Ending Discrimination in Special Education

Journal of Negro Education, The, Spring 1997 by Sylvia Walker

Ending Discrimination in Special Education, by Herbert Grossman. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1998. 98 pp. $18.95, paper.

Reviewed by Sylvia Walker, Howard University.

This book presents an accurate discussion of poor and minority groups' overrepresentation in special education classes for students with behavior disorders, learning disabilities, serious emotional problems, communication disorders, and mild developmental disabilities; and their simultaneous underrepresentation in educational programs for the gifted and talented. Specifically, author Herbert Grossman, a clinical psychologist and special educator, points out "the enormous disparities between the school experiences and educational outcomes for poor, non-European American, immigrant, refugee, rural, and limited English proficient students with disabilities, and their European American middle- and upper-class peers" (p. 3). He also discusses the impacts of race and class prejudice and teacher expectations on the educational outcomes of students from impoverished and minority backgrounds via international comparisons and several case studies that illustrate the manner in which educational placement and support systems affect student outcomes.

After presenting this background discussion in chapters one and two, Grossman describes in chapter three the culturally and linguistically inappropriate special education services often provided to non-European American, low-income, or limited-English-proficient students. He also provides a number of examples of the manner in which European colonial power has suppressed the cultures of indigenous people and / or minority groups in various parts of the world. He points out the challenges faced by children whose home language is other than standard English, noting that in many instances, teachers are not equipped to provide instruction for such children. The result is that many of these students do not reach their full potential.

In chapter four, the author discusses obstacles to creating change, describing the resistance shown by many special educators and administrators to recruiting personnel from diverse cultural groups and including multicultural issues in the curriculum. In the fifth and final chapter, Grossman challenges all special educators to take the bold steps necessary to end the inequities experienced by low income and minority students in special education. He points out that because European Americans dominate the field of special education, it is they who must take primary responsibility for creating change. He further asserts that special educators of color must lead by example, as they have most likely experienced some of the same inequities faced by minority special education students.

Ending Discrimination in Special Education is a valuable work because its author provides concrete examples of the ways in which teacher education curricula could be altered to ensure more accurate placement and better learning conditions for special education students. In addition, Grossman stresses the importance of respect for diversity and the value of multicultural approaches to curriculum development. This book is strongly recommended for special educators and administrators at all levels.