Collaboration with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families: Ideal versus Reality

Abstract

F amily participation is one of the central tenets of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA). Implementation of this mandate is important to all families of children with disabilities. There are three main areas of concern, however, regarding the participation of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) families. First, children of African American, Latino, and Native American groups represent a disproportionately large percentage of certain disability categories and a disproportionately small percentage of gifted programs (Donovan &

Teaching Indigenous Students With Developmental Disabilities: Embedding the Cultural Practices of Dance, Movement, and Music in Pedagogy

“…Through conversations with caregivers, observations at home and at community functions (e.g., churches, powwows, and luaus), and learning about their students' use of community services (e.g., grocery stores and beauty salons, teachers can become aware of the routines and practices that exist in their students' homes that are vital for their family functioning. This might also result in an increase in the understanding of children's school performance (Baeder, 2010;Graham-Clay, 2005;Harry, 2008). Meaningful relationships with caregivers, home visits, and shadowing a student in his/her home and community are powerful ways to learn about students outside of the school context.…”

Early Intervention, IDEA Part C Services, and the Medical Home: Collaboration for Best Practice and Best Outcomes

“…[85][86][87][88][89] The disparities noted previously can negatively affect the processes of care in the medical home and the regional Part C program. 90 Feinberg et al 91 discussed the effect of race on effective participation in EI programs. African American children with developmental delay(s) were 5 times less likely than were white children to receive EI services.…”

“…Garcia and Ortiz 84 have described similar differences in the Latino population and have offered suggestions for prereferral interventions to support culturally and linguistically different populations. As medical home personnel consider quality improvement efforts, areas for consideration might include lack of awareness of racial privilege, assumptions of the value of science over spirituality (in reference to developmental differences), importance of individual over the family group, and logistics required for higher frequency interactions with the developmental or medical community 91,92 (Table 3).…”

Beyond Special and General Education as Identity Markers: The Development and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Preservice Teachers’ Understanding of The Effects of Intersecting Sociocultural Identities

“…While it is important to frame collaborative efforts around students' school-based needs, it is also necessary to recognize that each student is situated within a context that is nested within a family, community, and society at large (Harry, 2008;Kozleski, Artiles, & Skrtic, 2014). School personnel's personal background and identities, which are seldom explored in the special education and collaborative teacher preparation literature ) also merit attention (Laughter, 2011).…”

“…Collaboration requires teachers to engage in purposeful and thoughtful reflection about how to build partnerships with colleagues and students' families, especially when working with partners whose backgrounds differ from that of their own. It is imperative to frame collaboration efforts around students' needs, and to consider that each student is situated within a context that is not just the classroom and school, but also a family, community, and society at large (Boyd & Correa, 2005;Harry, 2008;Kozleski, Artiles, & Skrtic, 2014). If, as Grant and Zwier (2011) suggested, teachers must "develop and strategically use intersectional knowledge about their students' backgrounds for instructional purposes" (p. 182), it is critical that teachers have the capacity to glean information about students when collaborating with colleagues and families.…”