To Teach Me is to Know Me

Many students do not succeed in school because their cultural, social, and/or linguistic characteristics are unrecognized, misunderstood, or devalued. The continuing problem of disproportionate representation of multicultural students in special education programs is controversial. We believe that for teacher educators and practitioners to reach and teach multicultural students with and without disabilities, they must first know them. We propose three solutions to address the problem of disproportionate representation: (a) training of culturally and linguistically diverse teachers in teacher preparation programs, (b) the inclusion of multicultural education perspectives in special education, and (c) the implementation of culturally responsive instruction in classroom settings. These three solutions are key components to increasing the cultural competence of practitioners in special education teacher preparation programs.