A descriptive case study of stigma: Constructing labels of culturally linguistically diverse and emotional disturbance

Abstract

Stigma is a social construct and a process of social rejection, devaluation and discrimination (Brown et al., 2010, p.351). The stigmatization of students who carry multiple labels does occur. When those labels are Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) and Emotional Disturbance (ED), the perceived process of stigmatization may be difficult for the individual student to express. The purpose of this research was to describe the process of stigmatization of an individual student from the perceived beliefs of those individuals closest to the student. However, the intended outcomes were not as in-depth and rich as the resulting data.

Through a case study methodology, the perceptions and perspectives of the educational team (parent, teacher, administrator and paraprofessional) that supports a student who is CLD and ED were delved into. How these individuals who surround the student perceive the process of stigmatization and of what is happening to the student's perceived abilities and limitations was described. This researcher observed and described much more than only one aspect of the process of stigmatization. The multiple realities, varying accounts of what is happening around a student who is labeled CLD and ED, were composed together to create a whole picture of one student's experience with the dual labels of CLD and ED. This collection of voices to describe an individual life experience is what is needed to be added to the literature in order to begin asking questions about how we perceive the abilities and possibilities of all students in our educational systems.

Data was collected through open-ended interviews, follow-up interviews, teacher and parent questionnaires, participant observation, and documentation. An open-ended interview or non-structured interview offered more extensive and richer material than data from a survey (Yin, 2012). It allowed for the individual participants to narrate their experiences and tell their story, and through their voice, ultimately the story of the student was created. The narrative text was analyzed for its content and findings presented for the reader to engage with and make his or her own meaning.