This study is an interpretative discourse analysis [following Gee, J. P. 2005. "An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method." 2nd ed. New York: Routledge; Gee, J. P. 2011. "How to Do Discourse Analysis: A Toolkit." London: Routledge; and Willig, C. 2008. "Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology."…

Purpose: The purpose of this review article is to conduct a critical analysis of state-level policies focusing on the provision of speech-language therapy and special education to children and youth who are racialized emergent bilinguals (REBs) suspected or labeled as dis/abled. Method: We analyzed the state-level policies focusing on…

Like all acts of naming, the term 'Pasifika', which is used to refer collectively to persons with connections to Pacific Island nations living in Aotearoa New Zealand, can be used to represent or to misrepresent, to enable or to control. Consequently, the notion of a field of Pasifika educational research is contested. This article provides a…

Attending college can create dissonance for working-class students as they experience tension between their home communities and the norms and values of higher education. In this study, I explored how working-class students make meaning of their social class identity at public research institutions. Through a critical constructivist narrative…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to situate the recent language disorder label debate within a school's perspective. As described in two recent "The ASHA Leader" articles, there is international momentum to change "specific language impairment to developmental language disorder." Proponents of this change cite increased…

This action research design drew on socioemotional conceptualizations of student validation. These concepts are based on stigmas, negative labels, and isolation bestowed on marginalized and oppressed students supported through special education, English language learners, foster care, and mental health services. This study examines conscious and…

Restorative justice represents "a paradigm shift in the way Americans conceptualize and administer punishment," says author Maisha T. Winn, from a focus on crime to a focus on harm, including the needs of both those who were harmed and those who caused it. Her book, "Justice on Both Sides," provides an urgently needed,…

Students with special educational needs (SEN) are at risk of lower teacher expectations due to disability-related negative labelling effects. In most educational systems, students with SEN receive measures such as accommodations (adjustments of the learning/assessment conditions), curriculum modifications (adjustments of the learning objectives),…

This paper draws on data from a 2018 study that explored how K-12 educators in one rural Midwestern community were responding to the milieu of rapid changes in immigration policy and rhetoric. Participants' discussion around immigration status commingled with other status-assigning labels or used labels that may be used to sort or categorize…

School personnel are accountable for the academic "achievement" of students with and without disability labels (Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA], 2015). In Wisconsin, "achievement" is measured via performance on standardized academic assessments (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction [DPI], 2019). The use of these…

The Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC) process has been long established within Ontario special education practice and provincial legislation. Borne out of advocacy for advancing the right to education for children with disabilities, the IPRC process is now being critically explored as to whether the process itself creates an…

At the University of Manitoba, Canada a team comprised of four faculty members from the Faculty of Education, an Indigenous Education Consultant, and a graduate student embarked on a change initiative entitled: "Indigenizing Curriculum, Pedagogy and Spaces in Teacher Education." In the spirit of reconciliation, the initiative involved…

In 1986, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) position paper, "Rights without Labels," was published. This document was radical because it acknowledged that serious problems existed in the educational classification system and proposed the necessity of serving students with special needs within the general education…

The purpose of this "Equity by Design Research Brief" is to summarize a study by Dr. David Hernández-Saca of student Sophia Cruz's experiences of being labeled with a Learning Disability (LD), and what the meaning of LD was for her. The purpose of the study was to center student voice within the traditional special education field of LD…

In this response article, the author agrees with Jacobson that the labeling of individuals as "hard to serve" is unfortunate and misdirected in that it suggests that these students are somehow deficient and are the problem rather than identifying complex systemic issues that make some adult education programs necessary in the first…