The purpose of this study was to record the perceptions, levels of satisfaction, and concerns of Korean parents of children with disabilities in regard to the special education services they have been receiving or seeking in the US. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight Korean parents of children with disabilities. Main themes refined from the analysis of the data include (a) parents' satisfaction with special education services in America, (b) experiences related to exchange of information with professionals, (c) need for a mediator, and (d) parents' perceptions of inclusion. Discussions of the findings with practical implications for serving Korean children with disabilities and their families are provided.
BogdanR. C., & BiklenS. K. (1998). Qualitative research in education: An introduction to theory and methods (3rd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
3.
ChanS. (1998). Families with Asian roots. In LynchE. W. & HansonM. J. (Eds.), Developing cross-cultural competence: A guide for working with young children and their families (2nd ed., pp. 209–250). Baltimore: Brookes.
4.
ChengL. L. (1991). Assessing Asian language performance: Guidelines for evaluating limited-English-proficient students (2nd ed.). Oceanside, CA: Academic Communication Associates.
5.
GalaganJ. (1985). Psychoeducational testing: Turn out the lights, the party's over. Exceptional Children, 52, 288–299.
6.
GerstenR., & WoodwardJ. (1994). The language-minority student and special education: Issues, trends, and paradoxes. Exceptional Children, 60, 310–322.
7.
HallE. (1976). Beyond culture. Garden City, NY: Anchor.
8.
HanlineM. F., & DaleyS. E. (1992). Family coping strategies and strengths in Hispanic, African-American, and Caucasian families of young children. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 12, 351–366.
9.
HansonM. J., LynchE. W., & WaymanK. I. (1990). Honoring the cultural diversity of families when gathering data. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 10, 112–131.
10.
HarryB. (1992a). Cultural diversity, families, and the special education system: Communication and empowerment. New York: Teachers College Press.
11.
HarryB. (1992b). Developing cultural self-awareness: The first step in values clarification for early interventions. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 12, 333–350.
12.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of1997, 20 U.S.C. §1400 (et seq).
13.
KimB.-L. C. (1996). Korean families. In McGoldrickM., GlordanoJ., & PearceJ. K. (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (2nd ed., pp. 281–294). New York: The Guilford Press.
14.
KimS. (1998). HanGuk JangAeIn JungCheck InyumGwa GwaJae [Ideology and tasks in Korean disability policy]. In KimS., KimJ., KimK., LeeY., KwonS., ParkT., OhK., & KimJ. (Eds.), JangAeln JungCheck IpMun [Introduction to disability policy] (pp. 13–22). Seoul, Korea: Shinhan.
15.
KimS. C. (1997). Korean American families. In LeeE. (Ed.), Working with Asian Americans: A guide for clinicians (pp. 125–135). New York: The Guilford Press.
16.
LincolnY., & GubaE. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
17.
LynchE. W., & HansonM. J. (1998). Steps in the right direction: Implications for interventionists. In LynchE. W. & HansonM. J. (Eds.), Developing cross-cultural competence: A guide for working with young children and their families (2nd ed., pp. 491–512). Baltimore: Brookes.
18.
MaheadyL., AlgozzineB., & YsseldykeJ. (1984). Minority overrepresentation in special education: A functional assessment perspective. Special Services in the Schools, 1, 5–19.
19.
MessickS. (1984). Assessment in context: Appraising students' performance in relation to instructional quality. Educational Research, 13, 3–8.
20.
MidgetteT. E. (1995). Assessment of African-American exceptional learners: New strategies and perspectives. In FordB. A., ObiakorF. E., & PattonJ. M. (Eds.), Effective education of African-American exceptional learners: New perspectives (pp. 3–25). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
21.
NEC'TAS. (1991). Guidelines and recommended practices for the Individual Family Service Plan. Chapel Hill, NC: National Early Childhood Technical Assistance System.
22.
NuttalE., LandurandP., & GoldmanP. (1984). A critical look at testing and evaluation from a cross-cultural perspective. In ChinnP. (Ed.), Education of culturally and linguistically different exceptional children (ERIC Document Reproduction Services No. ED 256 103, p. 44).
23.
ObiakorF. E., & SchwennJ. O. (1996). Assessment of culturally diverse students with behavior disorders. Advances in Special Education, 10, 37–57.
24.
ThomasC. C., CorreaV. I., & MorsinkC. C. (1995). Interactive teaming: Consultation and collaboration in special programs (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
25.
ThurmanS. K., CornwellJ. R., & GottwaldS. R. (1997). Contexts of early intervention: Systems and settings. Baltimore: Brookes.
26.
TurnbullA. P., Blue-BanningM., TurbivilleV. P., & ParkJ. (1999). From parent education to partnership education: A transformed focus. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 19, 164–172.
27.
TurnbullA. P., & TurnbullH. R. (2001). Families, professionals, and exceptionality: Collaborating for empowerment (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.
28.
WalkerH., & FavreT. (1987). Assessment of behavioral disorders in the school setting: Issues, problems, and strategies revisited. In HaringN. (Ed.), Assessing and managing behavior disorders (pp. 198–234). Seattle: University of Washington Press.
