The Next Generation of Disproportionality Research

Abstract

Minority student disproportionate representation in special education has been debated and (increasingly) studied in the United States for the past 40 years. The purpose of this article is to place this problem in the larger arena of equity studies related to difference in educational practice and propose a comparative model to study it. A first step in the creation of a comparative interdisciplinary paradigm is the publication of this special series. The authors theorize the disproportionality problem and critique U.S. research on the topic before introducing the articles included in this issue, which cover six nations on four continents. The authors conclude with a discussion of key themes to include in the next generation of comparative interdisciplinary research on disproportionality.