UMD Theses and Dissertations
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Item THE EXPERIENCES OF KOREAN IMMIGRANT PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN THE AMERICAN SPECIAL EDUCATION SYSTEM(2020) Joo, Riah; Beckman, Paula J; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)“At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” Jane D. Hull Korean families demonstrate a very strong enthusiasm for education. However, like other parents in the United States Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD), Korean immigrant parents face obstacles that make it difficult for them to participate successfully in the U.S. special education system (Park & Turnbull, 2001). Apart from mandating States to ensure free and appropriate public education for all students with disabilities, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997 and their subsequent reauthorizations also encourage parent involvement in the special education system by mandating institutions to see parents as equally responsible for the development of their children’s Individualized Education Program (IEPs). However, there is a gap between policy and practice: CLD parents have described the IEP process as frustrating and complicated (Lo, 2008; Salas, 2004). Prior research has also revealed specific barriers that marginalize CLD parents and limit them to passive roles in the IEP process (Cho & Gannotti, 2005; Cummings & Hardin, 2017; Garcia et al., 2000; Kummerer et al., 2007; Lo, 2008, 2009; Tellier-Robinson, 2000; Trainor, 2010). These barriers include language, cultural differences, insufficient information, and feelings of disrespect. Given the lack of research on Korean parents’ perceptions of parental participation in the U.S. special education system, the purpose of this study was to explore and understand the experiences of Korean immigrant parents who have children with disabilities in the U.S. special education system. Each individual’s experience of participating in special education processes in the United States was examined to answer the following four research questions: 1) How do Korean parents of children with disabilities describe their experiences with the special education system in the United States? 2) What community supports do Korean parents access to help them navigate the special education system? 3) What factors facilitate the Korean parents’ participation in the U.S. special education system? and 4) What factors serve as barriers to the Korean parents’ participation in the U.S. special education system? The data sources included a questionnaire, open-ended interviews, observations, and relevant documents. All Korean parents in this study agreed that the special education system in the United States was excellent. However, they reported that dealing with "the system" was a struggle for them and they wanted to be more familiar with and knowledgeable about how it worked. The parents reported that trust and partnership with professionals and having a knowledgeable advocate were important factors that facilitated their participation in the school system, while language barriers, cultural differences, a lack of trust with professionals, and a lack of relevant information served as barriers that hindered their participation. They expressed a consistent desire to be more actively engaged in the school system. The study suggests that qualified interpreter services and systemic and sustained state/community-level support are each needed to facilitate Korean parents’ participation in the special education system. It also suggests that teachers and associated professionals need a deeper understanding and acknowledgment of certain cultural differences to build good, working partnerships with these Korean parents. Keywords: Korean immigrant parents, parent participation, parent involvement, children with disabilities, special education systemItem KOREAN IMMIGRANT MOTHERS’ EDUCATIONAL BELIEFS AND PRACTICES: A TRANSNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE(2015) Kim, Ji Hyun; Wiseman, Donna L; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study analyzed the parental involvement experiences of four first-generation Korean immigrant mothers living in a Mid-Atlantic state to expand the research base and knowledge of traditional parental involvement paradigms. The study was guided by two overarching research questions: 1) How do four Korean immigrant mothers understand and perform their roles in the educational experiences of their children?; and 2) How do contexts (i.e. micro, meso, macro, and transnational) influence the mothers’ understandings and performance of their roles in the educational experiences of their children? Multiple concepts and frameworks related to parent involvement and immigrant experiences informed the conceptual framework of this study. They include the parent role construction of Hoover-Dempsey et al. (2005); the minority parent role construction of Auerbach (2007); Cultural Ecological Theory (Ogbu & Simons, 1998); and transnationalism (Itzigsohn & Giorguli-Saucedo, 2005; Portes, 2003). Despite a certain level of variability among the participants’ educational beliefs and practices, they commonly regarded private supplementary education (e.g. hagwon, or Korean style afterschool programs, and private tutoring) as an effective means to give a competitive edge to their children academically, which is largely practiced in Korea. Also, not all mothers placed priority on school-based involvement including school visits and Parent Teacher Association membership. The findings suggest that the mothers’ current perceptions, expectations, and behaviors related to their children’s education are influenced by their upbringing and educational experiences in Korea, continuing transnational interactions with people and culture in Korea, and their racial and ethnic minority status in the U.S. The findings also suggest that a traditional school-centered conceptualization of parent involvement may be limited in capturing immigrant parents’ strong commitment of their children’s education, which may not be congruent with conventional norms of school involvement. As U.S. federal government and local school districts continue to emphasize parents as partners in education, teachers and administrators will benefit from this analysis of one growing population which demonstrates high achievement in the school system. Furthermore, this research challenges and expands a stereotypical and monolithic understanding of Korean immigrants as “model minority” through a detailed case study of one group of mothers.Item EXPLORINGTHE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN PARENT INVOLVEMENT PRIORITIRES, POLICIES, PROGRAMS, AND PRACTICES(2014) Harris, Daman; Croninger, Robert; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research