| According to the U.S. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (2002), the majority of students in special education received services under the category of specific learning disability (LD), including reading-related disabilities. In order to be effective for English language learners (ELLs) with LD, reading-related services must address their special education needs through linguistically appropriate interventions (Baca & Cervantes, 1998; Baca & deValenzuela, 1998). However, there continues to be a portion of this student population whose unique needs are overlooked, as exemplified by the lack of bilingual special education (BSE) programs. Yet, there are few studies which have investigated the nature or quality of reading-related special education instruction provided to ELLs with LD who are receiving monolingual special education services (Artiles & Zamora-Duran, 1997; Robertson, Kushner, Starks, & Drescher, 1994). The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the nature of reading instruction provided to students who met eligibility criteria for BSE, but who, for a variety of factors, were not receiving services in BSE settings. The research questions that guided this study were (a) What is the nature of reading instruction provided Latino ELLs with reading-related disabilities? (b) What knowledge, skills, and beliefs are reflected in teachers' instructional practices? and (c) What are other factors teachers identify as influencing their practice? The primary data were generated through observations and interviews of two Latina bilingual education teachers and three European American special educators who provided reading instruction to five Latino ELLs with reading-related LD who were the secondary participants in the study. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Although each case study had its unique features, common themes emerged around limited collaboration between general and special education, limited understanding of the interrelationship between students' ELL status and their LD, the impact of high stakes assessments on instruction; and the resulting detrimental effects of these factors on reading achievement for the target students. These findings highlight instructional reading practices that teachers utilize in working with Latino ELLs with reading-related disabilities, with implications for classroom and school-level practice, teacher preparation, and future research. |
