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East Asian and US educators' reflections on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities: Challenges and solutions
Accepted Manuscript East Asian and US educators' reflections on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities: Challenges and solutions
Misa Kayama, Wendy Haight, May Lee Mary Ku, Minhae Cho, Hee Yun Lee PII: DOI: Reference:
S0190-7409(16)30536-9 doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.12.010 CYSR 3186
To appear in:
Children and Youth Services Review
Received date: Revised date: Accepted date:
20 September 2016 9 December 2016 10 December 2016
Please cite this article as: Misa Kayama, Wendy Haight, May Lee Mary Ku, Minhae Cho, Hee Yun Lee , East Asian and US educators' reflections on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities: Challenges and solutions. The address for the corresponding author was captured as affiliation for all authors. Please check if appropriate. Cysr(2016), doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.12.010
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East Asian and US educators’ reflections on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities: Challenges and solutions
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Wendy Haightb [email protected]
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Misa Kayamaa [email protected]
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May Lee (Mary) Kuc [email protected]
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Minhae Chob [email protected]
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Hee Yun Leeb [email protected]
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Corresponding author: Misa Kayama
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b
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University of Mississippi, Oxford Department of Social Work 103 Longstreet Hall, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677, USA
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University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus School of Social Work 1404 Gortner Ave, St Paul, MN 55108, USA Fu Jen Catholic University No. 510, Zhongzheng Rd, Xinzhuang District, New Taipei City 242, Taiwan
Acknowledgement: This study was funded by the Spencer Foundation and Gamble-Skogmo endowment (University of Minnesota). The authors also would like to thank Kelly Evans for her help with data collection.
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Abstract Stigmatization is a culturally widespread social justice challenge with broad implications for the development of children. This study examines the reflections of elementary school
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educators in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US on how stigma affects their relationships
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with parents whose children have disabilities and how they respond to these challenges. We
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conducted cross-cultural analyses of individual, audio recorded interviews with 26 Japanese, 43 Korean, 16 Taiwanese and 18 US educators, including school social workers. Educators from all
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four cultural groups characterized the development of collaborative relationships with parents as
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critical to supporting the school success of children with disabilities. They also described challenges posed by stigmatization to those relationships, and solutions to those challenges.
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Japanese educators watched over, carefully guided, and expressed empathy to parents responding
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to stigmatization. South Korean educators avoided openly indicating children’s struggles to parents, but provided them with education about disabilities to counter misperceptions.
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Taiwanese educators exercised patience with parents who expressed distress due to stigma, and
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concealed their own negative emotional responses to such displays. US educators engaged parents through fact-oriented, solution-focused responses to children’s struggles. The
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perspectives of educators from diverse contexts can be used to identify cultural blind spots, and develop effective culture- and stigma-sensitive strategies to build relationships with parents to better support children with disabilities.
Key words: disability; stigmatization; parent-teacher relationships; elementary school-aged children; cross-cultural analyses
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East Asian and US educators’ reflections on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities: Challenges and solutions 1. Introduction This study examines the reflections of elementary school educators in Japan, South Korea,
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Taiwan and the US on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children
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have disabilities and how they respond to those challenges. Stigmatization is the process through
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which individuals with socially constructed “undesired differentness” are marked, separated and discredited in the larger society through labeling, stereotyping, status loss, discrimination, social
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exclusion and negative emotional responses (Goffman, 1963; Link, Yang, Phelan, & Collins,
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2004; Yang, Kleinman, Link, Phelan, Lee, & Good, 2007). Stigmatization may be directed both at the individual with the stigmatized characteristic, and those with whom they have close
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relationships (i.e., “courtesy stigma”; Goffman, 1963). Many parents of children with disabilities
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are required not only to cope with the demands of their child’s disability, but also with social exclusion, and others’ demeaning, hostile or rude behaviors (Gray, 2002). Parental responses to
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their children’s disabilities and courtesy stigmatization can include emotional sensitivity or
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distress (e.g., Lalvani, 2015), limiting information about their children’s struggles and social withdrawal (Farrugia, 2009; Gray, 2002). Such responses can pose challenges for effective
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parent-educator communication necessary for building and sustaining collaborative relationships to support children’s school success. Building and maintaining collaborative parent-educator relationships is critical to all children’s education (see Markward, 2006), perhaps especially for children experiencing challenges such as disabilities (Turnbull & Turnbull, 2015). Parents of children with disabilities assume a critical role in working with educators to manage their children’s access to special
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education and other services (Authors, 2013; Constable & Walberg, 2009). Indeed, educators describe that they can best support children with disabilities when they have established collaborative and trusting relationships with their parents (Authors, 2014, Blue-Banning et al., 2004). The role of parents is so significant that establishing and sustaining family-school
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collaborations is part of contemporary US special education and school social work policies and
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practices (e.g., Blue-Banning, Summers, Frankland, Nelson, & Beegle, 2004; Constable &
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Walberg, 2009; Summers et al., 2007; US Department of Education, 2016). Yet educators also describe frequent challenges in working collaboratively with parents (Authors, 2014).
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Parents’ responses to their children’s disabilities can affect their interpersonal
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relationships (Link et al., 2004; Yang et al., 2007) including with educators. For many parents, simply learning that their children have disabilities is an emotionally-charged experience (e.g.,
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Lalvani, 2015). Although many parents readily accept that their children have disabilities and
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understand their needs for supportive services, they also may experience concerns about labeling and stigmatization associated with special education as well as a range of feelings (Lalvani,
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2015) including guilt (Koro-Ljungberg & Bussing, 2009), sadness, grief (Cantwell, Muldoon, &
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Gallagher, 2015; Kobayashi, Inagaki, & Kaga, 2012), protectiveness (Schneider, 1988), anger and fear for their children’s future (Authors, 2014). Some parents can become highly conscious
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of other peoples’ responses to their children’s disabilities (Authors, 2014), withdraw socially (Koro-Ljungberg & Bussing, 2009), avoid communication with professionals about their children’s disabilities (see Chang & Hsu, 2007; Chen, 2003; Kim, Yeom, Seo, Kim, & Yoo, 2002), express anger at educators, and even refuse permission for their children to receive services (e.g., Authors, 2014). How educators respond to children’s disabilities also may affect parent-educator
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relationships. Educational practices, including meetings with parents that focus on paperwork or technical aspects of diagnosis and establishing services, can appear uncaring to parents and thus exacerbate any relationship challenges (Authors, 2015; Blue-Banning et al., 2004; Summers et al., 2007). How parents and educators respond to children’s disabilities and how their emotional
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responses affect their relationships, however, are likely culturally nuanced.
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1.1 A developmental-cultural, comparative approach
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We approach the impact of stigmatization associated with children’s disabilities on parent-educator relationships sensitized by concepts from developmental cultural psychology
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(Gaskins, Miller, & Corsaro, 1992; Miller, Hengst & Wang, 2003) including “universalism
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without uniformity” (Shweder & Sullivan, 1993). Although disability and associated stigma are common issues in diverse cultural contexts, how biological differences are experienced and
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communicated are shaped within specific sociocultural and historical contexts (Varenne &
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McDermott, 1998). For example, in the context of contemporary school systems that prize early literacy, a child with neurological differences that make the decoding of written symbols difficult
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is considered to have a “disability” (dyslexia) and may experience stigmatization. In different
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sociocultural or historical contexts, however, where literacy skills are/were not prioritized, this same child would be considered typically developing and his/her experiences of self would not
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be challenged by stigmatization (Authors, 2014, 2016a). Our comparative approach rests on the premise that attention to diverse cultural cases is necessary to expose cultural blind spots in current theory, policy and practice. Generally, US educators and policy makers focus on children’s cognitive and behavioral issues and interventions with relatively less attention to the social-emotional aspects of disability. By contrast, educators and policy makers in East Asia are particularly sensitive to social responses
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to stigma and disability (e.g., Authors, 2016a, 2016b). Attention to practice and policy in East Asia can expand our understanding of the role of stigma in parent-educator relationships, and contribute to the development of culture- and stigma-sensitive practices in the US. Our specific focus on Japan, South Korea and Taiwan is motivated by their key
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differences with US culture in conceptualizations of “disability” and general sensitivity to stigma
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(e.g., Authors, 2014; Chen & Shu, 2012; Grinker & Cho, 2013). Individuals in these East Asian
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countries are generally socialized to be particularly sensitive to individual differences that may cause them and their families to lose face or social status (Authors, 2014; Chen & Shu, 2012;
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Grinker & Cho, 2013). Until recently, individuals with disabilities often were regarded as
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burdens to family members, and even hidden to avoid stigmatization (e.g., Jegatheesan, 2009). Even today, individuals with disabilities and their families may decline formal support services
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to avoid stigmatization (Authors, 2014, 2016b).
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1.2 Emotion communication1 in cultural context Likewise, cultures vary in how individuals communicate and display emotions when they
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face stigmatization. Relative to individuals in East Asian cultures, individuals in the US
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generally communicate emotions explicitly and their abilities to express themselves may be prioritized over sensitivity to other people’s emotions (Azuma, 1994). In addition, individuals,
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especially middle-class whites, may handle emotional distress by seeking professional services (Cheng, Lo, & Chio, 2010; Kim, Greenberg, Seltzer, and Krauss, 2003; Lalvani, 2015). Once parents understand and accept that their children have disabilities, they tend to actively seek professional support (Lalvani, 2015). US educators generally provide support to parents that focuses on procedural guidelines and advocacy for their children’s rights (Summers et al., 2007). 1
Such communication occurs through emotions expressed verbally and behaviorally that have culturally and socially constructed meanings. Emotion communication can affect others’ perceptions, thoughts, feelings and behaviors (Barret & Nelson-Goens, 1997).
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Such responses are consistent with a sociocultural context in which individual differences are respected and access to a free and appropriate public education has been ensured since 1975 as a right of children with disabilities (US Department of Education, 2016). In contrast, people in East Asian countries generally seek to control rather than express
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their own emotions, and change their own thoughts before seeking professional services (e.g.,
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Mak & Chen, 2010). In Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, people are socialized to conceal their
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emotions to maintain interpersonal relationships and avoid conflict (Azuma, 1994; Fung & Chen, 2001; Park & Cheah, 2005; Rӧ ttger-Rӧ ssler, Scheidecker, Funk, & Holodynski, 2015). From
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early childhood, for instance, Japanese children are socialized to control their emotional
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responses to avoid imposing their strong emotions on other people (Azuma, 1994). Parents may be particularly sensitive to any inconvenience, extra responsibility, or intense feelings their
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children’s disabilities may cause others (e.g., Sato, Araki, Ito, & Ishigaki, 2015). In such contexts,
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a child’s special education services may lead to parents’ loss of face and social status (e.g., Cheng et al, 2010). Thus, educators and other professionals must be acutely sensitive to parents’
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emotions when addressing children’s struggles to minimize any negative emotional reactions
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(Authors, 2014; Grinker & Cho, 2013). Individuals’ sensitivity to emotions in East Asian countries and their tendency to
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internalize emotions during stressful events reflect shared Buddhist and Confucian beliefs (Cheng et al., 2010). Buddhist beliefs and practices focus on the importance of internal stability in dealing with human vulnerabilities such as sorrow and grief (Heim, 2008). In Buddhism, individual suffering reflects mental imbalance. Individuals suffer when their desires and pleasure seeking are not balanced with aversion of pain (Cheng et al., 2010). When confronting an emotionally distressing event, individuals are encouraged to be mindful of their inner self, or
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psychological states, and transform their desires into constructive thoughts, free from personal, selfish preferences. In Confucianism, the doctrine of the “mean” (中庸: equilibrium and centrality) describes harmony, including of human emotions (Fu, 2012). The “mean” occurs when emotions such as
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joy, anger, sorrow or pleasure have not arisen. Harmony is achieved when emotions are present,
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but at the appropriate levels (Fu, 2012; Sundararajan, 2015). Too strong emotions, such as an
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outburst of frustration, can break the harmony of self-regulation that allows individuals to control
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how internal thoughts and emotions are appropriately expressed in particular social situations. To avoid socially-inappropriate emotional episodes, it is necessary to maintain emotional harmony,
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for example, by calming strong emotions (see Sundararajan, 2015). Note that although Buddhist and Confucian roots are shared by various East Asian
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countries, they also have been shaped and interpreted within diverse historical and political
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contexts (Authors, 2016a). Thus, we might expect some cultural variations within East Asian cultures in parents’ and educators’ emotional responses and communications around disability
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issues.
