The disproportionate representation of a “minority” population in “special education” at school: the case of Spain

Keywords: foreign nationality schoolchildren, school, disproportionate representation, special education, segregation, Spain, minorities

Abstract

Research on disproportionate representation in “special education” has been carried out in the international literature. In Spain, studies on this subject are scarce. In this case, we focus on the study of this disproportion, but within the framework of diversity management in the school context. To this end, a comparison has been made between the data on the foreign population and the Spanish population based on official statistics. In both cases, this refers to the population enrolled in schools in Spain. The statistical data presented in our work show very different percentages of special education for certain nationalities compared to the Spanish population. The evident differences show us the existence of inequalities in schools that are nuanced according to the territories and the ownership of the educational centres.

Received: 29 June 2023
Accepted: 28 September 2023

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Published
2024-06-27
How to Cite
García Castaño, Francisco Javier, Marta Zornoza Madrid, and Raquel Martínez Chicón. 2024. “The Disproportionate Representation of a “minority” Population in ‘special education’ at School: The Case of Spain”. Deusto Journal of Human Rights, no. 13 (June), 11-40. https://doi.org/10.18543/djhr.2787.
Section
Articles