Parental voices on Individualized Education Programs: ‘Oh,IEP meeting tomorrow? Rum tonight!’

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) was developed as a part of US Public Law 94-142 related to educating students with disabilities. The aim of the IEP process was to ensure that educators and parents are involved in collaboratively creating a formalized plan for instruction that will address unique students’ needs. However, the IEP process has created unintended consequences such as depersonalized meetings, and a focus on paperwork and compliance rather than collaboration with parents. The parents interviewed in this study offered a number of recommendations on how to make both the process and the product of IEP meetings more meaningful.     

Parent–Child Relationships in the Twilight Saga: Implications for Family Life Education

One source of cultural messages for adolescents is the novel. According to Reader Response Theory, readers interact with the text to construct meaning. This process makes novels an effective tool for facilitating parent–child communication. The current qualitative study examined the parent–child relationships portrayed in The Twilight Saga. Five themes emerged through inductive analyses. This article includes a comparison of the themes in the novels with the literature on parent–adolescent relationships. We also offer suggestions to family life educators regarding how to use the novels with parents and teens to facilitate communication about parent–child relationships.     

East Asian and US educators' reflections on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities: Challenges and solutions

Stigmatization is a culturally widespread social justice challenge with broad implications for the development of children. This study examines the reflections of elementary school educators in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US on how stigma affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities and how they respond to these challenges. We conducted cross-cultural analyses of individual, audio recorded interviews with 26 Japanese, 43 Korean, 16 Taiwanese and 18 US educators, including school social workers. Educators from all four cultural groups characterized the development of collaborative relationships with parents as critical to supporting the school success of children with disabilities. They also described challenges posed by stigmatization to those relationships, and solutions to those challenges. Japanese educators watched over, carefully guided, and expressed empathy to parents responding to stigmatization. South Korean educators avoided openly indicating children's struggles to parents, but provided them with education about disabilities to counter misperceptions. Taiwanese educators exercised patience with parents who expressed distress due to stigmatization, and concealed their own negative emotional responses to such displays. US educators engaged parents through fact-oriented, solution-focused responses to children's struggles. The perspectives of educators from diverse contexts can be used to identify cultural blind spots, and develop effective culture- and stigma-sensitive strategies to build relationships with parents to better support children with disabilities.     

Marginalisation processes in inclusive education in Norway: a longitudinal study of classroom participation

The aim of this paper is to describe the classroom participation of primary school children with disabilities who attend regular schools in Norway; to explore how relations between children with disabilities and their environment change, and further to chart how schools act in response to such change. The analyses are based on a life course study with data gathered from interviews and questionnaires given to the parents of children with disabilities born in the period between 1993 and 1995. The results show an increasing marginalisation of children with disabilities who receive their primary school education at regular schools. Despite the fact that public policies in Norway are based on a relational understanding of disability, thus suggesting that educators would make considerable efforts to accommodate children with disabilities in regular schools, the reality is that schools take an individual approach to children with disabilities which reflects a medical understanding of disability.     

The international transfer of foster parent selection and preparation technology: the example of the Netherlands and the United States

The biannual education conferences of the International Foster Care Organization "provide an opportunity for foster parents and agency staff to learn new ideas and share technical expertise.' Contacts between Dutch and American participants at the 1983 Education Conference led to the transfer and adaptation of an American foster parent selection-preparation program to the Netherlands. This article, based on a workshop presented at the 1989 Education Conference, describes the process and initial impact of this international experience.     

Deconstructing language practices: discursive constructions of children in Individual Education Plan resource documents

Although Individual Education Plan (IEP) resource documents in Ontario, Canada aim to assist children in achieving their special educational goals, a point of disjuncture exists between the documents’ intentions and children’s actual experiences. Addressing this issue is crucial in preventing inequity and fostering educational development and social well-being for children. We employ critical discourse analysis informed by disability theory to deconstruct the language practices used to conceptualize children in IEP resource documents. Our purpose is to question the underlying assumptions regarding representations of children and illuminate the potentially harmful consequences of such conceptions. We expose the presence of both neutral and harmful language practices and consider how such language may shape the way the documents translate from policy to practice. This study offers a model through which the language of other special education documents can be critically evaluated and proposes potential avenues for creating documents that avoid disabling children further.     