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1.3 Focus on children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities We focus on children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities, such as those with
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specific learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), high functioning autism spectrum disorders, speech/language disorders, and certain emotional and behavioral disorders. Not only are these disabilities considered “high incidence” disabilities in the US2, the challenges they pose are less apparent and more context specific than those involving hearing, vision and mobility, or intellectual disabilities (see Authors, 2014). How parents and educators 2
Approximately 70% of children who receive special education services in the US do so for mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012).
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weigh the relative psychosocial risks of stigmatization due to disability labels against the benefits of specialized support services may vary across cultural groups, especially for these children whose functioning is at the border of “typical development” and “disability” (See Authors, 2014). For example, in the US, special education has been available for children with mild cognitive
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and behavioral disabilities by law since 1975 (P.L. 94-1423), and currently, more than 8% of
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school aged children in the general population receive special education services for these
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disabilities (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). In contrast, formal services for children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities have only been available in Japan since
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2007 (Ministry of Education, Japan, 2007). Currently, 1.6% of Japanese children receive special
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education for mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities. Such services have been available in South Korea since 1994 (Yoo & Palley, 2014) and in Taiwan since 1984 (See Ministry of
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Education, Taiwan, 2012), but only 0.2% of South Korean (Ministry of Education, South Korea,
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2013) and 1% of Taiwanese (Chiang & Chang, 2009) children currently receive services for mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities.4 These discrepancies between US policies and practices and
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those of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are due, in part, to relatively greater concerns among
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East Asian educators, policy makers, scholars, and parents about stigmatizing children who are otherwise typically developing (see Authors, 2014, 2016a, 2016b).
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Yet culture is neither static nor monolithic (Markus & Hamedani, 2007), but complex, evolving and re-created over time (Gaskins et al., 1992; Miller et al., 2003). Cross-cultural conversations and influences are important sources of such complexity and dynamism. For example, the implementation of special education policies for children with mild cognitive and
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Currently, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Note that caution is required in comparing the percentages of children in the US, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan receiving special education services due to differences in data collection (See Authors, 2016a). However, it does appear that relatively more US children receive special education services. 4
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behavioral disabilities in East Asian countries was strongly influenced by international conventions, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989), the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006) that have facilitated and reinforced the implementation of
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inclusive education across the world. International pressure, policies and practices in Western
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countries, especially those in the US, have affected East Asian countries’ implementation of
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special education services for children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities (Authors, 2014; Tzeng, 2007; Yoo & Palley, 2014). The implementation of special education policies for
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children with these disabilities in East Asian countries resulted in increased awareness of such
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disabilities among parents and educators, and have contributed to changing perspectives on disability (e.g., Authors, 2014).
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1.4 Current study
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This study examines cultural similarities and variations in the perceptions of educators in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US on the role of stigmatization and associated emotional
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responses in their relationships with parents of children with mild cognitive and behavioral
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disabilities. Through semi-structured, qualitative interviews, we consider the following research questions: 1) What is the role of parent-educator relationships in supporting children with mild
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cognitive and behavioral disabilities? 2) What are challenges to developing collaborative parenteducator relationships, especially due to stigmatization and associated emotional responses? 3) What are effective strategies to build and maintain collaborative relationships with parents of children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities? 2. Methods 2.1 Research sites, participants and research team
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As described in (Authors, 2016a, 2016b), data were collected from 103 educators serving children aged 6 to 12 years at 43 public elementary schools in seven cities in four countries5. As detailed below, recruitment procedures were adjusted to be appropriate to the cultural context of each country (See Miller et al., 2003). We sampled educators serving in a variety of roles
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including administrators, special and general education teachers, and school social workers, but
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all participants had direct teaching and practice experience at public elementary schools.
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Research sites and participants were purposely selected to yield data on a range of cultural understandings and responses to parents of children with disabilities, not to be representative of
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their respective countries or professions in a statistical sense.
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Given the relative paucity of literature written in English from East Asian countries, we purposely oversampled East Asian sites and participants. Note that the amount of data available
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also varies across East Asian cultural groups. These discrepancies may impact the relative
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validity of our interpretations. The most extensive data is available from Japan where fieldwork for our ethnographic study began in 2009. We did not begin collecting data from Taiwan, South
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Korea until 2012. [Author 4’s] extensive professional network yielded an especially rich and
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varied set of interviews in South Korea. The research protocol was approved by [the institution this study was conducted], and
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permission from schools was obtained, if required, before recruiting educators. Prior to their participation all educators provided informed consent which included their voluntary participation and confidentiality. 2.1.1 Japanese research sites and participants As described in (Authors, 2016), our primary Japanese site was an elementary school
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To maintain confidentiality of our research sites, we have excluded some information sources from the reference list of this report.
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serving approximately 200 children from 1st to 6th grades, mostly from Japanese families with a few (2%) from immigrant and bicultural families. The school is located in a lower-middle to middle-income, agricultural community near a large city. It has a reputation among educators and scholars as providing high quality special education services. This site was nominated by an
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administrator of the Center of Special Education within the city’s local board of education. A
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team of specialists from the Center of Special Education recommended that about 10% of
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children at this site receive specialized support, but only 2% did so primarily due to parents’ resistance to children receiving support different from their peers, as well as limited special
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education resources. [Author 1] collected ethnographic data at this school from 2009-2010
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during the third and fourth school years of implementation of a new special education policy involving the provision of formal, specialized support for children with mild cognitive and
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behavioral disabilities.
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Our Japanese secondary sites were four public elementary schools and one special education school located in lower-middle to middle-income communities in rural and suburban
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areas. They served approximately 100-700 students in grades 1-6. Students primarily were from
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Japanese families but included a few6 students from immigrant and bicultural families. These schools were nominated by social work and special education colleagues of [Author 1] to expand
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the diversity of schools with respect to geographical region. All these schools had at least one special education classroom and/or resource room. Data collection at these secondary sites occurred in 2012-2013. A total of 26 educators participated in individual interviews: 17 classroom teachers, 5 administrators, and 4 other educators (one school nurse and three part-time teachers), with a 6
The exact number of non-Japanese students is not available. Nationwide, 0.6% of children in 1 st to 9th grades are from immigrant families in 2014. Children from bicultural families were not counted if one of their parents is a Japanese citizen (Ministry of Education, Japan, 2014).
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range of 1 to 38 years of professional experience in education. At the primary site, 15 out of 17 educators responded to an invitation sent by the principal, and participated. In addition, two administrators at the local board of education were interviewed. Nine additional Japanese educators from our secondary sites were invited to participate by [Author 1] and her Japanese
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colleagues, and they all participated. Our intention in including educators from the secondary
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interpretations. Twenty participants (77%) were female.
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sties was to broaden our findings, consider their transferability, and enhance the credibility of our
2.1.2 South Korean research sites and participants
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Our South Korean sites were 34 public elementary schools serving 128-1,511 students in
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grades 1-6. They were located within a large city and adjacent suburban city. Schools are located in diverse areas within the cities, and served students from lower to upper income families. A
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few students’ parents were “foreign workers7,” but the vast majority were South Korean. All
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schools had at least one special education and/or inclusive classroom. We selected multiple schools because of the relative paucity of information written in
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English regarding special education in South Korea and the diversity of public schools within
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these cities. Among the sites, one school has been designated as a model school for special education by the city’s department of education. In this school, general education teachers who
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have children with disabilities in their classrooms receive consultation as needed and a workload reduction. Another school is a national elementary school affiliated with a national university. It accepts children from across the country by lottery. All of the other schools were considered “typical” public elementary schools by local educators, and had at least one special or inclusive education classroom with more than one licensed special education teachers. The data were 7
One of the research sites is located near the community of immigrant workers and serves students from immigrant families, but the exact number of such children is not available. Within the city our research sites are located, approximately 1 % of children attending public schools are from immigrant families.
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collected in 2012-2013 during the fifth school year of implementation of a new special education policy that reinforced support for children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities. Participant educators with experience teaching children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities were nominated by the local Special Education Support Centers (SESC)8
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in the cities where our research sites were located. [Author 4] contacted individual educators by
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email to introduce the study and schedule the interviews. In addition, 6 educators were
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nominated by participant educators or recruited through [Author 4’s] professional connections. All but two invited educators participated.
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Forty-three educators participated in individual interviews including 6 administrators, 14
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general education classroom teachers, and 23 special education teachers with 6 to 40 years of professional experience. They included educators with a range of experiences working with
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children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities. Some special education teachers, for
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instance, had previously worked at special education schools while others had relatively less experience as general education classroom teachers. Forty one educators (95%) were female.
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2.1.3 Taiwanese research sites and participants
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Our Taiwanese sites were two elementary schools serving children in grades 1-6. Site one enrolled approximately 1,200 children from middle-income families. Site 2 enrolled
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approximately 1400 children from middle to upper income families. With the exception of a few bicultural children (primarily with mothers from Vietnam)9, all children were Taiwanese. Both schools had multiple special education classrooms and resource rooms.
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SESCs are located in every school district. Their functions include early identification of children who may have disabilities, providing diagnoses, evaluating students’ eligibilities for special education, training of special education teachers, and support of faculty and special education-related services (Ministry of Government Legislation, South Korea, 2012). 9 Exact numbers of bi-cultural children for this school are not available. In 2008, about 4% of children attending public elementary and junior high schools were from transnational families. (See Chen, 2011).
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Both schools were located in a large city. We selected this city and the schools because they are acknowledged by the Ministry of Education as providing high quality special education services. The first elementary school is the model school for special education in Taiwan10. Through personal and professional contacts, [Author 3] was introduced to the special education
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administrator of this school. He provided her with a list of educators who worked closely with
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him, and who she personally contacted.
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The second research site also has a reputation for providing high quality academic programs. A teacher at this school and personal contact of [Author 3] provided a list of educators
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willing to participate in this research. All data were collected in 2012-2013.
