Developing an understanding of the over‐representation of foreign students in special education in Spain. A qualitative approach

Abstract This article presents the main results of a study on the over‐representation of foreign students in special education in Spain. The research methodology is qualitative: 26 interviews were conducted in southern Spain with professionals working in the field of education and with 13 relatives of migrant children with disabilities, with the aim of understanding the causes of this phenomenon, which has already been statistically proven in recent research. The results obtained are related to the schooling process and the identification of special educational needs, the process of psycho‐pedagogical assessment and decisions regarding schooling, as well as issues concerning the provision of information to families. Thus far, the international literature has explained that the over‐representation of culturally diverse students in special education is due to shortcomings in the diagnostic process (prejudice, inadequate instruments), or to socio‐cultural factors of the families. In this research, the failure of the education system to care for children with disabilities in their country of origin clearly appears as the cause of migration, and largely explains the over‐representation found.