Cultural sensitivity in the delivery of disability services to children: A case study of Japanese education and socialization

This ethnographic study examined beliefs about disability and related socialization and educational practices at a Japanese elementary school. Disability is a universal issue affecting child welfare and educational systems around the world. Yet, relatively little sociocultural research has focused on non-Western children with disabilities. This limitation restricts our understanding of the extent to which and how cultures vary in their responses to disability, and the impact of these variations on children's development. Public schools in Japan recently implemented formal special education services for children with “developmental disabilities,” a new category used by educators to refer to “milder” difficulties in children's acquisition of social and academic skills, for example, learning disabilities, ADHD and Asperger's syndrome. This transition created a dilemma for educators: blending new requirements of providing individualized support with traditional Japanese socialization and educational practices of raising and educating children within peer groups. Participant observation, in-depth interviews, and longitudinal case studies of children with developmental disabilities addressed culturally- and developmentally-sensitive practices employed by educators. Educators were sensitive to stigma, involved peers in supporting one another, created home-like classrooms, guided children towards voluntary cooperation, and provided support and guidance to parents. Broad implications for the design of culturally-sensitive disability services are discussed.     

上海家庭教育的现状及发展思考

上海家庭教育既表现出典型的现代化趋势，也存在不符合现代家庭教育发展理念的若干问题，主要表现在：家庭治理模式向现代民主型模式转变，但部分家长的教养态度依然不够民主；父母对孩子成长的关注与孩子的心理需求存在较大偏差。父母最关心孩子的学习成绩，而孩子最希望父母关注他们的内心想法；亲子活动较少，孩子与父母的沟通意向不强，网络聊天对孩子的影响对亲子沟通方式提出了挑战。建议通过重新认识家庭教育的独特作用与功能定位；提高家庭教育的文化含量，建设和谐文化；加强家庭教育指导，满足多样化的家庭教育需求；加强平台建设，完善学校、家庭、社会“三位一体”合力育人机制等方式提升家庭教育质量。     

Competencies of a parent educator: what does a parent educator need to know and do?

This article examines efforts by organizations and states to describe the competencies of a parent educator, to explain what parent educators teach parents through parent education, and to show how that informs parent educator competencies. It summarizes examples of certification, licensure, and other accountability programs, and identifies the issues involved, along with ways practitioners can use these identified competencies to assess their level of competency. Finally, the article concludes with a call to continue developing certification and other accountability programs to insure quality in parent education.     

Constructing the Transition to Parenthood*

How is the transition to parenthood constructed in a context in which fatherhood and motherhood are therapeutically defined? Relying on ethnographic observations of 66 expectant and new parent couples assigned to 13 different parent educator‐led groups, we show how, with the arrival of a baby, a sense of transition is crafted and often amplified. Our analysis suggests that just as the overall life course is constructed through language and meaningful gesture, so also the transition to parenthood is constructed through verbal and nonverbal signification. Using a vocabulary of contrast and change, parent edu‐cators and expectant and new parents create a collective feeling that they are witnessing a transformation of major proportions. By emphasizing the idea that things are no longer the same, parent educators also establish themselves as authorities whose job it is to steer fathers and mothers through unfamiliar terrain. For their part, expectant and new parents not only listen to but often also replicate the parent educators’ vocabularies and, in so doing, further magnify distinctions between before parenthood and after, and between one stage of parenthood and another. Childbirth stands uncomfortably at the junction of the two worlds of nature and culture. Like death and disease it is a biological event, but the defining feature of biological events in human life is their social character. Ann Oakley (1980:7)     

Building a professional development system: a case study of North Carolina's parenting education experiences

Designing a professional development system for parent educators requires weaving together multiple pieces from within the network of organizations providing parenting education. North Carolina examined how to build a system using the influence of evidence-based programs as well as professional credentialing for parenting educators. A system built with professionals who understand sound parenting practices and networked together to use best practices with parents is critical to support families and prevent child abuse.     

