Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
3-2024
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9570-3906
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Dr. Laura A. Perry
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Dr. Julie M. Lane
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Dr. Twyla Williams-Damond
Abstract
As advocates, school psychologists remain ethically responsible and uniquely positioned to identify social injustices and promote nondiscriminatory practices in prekindergarten through grade 12 public education institutions. Implicit bias and its influence on African American students is one such practice. In public education, implicit bias contributes to discipline disproportionality, differentiated teacher support, pedagogical practices, and adult perceptions and expectations of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. These factors directly correlate to the disproportionate identification rates of African American students for special education and related services. Therefore, this phenomenological qualitative study examined the personal, lived experiences and perceptions of school psychologists regarding implicit bias in education and its influence on the disproportionate identification rates for African American students identified with an emotional disturbance (ED) in Texas prekindergarten through grade 12 educational settings. The research participants, seven school psychologists working as independent contractors, were asked about their experience with implicit bias in prekindergarten through grade 12 education, their perception of the impact implicit bias has on the disproportionate identification rates of African American students, and their lived experiences advocating for African American students when implicit bias materialized during the special education evaluation process. The materials utilized were two semistructured interviews, a reflective journal, and a focus group. Study findings indicate that research participants perceived implicit bias negatively influences the disproportionate identification rates of African American students with ED. Furthermore, cultural differences between school personnel and students, bias in the evaluation data, and the ambiguous definition of ED intensify the influence of implicit bias during the special education evaluation process. Consequently, school psychologists and other vii school personnel are urged to examine their implicit biases, identify and revise educational practices and policies plagued with bias, and attend professional development sessions on social justice and implicit bias. Additionally, as practitioners, school psychologists should remember the ambiguous definition of ED when interpreting evaluation data and make eligibility recommendations mindfully.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Coe-Milo, Sonya, "A Phenomenological Study of School Psychologists: The Influence of Implicit Bias on the Disproportionate Identification Rates of African American Students Evaluated for Emotional Disturbance" (2024). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 751.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/751
Included in
Child Psychology Commons, Cognition and Perception Commons, Cognitive Psychology Commons, Disability and Equity in Education Commons, Disability Studies Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons, School Psychology Commons, Social Justice Commons, Special Education and Teaching Commons