Researchers have identified the negative effects of labeling associated with curricular tracking. Using a variety of theoretical perspectives, researchers have also suggested how the formal, structural role of tracking was established and has persisted despite strong evidence that tracking and attendant labeling of students negatively affects the…

The goal of this mixed methods study was to explore differences among teachers (n = 52 special education teachers, n = 195 general education teachers, and n = 30 gifted education teachers) on their perceptions of students with disabilities and their willingness to refer them to a gifted and talented program. In this follow-up to an earlier work,…

Educators in the United States have been socialized to believe that their mission in teaching is to play nice and treat all of their students the same, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, or gender. What is often missing in this teaching-all-equally approach is a counter-narrative that questions whether teachers can in fact successfully act as…

In this study a representative sample of 880 elementary and secondary teachers currently teaching in 33 schools across the state of Arizona were asked about their perceptions of how their ELL students were faring under current instructional policies for ELL students. Teachers were surveyed during the Spring of 2010. Overall findings show that most…

This study examined implicit and explicit attitudes of teachers toward the Emotional Disturbance (ED) label, the strength of association between implicit and explicit ratings, and the variance in attitudes between different types of teachers or among teachers in different settings. Ninety-eight teachers (52 regular education and 46 special…

In this article, the author, who has a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), shares her concerns about the stereotypes that too often surround the disorder. She suggests that because most biases and stereotypes are born of ignorance and misinformation, it is important that parents and educators do their part to…

This study examines the results of the Alternative Identification and Reporting (AIR) program, which promoted the nonuse of disability labels for students receiving special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (i.e., students who would previously have been identified as having an emotional/behavioral disorder, specific…

Discusses labels, literacy, and education; defining truth; and the role of identity in literacy practices. (SG)

The current study investigated how teachers would intervene in hypothetical conflicts experienced by students in the classroom and how informal labeling of students and affect relate to teachers' hypothetical interventions. Thirty-one teachers from various early childhood learning centers were recruited for participation. Teachers were presented…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Teaching Quality and includes: (1) Ensuring Teaching Quality in a Civil Rights Context (Bradley Scott); (2) An Unspoken Culture…

An attitude questionnaire (accompanied by a student vignette) completed by 210 faculty members explored (1) their preception of the academic potential of LD students, and (2) their perceived ability to work with learning disabled individuals. Among conclusions was that university faculty are influenced by the presence of labeling information. (JW)

A study involving 240 students (undergraduate special education, graduate special education, undergraduate regular education, and graduate regular education) indicated that the label ascribed to a child significantly affected his/her perceptions of student academic behavior, and to a lesser degree, social behavior. The assigned attribute did not…

At the root of processes of inclusion and exclusion in society and schools seems to be a notion of 'other' as outsider/insider or deviant/normal and the social construction of such identities by onlookers in relation to a binary divide. In schools a fundamental process upon which the interpretations, practices and actions of teachers are founded…

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a diagnostic term now indelibly scored on the public psyche. In some quarters, a diagnosis of ADHD is regarded with derision. In others it is welcomed with relief. Despite intense multidisciplinary research, the jury is still out with regard to the "truth" of ADHD. Not surprisingly, the…

The extent to which 46 special education teachers judged the mathematics performance of a fourth grader to be a function of his handicapping condition and/or his competence was evaluated. A videotape presentation and brief case study were reviewed and teachers were asked the extent to which various attributes were influential in the child's…