Trying to Comfort the Parent: A Qualitative Study of Children Dealing With Parental Depression

In this article, we look at children’s experiences of parentification in families in which one of the parents is hospitalized for depression. Children (7–14 years old) and their parents were invited for a family interview. Using thematic analysis, we constructed a general framework of 14 children’s experiences, guided by the explorative research question: How do children experience parental depression and how do they experience their own caregiving in the family? The thematic analysis revealed eight themes. One of these themes (trying to comfort the parent) was selected for a microanalysis in one family interview. Our study illustrates the process of overt negotiating of caretaking between parent and child with an underlying moral dilemma and related emotions. The dynamic of children hiding their worry can be seen as an answer to the parent’s expressed wish to not burden her children. These dynamics are situated in ongoing debates in family therapy literature, and some suggestions for therapeutic practice are formulated.     

Parent Involvement Practices in Child Protection: A Matter of Know-How and Attitude

Modern view of child protection services implies that to help young people, simply intervening on their behalf is not sufficient. It suggests that involving parents in the assistance process is essential in order to ensure that they are most likely to play their role as parents to their children in the fullest possible way. Although several articles have dealt with the issue of parent involvement, very few have attempted to document the practices used by practitioners to encourage such involvement. This article presents the findings of a study on child protection practices for involving parents in a child protection context. It is exploratory in nature, and uses a qualitative methodology. The study population is made up of 38 child protection service workers. An analysis of the practitioners’ discourse reveals that the behaviour and attitudes used by them to encourage parent involvement are very diverse. There also appear to be key moments in securing their involvement, that is, making contact, setting objectives and means of action, and applying the case plan. In addition to corroborating earlier studies on the issue of parent involvement, our findings indicate that the majority of the caseworkers interviewed practice an approach that aims to empower clients.Funding of this project was provided by le Fonds Richelieu de recherche sur l’enfance.Marie-Christine Saint-Jacques, Geneviève Lessard, and André Beaudoin are affiliated with School of Social Work, Laval University, Quebec, Canada. Sylvie Drapeau is affiliated with Department of Foundations and Practices in Education, Laval University, Quebec, Canada.     

Academic mothers with disabilities: Navigating academia and parenthood during COVID-19

Academic mothers (including nonbinary, trans, and genderqueer parents) have always faced challenges in their profession due to systemic barriers and a “motherhood tax”; however, COVID-19 has exacerbated already existing inequalities (Oleschuk, 2020). This study examines how the pandemic has affected academic mothers with mental health and physical disabilities, as these voices often remain hidden and unheard in academia despite increased awareness of their presence (Brown & Leigh, 2018; Kelly & Senior, 2020). Here, we share the voices of 23 participants using a qualitative methodology drawing from social justice and feminist theories to highlight the lived experience of academic mothers with mental and/or physical disabilities and their experiences as a scholar and parent during COVID-19. Understanding the lived experience of this intersectional population can provide invaluable insights into ableist privilege within higher education, especially in the context of COVID-19 which has substantially disrupted work and homelife routines.     

The conflict within: resistance to inclusion and other paradoxes in special education

In the 30 years since the passage of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (PL. 94-142) in 1975 (subsequently the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) special education in the USA as an institutionalized practice has become solidified. Over the years, however, the practice of segregating students because of disability has come under increased scrutiny. Beginning in the late 1980s, an increasing number of parents advocated that their children with disabilities be put in mainstream general education classes. Emotionally charged debates over the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms ensued. In this paper we look at the public debates over inclusion and expose some of the paradoxes within special education that serve to hinder the integration of individuals with disabilities into general classes and, by extension, society at large.     