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All 16 invited educators (8 from each site) participated. All educators had extensive experience ranging from 10-30 years in working with children with mild cognitive and
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behavioral disabilities. Thirteen participants were general education classroom teachers and 3
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were administrators. The 3 administrators were seasoned special education teachers with dual administration and teaching responsibilities. Thirteen (18%) participants were female.
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2.1.4 US research site and participants
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Our US site was an elementary school serving approximately 700 children from Kindergarten through grade 6. We selected this school because of its local reputation as
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providing high quality special education. It is located in a suburb of a large, Midwestern city. In contrast to the East Asian schools, the US school was ethnically and socioeconomically diverse. Approximately half of the students were White. Asian, Black and Hispanic students comprised of 26%, 15%, and 10% of the student population, respectively. About 40% of students received free or reduced price lunches, a rough indicator of poverty. Nine percent of students received 10
In the 1980s, Taiwan initiated a policy of inclusive education. In 1982, educators collaborated with scholars from the psychology department, sociology department and medical school of National Taiwan University and the Bureau of Education to set up the first special education classroom in Taiwan.
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special education services, primarily for mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities. This school has 28 classroom teachers and a variety of specialists including special education teachers, a speech and language pathologist, a school social worker, a school psychologist, a behavior coach, and Title 1 reading teachers. In addition, the principal is a former special education teacher, and
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takes a leadership role in providing high quality services for children with disabilities. Data
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collection occurred during the 2012-2013 school year.
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We consider our US site to be a relatively progressive school. Educators have partially implemented strategies from the Responsive Classroom approach (Center for Responsive
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Schools, 2016). This research-based approach is designed to promote all children’s social and
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emotional, as well as academic development, and underscores the importance of creating a community within the classroom.
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A total of 18 US educators participated in individual interviews. Eleven out of 28
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classroom teachers responded to an invitation distributed by the principal, and agreed to participate. In addition, 7 specialists who had experience working with children with mild
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cognitive and behavior disabilities were nominated by the principal, and all agreed to participate.
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They included an administrator, a school social worker, a behavior coach, Title 1 reading teachers, and special education teachers. All participants were white, and had between 2 and 33
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years of experience in education. Fifteen educators (83%) were female. 2.2 The Research Team A significant strength of the research team is the combination of insider and outsider perspectives (Morson & Emerson, 1990; Authors, 2014). Insider cultural knowledge and experiences provided a necessary context for identifying appropriate research questions, crafting culturally sensitive methods and procedures, gaining access to and establishing rapport with
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participants, and interpreting their responses. Outsider perspectives were critical for identifying constructs taken-for-granted by insiders (Morson & Emerson, 1990). The research team is comprised of individuals from all four cultural communities. [Author 1] collected the Japanese data. She is a Japanese citizen who obtained her MSW and
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PhD in the US. [Author 1] also collected the US data with the help of a US graduate research
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assistant. [Author 2], a US citizen, has expertise in developmental cultural psychology and
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ethnographic approaches. [Author 3] collected the Taiwanese data. She is a Taiwanese citizen who obtained her MSW and PhD in social work in the US. [Author 4] collected the South
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Korean data. She is a South Korean citizen and PhD student in Social Work in the US. [Author
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5] is South Korean, and completed her MSW and PhD in the US. Insider and outsider perspectives also were brought to bear on the issue of disability.
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[Author 1] has used a wheelchair for the past 16 years. [Author 2] has lived with a disability
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since early childhood. In addition, her adult son, who recently completed his graduate education in the US, has dyslexia.
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Another strength of the research team is the inclusion of all team members in all phases
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of this cross cultural research from designing the study to collecting and analyzing data, and to writing. For example, the involvement of international team members allowed us access to
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history, philosophy, psychology, education and social work literatures, as well as the social and mass media, in Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and English. This access to international scholarship and other cultural materials enhanced the breadth and relevance of our study and the credibility of our interpretations. The process of cross cultural collaboration, however, was challenging given our culturally distinct worldviews, especially as they pertained to weighting the relative importance
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of various themes expressed by participants that, necessarily, is not inclusive of all themes. Our shared history, trust and developmental cultural perspective provided a foundation for our communications. [Authors 1, 3 and 4] were former or current PhD students of [Author 2]. Authors [2 and 5] are close colleagues who have worked together on a number of projects.
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2.3 Procedures
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Semi-structured, audio-recorded11 individual interviews lasting 20-60 minutes were
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conducted in participants’ native languages in private spaces such as conference rooms, offices, and classrooms after school. Mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities were defined for
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participants, and they were then asked to discuss their perceptions of these children, including
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academic and interpersonal challenges. Participants’ discussions included: (a) the significance of parent-teacher relationships in supporting children with disabilities, (b) any challenges faced by
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parents due to stigma, (c) the impact of any stigma on the development of parent-educator
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relationships, and (d) effective practices and strategies for developing collaborative relationships with parents.
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2.4 Data analyses
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All individual interviews were transcribed verbatim in their original languages. Then, the perceptions of educators in each cultural group were examined. Researchers who conducted the
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interviews in each country induced participants’ perceptions and meanings of their experience through repeated readings of the transcribed interviews (emic coding; e.g., Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Schwandt, 2007) contextualized by cultural insider knowledge and experiences. Negative cases were used to expand and revise initial interpretations (i.e., analytic induction; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Schwandt, 2007). In order to conduct cross-cultural analyses, we identified and 11
One Japanese and one South Korean educator participated through e-mail. One Japanese educator was not familiar with recorded interviews, and [Author 1] considered that it was an inappropriate request. Instead, detailed field notes were taken.
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examined common issues that emerged from educators practicing in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the US (see Shweder & Sullivan, 1993). We then described variations in how common socialization themes were understood by educators from different cultural communities. The credibility of our analyses was critiqued by Japanese, South Korean, Taiwanese and
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US colleagues for the purpose of peer debriefing (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). In addition, we
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considered the consistency of our interpretation of educators’ perspectives with existing
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literature, and their contextualization within specific cultural contexts. Research team members communicated on an on-going basis, developed and modified the coding system as needed based
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on consensus. Given the complexity and amount of data, we necessarily present a selective slice
serving in different roles in each culture.
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of the findings. In this paper, we focus on themes that were emphasized by multiple participants
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3. Results and Discussion
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In this section, we present the perspectives of educators organized by the four cultural contexts in which they practice. Within each of the four subsections, we begin with a brief
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abstract of main themes articulated by educators. Next, we provide an overview of broad cultural
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norms for emotion communication and relationships necessary to understand these themes.12 Then, we then present a more in-depth discussion of these themes in participants’ own voices.
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These discussions include their perceptions of the significance of their relationships with parents, challenges to those relationships, and solutions to those relationship challenges. Finally, we discuss culturally-common perspectives and variations across the four countries. 3.1 Educators in Japan 3.1.1 Abstract
12
Note that these descriptions are only a part of the larger cultural contexts pertaining to disability and stigmatization.
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Educators from Japan generally characterized themselves and parents as partners in raising children. Due to stigma associated with disabilities, however, parents are sensitive to other people’s “eyes.” Many parents do not readily accept that their children have disabilities and withhold their permission for them to receive special education services that would highlight
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their differences from peers. Educators are sensitive to parents’ emotional reactions to stigma
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and respect their decisions to decline services, even though children may not receive support
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necessary for their school success. Educators express omoiyari (思いやり: sensitivity and empathy towards others; omoi: thoughts, feelings, wish, concerns, etc.; yari: doing for others) to
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parents and guide them through mimamori (見守り；mi: look and watch; mamori; protection and
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support) to allow them time to accept their children’s needs and develop trusting relationships with educators. In the context of trusting educator-parent relationships, parents can freely express
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their thoughts and concerns to educators.
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3.1.2 Overview of cultural context: Implicit emotion communication and empathy To understand educators’ responses, it is necessary to contextualize them within
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interpersonal relationships and emotion communication in Japan. The communication of emotion
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in Japan often is implicit and symbolic. In ancient Japanese literature, for instance, emotions such as sorrow and grief are presented through illustrations of ritual acts, such as a posture of
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prayer grieving a loss, emotionally charged places, and memory laden items possessed by deceased persons (Ebersole, 2007). Individuals must “read” not only the literal meaning of the text, but the authors’ implicit thoughts and feelings. Such stylized expressions of emotion also have been incorporated into Japanese Buddhism. Core emotions of Japanese Buddhism, such as sabi (sadness, quiet, simplicity), are expressed as aesthetic illustrations (Ebersole, 2007), for instance, in contemporary Japanese Buddhist gardens.
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The importance of implicit emotion communication also is reflected in Japanese socialization practices of omoiyari that value empathy toward others. Such omoiyari is considered critical to maintaining interpersonal relationships and avoiding unnecessary conflicts. From early childhood, Japanese children are socialized to read others’ emotions and thoughts and
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act in a way that accommodates others’ needs, rather than expressing their own emotions and
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thoughts explicitly (Azuma, 1994). If a conflict arises in their relationships, Japanese people’s
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responses tend to focus on the emotions of others, as well as their own, even if others are responsible for the conflict (Azuma, 2001). Further, hurting others’ feelings is considered a
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serious offence in Japan. For example, children may be scolded by parents for hurting parents’
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feelings, rather than for the misdeed that provoked parents’ emotions (Rice, 2001). Consistent with these socialization beliefs and practices, Japanese parents’
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communications about challenges caused by their children’s disabilities and others’ responses to
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them are indirect, based on omoiyari, and require reading and accommodating others’ minds and feelings. For example, maintaining social relationships after their children’s diagnoses of
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disabilities is a primary concern for Japanese parents, along with handling their own emotional
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reactions and coping with their children’s disabilities (Sato et al., 2015). Parents may exert great effort to create an environment in which their children are naturally accepted by “laying the
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foundation” within the community. They may disclose their children’s disabilities to community members, including parents of typically-developing children to build relationships with them. These parents generally appreciate their community members’ understanding. At the same time, however, they may feel that they are bothering (meiwaku) other community members with extra burdens. Such feelings can make it difficult for them to build and maintain relationships with parents of typically-developing children (Sato et al., 2015).
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Relationships based on empathy can be extended to parent-educator relationships. Educators’ expression of empathy towards parents of children with disabilities experiencing stigma may be critical to building trusting relationships. Indeed, Japanese educators and parents of children with disabilities described educators’ omoiyari towards parents experiencing stigma
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as critical to building collaborative relationships (See Authors, 2014; Kasahara & Turnbull,
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2005). Mothers of children with disabilities, for instance, described that they prefer to work with
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educators who treat their children as if they were their own, and not those who provide support merely to meet their professional obligations. They also expected educators to be supportive and
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reliable allies with whom they could share not only the responsibility of taking care of their
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children, but also the broader aspects of raising children including their joys and frustrations (Kasahara & Turnbull, 2005). Japanese educators, who generally are aware of parents' sensitivity
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to stigma and resistance to special education, do their best to support children with disabilities in
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general education classrooms while providing support to parents (Authors, 2014). 3.1.3 Educators’ perspectives: The current study
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3.1.3.1 Parent-educator relationships: Partners in raising children. Educators
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described the importance of engaging with parents as partners in “raising” children at home and school. An administrator described that for elementary school-aged children, “How children
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think about school is strongly influenced by their mothers… thus, I’d like mothers to work together with us.” A principal also described the importance of their relationships with parents: “We can’t do anything [for children] if we lose trusting relationships [with their parents]. Therefore, trusting relationships and connecting the ‘pipeline’ [between school and home] is necessary.” If children have disabilities, relationships with parents become even more important. A classroom teacher described, “If we know [about children’s disabilities]… we begin
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communicating early and discuss how we teach the child, so we can do the same at home and school.” With some parents whose children have disabilities, however, such trusting relationships may take time to develop. Educators described how they patiently develop collaborative
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relationships with parents. A classroom teacher articulated:
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There are times I feel it’s difficult to build that [positive] relationship… Sometimes, it’s
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hard to understand each other. It may take very long, [over several years]… We can’t see the progress immediately, but [relationships] are something we “raise” together over time.
