All parents of eligible students with disabilities have the right to collaborate as equal members of educational teams developing their children’s Individualized Education Programs (IEP). However, culturally and linguistically diverse families typically experience barriers to collaboration with school professionals. In this paper, we describe findings from four focus group interviews with Chinese, Vietnamese, and Haitian immigrants examining their participation and language access in their children’s IEP meetings, as well as their perspectives on what would improve their IEP meetings. Findings revealed that meaningful engagement was hampered by families’ limited access to information, educators’ lack of accountability, and limited opportunities for families to develop as advocates. Implications of the research addressing the within-meeting and between-meeting barriers are discussed.
Using culturally appropriate, trauma-informed support to promote bicultural self-efficacy among resettled refugees: A conceptual model
Resettled refugees face pressure to integrate successfully into the culture of their resettlement country within a relatively short period of time. Though successful integration is important, research has shown that ethnic identity and participation in the ethnic culture of origin play a key role in supporting the mental health of resettled refugees. This paper presents…