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 o f multicultural students in special education programs is controversia l. We believe that for teacher educators and practitioners to reach an d teach multicultural students with and without disabilities, they mus t first know them. We propose three solutions to address the problem o f disproportionate representation: (a) training of culturally and ling uistically diverse teachers in teacher preparation programs, (b) the i nclusion of multicultural education perspectives in special education, and (c) the implementation of culturally responsive instruction in cl assroom settings. These three solutions are key components to increasi ng the cultural competence of practitioners in special education teach er preparation programs.