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As parents develop relationships with educators, they may disclose their own and their
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children’s struggles and become open to collaboration. A classroom teacher described: Gradually, as [parents] understand what we feel, they begin, a little by little, to talk about
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how it was difficult to raise the child. Then slowly, [I] may say, “Are you interested in
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[having your child] take a test?” Then, I may explain, “If [the child] takes the test, we can learn how to support [the child]. What do you think?” Then, they may say, “Ok.”
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3.1.3.2 Challenges to parent-educator relationships: Parents’ fear of being different,
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stigma and educators’ exhaustion. Educators described parents’ emotional responses to disabilities and special education as impediments to forming collaborative relationships. Parents
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may worry about other peoples’ “eyes”, and avoid situations in which other parents might realize that their children have disabilities, for example, talking with a special education coordinator in the hallway. A classroom teacher described parents’ anxieties: I think mothers also may have noticed something [children’s struggles] and may have become anxious, but do not want to recognize it. It’s scary to make it clear. Or, [they are] hoping it is not [a disability]… It takes a long time to accept it [disabilities]… Also, they
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don’t want to think [of their children] as different from other [children]. Educators’ discussions also reflect that just as others in Japanese society hold stigmatizing beliefs about individuals with disabilities, so too do some parents of children with disabilities. Such beliefs can contribute to their denial of their children’s struggles. A classroom
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teacher described a father who resisted placing his son in a special education classroom because
IP
of his own biases, “He saw special education as somehow ‘below’ [general education], and
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resisted… He really resisted that his son was considered different from other children in his general education classroom.”
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A special education teacher also described that parents of children with milder, hidden
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disabilities may resist special education more than parents of children who have more obvious, severe disabilities. Because these children are typically developing in most respects, the
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consequence of labelling and stigmatization associated with special education may be greater for
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them than for children with more obvious or global disabilities. Some educators expressed their own emotional exhaustion in trying to build relationships
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with parents who are reacting to stigmatization. One teacher described, “Whenever I say
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something, she [mother whose son is struggling] talks back to me harshly… she also cancelled a meeting [to discuss the child’s special education placement] at the last minute.” Another
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educator described.
It’s exhausting. [At the end of the day], I notice I haven’t done anything that can be reported [as part of my official responsibilities], but I get very tired, exhausted. …I go home [everyday] without any energy left, so I can’t do anything at home that has to be done. I also have paperwork… but I can’t do that. If I try to do both, I won’t have patience [余裕: time and energy to step back and respond appropriately] toward children
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[and parents]. Educators also described how broader contexts and issues compound their relationship challenges with parents. For example, educators described family issues and stressors such as poverty as distracting parents from attending to the apparently less urgent issues of children’s
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relatively mild disabilities. They also described problems in parent-teacher collaborative
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relationships arising from parents’ relationships with extended family members. A special
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education teacher described:
[The child’s] grandma and grandpa didn’t want to put [the child] in [special education]
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because they didn’t want other people in the community to know about that. It’s about
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sekentei [世間体, worrying about appearance/others’ responses, or saving face], not about what this child really needs to learn. They have lost this perspective [because of stigma].
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3.1.3.3 Educators’ strategies for effective family-educator collaborations: Develop
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trusting relationships by guiding parents through omoiyari and mimamori. Educators generally characterized their responses to parents who are facing challenges due to stigmatization
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as omoiyari. A principal explained:
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The hardest for children is not only that their mothers can’t accept [their children’s disabilities], but also that they become enraged because they can’t admit that such things
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have happened to them. They take their anger out on us, directly. So, we don’t make excuses, but just listen to them and say, “I think so,” and take it seriously and think together about what is best and what makes the children happy, and try to understand each other. (Authors, 2014, p. 117) Japanese educators also supported parents through mimamori, for example, by flexibly attending to parents’ concerns and guiding them to accept their children’s struggles. Their goal is
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for parents to make their own decisions, not to pressure them to place their children in special education. Educators described a number of ways to guide parents. They discussed that the initial conversation with parents regarding their children’s struggles at school is critical because parents may lose trust in educators if they are not emotionally ready to hear this information. Before
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communicating with parents, educators carefully plan how to create opportunities and
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environments in which parents will notice their children’s struggles at school and become
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spontaneously involved in conversations with educators. For example, they may invite parents to school so that they can observe their children. One classroom teacher described, “I’d say, ‘Please
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come to see my class,’ so the mother can notice [her child’s struggles.]” Another classroom
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teacher described:
We can’t ask parents to come [to school] just to [tell them about their children’s
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disabilities], so whenever there is a chance [to communicate with them] for something else,
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I tell them, “There is a teacher like [special education coordinator]. Would you like to hear what [he/she thinks about your child]?” And take [parents’ attention] to a direction like this.
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To do so, very careful coordination and meetings [among teachers] are necessary.
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At times, educators have to explicitly explain children’s struggles and needs for specialized support to parents. In such cases, educators discussed that they have to avoid pushing
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parents. A classroom teacher described, Instead of pushing what I think, to some extent [we need] to describe objectively [what their children are like at school]. Also, always listen to what mothers and parents think. First of all, listen [to them]... Then [send a message], “Think about [your] child’s future.” Many educators also described that they have to continually sense from each parent’s response how to communicate with them. A special education teacher explained that even a
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mother who has accepted her child’s disability can be very sensitive to what teachers tell her. It is necessary to know individual parents and to what extent teachers can talk about sensitive issues. A classroom teacher described: In the case of a parent of a 6th grader, [the mother] says, “My child is normal.” So, then
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it’s a sign [that I shouldn’t talk any more about his struggles]. Also, there is a mother who
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says, “My child is an only child, so that’s why she doesn’t know [how to deal with
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friends].” Like that, if [parents] respond somehow negatively or clearly say what they think, then I feel that I shouldn’t go [and push them] further.
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Educators emphasized the importance of respecting parents’ feelings and readiness to
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accept that their children are struggling in school. While waiting for parents to become ready for placing their children in special education, for instance, one principal described,
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If necessary, get permission from the parents to give instruction individually in other
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rooms [but not special education]…. [Even if their parents resist], children come to [school] everyday, so we are always thinking about how to support these children’s
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education.
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Yet many educators expressed concern about the quality of support for children with disabilities whose parents refuse permission for them to receive special education. Such parents
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prefer that their children remain in their general education classrooms so that they do not look “different”. One teacher described: Because of his parents’ wish, [the child] is in his general education classroom, but the child is clearly [struggling] and is almost like a visitor [who is just sitting there], not learning anything. I think this child should go to a special education classroom, absolutely, but it’s parents who have the power to make a final decision.
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Another classroom teacher also expressed her concern that by remaining in general education classrooms children with disabilities are exposed to additional stigmatization. She articulated: When [children with disabilities] are being panicked [“melting down”], I don’t want other children to see …because that strengthens [other children’s] biased ideas [偏見:
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henken]. [They will think] that once this child gets upset, he will be out of control. Of
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3.2 Educators in South Korea
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course, the child himself is suffering the most.
3.2.1 Abstract
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Educators from South Korea generally acknowledged parents’ understanding of their
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children and used their insights in interacting with children. Yet they also described many parents as reluctant to accept their children’s disabilities and needs for specialized services due to
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their concerns about stigmatization. Educators expressed hesitation in openly discussing
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children’s struggles, which could hurt parents’ feelings and lead to conflicts. They also described complaints from parents of typically-developing children concerned about disruption of their
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children’s learning environment. Educators described responding to these parents by offering
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disability awareness programs.
conflicts
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3.2.2 Overview of cultural context: Controlling emotions to avoid interpersonal
To understand educators’ responses, it is necessary to contextualize them within interpersonal relationships and emotion communication in South Korea. South Koreans tend to avoid openly displaying their emotions, even when they are distressed (Kim, 1991; Park & Cheah, 2005). Such restraint is due, in part, to a relatively strong influence of Confucianism. In contemporary society, South Koreans strive to be sensitive to others’ feelings, conscious of their
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own social status, and display emotions appropriate within their hierarchical relationships. The feelings of those higher in the social hierarchy, such as adults, are generally given priority over those lower in the hierarchy, such as children (i.e., affective hierarchy; Ahn, 2016). In everyday conversations, South Korean people communicate their emotions subtly and nonverbally.
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Communication partners are required to “read” one another’s facial expressions and behaviors
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(Kim, 1985). Such emotional sensitivity strengthens the mutually supportive, interpersonal
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relationships that are the basis of South Korean social life (Kim, 1991).
From early childhood, children are socialized to moderate their emotional displays (Park
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& Cheah, 2005). For example, educators may discipline young children to correct inappropriate
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emotional displays, rather than directly addressing the interpersonal conflicts with peers that led to them (Ahn, 2016). Adults also socialize children to control and moderate their inner feelings,
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for example, by discouraging children who are crying as shameful “babies.” Children who
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display age-appropriate emotional regulation skills gain social status as “big brothers/sisters” within their peer groups (Ahn, 2016; Yang & Rosenblatt, 2001).
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These beliefs and practices pertaining to emotional regulation also are reflected in how
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South Korean parents control their own emotional responses to their children’s disabilities and illnesses. Their strategies may include avoidance, denial, and withdrawal from social interactions
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(Han, Cho, Kim, & Kim, 2009; You & McGraw, 2011). Parents may avoid engaging with formal services for fear of negative societal responses (Grinker & Cho, 2013). Indeed, South Korean parents report less frequent use of professional and formal services for their children’s disabilities or illnesses than those in the US (Shin, 2002; see also Kim et al., 2002). Parents also may deny the longer term implications of their children’s challenges believing that they will become “normal” with intensive medical or educational services (Han et al, 2009; You &
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McGraw, 2011). Parents also may withdraw socially, for instance, to avoid exposing their children and families to stigmatization (e.g., Han et al., 2009; Shin, 2002). South Koreans’ value of strong interpersonal and emotional ties also is reflected in parents’ and educators’ responses to children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities. The
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primary concern of parents is that their children will be left out of peer groups (Grinker & Cho,
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2013). This concern is heightened by South Korea’s relatively strong emphasis on children’s
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academic achievement (e.g., Kim-Renaud, Grinker, & Larsen, 2005). Many parents of children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities expend great effort at home and after school so
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that their children can excel academically and be considered typically-developing. Educators
AN
generally acknowledge parents’ efforts and are willing to tolerate children’s disruptive behaviors if they are doing well academically (Grinker & Cho, 2013; Hong, 2008). Educators, however,
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may be reluctant to communicate with parents about their children’s struggles for fear of hurting
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their feelings or becoming involved in power struggles with them (Grinker & Cho, 2013). Educators also must navigate their relationships with parents of typically-developing
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children. These parents may express concern about how children with disabilities disrupt the
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learning environment for their children. They may even pressure educators to remove children with disabilities from their children’s classrooms, or directly tell their parents to transfer them to
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another school, especially if they have behavioral concerns (Grinker & Cho, 2013). Some educators agree that disruptions by children with disabilities violate the right of typicallydeveloping children to receive an appropriate education (Hong, 2008). Thus, balancing the needs of children with disabilities and their typically developing peers can present South Korean educators with a seemingly unresolvable dilemma. 3.2.3 Educators’ perspectives: The current study
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3.2.3.1 Parent-educator relationships: Respect parents’ understanding of their children. Educators from South Korea generally expressed respect for parents as experts on their own children, and as partners in educating them. A special education teacher described, “Parents know how to raise their children because they have been educating them for more than 10 years.”
