Ensuring Participation
Creating a Pathway of Connections: Interracial Mentoring through Instrumental versus Relational Perspectives
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nakisha Castillo, Kat Ringenbach
Mentoring new faculty of color in the academic environment is imperative as they may experience the feelings of vulnerability, stress, and powerlessness. In order to manage these feeling and assist with acclimation to the institution a mentoring partnership must be developed. That partnership may start with a task, that develops into a caring relationship where mentors build trust through honesty, have a willingness to learn about self and others, and be willing to share power and privilege. The goal is to build pathways for a faculty to become a valued member of the academic community without sacrificing self-identity. For the mentor, open dialog and a willingness to confront one’s own biases is critical in building trust. For the mentee, a willingness to be vulnerable, ask for help, and look for performance feedback is critical in connecting to the mentor and the institution. A positive mentoring relationship diminishes isolation, provides a sounding board for ideas, and helps with uncertainties. As the relationship matures, the relationship then transforms into a bi-directional relationship, where mentors are provided with new insights that enrich their personal growth. This paper will describe a case study of a cross-race mentoring relationship.
Eligibility Trends in Special Education: Is There a Function of Race and Socio-economic Status?
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session George W. Hebert
Disproportionality, refers to both the over- or under-representation of a given population in a larger population category. It is often defined by racial and ethnic backgrounds, but has also been defined in terms of socioeconomic status, national origin, English proficiency, gender, and sexual orientation. In the United States, these factors have been shown to significantly influence a child's probability of being misidentified, misclassified, or inappropriately placed in certain special education categories. This paper will analyze national educational records and assess the perceived equity progress made over the previous ten years with regard to race and socioeconomic status. Attention will be paid specifically to categories that are regarded as high incident and low incident disabilities. Additionally, the relevant professional literature will be reviewed to validate the identified data trends. Participants will be asked to facilitate discussion regarding inequity in general education, poverty, special education processes, issues of behavior management, and test bias as it relates to these trends.
