Dr. Anastasiou sent me a copy of a paper he and his previous doctoral student submitted- I’ll pass along when published. But here is the abstract-

Language Barriers in Assessing Immigrant Students Referred for Special Education

Anna Zouganeli a and Dimitris Anastasiou b*

a University of Nicosia, Cyprus & Ministry of Education, Greece

b Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA

Correspondence: Dimitris Anastasiou, School of Education, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Mail Code 4618, Carbondale, IL 62901. Email: anastasiou@siu.edu

Dimitris Anastasiou is a Professor of Special Education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4840-1693  

Anna Zouganeli is a Collaborating Faculty of the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, and a School Coordinator for Elementary Education at the 4th Regional Directorate of Athens, Ministry of Education Greece. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2391-0192

We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

Abstract

This study investigates the challenges posed by language barriers in assessing immigrant students, whose primary language is not Greek, referred for special education. We surveyed 194 professionals comprising 127 special education teachers in resource rooms and co-teaching school settings, and 67 specialists (i.e., school psychologists) in specialized diagnostic units (KEDASYs). We found that between one-quarter and half of the participants across preschool, elementary, and secondary education levels were unaware of specific criteria employed to assess the Greek language proficiency of immigrant students. Most special education teachers and KEDASY specialists did not use appropriate standardised tests to evaluate immigrant students’ cognitive, academic, and behavioural performance. Furthermore, Greek was the dominant language of communication utilized among immigrant students and their families in the assessment process. Challenges in assessment methods and limited services in communication with immigrant students and their families may create barriers, potentially disadvantaging them within the Greek education system.

Keywords: immigrant students; diagnostic services; assessment methods; language competence; language of communication; language barriers

From the introduction:

Migration is a global phenomenon that significantly impacts societies today (Pew Research Centre, 2019). In 2017, the immigrant population in Greece was estimated at 1,220,395, comprising 10.9% of the population. This figure marked a twofold increase from the 618,139 immigrants (6.0% of the population) recorded in 1990 (United Nations, DESA, 2017). The largest immigrant group (over 50%) was Albanian (OECD, 2018). The two migrant and refugee crises in Greece in 2015 and 2019, which mainly involved immigrants from countries affected by violence and conflict – including Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq – highlighted the imperative of providing quality education to immigrant students (OECD, 2019).

Much of the issues about ELs is really world wide- especially with migration and globalization and all the challenges and potential opportunities it brings. Dimitris is focused on Greek language acquisition, our colleagues in Germany have focused on acculturation and German language acquisition issues with their PBIS project. And our potential partners in Ecuador focused on the number of non-Spanish speakers- so then it becomes about Spanish language acquisition- and then- how do you figure out the disability piece- and then thinking about how much of an overlap there is between language and the different types of disabilities- LD, speech and hearing impairments, Autism is considered a communication related disorder by many, and even EBD there are several reviews about social communication, social skills, and anti-social behavior.

Also- one the things that keeps coming up are “best practices” for identifying students with disabilities who are English learners. I asked Cameron and Virginia to put together 3-5 slides around best practices to insert into PD and we can expand on later- given the special and bilingual cert that was passed in Texas- my guess there will be more interest as that gets rolled out. We can add that on the agenda after spring break

…remembering I am more focused on the behavior/EBD part- concerned that students that don’t “acculturate” or whatever term you like- end up in trouble and start down the developmental antisocial behavior pattern pathway and cycle that was originally described by Gerry Patterson- so we have to rely on the expertise of the A&M folks! But we should look at the literature at some point on how acculturation impacts anti-social behavior, disability and mental health- at least enough to understand the issues.

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1989-26278-001

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1998-07542-005

https://www.parentingforbrain.com/coercive-parenting/

MDB

Mack D. Burke, Ph.D.

Department of Educational Psychology

Applied Behavior Analysis and Special Education Programs

Behavioral Education & Assessment Research (BEAR Lab)

School of Education, Baylor University