Adai A Tefera
Biographic Data
| ID | 1299976 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Adai A Tefera |
| GIVEN NAMES | Adai A |
| FAMILY NAME | Tefera |
| SIGNATURE | TEFERA A A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Arizona |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8887-3137 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 18 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 10 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Contextualizing Multilingual Learner Disproportionality in Special Education
Background/Context: One of the most complex and systemic challenges U.S. public schools face is the disproportionate identification of multilingual learners in special education. Currently, students with multidimensional identities are often trapped in ambiguous and contradictory education policies and practices that contribute to both under- and over-representation in special education. Given the legacy of racial discrimination in the United Sta…
Disrupting disparities in school discipline
Schools across the country are grappling with vocal resistance to educational equity efforts, while disparities, including racial disproportionality in school discipline, persist. In this research-practice-partnership project, Adai A. Tefera, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Ashlee Sjogren, and David Naff learned of the ways educators and leaders across three distinct schools adopted and engaged in widespread discipline interventions and practices that o…
Beyond Good Intentions in Special Education Policy
This article describes critical disability intersectional qualitative approaches aimed to not just analyze but also contribute and transform special education policy research. We specifically examine the shortfalls of education policies that construct race and disability as essentially separate and distinct characteristics, failing to consider students’ intersectional identities. By utilizing findings from a case study of a suburban school distri…
The Aftermath of Disproportionality Citations
We used a situated approach to examine the aftermath of citations for racial disparities in special education and discipline. The study was conducted in one suburban school district and examined staff’s interpretations and responses to multiple disproportionality citations. We found that historical, spatial, and sociocultural contexts mediated stakeholders’ interpretations and reactions to citations and the consequences of their responses. Our fi…
The (In)Visibility of Race in School Discipline Across Urban, Suburban, and Exurban Contexts
Background/Context: Racial disparities in school discipline represent a long-standing injustice in U.S. schools. Students of color, particularly Black students, are systematically subjected to harsher school disciplinary actions compared with their peers. A growing body of evidence demonstrates the severity of the problem and the negative consequences of harsh punishment, particularly given that students who are disciplined are more likely to be …
Intersectional Rights of Teachers and Students in Computer Science and Special Education
This article advocates for the intersectional rights of teachers and students of computer science (CS) and special education (SPE) in urban education. Using an intersectional nepantla lens, we propose that CS education be accessible to all SPE teachers and students with dis/abilities. We argue for a focus on social-emotional intersectional rights as crucial foundations for an equitable approach to teaching and learning in CS SPE. We end with impl…
Unpacking the Logic of Compliance in Special Education
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ([IDEA] 2004; IDEA Amendments 1997) is a civil rights-based law designed to protect the rights of students with disabilities in U.S. schools. However, decades after the initial passage of IDEA, racial inequity in special education classifications, placements, and suspensions are evident. In this article, we focus on understanding how racial discipline disparities in special education outcomes relate…
How and Why Context Matters in the Study of Racial Disproportionality in Special Education
Racial disproportionality in special education is an ongoing injustice in schools in the United States. In this article, we investigate the key relationships among education policy, context, and racial disproportionality in special education. We examine this nexus by analyzing one U.S. school district’s response to federal citations for disproportionality in both the over-identification of students of color in special education and over-represent…
Listening to and Learning from the Perspectives and Experiences of Black and Latinx Students with Disabilities
Reframing the Racialization of Disabilities in Policy
Racial disproportionality in special education is a deep seated and complex educational inequity plaguing the United States educational system. In this article we outline how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, although a civil rights based legislation, cannot sufficiently address racially disproportionate outcomes in special education. We argue that mandating equity through technical and procedural mandates cannot attend to the soci…
Unpacking the Logic of Compliance in Special Education
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ([IDEA] 2004; IDEA Amendments 1997) is a civil rights-based law designed to protect the rights of students with disabilities in U.S. schools. However, decades after the initial passage of IDEA, racial inequity in special education classifications, placements, and suspensions are evident. In this article, we focus on understanding how racial discipline disparities in special education outcomes relate…
Reframing the Racialization of Disabilities in Policy
