Gender Issues in Special Education Essay

While it is obvious to researchers that phallics and distaffs ar disproportionately served by fussy(a) developdaysing programs, the springs for the sex influence be not clear. Boys and girls argon known to comprise equal proportions of the school-aged population nevertheless, boys atomic number 18 known to account for approximately two-thirds of all students served in finicky upbringing (Gender as a Factor in Special Education Eligibility, Services, and Results). Is it because the breedingal policies of some states of America p make to send off to a greater extent boys than girls for picky learning programs?Or, atomic number 18 there essential differences between boys and girls to account for the sexual activity spread in superfluous education? The present research evaluates the answers to these questions for education professionals to attempt to bridge the sexual practice fissure in special education. atomic number 18 there sexual urge differences to account for the gender gap in special education? Studies on disability create by and large emphasized on commonalities among persons with disabilities instead of addressing gender based differences. This is the indicate why there is teensy-weensy known ab turn out the different experiences and characteristics of boys and girls with disabilities (Gender as a Factor).It is kindle to note that the problem of the gender gap in special education does not exist in the United States alone. Studies ask addressed this division in relation to the alter populations in the United Kingdom, Norway, and Canada as well. As a matter of situation, researchers learn to a fault noted the differences between the acquisition needs and schoolman achievements of boys and girls in the uniform schoolroom. The differences among boys and girls in the regular classroom discontinue us to infer that boys and girls atomic number 18, indeed, different in terms of their educational needs and achieve ments.Hence, the gender gap in special education whitethorn exist for a genuine reason. Chapman (2006) writes Sitting in the same classroom, reading the same textbook, listening to the same teacher, boys and girls receive very different educations. In fact, upon entering school, girls perform equal to or better than boys on more or less every measure of achievement, but by the time they graduate uplifted school or college, they have fallen behind. However, discrepancies between the act of girls and the performance of boys in elementary education leads some critics to argue that boys are organism neglected within the education system.Across the country, boys have never been in more trouble They earn 70 percentage of the Ds and Fs that teachers dole out. They make up two thirds of students denominate learning disable. They are the culprits in a whopping 9 of 10 alcohol and drug violations and the suspected perpetrators in 4 out of 5 crimes that end up in juvenile court. The y account for 80 percent of high school dropouts and charge deficit disorder diagnoses. This performance contrast is notable throughout Canada. In Ontario, Education Minister Janet Ecker said that the results of the exchangeable grade 3 and grade 6 testing in maths and reading showed, persistent and glaring discrepancies in achievements and attitudes between boys and girls. In British Columbia, standardized testing indicates that girls outperform boys at all takes of reading and piece and in Alberta testing shows that girls, signifi jackpottly outperform boys on reading and indite tests, while almost matching them in math and science. However, the American stand of University Women published a report in 1992 indicating that females receive less attention from teachers and the attention that female students do receive is ofttimes more prejudicious than attention received by boys.In fact, examination of the socialization of gender within schools and evidence of a gender bi ased hidden political platform demonstrates that girls are shortchanged in the classroom. Furthermore, there is significant research indicating steps that can be taken to minimize or eliminate the gender bias currently present in our education system. If teachers are, indeed, responsible for giving more attention to boys than the girls, this whitethorn very well be a reason why boys are more often linkred to special education programs than the girls. scour so, the academic achievement of girls tends to be higher than that of the boys in most regular classrooms.Therefore, there may be no reason to blame the teachers for referring more boys than the girls to special education programs. Vaishnav (2002) writes that boys are more presumable to act out in class than the girls simply because boys tend to be more fighting(a) while girls tend to be more static. Furthermore, girls are more likely to be compliant, and this attitude on their part can be misdirect because girls may be hid ing their disabilities behind their compliance. Even so, it is noteworthy that the gender gap in special education varies from school district to school district in the United States.Among the emotionally disturbed children in Milwaukee, for extype Ale, save fifty five percent are boys. In Kansas City, on the different hand, almost ninety percent of the students diagnosed as emotionally disturbed are males. In the schools of mummy, males are slightly more likely than girls to be determine with hearing or vision problems, and one and a half gene symmetryn more likely to be identified as mentally mentally retarded (Vaishnav). What is more, males are twice more likely than girls to be labeled with learning disabilities, and more than three times as likely to be called emotionally disturbed (Vaishnav). Are state policies responsible for the gender gap in special education? info on the gender gap in special education let outs that boys are overrepresented in special education irr espective of school district and state. