Attribution, Race, and Gender: The Relationship Between the Perceptions of European American Teachers and The Disproportionate Placement of African-American Males in Special Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine factors which may have contributed to the disproportionate placement of African-American males in special education within a particular urban school district. The study examined European-American teachers’ (teaching group) attitudes within the school district toward instructing male students, specifically African-Americans. The study compared and examined teachers’ perceptions of their general efficacy towards instructing all students and efficacy towards teaching males, particularly African-American males and how teachers’ attitudes may contribute to and correlate with the overrepresentation of African-American males in special education. In addition, the study will examine how teachers’ attributes (i.e., cultural, racial, gender and educational training) contribute to student performance expectations.