Document Preview:
26 Where Differences Matter A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Family Voice in Special Education Elizabeth B. Kozleski Arizona State University Petra Engelbrecht North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus) Robyn Hess University of Northern Colorado Estelle Swart University of Stellenbosch Irma Eloff University of Pretoria Marietjie Oswald University of Stellenbosch Amy Molina University of Northern Colorado Swati Jain Swati Jain College U.S. education policy acknowledges the troubling differential rates of special education identification and placement for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse by requiring states to review annually student identification data from all local education agencies to identify and address disproportionate representation. Yet, little is known about the interaction between families that are culturally and linguistically diverse and the service providers they encounter at their local schools. The authors examine those relationships in South Africa and the United States, two countries where the legacy of racism lingers in the ways in which school personnel and families negotiate differences in how children are viewed, assessed, and offered support for learning needs. In both countries, sustained efforts from families and school personnel were needed to develop supports and services that worked well for students with disabilities and their families. Keywords: disabilities; special education; families; comparative studies; children; parents This article provides a cross-case analysis of a research study conceptualized and implemented simultaneously in South Africa and the United States (Engelbrecht, Oswald, Swart, Kitching, & Eloff, 2005; Hess, Molina, & Kozleski, 2006). We began our work together with a shared interest in understanding how context and culture influence and shape the ways in which families access and experience educational systems when their children have disabilities. Using a cultural-historical activity theory

VoL 71,No.l.pp. 97-108.
©2004 Councilor Exceptional Children.
Exceptional Children
Involvement of Immigrant
Chinese Canadian Mothers of
Children With Disabilities
YUAN LAI
F. ISHU ISHIYAMA
University of British Columbia
ABSTRACTr:: This study investigated immigrant Chinese Canadian mothers’ involvement in the education
of their children with disabilities. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 recent
immigrants. Thirteen categories emerged, which were subsumed under 4 thematic areas: (a) challenges
in adapting to a new environment, (b) limited English proficiency, (c) different views toward
education, and (d) involvement in the children’s education. Implications of the findings are
discussed in terms of enhancing home-school communication and addressing obstacles to intercultural
communication faced by teachers and immigrant parents.
P
arent involvement has been an
increasingly important topic in
education. The Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act
Amendments of 1997 reestablishes
and enhances parent participation in eligibility
and placement decisions. In Canada,
education is under the provincial jurisdiction.
Most provinces legally require parent participation
in assessment or programming decisions
(Smith & Foster, 1997). In the province of
British Columbia (B.C.), the Special Needs Students
Order (B.C. Ministry of Education, 2004)
and the Individual Education Plan Order (B.C.
Ministry of Education, 2000), part of the School
Act, stipulate that parents of children with special
needs be consulted regarding the children’s education
placement and program planning.
There is a wide range of languages, cultures,
and nationalities found in the schools in
B.C. and this has created challenges for educators
(Shapson, Ames, Painchaud, & Petrie, 1997).
Twenty-five years ago, Philip Chinn noted that
parents were an answer to educating the exceptional
minority child. That is, parent participation
can play an important role in designing
educational programs for students with disabilities
from culturally diverse backgrounds (Chinn,
1979). For example, minority parents can provide
an understanding of cultural perspectives to
mainstream educators (Harry & Kalyanpur,
1994). Such perspectives could enable teachers to
make informed interpretations of a student’s behavior.
Yet, it has been noted that the participation
of minority parents is far less than that of
cheir mainstream counterparts (Harry, 1992;
Exceptional ChildrenHuang & Gibbs, 1992; Lauer, 1992). The literature
has repeatedly identified the following eight
reasons fot the low rates of minority parent participation:
(a) limited proficiency in English, (b)
lack of familiarity with the school system, (c) discomfort
or hesitancy in interacting with teachers
or other personnel, (d) trust that teachers were
doing their best, (e) a respect for teachers as the
experts, (f) unfamiliarity with the concept of
parental participation in schools, (g) an insufficient
number of teachers from ethnic minority
backgrounds in North America, and (h) different
ethnic belief systems (Chan, 1986; Constantino,
Cui, &c Faltis, 1995; Harry; Harry & Kalyanpur;
Huang & Cibbs; Lauer; Pacific Coast Public Television
Association, 1993; Vbltz, 1994). However,
it has been noted that many minority parents
have expressed their desire to be involved or are
actively involved in their children’s education
(Huang & Gibbs) and that education is often regarded
by immigrant parents as the route to their
children’s success in the future (Huang & Gibbs).