connects parent involvement in education and student development, including achievement. However, less is known about how school staff determines programmatic priorities and practices about parent involvement. This study used a case study design to explore the development of parent involvement policy priorities, programs, and practices at an elementary school with a disproportionate amount of low-income students. The primary data sources are interviews conducted during the 2011-2012 school year; other data include an observation of an involvement activity and reviews of relevant documents. The data indicate that school staff implemented parent involvement structures dictated by the school district's central office, and staff supplemented those formal policies with their own unstructured activities. However, insufficient resources were dedicated to monitoring and analyzing parent involvement practices. This study describes the ways that school tradition, staff nostalgia, expectations about parent initiative, and staff's perceived lack of agency might contribute to weak parent involvement outcomes. It also questions some of the assumptions about the purpose of parent involvement policies, especially in a high-stakes accountability environment.Item Reframing Parent Involvement: The Role of a Museum Program in Connecting Parents and Schools(2009) Luke, Jessica Judith; Torney-Purta, Judith; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Using grounded theory methods, a qualitative study was conducted to generate theoretical propositions about the nature of parent involvement generally, and the role that a museum program can play in facilitating parent involvement more specifically. In-depth retrospective interviews were conducted via telephone with 20 parents who had participated in the museum program. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method and drawing from the Ecologies of Parent Engagement framework (Calabrese Barton et al., 2004). At the core of the analysis is the phenomenon of parent engagement - as opposed to parent involvement - that emphasizes the social and cultural negotiations through which parent engagement occurred, and the more informal, personal manifestations of engagement through the museum program. At a more micro level, analysis revealed the mechanisms through which the museum program facilitated engagement, namely building capital and authoring. Findings culminate with an adapted version of the Ecologies of Parent Engagement model, revised to reflect the role of a museum program in facilitating parent engagement. Overall, study results have implications for theoretical understandings of parent involvement, providing a more holistic picture of why and how parents are engaged, and what forms their engagement takes. Establishing hypotheses about parent engagement processes makes it possible for educators to reconsider practical strategies for bringing parents and schools together in support of children's development, and in particular to broaden their thinking about the spaces in which parent engagement occurs.Item Perspectives on Parent Involvement: How Elementary Teachers Use Relationships with Parents to Improve Their Practice(2008-11-20) Jacobs, Bryce Anne; Lareau, Annette; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)One of the most important areas of research in education is the role of parents in student achievement. Studies indicate that parents working as volunteers, homework helpers, and participants in school activities influence student success, but we do not know exactly how that happens or how teachers perceive of their relationships with parents. Although researchers state that the parent teacher relationship is important, they have not systematically unpacked how parent involvement is related to the instructional decision making of teachers. This study uses in depth interview data from 21 elementary school teachers who teach grades one through four. The study also includes participant observation in one private school. My findings suggest that teachers, in a variety of kinds of schools, use information about students' home lives and outside interests to make their teaching more effective. They report doing this by being able to motivate students, by being sensitive to a student's mood and by being able to make changes to their curriculum based on student needs. Much of what a teacher, especially in the elementary grades knows about his/her students is gleaned from the students' parents. It is this information that affects teacher practice in the classroom. This leads to teachers not treating all forms of parent involvement equally; they value communication and they use what they learn from communications with parents to customize their curricula for individual students. The literature to date has not examined communication patterns between parents and teachers fully. When examined closely, it seems that teachers try to manage and negotiate their relationships with parents through setting boundaries and through their communication patterns. It has been reported that teachers do not learn about parent involvement in their teacher education courses. This study affirms that assertion and increases our understanding of what teachers are influenced by: their mentor teachers, their colleagues, the school administration and their own parents. This study will add to the parent involvement research by examining teachers' views on their relationships with parents and will help educators and policy makers better understand how parents contribute to classroom instruction.Item Cultural Values, Acculturation, and Parental Involvement as Predictors of Latino Youth Engagement in Extracurricular Activities(2006-05-08) Fitzgerald, Megan; Hofferth, Sandra L.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Most research indicates that extracurricular activities are an important part of children's development with the potential to enhance children's academic achievement, physical growth, and social skills. Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States, and although most Latino children achieve academic success, they are the ethnic group most at risk for school drop-out. Previous research indicated that even when socioeconomic status was controlled, Latino children engaged in fewer extracurricular activities than their white peers. This study examined the extent to which cultural values emphasized in the Latino population, such as collectivism, personalismo, simpatía, and religiosity influenced the extracurricular activities of Latino children. It found that certain values are correlated with corresponding activities, but education of the primary caregiver and acculturation were the strongest predictors of participation in extracurricular activities.