Gregory A. Cheatham

Language Interpretation, Parent Participation, and Young Children With Disabilities

Spoken parent—educator interactions through language interpreters for parents who do not speak English can challenge early intervention/early childhood special education professionals. Research suggests that language interpretation is often inadequate to ensure that the parental participation, informed parental consent, and interpretation mandates of IDEA (P.L. 108-446) Parts B and C are met. Examples from several contexts are presented to illustrate communication disconnects between early educators and parents. Subsequently, a discussion of quality language interpretation in early intervention/ early childhood special education is presented followed by program and policy recommendations.

Disclosure of Information About English Proficiency Preservice Teachers’ Presumptions About English Language Learners

The purpose of this analog study was to determine if increased access to information about a hypothetical English Language Learner (ELL) students’ language proficiency increased preservice teachers’ recognition that limited English proficiency is the likely cause of student difficulties. We find that the provision of increasing levels of information about the student’s English proficiency was associated with preservice teachers’ recognition that limited English proficiency was the likely cause of the student’s classroom difficulties. We also find no differences between groups based on preservice teachers’ education major. This study has implications for avoiding inappropriate referrals for special education evaluation and appropriately meeting ELL students’ instructional needs.

Facilitating Quality Language Interpretation for Families of Diverse Students With Special Needs

As the nation as a whole becomes progressively more diverse, increasing numbers of children from linguistically diverse backgrounds are served in special education programs. Ensuring that appropriate educational services are developed for these students in collaboration with their family members as equal participants on school-based teams necessitates high-quality language interpretation during the individualized education plan process and beyond. In this article, the authors describe basic types of language interpretation errors and provide examples of how these can surface during an individualized education plan and other school-based meetings. The authors then discuss how school-based teams can facilitate accurate and quality language interpretation through implementation of research-based, best practice recommendations that reflect Individuals With Disabilities Education Act principles and components of collaborative professional–family partnerships.

What Makes a Good Story?: Supporting Oral Narratives of Young Children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds

11 children come to school with the language and culture of their homes and communities. However, the formal uses of language in schools often favor children who speak in ways that meet teachers’ expectations (Corson, 2001). For example, the story structure used A by many children can be a mismatch with teachers’ expectations, resulting in teacher and child frustration and the inability of some children to demonstrate their linguistic and cognitive skills. To ensure equity, early educators can consider diverse children’s narratives from a difference rather than deficit perspective; that is, teachers can view the differences in these narratives as a strength, rather than as an indicator of a child’s intrinsic lack of narrative ability. Teachers should seek out ways to support all children’s storytelling (Jimenez-Silva, 1996; Jimenez-Silva & McCabe, 1996; McCabe & Bliss, 2003).

A-B-Cs of Bridging Home and School Expectations: For Children and Families of Diverse Backgrounds

4= ebi (short for Sebastian) is Daniel and Elizabeth’s only child. ebi Daniel is the first generation in his family to have been born and raised by immigrant parents in the United States. Elizabeth, on the other hand, is a recent immigrant to the US. Daniel and Elizabeth moved to your community soon after Sebi was born. Sebi is now enrolled in your early childhood center for the first time. Currently in his second month in school, you notice that Sebi is having a difficult time adjusting to the classroom routines and activities. Compared to his threeand four-year old peers, Sebi requires more &dquo;hand holding&dquo; and constant reminding for him to complete his routines and activities. A classroom routine that he seems to be having particular difficulty adjusting to is large group activities like book reading or show and tell. Sebi likes to participate in these activities but only does so by interrupting you or his peers. He has a hard time waiting for his turn to talk. When ignored or reprimanded, Sebi disengages and finds other activities like talking to his peers or fiddling with his clothes. These behaviors are beginning to escalate to the point that Sebi is becoming a disruption during these activities and is removed from the group several times per week.

Inclusive, Democratic Family-Professional Partnerships: (Re)Conceptualizing Culture and Language in Teacher Preparation.

