Abstract
Referrals for special education determine who receives special education services. The most common referring agents are regular education teachers. Today, there is a large discrepancy between the number of females to males found in learning disabilities programs. However, studies have found the number of female and male students with learning disabilities in schools is more proportional than enrollment in special education suggests. The position of this paper is that gender bias among referring agents is a major factor in the unequal distribution of males and females in learning disabilities programs.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Berry, C., Shaywitz, S., and Shaywitz, B. 1985. Girls with attention deficit disorder: A silent minority? A report on behavioral and cognitive characteristics. Pediatrics 76(5):801–09.
Flynn, J., and Rahbar, M. 1994. Prevalence of reading failure in boys compared with girls. Psychology in the Schools 31:66–71.
Kavale, K., and Reese, J. 1992. The character of learning disabilities: An Iowa profile. Learning Disabilities Quarterly 15:74–94.
Leinhardt, G., Seewald, A., and Zigmond, N. 1982. Sex and race differences in learning disabilities classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology 74(6):835–43.
Lerner, J. 1993. Learning Disabilities: Theories, Diagnosis & Teaching Strategies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Massachusetts Department of Education 1991. 766 Regulations. Boston: Massachusetts Department of Education.
Mellard, D., and Byrne, M. 1993. Learning disabilities referrals, eligibility outcomes, and services in community colleges: A four year summary. Learning Disabilities Quarterly 16:199–217.
Naiden, N. 1976. Ratio of boys to girls among disabled readers. The Reading Teacher Feb. 1976, 439–42
Nass, R. 1993. Sex differences in learning abilities and disabilities. Annals of Dyslexia 43:61–77.
Pennington, B. 1988. November. Genotype and phenotype analysis of familial dyslexia. Paper presented at the 39th conference of The Orton Dyslexia Society. Tampa, FL. As cited in Vogel 1990.
Sadker, M., and Sadker, D. 1994. Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls. New York: Touchstone.
Shaywitz, S., Shaywitz, B., Fletcher, J., and Escobar, M. 1990. Prevalence of reading disability in boys and girls: Results of the Connecticut longitudinal study. Journal of the American Medical Association 264(8):998–1002.
Smart, D., Sanson, A., and Prior, M. 1996. Connections between reading disability and behavior problems: Testing temporal and causal hypotheses. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 24(3):363–83.
Vogel, S. 1990. Gender differences in intelligence, language, visual-motor abilities, and accademic achievement in students with learning disabilities: A review of the literature. Journal of Learning Disabilities 23:44–51.
Wadsworth, S., DeFries, J., Stevenson, J., Gilger, J., and Pennington, B. 1992. Gender ratios among reading-disabled children and their siblings as a function of parental impairment. Journal of Child Psychiatry 33:1229–39.
Wolf, M., and Gow, D. 1985/86. A longitudinal investigation of gender differences in language and reading development. First Language 6:81–110.
Ysseldyke, J., Thurlow, M., Graden, J., Wesson, K., Algozzine, B., and Deno, S. 1983. Generalizations from five years of research on assessment and decision making: The University of Minnesota Institute. Exceptional Children Quarterly 4(1):75–93.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Anderson, K.G. Gender bias and special education referrals. Ann. of Dyslexia 47, 151–162 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-997-0024-8
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-997-0024-8