Representation of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students Among Students With Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Ongoing research has demonstrated that culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students may be disproportionately represented among students with learning disabilities (LDs). The main aim of this research was to identify groups of CLD students at risk for LDs using the achievement criterion. To that end, 158 students participated in the current research: 78 Greeks and 80 Pontian Greeks from the former Soviet Union (Greek FSU-Pontian). Research findings indicated that the use of the achievement criterion alone is inadequate to accurately identify a student being at risk for LDs, given that CLD students’ language competence and achievement are low mainly due to their bilingualism and that language acquisition competence is positively associated to language achievement. Professional judgments based on psychoeducational evaluation data are used to classify a student as having a LD. Professional judgment is presented as a possible explanation for the disproportionate representation of CLD students among students with LDs.