我国残疾儿童学前教育相关政策分析

残疾儿童学前教育需要相关政策提供支持与保障.本文采用政策文献计量法,对我国残疾儿童学前教育相关政策进行分析发现,相关政策数量持续增长,并受五年规划影响波动.在颁布主体上,教育部、民政部、财政部、残联形成核心合作关系,同时呈现多部门协作的特点.横向结构上综合政策以及特殊教育、康复政策多,普通教育(含学前教育)政策少;纵向结构上以规范性文件为主.政策内容中康教比重、参与主体、安置形式及资金支持方式不断变化,体现出日益重视教育的特点,以及政府主导、多主体参与的局面.相关政策发展历程体现出从缺陷补偿到全面发展的教育观变迁、从单一主体到多元主体的管理观变迁以及从即时补缺向制度性普惠的支持观变迁.最后,提出夯实政策基础、增强部门合作、教康合力推进等发展我国残疾儿童学前教育的建议.     

Gendered Living Arrangements Among Children With Disabilities

Using data on disabilities from the 2000 Census, we found a consistent pattern of living arrangements that leaves children (aged 5 – 15 years) with disabilities living disproportionately with women. Children with disabilities are more likely to live with single parents, and especially their mothers, than are other children. Further, those who do not live with either biological parent are more likely to live in households headed by women than are other children. The results suggest that gendered living arrangements among children with disabilities are a neglected aspect of inequality in caring labor, which is an underpinning of gender inequality in general.     

Factitious Illness by Proxy: Understanding Underlying Psychological Processes and Motivations

Children are put at risk of emotional and physical harm when parents seek unnecessary medical care. Understanding why parents seek medical interventions that create risk for their children requires us to consider how past experiences, and the mental representations of these experiences influence current behaviour. Past experiences of danger affect how parents interpret ‘dangerous’ situations in the present and how they organise protection of their child. This article demonstrates how the notion of mental representations (that dispose parents to act in particular ways) can assist in engaging, assessing and treating parents who display factitious illness by proxy behaviour. When classified using the Dynamic‐Maturational Method, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) allows both assessment of implicit and explicit representations and also understanding of the developmental process through which parents have learnt to attribute meaning to information and to organise their behaviour. In this case study, psychosocial assessment of the family included an AAI with each parent. The use of this assessment tool both aided the therapy team in the process of case formulation and intervention planning, and had therapeutic value in and of itself. We argue that treatment is more likely to be effective if the parents and professionals have a shared understanding of the parents' intentions and the developmental process that led to unsafe behaviour, which requires change.     

Single Parenting in Families of Children with Disabilities

Rearing a child with disabilities is a challenge, per- haps even more so for single parents who most often are women. Stress and negative psychological effects have been considered likely outcomes for parents of children with disabilities. With the increased family focus in the provision of services for children with disabilities, it becomes even more important to understand the sources of stress and the types of adaptations made in these families. The research literature was analyzed and similar results were found. Single mothers of children with disabilities often were younger, had less education, and lower incomes. Few studies included these socio- economic factors. Findings indicate that gross differences betweensingle- and two-parent mothers tended to become nonsignificant when maternal education and income were taken into account. Stress levels and adaptation were not pervasively different for single mothers and mothers who were parenting with a partner, after SES variables were controlled. On a few dimensions-including family harmony, integration, and cohesion-some studies found mothers in single parent families to be at a slight disadvantage relative to two parent families. Research findings indicate that other factors need to be considered in research and in provision of services to understand the interplay between stress and adaptation and to facilitate the fami- lys coping. Further study is needed on factors on two levels; task demands and emotional responses, the diversity among mothers, their life situations, and their task demands must be recognized, and socioeconomic conditions and participation by other adults in care- giving. Positive adaptation by single mothers of children who have disabilities is a reasonable expectation; services should build upon family strengths and competencies.