Factors that Influence the Participation of Immigrant Latino Parents in the Special Education Process of their Children with Disabilities

.........................................................................................................xi CHAPTER I Introduction ...................................................................................1 Parental Involvement and Student Achievement..........................................................2 Parental Involvement in Special Education ...............................................................6 Parental Involvement and the Achievement of Students with Disabilities ...................6 Parental Participation in the Special Education Process ....................................... .7 Disproportionality in Special Education ...................................................................9 Involvement of Culturally Diverse Parents................................................................12 Parental Involvement among Latinos ............................................................13 Challenges to Latino Parental Involvement ............................................15 Parental Involvement among First-Generation Immigrant Families ........................16 Statement of the Research Problem .......................................................................20 Summary ......................................................................................................22 CHAPTER II Review of the Literature ..................................................................23 Parental Involvement and Students with Disabilities ...................................................24 Parental Participation in the Special Education Process ................................................25 IDEA Mandates for Parental Involvement ......................................................27 Advocacy Skills .....................................................................................28 Parents’ Perceptions of the Special Education Process ................................................32 Parental Participation in the IEP Meeting .......................................................33 Communication and Collaboration ...............................................................35 Parental Satisfaction with School Services ......................................................37 vii Tensions and Challenges in Navigating the Special Education Process .............................38 Issues of Service Delivery ........................................................................39 Different Views and Expectations ...............................................................40 Lack of Cultural Sensitivity .......................................................................41 Legal Issues in Special Education ...............................................................42 Influence of Cultural and Linguistic Diversity on Parent Participation ..............................45 Latino Parents’ Perception of the Special Education Process ................................49 Latino Parents’ Knowledge of Special Education Procedures ...............................51 Latino Parents’ Experiences with the Special Education Process ...........................52 Educators’ Actions that Promote Parental Participation in the Special Education Process.......55 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................56 Summary ......................................................................................................63 CHAPTER III – Methodology .............................................................................64 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................64 Research Questions .........................................................................................64 Participants ...................................................................................................65 Population of Interest ..............................................................................65 Selection Criteria ...................................................................................66 Recruitment ..........................................................................................67 Sample ................................................................................................69 Instrumentation ..............................................................................................73 Instrument development Process .................................................................74 Instrument Description ..............................................................................76