Parent Perceptions of the Advocacy Expectation in Special Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 001440292199409
Author(s):  
Zach Rossetti ◽  
Meghan M. Burke ◽  
Oscar Hughes ◽  
Kristen Schraml-Block ◽  
Javier I. Rivera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Parent Perceptions ◽  
School Personnel ◽  
Parent Perspectives ◽  
Cultural Dissonance ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Education Improvement ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Feeling Overwhelmed

Although the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) mandates parent participation in their children’s education programs, the implementation of IDEA results in parent effort beyond participation, specifically, an expectation of advocacy. To date, research on the advocacy expectation is mixed, with some parents perceiving advocacy as an obligation to ensure appropriate services for their children, whereas others argue it is unreasonable and has cultural dissonance, disadvantaging some parents. We examined parent perspectives of the advocacy expectation in special education through 19 focus groups with 127 parents of children with disabilities across four states. Findings included a nuanced understanding of the advocacy expectation, with participants reporting the importance of advocacy and some describing that advocacy was part of their social role. However, under adversarial circumstances with school personnel, participants described feeling overwhelmed because the advocacy expectation felt more difficult than it needed to be. We discuss implications for policy and practice.

Students With Disabilities From Migrant Farmworker Families: Parent Perspectives

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-70
Author(s):  
Georgina Rivera-Singletary ◽  
Ann Cranston-Gingras
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
English Learners ◽  
School Personnel ◽  
Semistructured Interview ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Federal Policies ◽  
Migrant Families ◽  
Special Education Process ◽  
Education Process

Children of migrant farmworkers change schools frequently and must navigate through a maze of confusing and often inconsistent academic policies. Migrant students are often identified as English learners and some have disabilities, which results in additional academic and federal policies that families must contend with as they seek to support their children’s educational endeavors. Further affecting the school experience is the difficulty parents often have in working with school personnel who are unable to support the cultural and linguistic needs of migrant families. This study sought to explore the parents’ understanding of their children’s disability and the special education process and to learn about how migrancy affects those experiences specifically when they attempt to obtain special education services. Through an interpretive perspective, four migrant parents of children with disabilities were interviewed using a semistructured interview to collect data related to their perception of the special education process. The findings of the study are discussed, and recommendations for policy and practice are provided.

Exclusionary Discipline Consequences and Reading Performance of Grades 3 Through 8 Students in Special Education: A Statewide, Multiyear Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 120-140
Author(s):  
Jamie Heintz Benson ◽  
John R Slate ◽  
George W Moore ◽  
Cynthia Martinez-Garcia ◽  
Frederick C Lunenburg
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Alternative Education ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Disciplinary Alternative Education Program ◽  
Level Ii ◽  
Alternative Education Program ◽  
Disciplinary Alternative Education ◽  
Program Placement

In this investigation, the academic performance of students in special education who received between 1 to 30 days, between 31-60, and more than 60 days in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program placement and had STAAR Reading Level I: Unsatisfactory, STAAR Reading Level II: Satisfactory, STAAR Reading Level II: Phase-In Satisfactory, and STAAR Reading Level III: Advanced standard during the 2012-2013 through 2015-2016 school years were determined. In each of these four school years, the percentage of students in special education who received Disciplinary Alternative Education Program placement and had Unsatisfactory Standard performance on the STAAR Reading exam consistently increased for all grades except for Grade 4. The percentage of students who had Phase-In Satisfactory Standard performance on the STAAR Reading exam consistently decreased for all grades except for Grade 4. The percentages of students who had Satisfactory and Advanced Standard performance remained consistent across the four school years, never varying more than 7%. Recommendations for research and implications are discussed along with suggestions for policy and practice.

On the Need for a Nuanced Understanding of “Community” in Heritage Policy and Practice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Mulligan
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Resource Management ◽  
Community Formation ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Power Needs ◽  
Heritage Policy ◽  
Complete Process ◽  
Community Identities

The alleged benefits of community participation in cultural resource management has been an article of faith in the international heritage community since the early 1990s, yet the ambiguous and multi-layered concept of community is commonly deployed uncritically. This chapter argues that “community” should be seen as an open-ended, never complete process rather than end-product. It suggests that heritage practitioners inevitably contribute to the creation of a sense of community at scales ranging from the local to the national. The projection of community identities can enhance or undermine social cohesion at and across geographic scales and the chapter argues that heritage practitioners need to work with a nuanced understanding of their role in the creation of community identities. The link between heritage values and community formation remains powerful but the power needs to be unleashed with due diligence.

A Primer on the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act and Advocacy for Students Who Are Culturally and Linguistically Diverse

2019 ◽  
pp. 46-65
Author(s):  
Reid Taylor ◽  
Carol Fleres
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
General Education ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Educational Planning ◽  
Culturally And Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Primary Language ◽  
Education Improvement

Well prepared educators are essential to the identification and delivery of services to students who have disabilities, most especially when it comes to students who are culturally and linguistically diverse (C/LD). Professionals must be aware of the requirements in IDEIA and assure that multiple and appropriate assessments are used in determining whether C/LD students are, in fact, disabled before being assigned to special education. This chapter identifies current issues such as the under and over identification of certain students who are C/LD in special education, second language acquisition, and the evaluation of children whose primary language is not English. It is a tool to assist professionals in assessing students who are C/LD and in educating families and guiding them to advocate for the provision of supported interventions in general education, appropriate assessment, and educational planning. Recommendations for advocating for students who are C/LD are presented and discussed.

