WORKING IN SCHOOLS
Diversity in schools
We are becoming a more increasingly diverse nation. In 2014, for the first time in history the enrollment of Caucasian students dropped below 50% (NCES, 2017). And although the demographics of the students enrolling is changing the demographics of the educators remain at over 80% white and female (NCES, 2019).
Occupational Therapy in schools
This demographic breakdown is the same for occupational therapists (OTs) working in schools (Data USA, 2017). OTs work with a variety of students with cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, and physical backgrounds while addressing an even greater range of concerns from self-care, fine motor, gross motor, functional mobility, sensory processing, visual motor and visual processing skills.
Bridging the gap
Bias can stem from stereotypes, prejudices, and racism and can be either conscious or unconscious (Moule, 2012). As there continues to be a more diverse student population, OTs need to focus on developing increased cultural awareness in order to provide effective and relevant treatment to their students.
Why it matters
Studies note that educators bring their own bias to the classroom and that this impacts the lens students receive their instruction through. This includes the level of challenge with academic rigor (Ahram, Fergus, & Noguera, 2011), referrals for special education (Zhang, Katsiyannis, Ju, & Roberts, 2014), and referral for gifted programs (Fish, 2015).
References:
Ahram, R., Fergus, E., & Noguera, P. (2011). Addressing racial/ethnic, disproportionality in special education: Case studies of suburban school districts. Teachers College Record, 113(10), 2233.
Data USA. (2017). Occupational therapists. Retrieved from https://datausa.io/profile/soc/291122.
References continued:
Fish, R. E. (2015). The racialized construction of exceptionality: Experimental evidence of race/ethnicity effects on teachers' interventions. Social Science Research, 62, 317-324.
doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2016.08.007
Moule, J. (2012). Cultural competence: A primer for educators. Kerr, M. D. & Dashiell, R. (Eds.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2017). Racial/ethnic enrollment in public schools. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_cge.pdf
National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Spotlight A: Characteristics of public school teachers by race and ethnicity.
Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/raceindicators/spotlight_a.asp
Zhang, D., Katsiyannis, A., Ju, S., & Roberts, E. (2014). Minority representation in special education: 5-year trends. year trends. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23(1), 118-127.
doi:10.1007/s10826-012-9698-6
