Special Education Considerations for Multilingual Learners: Delivering a Continuum of Services

Multilingual learners in Grades K–12 are often over-identified or under-identified for special education. The third edition of this groundbreaking text offers a better way to meet the needs of multilingual learners: by creating a culturally and linguistically responsive multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) and implementing a continuum of services that meets the needs of the whole child.

Shifting away from traditional ways that schools address the needs of students who experience challenges, the new edition of this text takes a strengths-based approach to supporting multilingual students and focuses on the complex issues that affect a multilingual learner's development. Chapters have been fully updated to reflect the latest best practices and reorganised to better align with MTSS. Educators and other school-based professionals will be fully prepared to:

• Form collaborative MTSS teams that blend the diverse expertise of staff members
• Evaluate and enhance the learning environment for multilingual learners
• Gather extensive data about six critical factors in students’ home and school life, from previous schooling experiences to cross-cultural factors
• Authentically assess the strengths of multilingual learners
• Create a continuum of services that addresses the individual needs of each student
• Plan effective instruction and intervention using a multilingual lens
• Monitor the effectiveness of support strategies and programming for multilingual learners

Practical Features:

• MTSS team activities to support professional learning
• Templates, a rating scale, and other reproducible tools
• Real-world examples from the field
• Discussion questions to help teams apply the concepts to their own student population

Table of Contents

Front Matter

• Foreword
• Preface
• About the Online Resources

• Key Concepts
• Reasons for the Misidentification of Special Needs
• Developing a Multi-Tiered System of Supports
• The Need to Provide Relevant Services in a Timely Manner
• Some Myths Regarding Multilingual Learners and Special Education
• The Continuum of Services Framework
• Questions for Reflection and Action

• Key Concepts
• Getting a Head Start
• Challenges to This Continuum of Services
• Responsibilities of MTSS Teams
• Makeup of MTSS Teams
• Building Professional Bridges across Specializations
• Characteristics of an Effective MTSS Team
• How to Form Effective MTSS Teams
• What MTSS Teams Can Accomplish
• An Innovative Approach
• Questions for Reflection and Action

• Key Concepts
• Key Factors in the Learning Environment
• Evaluating the Adequacy of the Learning Environment
• Enhancing the Learning Environment
• Considering the Six Integral Factors
• Questions for Reflection and Action

• Key Concepts
• Key Factors in the Student’s Personal and Family Background
• Information Gathering
• Systemic Support Strategies
• Specific Support Strategies
• Questions for Reflection and Action

• Key Concepts
• Key Physical and Psychological Factors
• Information Gathering
• Systemic Support Strategies
• Specific Support Strategies
• Questions for Reflection and Action

• Key Concepts
• Key Factors in Previous Schooling
• Information Gathering and Evaluating the Adequacy of Previous Schooling
• Systemic Support Strategies
• Specific Support Strategies
• Questions for Reflection and Action

• Key Concepts
• Key Factors in Oral Language Development
• Key Factors in Literacy Development
• Understanding the Relationship between Students’ Home Language and English
• Language Use Patterns
• Information Gathering What to Assess in Oral Language and Literacy How to Assess Oral Language and Literacy Comparisons with Peers
• Systemic Learning Support Strategies
• Specific Learning Support Strategies
• Questions for Reflection and Action

• Key Concepts
• Key Factors in Academic Performance
• Gathering Information about Academic Performance
• Systemic and Specific Learning Support Strategies
• Questions for Discussion
• Questions for Study Groups

• Key Concepts
• Key Characteristics of Culture
• Information Gathering and Evaluating Cultural Difference Factors
• Systemic Support Strategies
• Specific Support Strategies
• Questions for Reflection and Action

• Key Concepts
• The Importance of Describing before Identifying
• The Process of Data Collection and Explanation
• Questions for Reflection and Action

• Key Concepts
• Providing Support in a Timely Manner
• A Solution-Seeking Approach Based on Meaning
• A Forum for Crafting and Evaluating Interventions
• Key Principles for Crafting and Evaluating Interventions
• Validating Difficulties and Intervening across Contexts
• Home Language and Culture as Resources
• A Sample Process
• Questions for Reflection and Action

• Key Concepts
• Identification of Multilingual Learners Who Experience Significant Challenges in School
• Anticipating and Addressing Predictable Challenges
• Creating a Supportive and Enriched Learning Environment
• Questions for Reflection and Action

Glossary

References

Index