Educational Policy and Practice Contexts

2019 ◽  
pp. 39-66
Author(s):  
Misa Kayama ◽  
Wendy L. Haight ◽  
May-Lee Ku ◽  
Minhae Cho ◽  
Hee Yun Lee
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Educational Policy ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Relative Risks ◽  
Culturally Based ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The U.S

Chapter 3 lays the groundwork for understanding how educators incorporate national special education policies into their local, culturally based practices. It examines national disability policies and services in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S. Special education policies in all four nations have been influenced by the contemporary, international trend of inclusive education. Yet the ways in which policymakers and educators have responded to such international initiatives, which reinforce the individual rights of children with disabilities, vary cross-culturally. Such variation partly reflects culturally based differences in how the relative risks of disability labels and the benefits of specialized support are weighted, especially for these children whose functioning is at the border of “typical development” and “having disabilities.”

scholarly journals ‘A lonely old man’: empirical investigations of older men and loneliness, and the ramifications for policy and practice

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Ratcliffe ◽  
Andrea Wigfield ◽  
Sarah Alden
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Older Men ◽  
Implicit Assumption ◽  
Masculine Identity ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

Abstract Loneliness has become an issue of significant academic, public and policy focus. There has been much research on experiences of loneliness in later life and many accompanying interventions targeting lonely older people. However, there has been a dearth of research on the impact that loneliness can have on older men and the resulting implications for policy and practice. This paper aims to redress this by developing a theoretical framework to improve understanding of older men's constructions and experiences of loneliness. It draws on two qualitative empirical studies: the first explores older men's perceptions of masculinity and loneliness; and the second looks at the effectiveness of a service for older men which was designed to alleviate loneliness among older people more generally. The paper outlines the way in which older men often construct masculinity as an oppressive (hegemonic) requirement, but which can be reformed into ‘positive’ traits of ‘strength of mind’, ‘responsibility’, ‘caring’, ‘helping out’, ‘doing a favour’ and ‘giving something back’, with a consistent yet implicit assumption that enactment of these denotes a ‘proud’ masculine identity. Loneliness, on the other hand, is represented as a subordinate social role, both non-masculine and related to marginalising stereotypes of age. This results in the identification of two important implications for the way in which services can assist in the alleviation of loneliness in older men: that men are more likely to engage with a service that can facilitate the construction of a ‘proud’ masculine identity; and that services which deconstruct hegemonic masculinities, particularly by providing a space where men feel comfortable being emotionally tactile, are likely to be most effective at both alleviating loneliness and promoting overall wellbeing.

Creating Communities of Support Within Alternative Settings: Perspectives of Practicing Alternative School Administrators

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-41
Author(s):  
Richard T. (RT) Duke ◽  
Penny L. Tenuto
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Alternative School ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
School Personnel ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Traditional Public Schools ◽  
High Standards ◽  
Alternative Settings

Much can be learned from practicing school leaders, including how they describe their roles navigating between policy and practice with a focus on meeting students’ needs. This article considers how alternative school administrators work with school personnel to create communities for supporting students once considered at risk in traditional public schools. Findings include (1) creating a culture of high standards, (2) adopting a personalized or caring approach to leadership, (3) exploring and implementing innovative practices for teaching and learning, and (4) managing students as a collaborative and individualized process. For further understanding, authors apply emergent themes to a model for advancing democratic professional practice in education.

Data-Based Decision-Making

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Carter ◽  
Jennifer Stephenson ◽  
Sarah Carlon
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Classroom Use ◽  
Data Based Decision Making

The term data-based decision-making can refer to a wide range of practices from formative classroom use of monitoring in order to improve instruction to system-wide use of “big” data to guide educational policy. Within the context of special education, a primary focus has been on the formative classroom use of data to guide teachers in improving instruction for individual students. For teachers, this typically involves the capacity to (1) determine what data need to be collected to appropriately monitor the skill being taught, (2) collect that data, (3) interpret the data and make appropriate decisions, and (4) implement changes as needed. A number of approaches to such data-based decision-making have evolved, including precision teaching, curriculum-based assessment, and curriculum-based measurement. Evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses indicates instruction incorporating data-based decision-making has positive effects on outcomes for students with special education needs although the size of these effects has been variable. While the extent of the research base is modest, there are indications that some specific factors may be related to this variability. For example, the use of decision-making rules and graphic display of data appears to improve student outcomes and the frequency of data collection may differentially affect improvement. The presence and frequency of support offered to teachers may also be important to student outcomes. There is a need to increase our research base examining data-based decision-making and, more specifically, a need to more clearly define and characterize moderators that contribute to its effectiveness. In addition, there is a case for research on the wider use of data on student outcomes to inform broader policy and practice.

scholarly journals Parent Perspectives of Their Involvement in IEP Development for Children With Autism

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Kurth ◽  
Hailey Love ◽  
Jody Pirtle
Keyword(s):  
School Personnel ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Parent Satisfaction ◽  
School Experience ◽  
Parent Perspectives ◽  
Educational Decisions ◽  
Parent Partnerships ◽  
Iep Development ◽  
Appropriate Education ◽  
Parents Experiences

The present study investigated parents’ experiences in making educational decisions for their children with autism and their satisfaction with said outcomes. Parents completed a survey describing (a) their input in educational decisions, (b) satisfaction with school personnel, and (c) satisfaction with their child’s school experience. Sequential regressions revealed parents’ satisfaction was generally predicted by their own knowledge of autism, school staff knowledge of autism, parent satisfaction with teachers, and parent relationships with school personnel. In addition, parent input was a significant predictor of satisfaction with their child’s school experience. Finally, open-ended responses indicated that parents experienced many barriers when working with schools and often felt compelled to go outside of the school system to ensure their children received an appropriate education. Implications for teacher preparation and school–parent partnerships are described.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document