Family–professional partnerships are vital to the provision of appropriate and effective special education services for young children. Despite the recognized need, teacher educators in early childhood and early childhood special education have faced challenges in preparing their students to partner with families from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In this article, we assert that for pre-service early childhood/early childhood special education teachers to prepare for cross-cultural family–professional partnerships, teacher educators can take a democratic, inclusive perspective and address conceptualizations of culture and language. To this end, we first explain meanings of inclusive education and democratic partnerships. We then focus on conceptualizations of culture and language in developing cross-cultural partnerships. Finally, we provide recommendations to prepare pre-service teachers to form more democratic and inclusive cross-cultural partnerships with families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Partnering With Latino Families During Kindergarten Transition: Lessons Learned From a Parent-Teacher Conference

P partnerships are an important element of eff ective early childhood, K-12, and special education programs (Dunst, Trivette, & Snyder, 2000; Tabors, 2008). While early childhood and other classrooms in the United States are increasingly diverse, the teachers in those classrooms are unlikely to be of the same linguistic or cultural background as their students (Gay & Howard, 2000; Saluja, Early, & Cliff ord, 2002). Although teachers may have the best intentions regarding their interactions with children and families, it can be challenging to partner eff ectively with families that come from diff erent cultural and linguistic backgrounds (Harry, 2008; Saff old & Longwell-Grice, 2008). A partnership can be defi ned as “a relationship in which families...and professionals agree to build on each others’ expertise and resources, as appropriate, for the purpose of making and implementing decisions that will directly benefi t students and indirectly benefi t other family members and professionals” (Turnbull, Turnbull, Erwin, Soodak, & Shogren, 2010, p. 137). To pursue eff ective partnerships in early education, we need to develop a better understanding of the ways in which interactions and language use with immigrant families can help fulfi ll teachers’ good intentions. Th is article takes a culturally and linguistically responsive perspective regarding parent-educator partnerships. First, we briefl y discuss selected factors that can aff ect partnerships with Latino families (e.g., language, culture, and power). Next, we present a case study of an early childhood parentteacher conference in which challenges to partnerships are highlighted during a discussion of the child’s subsequentyear, kindergarten placement. Conference transcripts provide critical details that can lead to recommendations for early educators to develop partnerships with immigrant Latino parents and recognize Latino parents’ advocacy on behalf of their children.

Korean Early Childhood Educators’ Perceptions of Importance and Implementation of Strategies to Address Young Children’s Social-Emotional Competence

In South Korea, there has been a rapid increase in challenging behaviors and other social-emotional difficulties at the early childhood level. Korean early childhood educators’ perspectives and strategies to address young children’s social-emotional competencies and challenging behaviors were investigated. Overall, results suggest that many Korean early childhood educators recognize the importance of social-emotional teaching strategies but report low levels of implementation of specific social-emotional strategies. The study also examined the effect of the categorical predictors such as special education teaching experience, children’s classroom age level, and duration of early childhood teaching experience on participants’ implementation levels. Korean early childhood teachers’ importance perceptions, regardless of their categorical variables, were the most influential predictor of implementation. Results are discussed and implications are delineated.

Language Interpretation for Diverse Families Considerations for Special Education Teachers

The special education field is challenged by a lack of attention to and recruitment of well-trained language interpreters in schools. As such, special education teachers need to take a leadership role in working with interpreters to ensure diverse families are collaborative members of individualized education program (IEP) teams. Using the framework of collaborative family school partnerships, this article describes practical strategies for special educators when working with interpreters during IEP meetings with families. Taking a proactive role when working with interpreters can help improve the quality of service delivery for diverse students with disabilities and their families.

Overcoming Common Misunderstandings About Students With Disabilities Who Are English Language Learners

Special education programs are increasingly serving students with disabilities who are English language learners and their families. Facilitating bilingualism is an effective practice and aligns with culturally responsive special education service provision. It is critical for special educators and service providers to learn about bilingualism, second language learning, and students with disabilities to responsibly participate in individualized education program team decision making. This column presents five misunderstandings about students who are English language learners with disabilities. Based on the research literature, responses to each misunderstanding are presented and include implications and recommendations for special educators.