Shernaz B. Garcia

Terminal Degree

Ph.D. Special Education Administration, The University of Texas at Austin.

Representative Publications

García, S. B., & Ortiz, A. A. (2006). Preventing disproportionate representation: Culturally and linguistically responsive prereferral intervention. Teaching Exceptional Children, 38(4), 64-68. (Reprint of Practitioner Brief published by the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems [NCCREST]).

García, S. B., & Guerra, P. (2006). Conceptualizing Culture in Education: Implications for Schooling in a Culturally Diverse Society. In J. Baldwin, S. Faulkner, S. Lindsley, & M. Hecht (Eds.), Culture [Re]Defined: Analyzing culture from diverse viewpoints.Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

García, S. B., & Guerra, P. (2004). Deconstructing deficit thinking: Working with educators to create more equitable learning environments. Education and Urban Society, 36(2), 150-168.

McCray, A. D., & García, S. B. (2002). The stories we must tell: Developing a research agenda for multicultural and bilingual special education. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 15(6), 599-612.

García, S. B. (2002). Parent-professional collaboration in culturally-sensitive assessment. In A. J. Artiles & A. A. Ortiz (Eds.), English language learners with special needs: Identification, placement and instruction (pp.87-103). Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

Recent Awards

• Fellow in the John Pier Eben Endowment for Education, College of Education, UT-Austin (2007-present).
• Fellow in the L. D. Haskew Centennial Professorship in Public School Administration. College of Education, UT-Austin (2005-2007).

Boards, Committees and Associations

• Co-Editor, Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners. Journal of the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners.
• Member, Editorial Board, Exceptional Children.
• Member, Advisory Board, Division for Instructional Innovation and Assessment, The University of Texas at Austin.

Current Research Projects and Grants

García, S. B. (with Alba A. Ortiz). (2005-2009). Principal Investigator, Multicultural Special Education Leadership Personnel Preparation Project. U. S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. ($799,512)

Current Courses

SED 337 Intercultural Communicationa and Collaboration.

SED 380 Cross-Cultural Interactions in Multicultural Special Education.

SED 380 Designing Personnel Preparation Programs in Multicultural Special Education.

SED 380 Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Special Education.

Research Interests and Expertise

Cultural influences on teaching and learning

Factors contributing to educational risk for culturally/ linguistically diverse students

Prereferral intervention for language minority students

Family-professional partnerships

Personnel preparation in multicultural/bilingual special education