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Another special education teacher described a mother’s response to her child’s disability:
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After she thought a lot about ways to improve the situation, she decided to read books to
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her child. She believes it to be good because her child can acquire a variety of vocabularies from books. So she tries to read books aloud to her child... I was very
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impressed by her thoughtful parenting… She is trying to understand her child’s
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disability… I think her strength is that she has an objective view of her child’s ability. It is very difficult to have such a view either for parents who have children with disabilities
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or without disabilities.
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The special education teacher went on to describe how this mother provided her with valuable new perspectives on children with disabilities.
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3.2.3.2 Challenges to parent-educator relationships: Parents’ responses to
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stigmatization, and educators’ avoidance of conflicts. Educators discussed challenges to parent-educator relationships arising from parents’ responses to actual or anticipated
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stigmatization. Some educators described parents who refuse to acknowledge or actively deny that their children have a disability. A general education classroom teacher described a father who believed that his child had no problem and would become “normal, as if hatching from an egg.” He refused to even discuss his child’s struggles with educators. Another classroom teacher described: Parents believe that their children are as “normal” as other children. So, if their children
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get a label of disability [in order to receive] special education, parents think that they themselves are stigmatizing their [own] children by [labeling them]. They feel guilty. Educators also described how parents’ perceptions of being stigmatized can impair their relationships with educators. A principal described: “These parents consider themselves victims
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whom no one cares about. Because of such feelings of inferiority, they always overreact to us
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when we talk about their children.” A classroom teacher described parents’ oversensitive
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responses, “When I tried to discuss the struggles of their children with [parents], they just thought of me as a sort of teacher who favored [certain] students and misinterpreted that I hated
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their children.” A special education teacher also described a mother who always complained that
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the teacher did not care for her child as sincerely as other children. As a result of such perceptions, some parents may transfer their children to private alternative programs. Those who
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can afford it may even move to Western countries to avoid the stigmatization associated with
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their children’s disabilities.
Educators’ discussions also reflected that some parents of children with disabilities, like
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those in the wider South Korean society, hold stigmatizing beliefs about people with disabilities.
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They described parents’ refusal to place their children in special education as stemming, in part, from negative preconceptions of disabilities and special education. Even parents who have
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accepted their children’s disabilities may refuse to place them in special education out of concern that studying with children with more obvious disabilities would have a negative impact on their children. A special education teacher described, “They [parents] believe that being with those children with severe disabilities in special education classrooms makes their children’s symptoms worse.” These parents prefer their children to be with typically-developing children from whom their children can learn, socially and academically.
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While educators acknowledged and understood challenges faced by parents because of stigma, they also discussed difficulties in handling their resistance and complaints. Consistent with South Korean peoples’ priority on maintaining strong interpersonal and emotional ties, some educators described politely choosing not to respond directly to parents’ resistance and
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complaints. They described that some parents devote a great deal of time and attention to
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to avoid special education. A classroom teacher explained:
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tutoring their children at home. They also may attempt to hide their children’s medical diagnoses
I have a student who has been in the general education classroom for two years. I know
US
what his disability is, but I am pretending that I don’t know it [because his parents are
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trying to hide his disability]. He has a diagnosis of autism. For example, if there is an exam in language class, this mother makes her child practice [before the exam] until he
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gets a perfect score. Likewise, she is obsessed with everything for her son’s school work.
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This worked until he was in the second grade. But now, he is really struggling because he doesn’t have good social skills.
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Educators’ patience may allow parents time to accept their children’s needs. A special education
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teacher, however, emphasized that this strategy only works during the lower grade levels when academic demands are not extensive and interpersonal struggles are not yet obvious.
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Educators also discussed their needs to handle complaints from parents of children with disabilities. As South Korean society strives to ensure equal opportunities and rights for people with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities have formed mutual support groups. Such groups provide informal support to parents, and also have helped them to gain power and raise their voices. Educators can experience such changes as problematic. A principal described: If parents [of children with disabilities] are not satisfied with even a small thing about
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special education services for their children, they directly report it to the authorities [Department of Education or National Human Rights Commission of Korea] without any hesitation. So, teachers don’t have any other ways other than showing a submissive attitude toward parents. Teachers are always cautious about talking with parents.
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Likewise, educators frequently have to handle complaints from parents of typically
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developing children who are concerned about the negative impact of children with disabilities on
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their children. A principal described:
Almost all parents of typically developing children don’t like to have children with
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disabilities in the same classroom with their children. They ask, “Why did [their parents]
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send their children to regular school instead of special school?” As children move to upper grades, they start complaining [to their parents], “Why don’t they [peers with
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disabilities] go to special school?” These children’s complaints make their parents raise
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their voices.
Educators also described how broader social contexts compound their relationship
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challenges with parents. For example, some educators indicated that the resistance of
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grandparents and extended family members affect parents’ decision making. They may oppose parents who want their children in special education for fear that the children will experience
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stigmatization. A classroom teacher described parents who were discouraged by the child’s grandmother, “They don’t like to receive any support because they believe [what the grandmother said], ‘Receiving [intervention] leaves official records, which disables my grandchild’s social life.’” Similarly, a principal described a father who refused permission for his child to receive support despite the mother’s wishes: He [father] never acknowledges that his child is not “normal” and thus needs specialized
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support. Whenever I tried to talk with him to get parental consent for special education, he just became upset. He said, “Stop the [informal] support my child is currently receiving. My child does not need any additional assistance at school.” In addition, many educators discussed that parents may exhibit uncooperative attitudes
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toward educators because of family issues, such as poverty and parental alcohol abuse or
IP
disabilities, which also exacerbate their relationships challenges as well as children’s struggles.
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3.2.3.3 Educators’ strategies for effective family-educator collaborations: Avoid conflicts by educating parents. South Korean educators’ strategies focused on both parents of
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children with disabilities and parents of typically-developing children. An educator emphasized,
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“We need to educate parents because elementary school-aged children are still greatly influenced by their parents.”
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In supporting parents of children with disabilities, educators described investing time and
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effort, especially at the initial stage of the conversations with parents about their children’s struggles. They patiently involve parents in conversations to help them understand the benefits of
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special education for their children. A classroom teacher described:
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I can’t openly discuss [children’s struggles] with their parents… Sometimes I help parents to understand [the struggles of their children], by tentatively describing [their
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struggles] as a “cold in the mind” which afflicts their children. [Thus, they] need to receive some kind of treatment. If parents of children with disabilities resist acknowledging their children’s struggles, classroom teachers may involve experienced special education teachers. They may suggest educational programs to help parents understand their children’s disabilities and inclusive education. Educators continue to support parents after their children are receiving special education,
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for example, though regular conference and follow-up meetings. Some educators also send parents a daily record of classroom work and exchange daily journals with parents. These regular communications keep parents informed about their children’s school functioning, and also help educators to learn about parents and their children. A special education teacher described:
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It is useful [because] in those [journals], parents can express their emotions or satisfaction
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and make suggestions to us with regard to special education services for their children. It
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was not easy for them [parents] to give their comments to teachers at first but their reactions [to daily journals] were positive. So I will continue using them. I believe this
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…improves our communications.
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Educators also provide family-oriented programs broadly promoting parents’ participation in school activities, such as family picnics, field trips, and family festivals. These
ED
A special education teacher described:
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programs also aim at relieving parents’ burdens and stress from raising children with disabilities.
I focus on emotional support for parents rather than information or knowledge about their
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children’s disabilities because it is more important for them [parents] to open their minds.
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So I continue [organizing] family support programs every year. The main purpose of the family support program is to provide parents with respite care. We take care of their
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children [with disabilities] and even their siblings all day long. Then, parents can have their own time. Further, some schools provide disability awareness education for parents of typically developing children to help them understand the struggles of children with disabilities at school and promote their positive perceptions of special education and disability. A special education teacher described:
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This education program is implemented at the local government level. We applied and received a grant for this program. [As part of the program], the Department of Education organized three sessions, such as an educational play and/or special lectures by persons with disabilities. Parents’ responses to the program were much better than we expected.
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We thought that they [parents of typically developing children] were not interested in
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these programs. Every session was overbooked and they commented that it would be
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good if there were more programs like this. 3.3 Educators in Taiwan
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3.3.1 Abstract
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Many educators from Taiwan acknowledged the importance of working collaboratively with parents, and likewise described that many parents consider educators as important resources
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for their children. Other parents, however, deny that their children are struggling, display intense
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emotions in their interactions with educators, and even file formal complaints with administrators against educators. As a result, many educators expressed their feelings of
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helplessness and depression. They minimized conflicts with parents by concealing their own
children.
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feelings, being patient with parental resistance, and continuing to support parents and their
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3.3.2 Overview of cultural context: Emotional regulation To understand educators’ responses, it is necessary to contextualize them within interpersonal relationships and emotion communication in Taiwan. Emotion expression in Taiwan is influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism, but also Taoism. In Taoism, two opposite values, such as good and bad, are believed to operate in a cyclical pattern, similar to the changing seasons. In order to handle emotional distress, Taoism encourages people to transform their
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thoughts so that they fit with the harmony of nature and the environment (Cheng et al., 2010), and wait for good fortune to return. This requires that individuals remain calm, instead of explicitly expressing strong emotions. From early childhood, Taiwanese children are socialized to control their expression of negative emotions. In particular, crying and externalizing emotions,
T
for example anger, are viewed as problematic and disciplined by parents (Fung & Chen, 2001;
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Rӧ ttger-Rӧ ssler et al., 2015).
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Taiwanese people tend to suppress negative emotions caused by diagnoses of disabilities or illness to maintain their face and harmony in their social relationships (e.g., Lin, Tsai, &
US
Chang, 2008; Mak & Chen, 2010). They may prefer to cope with stressful events by changing
AN
their own thoughts, rather than changing others and their environments (Cheng et al., 2010; Lin et al, 2008). For example, Taiwanese parents whose children were diagnosed with disabilities
M
described a wide variety of strategies for changing themselves to cope with their children’s
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diagnoses. These strategies included adjusting their thoughts and expectations for their children; changing their parenting styles; seeking knowledge about their children’s disabilities; and
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(Chang & Hsu, 2007).
