Earlier studies have suggested that Latine families are often not authentically engaged in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process; interactions tend to be fraught with miscommunication, misunderstanding, and lack of genuine consent. To date, only a handful of studies considering teacher perceptions of parent involvement have examined how school personnel view Latine family involvement. This qualitative study utilized interaction theory to explore how school personnel prepare and perceive Spanish-speaking families within the IEP process in a midsize district East of Los Angeles. These findings suggest that team members had a distinct perception of family participation, which was rooted in their level of involvement with the IEP process.
ABSTRACT The majority of teacher preparation for culturally and linguistically diverse student populations has focused on the development of beliefs and attitudes of White general education teachers. This leaves much to be understood as to the development of belief systems of teachers with Latinx heritage and how they relate to their students with disabilities. This study applied theories of critical race theory and funds of knowledge to better understand how the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of our teacher candidates were key to fostering the development of their teacher identities. This resulted in the development of the Cultivating Critical Consciousness in Educators Framework (CCCE), a comprehensible framework for understanding the beliefs and practices essential for educators to practice critical consciousness. Findings demonstrate within group diversity of beliefs varying along a continuum of dysconscious to critical consciousness related to systemic racism, ableism, discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender expression, and sociolinguistic issues. Implications for teacher education practice and future research also are shared.
ABSTRACT Secondary students’ identity development is multidimensional, informed by distinct sociohistorical, cultural, structural, and individual forces and factors. For students who receive both special education and English learner services, identity development may also be connected to being categorized as needing both types of support services. Understanding how students receiving both services perceive themselves, and how they leverage identity while planning their futures could inform the field of transition, yet this is an infrequent subject of inquiry in special education transition research. We interviewed 26 students, all of whom received both services in a high school in a large school district in the northeastern United States. The development of language and learner dimensions of identity emerged from the data as a key factor informing participants’ perceptions and experiences as they prepared for the transition into adulthood. Implications and recommendations for researchers and practitioners supporting students’ language and learner dimensions of identity during postschool transition are shared.
Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation CRISTINA SANTAMARÍA GRAFF, M. NICKIE COOMER, KATHLEEN K. THORIUS, SEENA M. SKELTON; Challenging the Language of Law and Policy through Practice: Working for Personal and Collective Agency. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners 1 March 2022; 22 (1): 1–5. doi: https://doi.org/10.56829/2158-396X-22.1.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest Search
ABSTRACT The purpose of this nonexperimental, quantitative study was to explore the perceptions of educational decision-makers regarding the importance of factors that relate to educational decision-making for racially, ethnically, or linguistically minoritized students who may have disabilities. Further, the researchers explored the relationship between the cultural intelligence of educational decision-makers and their perceptions of the importance of factors that relate to educational decision-making. Educational decision-makers (n = 120) included teachers, school psychologists, and local education agents. Results revealed that participants perceived factors related to prereferral/referral processes to be more important in decision-making when compared to factors related to eligibility determination; yet participants self-reported feeling more confidence in making decisions involving eligibility determination. Cultural intelligence was found to be a significant predictor of participants’ reported confidence for making such decisions. Participants found language to be a particularly important area to consider in their decision-making. Findings may serve to inform equitable special education policies and practice and improve educational decision-making regarding students with diverse educational needs.