Racial disproportionality in special education is a deep seated and complex educational inequity plaguing the United States educational system. In this article we outline how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, although a civil rights based legislation, cannot sufficiently address racially disproportionate outcomes in special education. We argue that mandating equity through technical and procedural mandates cannot attend to the soci…
The Aftermath of Disproportionality Citations
We used a situated approach to examine the aftermath of citations for racial disparities in special education and discipline. The study was conducted in one suburban school district and examined staff’s interpretations and responses to multiple disproportionality citations. We found that historical, spatial, and sociocultural contexts mediated stakeholders’ interpretations and reactions to citations and the consequences of their responses. Our fi…
Reframing the Racialization of Disabilities in Policy
Racial disproportionality in special education is a deep seated and complex educational inequity plaguing the United States educational system. In this article we outline how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, although a civil rights based legislation, cannot sufficiently address racially disproportionate outcomes in special education. We argue that mandating equity through technical and procedural mandates cannot attend to the soci…
Listening to and Learning from the Perspectives and Experiences of Black and Latinx Students with Disabilities
How and Why Context Matters in the Study of Racial Disproportionality in Special Education
Racial disproportionality in special education is an ongoing injustice in schools in the United States. In this article, we investigate the key relationships among education policy, context, and racial disproportionality in special education. We examine this nexus by analyzing one U.S. school district’s response to federal citations for disproportionality in both the over-identification of students of color in special education and over-represent…
Intersectional Rights of Teachers and Students in Computer Science and Special Education
This article advocates for the intersectional rights of teachers and students of computer science (CS) and special education (SPE) in urban education. Using an intersectional nepantla lens, we propose that CS education be accessible to all SPE teachers and students with dis/abilities. We argue for a focus on social-emotional intersectional rights as crucial foundations for an equitable approach to teaching and learning in CS SPE. We end with impl…
Unpacking the Logic of Compliance in Special Education
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ([IDEA] 2004; IDEA Amendments 1997) is a civil rights-based law designed to protect the rights of students with disabilities in U.S. schools. However, decades after the initial passage of IDEA, racial inequity in special education classifications, placements, and suspensions are evident. In this article, we focus on understanding how racial discipline disparities in special education outcomes relate…
The (In)Visibility of Race in School Discipline Across Urban, Suburban, and Exurban Contexts
Background/Context: Racial disparities in school discipline represent a long-standing injustice in U.S. schools. Students of color, particularly Black students, are systematically subjected to harsher school disciplinary actions compared with their peers. A growing body of evidence demonstrates the severity of the problem and the negative consequences of harsh punishment, particularly given that students who are disciplined are more likely to be …
The Aftermath of Disproportionality Citations
We used a situated approach to examine the aftermath of citations for racial disparities in special education and discipline. The study was conducted in one suburban school district and examined staff’s interpretations and responses to multiple disproportionality citations. We found that historical, spatial, and sociocultural contexts mediated stakeholders’ interpretations and reactions to citations and the consequences of their responses. Our fi…
Contextualizing Multilingual Learner Disproportionality in Special Education
Background/Context: One of the most complex and systemic challenges U.S. public schools face is the disproportionate identification of multilingual learners in special education. Currently, students with multidimensional identities are often trapped in ambiguous and contradictory education policies and practices that contribute to both under- and over-representation in special education. Given the legacy of racial discrimination in the United Sta…
Disrupting disparities in school discipline
Schools across the country are grappling with vocal resistance to educational equity efforts, while disparities, including racial disproportionality in school discipline, persist. In this research-practice-partnership project, Adai A. Tefera, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Ashlee Sjogren, and David Naff learned of the ways educators and leaders across three distinct schools adopted and engaged in widespread discipline interventions and practices that o…
Beyond Good Intentions in Special Education Policy
This article describes critical disability intersectional qualitative approaches aimed to not just analyze but also contribute and transform special education policy research. We specifically examine the shortfalls of education policies that construct race and disability as essentially separate and distinct characteristics, failing to consider students’ intersectional identities. By utilizing findings from a case study of a suburban school distri…
Education Discipline and Inequality (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Pedagogy (9 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Disability Education and Employment (7 works) · Gender Studies (7 works) · Mathematics education (4 works) · Behavioral and Psychological Studies (3 works) · Critical race theory (3 works) · Political science (3 works)