This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Dyson, A. Articles by Gallannaugh, F. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Dyson, A. Articles by Gallannaugh, F. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Disproportionality in Special Needs Education in England

University of Manchester

Frances Gallannaugh

University of Manchester

Unlike the United States, England does not have a special education system based on the identification of students as having disabilities of one or another type. Instead, the English system enables help to be provided to students on the basis of assessments of their individual "special educational needs." The authors consider the implications of this position for the disproportional presence of students from different social groups in the special needs system. They argue that disproportionality is a reality in England, as in the United States, though it cannot be understood simply in relation to racial minorities. Nor, within a non-disability-based system, does it arise principally from the misidentification of students as having disabilities. Instead, it reflects broad educational and social inequalities. Disproportionality research, therefore, needs to concern itself with these inequalities.

Key Words: disproportionality • special education • England • ethnicity • class • gender

The Journal of Special Education, Vol. 42, No. 1, 36-46 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0022466907313607


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?