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releasing stress through religious and spiritual rituals at local Buddhist and Taoist temples
Labeling children as having disabilities may be particularly challenging for parents in
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Taiwan, a society where academic achievement is emphasized as a pathway to success. Until serious issues, such as behavioral problems arise, parents may deny that their children are struggling or that professionals have correctly assessed them (See Chiu et al., 2014; Lin et al, 2008). They also may express dissatisfaction with the support children are receiving, and eventually lose trust in professionals (Chang & Hsu, 2007; Huang, Kellett, & St John, 2010). Elementary school educators describe that parents may even blame them for their children’s low
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academic performance. Some parents of children with disabilities even file formal complaints against teachers. Educators express frustration because they must continue to patiently communicate with parents even though their formal complaints may negatively affect educators’ job performance evaluations (Chen, 2003).
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3.3.3 Educators’ perspectives: The current study
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3.3.3.1 Parent-educator relationships: Resources for children. Educators generally
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valued on-going communication and cooperative work with parents. They described parents who actively utilize educators and community resources in raising their children. One educator
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described,
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He [father] comes eagerly to our school and says, “My child is a special hyperactive child. What resources would you be able to offer?” He strives for the resources. [While he seeks
M
resources at school], his wife finds out [other] resources available in the community [such
ED
as associations for children with disabilities], and [they] join these associations. 3.3.3.2 Challenges to parent-educator relationships: Parents’ avoidance, stigma and
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intense emotion, and educators’ feelings of helplessness and sadness. Educators described
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parental responses that can be barriers to effective collaborative relationships both with parents of children with disabilities and those of typically-developing children. Some parents may not
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have noticed their children’s struggles, or may not know how to respond. Other parents, however, may refuse to acknowledge their children as having disabilities and even refuse permission for them to receive support at school. Even after children receive medical diagnoses, parents may hide them from educators due to fear of stigmatization. One educator described, “Parents will say, ‘He [the child with a diagnosis of ADHD] may not concentrate well enough. Can you please encourage him more?’ They would tell you about [their child’s struggles], but not very clearly.
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They’ll hold back on details.” Such parents may refuse any formal support at school. An educator described: First, the child is still young, they [parents] think that the child is still learning, so it’s inappropriate to make a conclusion this early. Secondly, they are afraid of being labeled
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by the school and educators. That affects the child’s personality and his interaction with
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his peers.
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Other parents may try to explain away their children’s struggles. One educator described: Parents say that my child is just more romantic, after being told by the [child’s] teacher
US
that he was not focused and daydreaming in class. Despite receiving reminders [from the
AN
teacher] a couple of times, parents still tell you that his character is more of a romantic type. As a result, [we are having] difficulties in handling the child now [in classroom].
M
Educators also described some parents’ concerns that receipt of special education
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services will expose their children to stigma from their typically-developing peers. Despite these concerns, however, educators indicated that these children may have already been “labeled” by
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their typically-developing peers because of their behaviors. One educator described a child with
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ADHD who exhibited potentially harmful behaviors, for instance, standing in an open third-floor window. Such behaviors have impacted his relationships with peers as well as his academic
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performance. Yet when his parents were advised to consider special education, they transferred him to another school.
Educators acknowledged that stigmatization due to their children’s disabilities also may harm parents. Parents’ concerns about labeling by educators and typically-developing children may reflect parents’ own stigmatizing ideas about disability and special education. In addition, they may feel ashamed at needing to make repeated apologies to other parents or educators
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because of their children’s behaviors. One educator described, “Some parents will come to you …and ask you for your forgiveness… After that I thought, ‘These parents are indeed vulnerable.’” Educators further described some parents as reacting with intense emotions when they attempt to discuss children’s struggles or potential disabilities. One classroom teacher described
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a mother who was upset, “[She told me], ‘Teacher, why do I always see you writing negative
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things about him? Why don’t you ever encourage him at all?” Some parents even filed lawsuits
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or sent formal complaints to the city’s Bureau of Education against teachers who had described to them their children’s struggles at school. One educator described a specific case:
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She [mother] had plenty of ways of expressing her complaints. In addition to appealing to
AN
the principal, she went to the City Council or the Bureau of Education [of the city]. But actually, is it a very big deal? In fact those weren’t situations where communication was
M
scarce. I felt that… all of our hearts were hung in mid-air. I felt helpless.
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Many educators indicated that they become psychologically distressed as a result of working with such parents. They described feelings of sadness and helplessness as a result of
PT
parents’ harsh attitudes toward them. A classroom teacher described that after working hard to
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find resources to help a child, “[His] parents’ response was ‘Not so good’. I felt rather depressed.” Further, educators have to handle complaints from parents of typically-developing
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children about children with disabilities. A classroom teacher described parents who requested that a child with a disability be removed from the classroom: Some students with mild disabilities exhibit behaviors that are disturbing in [my] class, which affects the progress of the whole class. During the parents’ meeting [in which all parents participate], some parents pointed out that a child should be sent to the Resource Room or referred to move to other [special education] classrooms or schools. This is
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when the classroom teacher has an important role. We need to help the other parents settle down. Another classroom teacher described parents’ responses to her discussion of a child with a disability, “Parents [of typically-developing children] just talked back impolitely.”
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Educators also described how broader social contexts, including issues of social class and
IP
family, compound their relationship challenges with parents. An educator described a fourth
CR
grade child with ADHD whose single mother worked in the porn industry. Much to the concern of educators, when the child ran away from home, his mother’s response was, “The police know
US
and will handle that, it’s alright.” Other parents’ responses to their children’s struggles reflected
AN
their concerns about other family members. For example, one educator described a mother’s struggle to accept her younger son’s disability without jeopardizing his academically talented
M
sister’s “face.”
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3.3.3.3 Educators’ strategies for effective family-educator collaborations: Avoid conflicts by concealing feelings and practicing patience. Consistent with Taiwanese
PT
socialization practices that value emotional regulation (Fung & Chen, 2001; Rӧ ttger-Rӧ ssler et
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al., 2015), educators’ strategies focused on avoiding unnecessary conflicts with parents, including by concealing their own negative emotions. Educators generally described that they
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respond to parents carefully, modestly and courteously, even if they have “unpleasant feelings deep down inside their hearts.” One educator described how she and her colleagues worked with a challenging mother over several years: I have been telling the mother, “Mom, can you calm your heart down today and look at your child for a while more?” … They [parents] have been told to do so from the beginning [since the child started school], but they didn’t want to come to observe for a
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very long time. We were concerned about their child being together with typicallydeveloping children in the same classroom… I think she [mother] knows [her child’s struggles], but she was unwilling to accept [them]. It was too tiring and tedious. To avoid unnecessary conflicts and arguments with parents, educators also have to
T
exercise care in initiating conversations with parents regarding their children’s struggles. One
IP
educator described:
CR
Parents would never face it when they are informed that their child has problems. We try our best not to point it out straight, but parents just won’t accept it… Parents will feel that,
US
“Why do you always have a bias towards my child,” and do not believe that their children
AN
have some problems in school. Therefore, parents sparked a conflict with educators. Parents may even initiate lawsuits against educators. To protect themselves, some educators
M
described time consuming practices of documenting their conversations with parents and keeping
ED
records after every meeting.
If parents refuse to acknowledge their children’s struggles, educators described
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continuing to support their children by seeking and informally utilizing resources available for
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children with disabilities. An educator reported: I made a great effort to help him. For him, I spent a lot of time seeking aid from many
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friends, including a counselor … I also asked him [the counselor to find time] for him [the child]. Actually, his schedule was already full, but the counselor specially arranged his time and slotted the child in. This is almost like for me using my personal connections in order to help the child. Although it may take years, educators described that by continuing to communicate with parents and provide informal interventions for their children, parents may eventually understand
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and accept their children’s disabilities. Another educator described, “Do you know what the child’s mother told me today? ‘Teacher, I finally admit that my child is problematic [after working with her for years].’ I felt like crying at that moment!” Educators also described the need to respond to parents of typically-developing children.
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Educators can prevent these parents’ complaints by “settling down children,” that is, solving and
IP
minimizing any problems among children before parents become aware of them. When
CR
complaints do arise, it is necessary to respond directly to parents of typically-developing children. If these parents come to understand and accept the child with a disability, then they will tell their
US
children to support the child. A classroom teacher described:
AN
Usually, when you have a student with a disability in your classroom for the first time, you have to convince the parents of other children to accept him, instead of persuading
M
other students to accept him… In my classroom, I’ve had [a child with a disability] from
ED
third to sixth grades, and throughout that time, I have been persuading other parents to accept him, because parents definitely find it hard to accept his unusual behaviors…
PT
Gradually, they began to view him from a more sympathetic point of view, but if that
CE
child causes troubles with others, parents would of course be unhappy! To encourage parents of typically-developing children to accept the presence of a child
AC
with a disability and restore relationships, educators also may ask that child’s parents to apologize to other parents when their child causes problems for other children. One educator commented, “How can you give up the rights of the other children to learn and be educated because of this one child? [Therefore the child’s parents have to apologize].” Note that in Asian cultures, such apologies may be issued to restore relationships and soothe feelings, not only to acknowledge wrongdoing or responsibility.
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3.4 Educators in the US 3.4.1 Abstract US educators described parents as partners in educating their children. They generally understood that the challenges parents face due to stigmatization associated with disabilities and
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special education services can make some reluctant to communicate with educators. While they
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try to be supportive of such parents, they also experience frustration in building collaborative
CR
relationships with them. Educators’ strategies to support parents and build collaborative relationships tended to focus on providing fact-oriented information.
US
3.4.2 Overview of cultural context: Emotional distress and professional services
AN
To understand educators’ responses, it is necessary to contextualize them within interpersonal relationships and emotion communication in the US. Many individuals in the US
M
who are experiencing emotional distress value and find most effective those problem solving
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strategies aimed at changing stressful situations using concrete, objective information; not those aimed at managing subsequent emotional experiences (e.g., Azuma, 2001; Cheng et al, 2010;
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Kim et al., 2003; Lalvani, 2015). This preference is consistent with a relatively strong emphasis
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on individual rights and social justice in US society reinforced from early childhood in schools (see Azuma, 2001). In official institutions such as schools and courts of law, problem solving is
AC
presumably based on objective facts and actions, and not emotional responses or the particular characteristics of the individual persons involved, e.g., their ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. Indeed, US laws have long been influenced by the concept of social justice (Stone, 2012; Sypnowich, 2010). Furthermore, the voices of marginalized people and political activism have heighted the awareness of the general public to social justice issues leading to changes in the law (e.g., Stone, 2012). For example, implementation of the federal special
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education law, currently the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), was impacted by the public’s heightened sensitivity to protecting the individual rights of people with disabilities to a free and appropriate public education (Wright, 1999; Zettel & Ballard, 1979). Consistent with the values of individual rights and social justice, US professionals
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working with parents of children with disabilities emphasize the importance of respecting
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professional roles and boundaries. Although professionals express their desires and obligations to
CR
be empathetic and available to parents of children with disabilities, they also emphasize the importance of balancing their professional responsibilities and personal lives, and of avoiding
US
unnecessary conflicts and emotional entanglements with parents (Nelson, Summers, & Turnbull,
AN
2004). Similar to educators, parents express uneasiness when they feel that professionals step out of their professional roles, for example, behaving towards a parent as a friend or developing
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strong emotional bonds with their children as a “parent at school” (Nelson et al., 2004).
