The increased racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S. has resulted in a greater number of minority children in the classroom. Misunderstanding of cultural differences of racial/ethnic minority groups can lead to a misdiagnosis of learning difficulties or a referral to be tested for special education services. The inappropriate placement of racial/ethnic minority students into special education programs has contributed to the trend of disproportionality -- the disproportionate representation of certain minority student populations in special education. The concerns of disproportionality, debated for more than forty years, are presented from two perspectives -- the view that disproportionality is no problem and the opposing view that the negative implications of disproportionality are dangerous. Although there is little disagreement on how to define disproportionality and outline the statistics, the research on determining the cause of disproportionality is more controversial. A range of issues, a few of which include race, culture, and disability definitions, can contribute to the problem of disproportionality. By taking into account social and environmental factors that influence school readiness of ethnic minority students as a likely source of disproportionality, the recommendation of access to early childhood opportunities such as Head Start or other preschool programs has been suggested as one solution to help decrease the disproportionality trend. A review of current research and identification of key issues for further study on the effect of pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) educational services on disproportionality is one way to confront the issue of disproportionality and thereby help our nation's commitment of educational equity for all children. / text

Suicidality rates are far higher among gender minority individuals than in the general population. This study sought to determine if intersecting identities and social support play a role in these rates. There were no differences in suicidality among gender minorities with an intersecting sexual minority identity. For intersecting racial/ethnic identities, it was found that White individuals were more likely to report past suicidal ideation than racial/ethnic minority individuals. Family support was independently associated with less suicidal ideation, whereas gender minority friend support was independently associated with an increase in suicidal ideation.

abstract: The present study explored longitudinal associations between self-esteem and a specific dimension of gender identity (GI) and ethnic-racial identity (ERI), namely felt pressure from family and peers to act or behave in either gender or race/ethnic-accordant ways, among a sample of 750 African American and Latino/a middle school students (M = 12.10 years, SD = .97 years) in a southwestern U.S. city. Participants completed measures of self-esteem and GI and ERI felt pressure from family and from peers at two time points. Data were analyzed through bivariate correlation and hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses. Hierarchical multiple linear regression results revealed that among African American students, there was a significant negative longitudinal association between ERI felt pressure from family at Time 1 and self-esteem at Time 2 after controlling for self-esteem at Time 1. There was also a significant negative longitudinal association between ERI felt pressure from peers at Time 1 and self-esteem at Time 2 among African American participants. However, these associations were not found among Latino/a participants. Implications of findings with regards to GI and ERI development during early adolescence, socialization, and school context are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Counseling Psychology 2017