About this Research Topic

Background

Students with learning disabilities often bring diverse cultural and language backgrounds to the instructional situation thereby requiring simultaneous attention to cultural sustainability, language development, and disability features in the delivery of meaningful special education. Students who have a learning disability while acquiring an additional language require special education that simultaneously attends to language development and disability qualities drawing on the expertise of general, special, and language development educators along with families. Effective special educational programming for diverse students with learning disabilities is grounded in research-informed practice and legislative mandates that reflect equity, fairness, and inclusive accessibility by attending to the integrated components of language development, culture, and disability. One relevant critical feature is the notion that delivery of quality special education reflects the quality of instructional planning that precedes its delivery, which is the focus of this Research Topic.

An integrated instructional emphasis that facilitates language development and cultural sustainability while addressing disability needs provides all learners the best opportunity to master annual academic and social-emotional goals that begins with effective instructional planning. Meaningful instructional planning is essential to (a) improving equitable instructional opportunities for all students with learning disabilities, (b) designing special education policy that actualizes a more inclusive instructional perspective, and (c) creating contemporary instructional planning models shaped by educator collaboration and learner assets, funds of knowledge, and strengths-based features. However, recent research shows that, when necessary and/or required by law, individualized education programs often do not incorporate relevant language and cultural features (e.g., language objectives, funds of knowledge, culturally preferred teaching practices, etc.), thereby limiting their value as essential blueprints used to provide quality special education. Though cultural and linguistic factors cannot be the primary reason or cause contributing to a learning disability, recognizing diverse strengths, qualities, language proficiency, and ways of learning remains essential to making certain that appropriate special education is delivered. This Research Topic provides researchers and practitioners guidance in developing meaningful special education individualized education programs or plans by examining equitable development processes, relevant language development and cultural content, effective school policy, and collaboration best practices.

Original research, conceptual analysis, and systematic review articles examining contemporary research-to-practice insights, challenges, and evidenced-based/promising interventions to further advance the development of individualized special education programs or plans for students with learning disabilities with diverse language/cultural qualities are solicited such as:

• Essential cultural/linguistic features necessary to include in special education individualized education programs/learning plans;
• Legal mandates requiring attention to language development during special education delivery;
• Examples of well-developed plan components (e.g., transition, present levels, goals, accommodations) that incorporate language acquisition/cultural supports;
• Educator attitudes/perceived preparedness to incorporate language/cultural features when developing a special education individualized education program/learning plan;
• Effective school-wide policies for developing special education individualized education programs/learning plans that draw upon collaborative expertise of general, special, and language development educators;
• Challenges confronting educators/families along with mitigation efforts to develop special education individualized educational programs/learning plans that incorporate language/cultural features.

Researchers may approach this topic from different perspectives; however, accepted articles must indicate how findings advance development of meaningful special education individualized education programs or learning plans that incorporate language and cultural features.

Keywords: Sustainability and Equity, Learning Disabilities, Cultural Sustainability, Language Development and Special Education, Individualized Education Program (IEP), Individual Learning Plan, Diversity

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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