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Similarly, parents express their preferences for receiving concrete, material services from professionals for them and their children with disabilities (Summers et al., 2007). Such parental
PT
responses may reflect the complexity of the relatively rigid, formal procedural guidelines they
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are required to navigate to insure their children receive disability services (Blum, 2007). These procedures can be especially burdensome to parents experiencing other stressors such as poverty,
AC
health and mental health issues (e.g., Authors, 2013). Nonetheless, parents also report relatively low levels of satisfaction with the emotional support provided to them by professionals (Summers et al., 2007), which suggests that improving emotional communication with parents may strengthen parent-educator relationships. 3.4.3.1 Parent-educator relationships: Educational partners. Educators described parents as educational partners who are experts on their children, their personalities and what
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works best for them. One classroom teacher described her relationship with parents and children using a metaphor, “a three legged stool”: I talk to the children and parents at conferences all the time about, “We’re a three legged stool.” We’ve got the child, the parent and me as the teacher. Without one of us working,
T
the stool falls down. So if the child’s not with us, if the parent’s not with us ... it gets hard.
IP
… It’s important to be able to have the team working around the child.
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Maintaining effective partnerships with parents is especially important when educators must communicate with parents about children’s struggles in school. A classroom teacher articulated:
US
It’s really important to keep it open and they [parents] are definitely an equal partner…
AN
They know their child best, so we really have to be a partnership and really, really listen to the parent because if you shut that parent off and you don’t listen to them that’s going
M
to damage the relationship and it’s all about working together for the best for the child.
ED
And sometimes there may be a difficult thing you might have to share with them, but try to be as empathetic as possible …you’ve gotta really make them feel comfortable in that
PT
they’re an equal partner.
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3.4.3.2 Challenges to parent-educator communications: Parents’ grief and reluctance to work with educators, and educators’ frustration with uncooperative parents.
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Similar to educators in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, US educators described some parents as resistant to accepting their children’s needs for specialized services, in part, because of guilt and stigma. An educator described parents who blamed themselves, “It was really a stigma with parents, ‘Oh, my child needs [special education]. What didn’t I do?’” It is especially challenging for parents when their children’s struggles are first noticed by educators. One classroom teacher described, “It’s hard for parents to recognize if their kids are [only] struggling in school and
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[they] want them to be just like everybody else.” Similarly, a special education teacher described the grief and mourning experienced by parents: There’s a level of mourning. You have your baby, and you have all these wonderful dreams for them and then everything, [then] they kind of start turning into their own
T
selves and you sort of go, “Oh that’s not it.”… that happens for all parents. I think some
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peers, but perhaps they put it upon themselves.
IP
parents have a harder time accepting it. So I don’t know that there’s stigma amongst adult
In addition, educators’ descriptions of parents of children with disabilities reflect parents’
US
anticipated stigmatization or their own stigmatizing attitudes toward people with disabilities and
AN
disability services. Educators, for instance, described some parents’ concerns that the label of special education may affect their children’s future career opportunities. A special education
M
teacher described:
ED
[When they are asked to sign the consent form to initiate special education evaluation], sometimes parents are like “Whoa, I don’t want this on my child’s record… They’re not
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gonna be able to get into the military if they [receive special education].” They’re
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thinking ahead and they just are like, “Whoa! No special ed, no! My child doesn’t have a disability…I don’t want them to be considered learning disabled or EBD.”
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Many educators discussed that those parents who struggle to accept their children’s needs for specialized services may become reluctant to work or communicate with educators. For example, they may not respond to e-mails and phone calls from educators or become upset when educators initiate conversation about their children’s struggles. A classroom teacher described, The biggest thing is, parents are on the defense. And it’s hard to explain to parents that, “You want what’s best for your child and we really do, too. We wouldn’t call meetings to
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figure out what’s going on if we weren’t legitimately concerned and want the best for your [child].” I think that’s really a hard place because…parents are first off defensive or have a lot of reasons that seem more like excuses that something might be off. As a result of parental resistance to special education, some educators become reluctant
T
to communicate with them. Some may even conclude that these parents do not care about their
IP
children or value their education. Such responses can affect parent-educator relationships. A
CR
school social worker articulated:
It’s not often that we run into a parent who says, “Do not do anything to help my child.”
US
… Now we would call, we would send emails and invite them to meetings and they
AN
might not show up. And what sometimes happens is that we interpret [and] believe that they don’t care about education, they don’t care about their kids. I’m reluctant to believe
M
that’s the case. But sometimes … that can then influence the way we perceive a student, a
ED
parent, their commitment to education.
Educators’ frustration toward parents who are uncooperative may be exacerbated by the
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requirements by the IDEA to involve parents in planning and providing special education
CE
services to their children. A principal described the challenge: [In the past], we were charged with the responsibility of “child find”, [i.e.,] identifying
AC
students [who were struggling] with or without parent permission. That was our job. … Now, the parent has all the power. We can go down that road but if the parent says, “No, I don’t agree,” we're back to square one. Unless we're working very carefully, slowly with that parent, year by year, that parent can just say, “No special accommodations. Nothing. You deal with it, classroom teacher.” And we don’t have anywhere else to go. The power of the parent now is so precise or so powerful that we're left powerless.
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Educators also described that the broader contexts of parents’ lives impact their relationships. For example, parents who have had negative experiences with educators when they were in school may be hesitant to engage in collaborative relationships with their children’s educators. Other parents are struggling with a variety of stressors such as poverty,
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homelessness, substance abuse, health and mental health issues that seem more urgent than their
IP
children’s relatively mild disabilities.
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3.4.3.3 Educators’ strategies for effective family-educator collaborations: Build partnership with parents. Many educators discussed the importance of on-going
US
communication with parents. During the initial stage of identifying and understanding children’s
classroom teacher described her approach:
AN
struggles, educators have to be especially careful in their communications with parents. A
M
The approach with parents at the beginning is a lot of questioning … like ‘Okay so, here
ED
are some resources we have at school, do you mind if I talk to this person and find out [what your child is struggling with]?’ And it’s never “Hey, let’s go to referral.” I just am
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dealing with questions in my mind, “How can we help your child be successful?”
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Even when parents avoid communicating with educators, it is important to continue making efforts to communicate with them. A special education teacher described:
AC
I still communicate with them, so even if they don’t come I still call and make all those same efforts that I would.… Whatever reason they gave [for missing a meeting], I am just going to accept that’s their reason why they couldn’t be there. I’m not going to make any judgments … I mean, whatever judgments we make as humans it doesn’t negate the fact that they are the parents and that they are trying [their best] for their child. In addition, to engage parents who are not collaborative, educators described how they
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gain their trust. A behavior coach described, “I believe that every parent wants their child to do well so that I feel like I spend time convincing them so they trust that… I like their child and want their child to do well.” A classroom teacher articulated the importance to “open up the door of communication” with parents:
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The biggest thing I want first and foremost is for parents to believe that I’m working on
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behalf of their child and I want to team with them on working on behalf of their child.
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And so opening up the door of communication and making sure that they're well-aware of their rights and that they are the ones who are making the final say and what we're
US
giving them is recommendations but ultimately it is up to them. And I feel like that’s
AN
empowering parents. And then it almost builds a level of trust where they will trust us as educators to say, “Ok then I trust that you are going to make the right decision because
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you're not telling me what to do; you're involving me in the process.”
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Further, educators discussed that it is necessary to help parents to navigate the complicated IEP (Individualized Education Program) procedures, so that they can better
PT
advocate for their children. A classroom teacher described how it is difficult for parents to
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participate in meetings, “It’s hard [for parents] to understand. Academic language, school system language, is hard to follow.... You try to break it down, but it’s huge! It’s confusing and it can be
AC
overwhelming.” A school social worker, who also is a parent of a child with a mild cognitive and behavioral disability, described how educators can help parents: Sitting on that side of the table, in that meeting when we’re talking about your child, I’ve been that parent, right? Who’s had to either listen to or feel what they might be feeling. And it’s helped me I think demonstrate empathy… The stuff we’re supposed to do as social workers.
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3.5 Common perspectives across four countries: “Universalism…” Despite differences in sociocultural contexts, educators practicing in all four cultural contexts valued parents as partners with extensive knowledge about their children. They described the importance of communication and consistency between home and school as well as
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building and maintaining effective, collaborative relationships.
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parents’ positive attitudes toward school. They also identified several common challenges to
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First, consistent with existing literature, educators described stigmatization as posing a significant challenge to parents’ emotional and social functioning (Link et al., 2004; Yang et al.,
US
2007). They described parents’ responses to their children’s disabilities as affected not only by
AN
the stigmatization they have actually experienced (i.e., “enacted” stigma), but also by their anticipation of the negative effects of others’ stigmatization (i.e., “felt” stigma; Scambler &
M
Hopkins, 1986). In addition, some parents, themselves, held stigmatizing beliefs about
ED
individuals with disabilities. Some parents responded to these experiences and concerns with denial of their children’s disabilities and resistance to special education services.
PT
Educators from all four cultural groups also described mild cognitive and behavioral
CE
disabilities as posing unique challenges for parents. Parents may believe and hope that their children, who appear to be “normal” in most respects, will become like typically-developing
AC
children. Even if parents accept that their children have disabilities, they still may prefer that they remain full-time in general education classrooms where they can interact with typicallydeveloping children. Next, educators practicing in all sites described that parents’ responses to a variety of social and family issues can exacerbate the challenges of establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships. Parents experiencing stress from poverty, family violence or unmet
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health and mental health needs, for example, may not prioritize responding to children’s relatively mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities (see also Authors, 2013). Finally, educators also described their own emotional responses to parents’ resistance and emotional displays as a challenge to establishing collaborative relationships with them. Although
T
they generally expressed empathy towards parents and understood that how they communicate
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with them regarding their children’s school struggles can further stigmatize them, they also
CR
described feelings of frustration, and even helplessness, when parents’ resistance delayed children’s access to services necessary to their school success. Educators described approaching
US
parents cautiously because their permission is required for children to receive special education
AN
services. 3.6 Cultural variations: “…without uniformity”
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Educators’ descriptions of challenges to establishing collaborative relationships with
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parents, as well as their responses to these challenges, also contained cultural nuances. Variations in educator perspectives across the four cultural sites, however, generally reflected relative, not
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absolute differences. In other words, many of the themes discussed, below, were articulated by
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some educators in all groups, but with widely varying emphases. 3.6.1 Variations between the US and East Asian countries
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Relative to educators in East Asia, US educators focused more on adults’ responsibilities to insure children’s rights to an appropriate education, and less on the social and emotional aspects of challenges faced by parents and educators. Although the emphasis on individual rights has increased in East Asian countries as a result of Westernization (see Authors, 2016a), traditional beliefs and practices that emphasize individuals’ emotional and social functioning remain strong, including in their local implementation of special education services for children
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with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities (see Authors, 2015). In contrast to educators in the US, who focused primarily on the impact of stigmatization on individual parents and their children, those in East Asia emphasized parents’ social contexts. Educators in East Asia were particularly sensitive to parents’ responses to the negative attitudes
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of their family members. Even if parents understand their children’s needs, they may withhold
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permission for them to receive special education because of grandparents’ and other family
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members’ anticipation not only of the impact of stigmatization on the child, but the family’s loss of face.
