.”

Seyda Subasi Singh, Ph.D.

1 Introduction

This chapter gives information about the background, relevance, purpose, and significance of this study. After introducing the background that urged and motivated the study, the relevance of the study to special education, inclusion, Austria, and methodology is discussed. The chapter goes on with the purpose, significance, and potential of the study. At the end of the chapter, the definitions of the terms that are adopted in this study can be found.

1.1 This Study

This study attempted to develop an understanding of the overrepresentation of students with a Turkish migration background in special education referrals in Austria based on the experiences of the people included in the education referral process. The study was conducted in Vienna with participants who had first-hand experiences. The aim was to identify the meaning that participants made of their experiences.

The topic of minority and immigrant overrepresentation in special education is a complex one. However, it is a topic that can reveal significant information about the context, society, and research field. This study could show how the special education referral process is understood, experienced, and interpreted by individuals included in the referral process. In a broader sense, the study could indicate how students with special needs and being educated in a special education school are understood especially focused on immigrants and minorities. The attitude of teachers towards special education and special education needs among Turkish immigrants are some additional aspects that such a study could reveal.

1.2 Background of the Study

In many countries, students with a migration background have a likelihood to attend certain types of schools in a disproportioned way (Song, 2011). Disproportional placement of immigrant students may refer to underrepresentation or overrepresentation for this group. Underrepresentation mainly means fewer students with a migration background in promising schools such as academic schools, grammar schools, or pre-university schools. On the other hand, overrepresentation refers to the high number of immigrant students in low-promising schools such as vocational schools, apprenticeships, or special education schools.

The overrepresentation of students with a migration background in special education referrals can be tracked in many countries around the world (Berhanu & Dyson, 2012; Luciak, 2004; Reichenberg & Berhanu, 2017). Harry (2014) discussed that the low achievement of immigrant students can be considered as a disability in some contexts, which may lead toa referral to special education. Werning, Loser, and Urban (2008) reported the overrepresentation of immigrant students in special education schools in Germany, while Berhanu and Dyson (2017) reported a similar placement for Nordic countries, Strand and Lindsay (2009) for England, or Petricusic (2004) for Slovenia. As a country that is populated with a large number of immigrants, and where immigrant children are overrepresented in special education, Austria was chosen as the research site for this study (Herzog-Punzenberger & Unterwurzacher, 2009; Luciak & Biewer, 2011; Yildiz, 2012). The context of Austria will be discussed in Chapter 3 in detail.