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that the school districts in Massachusetts, on total, refer students for special education programs according to the following ratio for male to female students 73 (District Rates Students with Disabilities by Race and Gender, 2004). mayhap this ratio is based on a state policy that requires more males to be referred for special education programs.Indeed, there are three true reasons cited for the gender gap in special education, one of which is the bias in special education referral and assessment procedures (Tschantz & Markowitz, 2003). The other reasons include the biological and behavioral differences between male and female students. Even so, the reason that points to continuant discrimination in special education requires the watchion of data from states to reveal the actual gender gap in special education in different states and school districts.By knowing that the gender gap in a certain state is wider than the gap in another state, for example, we may very well be able to identify the state policies that may be responsible for the difference (Tschantz & Markowitz). Coutinho & Oswald (2005) have conducted a study on state policies with regards to special education. According to the researchers, states that either have a high or low proportion of students assigned to special education programs are more likely to identify more males than females for these programs. eyesight that the law of the United States does not demand school authorities to refer more males than females for special education programs, the authors recommend that all states must(prenominal) collect data to analyze the gender gap in special education. The data that is collected thus would allow researchers to examine where the problem truly lies. Is it because the teachers are referring more males than females because they observe the differences in the classroom? Or, is it because certain school distr icts opt to send off more males than females to the special education classroom?The authors get ahead note that the educators may very well be biased in their implementation of identification and referral policies. Hence, a vigorous, systematic evaluation is a unavoidableness in the identification of the real reasons for the gender gap in special education (Coutinho & Oswald). Analysis of the Findings and Conclusion Sanders (2002) confirms the conclusion of Chapman that there is a difference between the levels of attention received by boys and girls in schools. well-nigh of the reasons for the differences are pointed out by the author as the following (1) The ratio of boys to girls taking the highest level Advanced Placement Test in computer Science is 91 (2) Eighty five percent of girls from 8th to the eleventh grade report that they have been sexually harassed in school, while the percentage is lower for males (3) All except one of the school shootings in recent years had been committed by white male students and (4) The average boy in eleventh grade writes at the level of the average girl in eighth grade.Perhaps, therefore, we must agree with the fact that there is a difference in the learning needs and academic achievements of boys and girls to a fault in the regular classroom. The difference between boys and girls in the regular classroom helps us to understand that the gender gap in the special education programs is perchance a genuine one. However, there is very little research on the differences between males and females with regard to disabilities. This is the reason why researchers are as yet unclear about the real meaning of the gender gap in special education.Research in future must focus on the differences between males and females with regard to disabilities. Only then shall we cogitate with certainty that there is a genuine gender gap in special education, perhaps because there are more disabled boys than disabled girls. Vaishnavs anal ysis of the reason for the gender gap in special education is very important, seeing that girls are definitely more passive while boys are certainly more active in the classroom. This is the reason why educators find it easier to identify emotionally disturbed boys.Males are also more likely to show their learning disabilities more easily than the females, for the simplex reason that boys act out in class more often than the girls. Females may hide their disabilities from their teachers through their passivity and compliance. This analysis carries an important lesson for teachers perhaps teachers should learn to identify learning disabilities and emotional disturbance in girls by a different method altogether. Psychological, including IQ testing, should definitely help. Research has also suggested that boys are twice more likely than girls to be identified as gifted students (Chapman).If psychological, including IQ testing, is made mandatory for all students, however, the gender ga p may very well be bridged. Lastly, it is important to note that researchers have not yet found differences in state policies with regards to the gender gap in special education. There is no state policy that understandably asks for boys to be referred in greater numbers to special education programs. Nevertheless, there are differences among states with respect to the gender gap. Besides, our research on Massachusetts shows that most school districts maintain an average ratio of boys to girls that are referred to special education programs.Even though research would not identify the reason for this average ratio, Countinho & Oswald are correct to conclude that thorough data appeal would allow us to analyze the gender gap more easily. By knowing exactly where the gender gap widens or contracts, educational researchers would be able to study the specific school district policies that relate to the same. This would allow them to identify the real reasons for the gender gap in scho ol education, and why it widens or contracts in certain states or school districts as compared to the others.irrespective of limited research on the real reasons of the gender gap in special education, educators are required to pay equal attention to girls and boys in their classrooms. This is, perhaps, the most important lesson to be learned from the present research. After all, by paying more attention to boys, teachers may be negatively impacting the lives of absolute gifted girls. Similarly, there may be countless learning disabled girls who may benefit from special education programs even though their teachers have not identified them as learned disabled. Equal opportunity in education is of the essence.Psychological testing, including IQ testing, is certainly expected to help educators along the way.References Chapman, A. (2006). Gender Bias in Education. Research Room. Retrieved Nov 25, 2007, from http//www. edchange. org/multicultural/papers/genderbias. html. Coutinho, M. J . , & Oswald, D. (2005, Jan 1). State variation in gender disproportionality in special education findings and recommendations. Remedial and Special Education. District Rates Students with Disabilities by Race and Gender. (2004, Oct 1). Massachusetts Department of Education. Retrieved Nov 25, 2007, from http//www. doe. mass.edu/InfoServices/reports/enroll/sped05/rg. pdf. Gender as a Factor in Special Education Eligibility, Services, and Results. Retrieved Nov 25, 2007, from http//www. iteachilearn. com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender. htm. Sanders, J. (2002, Nov 1). Something Is Missing from Teacher Education Attention to twain Genders. Phi Delta Kappan. Tschantz, J. , & Markowitz, J. (2003, Jan). Gender and Special Education Current State Data Collection. Quick Turn Around. Retrieved Nov 25, 2007, from http//www. nasdse. org/publications/gender. pdf. Vaishnav, A. (2002, Jul 8). Some Say Boys Singled Out for Wrong Reasons. The capital of Massachusetts Globe.