In sum, there are both challenges and opportunities
in minority parent involvement.
Although numerous articles have been devoted
to parent involvement in North America,
little is known of the involvement of immigrant
parents of Chinese descent. Constantino, ct al.
(1995) reported that Chinese immigrants who
had recently arrived in the United States were not
very involved in their (nondisabled) children’s
schools because of their limited English proficiency.
In addition, it has been noted that Asian
parents are unfamiliar with the concept of
parental participation as practiced in many North
American schools (Chan, 1986; Pacific Coast
Public Television Association, 1993). However,
the high value that Chinese people place on education
(Huang & Gibbs, 1992; Lin, 1939) implies
that Chinese parents would be actively
involved in their children’s education.
Chinese people arc noted to have a strong
identification with their culture, and there is a
great degree of cultural homogeneity throughout
Chinese history (Lin, 1939). Cultural continuity
is present in different predominantly Chinese societies
even in modern times (Bond, 1991; Hsu,
1981). Likewise, the Chinese who migrate to
other parts of the world tend to retain much of
Chinese cultural influence and ways of life
(Bond). As such, studies done in Asia are pertinent
to this research. Yet, there is scant literature
on the topic of Chinese parent involvement. Although
there are a few studies conducted in Hong
Kong and China on parents of children with disabilities
in terms of coping with parenting stress,
none focused on parent involvement. In Taiwan,
Guo (1998) conducted a research study on the recently
introduced concept of parent-teacher collaboration,
and found that teachers were leading
parents (of children without disabilities) in the
collaboration, which mostly focused on day-today
classroom routines. The review of literature in
Chinese societies lends support to the claim that
the concept of parent participation is fairly new
to Chinese parents.
The review of literature in Chinese societies
lends support to the claim that the
concept of parent participation is fairly
new to Chinese parents.
This study investigated immigrant Chinese
Canadian parents’ involvement in the education
of their children with disabilities, in light of the
size of the ethnic community as well as the
paucity of empirical research in this area. Chinese
people are the second largest ethnic group in the
Lower Mainland (Greater Vancouver and its
vicinities) of the Province of British Columbia
(Statistics Canada, 2001). In schools in this
province, Chinese is the second most common
language spoken at home, next to English (B.C.
Ministry of Education, 1996). This study was inspired
by the necessity of understanding the experiences
and perspectives of immigrant Chinese
Canadian parents of children with disabilities
who speak English as a second language, in order
to facilitate parental input to the development of
appropriate educational programs as well as the
placement decision process. It is vital to address
the needs of immigrant parents in order to promote
their full and equitable participation in the
continuing evolution and shaping of all aspects of
the society, which is one aim of the Canadian
Multicultural Act of July 1988 (see McLeod, 1992).
9 S Fall 2004METHOD
Qualitative methodology is suitable for studying
little-understood phenomena (Yin, 1989). Because
the involvement of parents of Chinese descent
in North America is little researched, a
qualitative research design was applied. Interviewing
was the choice of data gathering, for the reason
that It often uncovers beliefs, values, and
hidden meanings (Agar, 1980). The approach
proposed by Hammerslcy and Atkinson (1993) as
followed to perform analysis of the qualitative data.
PARTICIPANTS
Ten women who were recruited from three school
districts in the urban Lower Mainland participated
in the study. Despite the wording in the rectuiting
lettets that addressed parents without
specific reference to their gender, 80% of the responses
to the recruitment ad were initiated by
mothers. The two fathers who initiated the contact
recommended their wives for the interview
after learning more about the interview content.
Three fathers were not present in Canada. As a result,
the participants were all mothers.
The women were in their 30s and 40s and
were all married to men of Chinese descent. They
had come to Canada as adults. All except one had
lived in Canada for less than 5 years at the time
the interviews took place. All except one were
full-time mothers, in the middle- to upper-middle
socioeconomic class. Fictitious names were
used to protect their identities. Parents who
signed their English names on the research consent
form were given English pseudonyms; otherwise,
they were given Chinese names. The
children were receiving special education in public
schools. Although not intended, all the children
in the study were male. The disabilities
included sensory impairments, intellectual disabilities,
autism, and developmental delay. Both
the mothers and the children spoke Chinese as
their first language. Table ! outlines the backgrounds