Barrier to Parent’ Partnership in IEP Development

According to the Week Three lecture presentation, language and cultural barriers significantly affect the participation of parents in Individual Education Programs (IEP) development. This challenge mainly faces Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) parents. The factors under language and cultural barriers that discourage parents from participating in the IEP development for their children include limited English proficiency, difference in attitudes and values towards disability, limited knowledge about IEPs development procedures, and different communication styles (Jung, 2011). According to Tamzarian et al. (2012), cross-cultural communication and cultural assumptions about disabilities are highly vulnerable to misinterpretation when participants have different backgrounds. A study by Wolfe and Durán (2013) revealed that CLD parents encounter additional challenges when participating in IEP meetings.
Possible Solution
Addressing this barrier would require collaboration with professional educators. Studies show that parents have initial negative experiences with IEPs due to harsh treatment by educators during the meetings (Reiman et al., 2010). Thus, educators should be trained in diversity management to enhance their competencies in accommodating parents’ traditions and religious beliefs from diverse backgrounds. Denying parents expertise and knowledge about the child discourages them from participating in IEPs development (Jung, 2011). Hence, educators should be sensitized to allow parents expertise and learning about the children to attract their attention to these programs. Finally, studies indicate that enhanced communication between parents and school staff would significantly improve the parents’ involvement in the IEP processes (Jung, 2011). Hence, schools should develop programs that identify the CLD parents to reach out to them and build personal connections to enhance their participation.

Question
Do you think parental contribution is critical in the development of IEPs? How would the interests of the children be addressed if parents hired representatives to attend meetings on their behalf?

References
Jung, A. W. (2011). Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and barriers for parents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Multicultural Education, 19(3), 21-25.