The disproportionate presence of schoolchildren of foreign nationality in special education in Spain: a territorial question?

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of the disproportionate representation of students belonging to minorities (specifically migrants/foreigners) in special education in Spain. Despite being a phenomenon widely studied in the world over, in Spain there has been little research in this regard. Through a critical statistical analysis, we approach a phenomenon that reveals significant differences according to the territories in which it occurs, and the differences are so important that they lead us to wonder if it is the diagnostic procedures that are “pathologizing” the cultural differences. The phenomenon is considered relevant for its understanding as one more concretion of the strategies for the construction of difference that operate in the educational system. In short, our objective is to contribute to the multidimensional and interdisciplinary understanding of educational inequality linked to the presence of the immigrant/foreign population, taking special education as the central context.