An Ethnographic Study of Cross-Cultural Communication With Puerto Rican-American Families in the Special Education System

Abstract

This article uses a subset of data from an ethnographic study to address the challenge of parent-professional interaction in a cross-cultural context. Participants in the study were 12 Spanish-speaking, Puerto Rican-American families from low-income backgrounds whose children were classified as learning disabled or mildly mentally retarded. Parents’ views and experiences were sought through a recursive process of ethnographic interviewing, review of students’ documents, and participant observation of parent-professional conferences and community events. The data revealed that inadequate provision of information regarding the meaning of various events, as well as the school district’s reliance upon formalized, written communication, led to mistrust and withdrawal on the part of parents. A habitual deference to authority, however, tended to disguise parents’ real opinions. The data also showed that changes being implemented in the school district were beginning to have a beneficial effect on parent-professional relationships and to result in exemplary parent conferences. The discussion emphasizes that the structure of parent-professional interaction reflects the hierarchical values and the categorical framing of the concept of disability inherent in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Illustrations from exemplary conferences are used to show how parent participation can be restructured to ensure inclusion of culturally different parents.