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Comparing Special Education Experiences Among Spanish- and English-Speaking Parents of Children with Disabilities

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Abstract

Due to systemic barriers, Spanish-speaking (versus English-speaking) parents of children with disabilities are less likely to participate in educational decision-making. However, little research has directly compared special education experiences between both populations. The purpose of this study was to explore the differences and similarities between Spanish-speaking (n = 12) and English-speaking (n = 44) parents of children with disabilities. Specifically, six focus groups were conducted in either English or Spanish in two states. There were three main findings: exacerbated negative experiences (e.g., disempowerment and lack of teacher knowledge) for Spanish-speaking (versus English-speaking) parents, unique communication barriers among Spanish-speaking families and shared barriers among English- and Spanish-speaking parents. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this project came from the Spencer Foundation. The research reported in this article was made possible (in part) by a grant from the Spencer Foundation (Grant #201800082). The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Spencer Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Special Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Education Building, 1310 S. Sixth St., Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Meghan M. Burke, Janeth Aleman-Tovar, Kristina Rios, James Lee & Kristen Schraml-Block

  2. Boston University, Two Silber Way, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Zach Rossetti & Javier Rivera

Authors
  1. Meghan M. Burke
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  2. Zach Rossetti
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  3. Janeth Aleman-Tovar
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  4. Kristina Rios
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  5. James Lee
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  6. Kristen Schraml-Block
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  7. Javier Rivera
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Meghan M. Burke.

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Conflicts of Interest

There were no potential conflicts of interest in this study.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study received approval from the University Institutional Review Board to conduct research with human subjects.

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Each participant provided informed consent before participating in the study.

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Appendix

Appendix

Focus Group Protocol

I want to thank all of you for coming. I hope that each of you enjoys our discussion. I’m going to go over some ground rules before we start. We hope that this will be a lively discussion among all of us. We ask that you respect the confidentiality of the information that is shared here so that everyone can feel open to exchange your opinions, your feelings, and your beliefs. Thus, each person has an ID number for the focus group. Before you speak, be sure to state your number. We also ask that the information discussed here will stay here and not be shared with others outside of the room. If you need to get up in the course of the conversation, feel free to do so. This is an informal discussion, so if you need to leave the room for a while, or if you have to get up and get a drink or you need to move around a little bit because you get stiff, feel free to do that. Last, there are no right or wrong answers here. We want to hear different points of view, so if your view on a topic differs from the views of others around the table, we need to hear that too. Group members do not have to agree, but everyone should listen respectfully as others share their views.

  1. 1.

    When you think about your experience as a parent in the special education process, what comes to mind?

  2. 2.

    Do you feel like you can affect change in the special education system?

    1. a.

      Can you affect systemic change for other children with disabilities?

    2. b.

      What are the barriers to affecting change? What are some ways to affect change?

  3. 3.

    How do you feel about legislators?

    1. a.

      Do you feel that they listen to your concerns?

    2. b.

      Have you ever contacted a legislator? Why?

    3. c.

      If you have contacted a legislator, how did you contact them and what was the result of your contact?

  4. 4.

    How do you feel when interacting with legislators?

    1. a.

      Do you initiate contact with legislators? For what reasons?

  5. 5.

    What barriers do you face in contacting legislators?

    1. a.

      Gender

    2. b.

      Race/ethnicity

    3. c.

      Geographic location

    4. d.

      Language

    5. e.

      Cost

  6. 6.

    What would be some ways that parents could change the special education system?

    1. a.

      What barriers do you face in changing the special education system?

    2. b.

      What supports do you need to change the system?

  7. 7.

    Is there anything else you would like to add?

Quiero agradecerles a todos por venir. Espero que cada uno de ustedes disfrute de nuestra discusión. Voy a repasar algunas reglas básicas antes de comenzar. Esperamos que esta sea una discusión animada entre todos nosotros. Le pedimos que respete la confidencialidad de la información que se comparte aquí para que todos puedan sentirse abiertos a intercambiar sus opiniones, sus sentimientos y sus creencias. Por lo tanto, cada persona tiene un número de identificación para el grupo de enfoque. Antes de hablar, asegurase de indicar su número. También solicitamos que la información que se discuta aquí permanezca aquí y no se comparta con otras personas fuera de la sala. Si necesita levantarse en el transcurso de la conversación, siéntase libre de hacerlo. Esta es una discusión informal, por lo que si necesita abandonar la sala por un tiempo, o si tiene que levantarse y tomar algo, o necesita moverse un poco porque se pone erigido, siéntase libre de hacerlo. Por último, no hay respuestas correctas o incorrectas aquí. Queremos escuchar diferentes puntos de vista, por lo que si su punto de vista sobre un tema difiere de los puntos de vista de los demás en la mesa, necesitamos escuchar eso también. Los miembros del grupo no tienen que estar de acuerdo, pero todos deben escuchar respetuosamente mientras otros comparten sus puntos de vista.

  1. 1.

    Cuando Piensas en Tu Experiencia Como Padre en el Proceso de educación Especial, ¿qué cambiaría?

  2. 2.

    ¿Siente Que Puede Afectar el Cambio de los Servicios de Su Propio Hijo(a)?

    1. a.

      ¿Como lo has hecho (o podrías) hacer? ¿Cuáles son las barreras?

  3. 3.

    ¿Siente Que Puede Afectar el Cambio en el Sistema de educación Especial (Para Otros niños Con Discapacidades)?

    1. b.

      ¿Cómo lo has hecho (o podrías) hacer? ¿Cuáles son las barreras para afectar el cambio sistémico?

  4. 4.

    ¿Cómo te Sientes Cuando interactúas Con Profesionales de la Escuela (Es Decir, Educadores, Administradores Escolares)?

    1. c.

      ¿Inicia contacto con los profesionales de la escuela? ¿Por cuales razones? En caso afirmativo, ¿cómo se comunicó con ellos y cuál fue el resultado del contacto?

    2. d.

      ¿Sientes que escuchan tus preocupaciones?

    3. e.

      ¿Qué barreras enfrentas al contactarte con profesionales de la escuela?

  5. 5.

    ¿Cómo te Sientes Con los Legisladores (Personas Que Escriben Y Aprueban Leyes, Generalmente políticos Y Funcionarios Electos)?

    1. f.

      ¿Alguna vez has contactado a un legislador? ¿Por qué? En caso afirmativo, ¿cómo se comunicó con ellos y cuál fue el resultado del contacto?

    2. g.

      ¿Sientes que escuchan tus preocupaciones? ¿Qué barreras enfrentas al contactarte con los legisladores?

  6. 6.

    ¿Cómo te Sientes Acerca de Esta Expectativa de abogacía Para los Padres en educación Especial?

    1. h.

      ¿Cómo te sientes acerca de las expectativas de abogacía para tu propio hijo?

    2. i.

      ¿Cómo te sientes acerca de la expectativa de incidencia política para el cambio sistémico?

  7. 7.

    ¿Hay Algo más Que te gustaría Agregar?

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Burke, M.M., Rossetti, Z., Aleman-Tovar, J. et al. Comparing Special Education Experiences Among Spanish- and English-Speaking Parents of Children with Disabilities. J Dev Phys Disabil 33, 117–135 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-020-09736-y

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