due to limited English proficiency. This finding led Resource personnel to speculate that the culturally and linguistically diverse students were at risk of being incorrectly identified as learning impaired by their classroom teachers and then assigned to special education classes as a result of this mistake.
The research problem explored in this thesis involves determining whether there is a general tendency for teachers to disproportionately refer culturally and linguistically diverse students to special education classes or whether this problem is unique to the school from which the original data were drawn. It should be noted here that determining whether culturally and linguistically diverse students are disproportionately and incorrectly referred to special education classes is an important area of study because existing research has shown that referral to special education is associated with many serious consequences to the student.
These consequences include the risk of the student being labeled by teachers and administrators throughout his or her school career. Moreover, there is a tendency for this label to create many negative experiences for students including long-lasting negative expectations of the child's ability and performance by teachers, administrators, and even peers (Cummins, 1980).
The basic purpose of this thesis was to examine the existing knowledge base for evidence of disproportionate and incorrect referral of culturally and linguistically diverse students to special education. The conducted examination of the literature was made not only in terms of whether there is a tendency to disproportionate and incorrect teacher referral but also in terms of the consequences of incorrect referrals to these students. Further, the literature was examined for strategies that can be used to remediate the problem.
The study's basic purposes can be re-characterized as an attempt to investigate the exist...