The number of young children whose home language is not English continues to increase every year in the United States. Challenges for English language learners (ELL) involve low academic achievement related to low expectations and inappropriate instruction, and inappropriate assessment instruments or procedures resulting in overrepresentation of ELL students in higher incidence disabilities. In addition, the lack of effective instructional strategies for teaching ELL students often lead to behavioral problems and poor social interaction skills. The purpose of this article is to examine the learning context of young ELLs relative to culturally and linguistically responsive intervention. Components and potentials of response to intervention model were investigated. Essential factors involved in culturally and linguistically responsive intervention were identified. Finally, challenges in preparing culturally appropriate context were discussed.

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The social context of the special education referral process is influenced by a number of variables. Demographic and perception data were collected from 63 first-through fifth-grade general education teachers from three Midwestern public school districts to determine the impact of sociocultural variables on teachers' perceptions of classroom behavior, management, and referral tendencies. Teacher, classroom, and school variables including teachers' perception of a learning disability, educational level, grade level, instructional practices, and prereferral intervention models significantly influenced teachers' behavioral perceptions and referral tendencies. These results can inform teacher-training programs to ensure that general educators increase their ability to accurately detect learning difficulties and their awareness of the importance of their perceptions, instructional practices, and school factors on special education referral.

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