{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/129580"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/129580","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Twice-exceptionality in African American and Latinx students: how understandings of twice-exceptionality during the assessment process contributes to racial disparities in special education","abstract":"Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01","abstract_html":"Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Oefelein, Sonya Ann"],"institution":"University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ed.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Pak, Yoon","Kang, Hyun-Sook","Mason, Terrence C","Tarconish, Emily"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-04-25","date_published":"2025-04-25","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:05Z","subjects":["African American","Latinx","K-12 students","twice exceptional","gifted","gifted assessment","special education","evaluation, 2e, general education","evaluation","implicit bias","microaggression","underrepresentation","overrepresentation","narrative analysis","inductive content analysis"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2025 Sonya Oefelein"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129580","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Pak, Yoon","Kang, Hyun-Sook","Mason, Terrence C","Tarconish, Emily"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Oefelein, Sonya Ann"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-04-25","2025-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["African American","Latinx","K-12 students","twice exceptional","gifted","gifted assessment","special education","evaluation, 2e, general education","evaluation","implicit bias","microaggression","underrepresentation","overrepresentation","narrative analysis","inductive content analysis"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2025 Sonya Oefelein"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129580"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01","The student, Sonya Oefelein, accepted the attached license on 2025-04-24 at 20:13.","The student, Sonya Oefelein, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-04-24 at 20:13.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-04-25 at 16:24.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #21968 on 2025-10-19 at 19:16:18","Racial disproportionality in special education is pervasive in K-12 schools in the United States. African American and LatinX students are consistently overrepresented in disability and underrepresented in gifted education programs when compared to their White peers. While these disparities have been widely studied, less research has been dedicated to the nuanced and often overlooked twice-exceptional student—that is, those who are both gifted and also have one or more disabilities. This is particularly true for African American and LatinX students. This dissertation explores how school administrators and teachers understand twice-exceptionality, how that understanding aligns or misaligns with educational research and one another, and how these perceptions influence the identification, evaluation, and referral practices for twice-exceptional African American and LatinX students. The study research study investigated the extent to which administrators’ and teachers’ definitions of twice-exceptionality are informed by research-based practices and explores how implicit bias impacts their decision-making processes regarding student identification and placement. Utilizing a qualitative approach with narrative analysis as the analytical framework and implicit bias as the conceptual framework this dissertation examines two middle schools (one gifted and general education) within a single school district. Data collected included public district and state data, surveys, and interviews with school administrators and teachers. Findings reveal significant gaps in knowledge and training regarding twice-exceptionality, between teachers and administrators. Administrators and teachers often demonstrated conflicting, understandings of twice-exceptionality, which directly influenced their referral practices and serves as a contributing factor to the continued under-identification of gifted African American and LatinX students with disabilities in the school district. Additionally, the study highlights how implicit bias, institutional practices, and a deficit view of African American and LatinX students can compound and limit equitable access under-identify twice-exceptional students who are African American and LatinX."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Twice-exceptionality in African American and Latinx students: how understandings of twice-exceptionality during the assessment process contributes to racial disparities in special education"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Pak, Yoon","Kang, Hyun-Sook","Mason, Terrence C","Tarconish, Emily"],"dc:creator":["Oefelein, Sonya Ann"],"dc:date":["2025-04-25","2025-05"],"dc:description":["Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01","The student, Sonya Oefelein, accepted the attached license on 2025-04-24 at 20:13.","The student, Sonya Oefelein, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-04-24 at 20:13.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-04-25 at 16:24.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #21968 on 2025-10-19 at 19:16:18","Racial disproportionality in special education is pervasive in K-12 schools in the United States. African American and LatinX students are consistently overrepresented in disability and underrepresented in gifted education programs when compared to their White peers. While these disparities have been widely studied, less research has been dedicated to the nuanced and often overlooked twice-exceptional student—that is, those who are both gifted and also have one or more disabilities. This is particularly true for African American and LatinX students. This dissertation explores how school administrators and teachers understand twice-exceptionality, how that understanding aligns or misaligns with educational research and one another, and how these perceptions influence the identification, evaluation, and referral practices for twice-exceptional African American and LatinX students. The study research study investigated the extent to which administrators’ and teachers’ definitions of twice-exceptionality are informed by research-based practices and explores how implicit bias impacts their decision-making processes regarding student identification and placement. Utilizing a qualitative approach with narrative analysis as the analytical framework and implicit bias as the conceptual framework this dissertation examines two middle schools (one gifted and general education) within a single school district. Data collected included public district and state data, surveys, and interviews with school administrators and teachers. Findings reveal significant gaps in knowledge and training regarding twice-exceptionality, between teachers and administrators. Administrators and teachers often demonstrated conflicting, understandings of twice-exceptionality, which directly influenced their referral practices and serves as a contributing factor to the continued under-identification of gifted African American and LatinX students with disabilities in the school district. Additionally, the study highlights how implicit bias, institutional practices, and a deficit view of African American and LatinX students can compound and limit equitable access under-identify twice-exceptional students who are African American and LatinX."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129580"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2025 Sonya Oefelein"],"dc:subject":["African American","Latinx","K-12 students","twice exceptional","gifted","gifted assessment","special education","evaluation, 2e, general education","evaluation","implicit bias","microaggression","underrepresentation","overrepresentation","narrative analysis","inductive content analysis"],"dc:title":["Twice-exceptionality in African American and Latinx students: how understandings of twice-exceptionality during the assessment process contributes to racial disparities in special education"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:05Z"}