Engagement unites the home and school as a partnership, elevating parents' roles as vital voices in the school and mitigating barriers to engagement. This current research aimed to fill a gap in the literature by investigating parent engagement from the perspective of the administrators as well as the parent in the context of their…

18 qualitative investigations of families of children with disabilities from nondominant communities and their perspectives on home-school partnerships were included in this meta-synthesis. Included studies used a qualitative research design to examine the perspectives of families of children with disabilities from nondominant communities in…

Identifies a number of ways that teachers and students can misunderstand and confuse each other with their language-based communications in the classroom. Cultural variations in the formats for teacher-led lessons and child-generated personal experience narratives are described, using research findings from Canadian Inuit and Algonquin…

Although there are only about 2,000 active speakers of the Hawaiian language, there exists a coherent system of nonverbal behavior which can be identified as Hawaiian and which contrasts sharply with middle class white American behavior. Teachers of Hawaiian children should be aware of this in order to avoid potential misunderstandings in the…

Posits policymakers' and researchers' mutual inability to communicate in compatible language and imagery. Explores several rationales for the divergence between two separate cultures (the academic and the political), referring to an "ecology of games." Illuminates gaps with case material from policymaking in Florida, and develops…

Discusses the relationship between authority and the interactional practice of teaching. Also reviews the importance of context in understanding how learning is realized through language. Ways to recognize and infuse complexity into school-based practices, concerns about culturally/linguistically diverse students, and the need to avoid a "zero-sum…

Qualitative methods revealed six areas of need of minority ethnic deaf people (MEDP): (1) communication barriers; (2) a lack of recognition of the needs of MEDP; (3) inappropriate service delivery and lack of information about available services; (4) insufficient cultural sensitivity by service providers; (5) issues of user involvement; and (6) a…

This paper presents an overview of American Indian students' learning styles, world views, and communication styles, with implications for classroom techniques and teaching styles. Research has shown that American Indian and African American students are primarily right-brained in learning styles, while Anglo and Asian students are primarily…

This paper's findings advocate looking beyond cultural discontinuity for an explanation of communication failure between American Indian parents and school personnel. Through "gatekeeping," American Indian parents mediate the communications dilemma wrought by conditions of distrust, racial tension, maintenance of tribal identity,…

This paper provides Indian parents of children with disabilities with information from the Education for Parents of Indian Children with Special Needs Project concerning communication between Indian parents and non-Indian service providers. Five basic strategies for effective communication are reviewed: (1) when you do not understand, ask for…

This book considers the complex subject of language development and instruction for learners with special needs. The primary purpose of the book is to examine language and its components and to suggest instructional strategies for conquering language difficulties. Some special features of the book are strong core chapters which cover key…

Cultures differ in rules that govern communicative behavior, and these differences can cause teacher/student miscommunication in the classroom and can also interfere with the academic performance of minority group children. These differences can be overcome, however, by knowledgeable teachers who endeavor to build and expand the communicative…

Maintains that communicative competence is the primary way of teaching about and learning to live in a multicultural society. Asserts that multiculturalism confronts errors of educational theory and illustrates how life's struggle is always a struggle for freedom and to assume responsibility. (CFR)

This commentary on the Council for Exceptional Children-Council on Education of the Deaf's (CEC-CED's) Joint Knowledge and Skills Statement, which sets forth qualifications needed by those who teach deaf and hard of hearing students, discusses key issues impacting the education of students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing: cultural flexibility,…

Communication between individuals from different cultures can fail simply because of the culturally-oriented assumptions that speakers make about one another's responses. The higher rate of discipline referrals among African-American males involves behavior that is related to cultural and communicative issues. In an effort to build their…