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Educators from East Asian countries also discussed the stigmatizing behaviors of other
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parents. Educators in South Korea and Taiwan, for instance, discussed complaints from parents of typically developing children that children with disabilities disrupt their children’s education.
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Similarly, in Japan, some educators described parents of typically-developing children who
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devalued children who struggle academically (Authors, 2014). These reports are consistent with those of Japanese parents who discussed their concern about other parents’ negative responses to
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their children with disabilities as contributing to their hesitance to engage with educators (see
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also Authors, 2014). The stigmatizing responses of parents of typically-developing children may be especially relevant given elementary school practices in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
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Unlike elementary schools in the US, parents of children in the same classrooms are formally introduced to each other and meet together with their children’s classroom teachers as a group to discuss classroom activities and any concerns. Such opportunities allow parents to express their concerns about other children, which can be painful for parents of children with disabilities and contribute to their resistance in acknowledging their children’s struggles. Cultural variation between US and East Asian educators also was apparent in how they
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articulated their own emotional experiences in response to parents who are resistant or defensive. US educators’ descriptions tended to focus on their frustration with parents’ uncooperative behaviors, e.g., not responding to emails and phone calls. In contrast, educators in East Asian countries described their own responses to parents’ intense emotional displays, negative
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emotions they tended to conceal when communicating with parents. Such practice is consistent
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with Buddhist and Confucian values of maintaining internal stability and self-regulation,
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respectively, as well as related cultural practices of maintaining control of emotional expressions in social contexts. Educators in East Asia struggled to uphold these culturally-embedded values
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and norms when parents failed to do so.
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Educators’ reports of their responses to parents’ resistance were consistent with their practices for developing and maintaining relationships with them. Educators in the US attempted
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to engage parents through direct, fact-oriented and solution focused responses to children’s
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struggles. Educators in East Asia allowed parents time to emotionally accept their children’s disabilities and needs for specialized services, even if necessary services to children were
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substantially delayed. When their relationships with parents were challenged by parents’
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unwillingness to acknowledge their children’s struggles or allow them to receive services, their responses were primarily indirect. For example, Japanese educators watched over, carefully
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guided and expressed empathy to parents (mimamori and omoiyari). South Korean teachers avoided openly indicating children’s struggles and provided education to counter widespread misperceptions about disabilities and special education. Taiwanese educators concealed their own strong emotions and exercised patience with parents. In addition, educators in the US and East Asia expressed somewhat different expectations of professional boundaries in their relationships with parents. In the U.S, educators worked in
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multidisciplinary teams, including school psychologists, social workers, special education and general education teachers, and school administrators. In this context, educators maintained relatively clear professional roles and boundaries. In contrast, educators in East Asian countries described relatively looser professional boundaries and broader roles with parents. They
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generally appeared, for example, to be more involved in parents’ emotional experiences and
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family issues than in the US. This is consistent with general trends in East Asia for classroom
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teachers to assume a broad role in raising children, including teaching them moral values and social skills. Furthermore, it is only recently that schools in East Asian countries have begun to
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hire professionals other than general education teachers at public elementary schools.
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3.6.2 Variation within East Asian countries
Relative differences also were apparent within East Asian contexts, especially in their
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interpretations and responses to parents’ resistance to engaging with them in collaborative
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relationships. Relative to educators from South Korea and Taiwan, Japanese educators appeared to be less influenced by parents’ negative emotional displays. They stressed the importance of
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always responding to parents with empathy and very carefully planning any conversations with
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them regarding their children’s struggles at school. They generally advocated strategies guiding parents through mimamori and omoiyari, and avoided pushing them. They waited for parents’
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emotional readiness to accept their children’s disabilities and needs for services, rather than attempting to force them to do so. Such strategies generally were implicit and indirect, but had the clear goal of helping parents to decide to place their children in special education. These strategies also required educators’ patience and careful emotional regulation, as well as understanding and empathy toward parents experiencing stigma (e.g., Authors, 2011, 2014; see also Tobin, Wu, & Davidson, 1989). Such practices, however, can lead to educators’ emotional
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exhaustion. South Korean educators were concerned that parents’ defensive attitudes and feelings of stigmatization and inferiority would damage their relationships. In some cases, parents reportedly transferred their children to other schools or even abroad. In order to maintain
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relationships and avoid conflicts with parents who are gaining power, educators described
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concealing their own emotions and showing submissive attitudes. Similarly, educators’ strategies
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for handling parental complaints, both from parents of children with disabilities and parents of typically-developing children, tended to be indirect. They avoided directly addressing parents’
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emotional distress, but indirectly suggested strategies for solving problems by providing
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information and formal education programs.
Similar to educators from South Korea, educators from Taiwan avoided expressing their
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own emotional reactions in interactions with parents, even if parents exhibited defensive and
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uncooperative attitudes. Yet relative to educators in South Korea, Taiwanese educators’ descriptions of their own and parents’ emotional responses were explicit and intense. For
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example, many Taiwanese educators described feelings of helplessness and depression in
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responding to parents. Their intense emotional experiences were exacerbated by their frustration towards parents who did not acknowledge their willingness and efforts to support them and their
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children. Some parents reportedly filed lawsuits against educators who had described their children’s struggles to them. These accounts are consistent with Chen’s (2003) description of mothers blaming educators for the learning disabilities of their children, including through filing lawsuits. Internalization of strong emotional reactions to such parental responses, however, can make educators vulnerable to psychological distress (see also Chu, 2015). Educators’ strategies focused on avoiding further conflicts with emotionally distraught parents to protect themselves
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and continue to support parents. By concealing their negative emotions and being patient, educators eventually provided parents with time to emotionally accept their children’s disabilities and needs for specialized services. 4. Conclusion
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In this report, we described educators’ perceptions of challenges posed by children’s
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disabilities and associated stigmatization to building and maintaining collaborative relationships
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with their parents, and their responses to those challenges. Our explorations were sensitized by the concept of “universalism without uniformity.” Common themes addressed by educators from
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Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the US allowed us to focus on issues relevant to parent-
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educator relationships in four cultures. Variations in these commonly addressed themes sensitized us to culturally specific beliefs and practices pertaining to disability and stigma.
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4.1 Limitations
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Before considering implications of this study, there are several limitations that have to be addressed. First, we described educators’ perspectives on the role of stigmatization in their
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abilities to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with parents. Additional research
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clearly is needed to examine parents’ perspectives. Examining parents’ perspectives is especially important given that educators may, themselves, perpetuate stigmatizing beliefs and practices.
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Second, this study relied on interview data. In East Asian countries, where individuals tend to conceal strong negative emotions in their everyday interactions with others, interview data may overemphasize educators’ actual negative emotional displays with parents. Direct observations of parent-educator interactions are necessary to further understand parent-educator relationships. In addition, this study focused on broad themes shared by educators from diverse, complex societies. Additional research is needed to probe within group variations equally important to
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understanding the cultural shaping of parent-educator relationships. For example, US educators were primarily from white, middle-class communities, but emotional communication varies across subgroups (e.g., Kymalainen, Weisman, Rosales, and Armesto, 2006). Perspectives of educators of color on challenges to the development of educator-parent relationships may be
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quite different. Finally, this research focused on the challenges parents experience, not their
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sources of strength and resistance to stigmatization (see Farrugia, 2009). Future research needs to
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probe how parents’ resilience impacts emotion communication and the development of collaborative parent-educator relationships.
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4.2 Implications
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The primary aim of this research has been to address diverse perspectives on the culturally widespread and intransigent problem of stigmatization as it affects the development of
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educator-parent relationships broadly relevant to scholars, practitioners and policy makers. In
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other words, our goal is to enhance understanding through the exchange of ideas with experienced professionals with alternative cultural understandings of stigma and relationships,
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not to supply specific recommendations, or to provide a comprehensive, comparative description
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of perspectives and contexts in four highly complex and diverse cultures. The examination of educators’ perceptions of the role of stigma in their relationship with
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parents, however, does have some broad implications for strengthening family-school partnerships to better support the development of children including in the US. The discussions of educators from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the US sensitize us to the impact of stigmatization on parents. In addition, educators from East Asia emphasized the distress parents may feel when learning that their children may have disabilities and need special services. They advised that empathetic responses to parents’ distress allow the development of strong, trusting
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partnerships. Practicing empathy may require educators to exercise patience with parental resistance, and minimize any overt pressure on parents before they are emotionally ready to accept their children’s needs for special education. Once trusting relationships have developed, parents and educators can express and share concerns.
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The discussions of East Asian educators also sensitize us to the potential impact of
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resistance from family members, friends and acquaintances on parents’ ability to develop
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relationships with educators. At times, parents may require support not only for navigating formal services for their children with disabilities, but for responding to grandparents, friends or
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even parents of typically-developing children. Although how emotional support is provided
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varies across cultures, such support may improve parent-educator relationships. East Asian educators’ discussions also sensitize us to the importance of providing support
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to educators. Responding to parents can be stressful, especially when anger, grief, fear and
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frustration are directed towards educators. Administrators need to be aware of the day-to-day stress educators experience, acknowledge their efforts to work with parents, and provide formal
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and informal support to minimize burnout and maintain healthy working environments.
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Finally, perspectives of educators from East Asian countries can sensitize US educators to challenges faced by parents from East Asian communities. In the US, cultural variation across
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Educators discussed their relationships with parents of children with disabilities. Japanese educators watched over, carefully guided, and showed empathy to parents. South Korean educators provided formal education to parents about disabilities. Taiwanese educators exercised patience with parents who expressed distress. US educators engaged parents through fact-oriented, solution-focused responses.
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Misa Kayama, Wendy Haight, May Lee Mary Ku, Minhae Cho, Hee Yun Lee PII: DOI: Reference:
S0190-7409(16)30536-9 doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.12.010 CYSR 3186
To appear in:
Children and Youth Services Review
Received date: Revised date: Accepted date:
20 September 2016 9 December 2016 10 December 2016
Please cite this article as: Misa Kayama, Wendy Haight, May Lee Mary Ku, Minhae Cho, Hee Yun Lee , East Asian and US educators' reflections on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities: Challenges and solutions. The address for the corresponding author was captured as affiliation for all authors. Please check if appropriate. Cysr(2016), doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.12.010
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East Asian and US educators’ reflections on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities: Challenges and solutions
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Wendy Haightb [email protected]
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Misa Kayamaa [email protected]
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May Lee (Mary) Kuc [email protected]
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Minhae Chob [email protected]
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Hee Yun Leeb [email protected]
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Corresponding author: Misa Kayama
a
b
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University of Mississippi, Oxford Department of Social Work 103 Longstreet Hall, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677, USA
c
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University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus School of Social Work 1404 Gortner Ave, St Paul, MN 55108, USA Fu Jen Catholic University No. 510, Zhongzheng Rd, Xinzhuang District, New Taipei City 242, Taiwan
Acknowledgement: This study was funded by the Spencer Foundation and Gamble-Skogmo endowment (University of Minnesota). The authors also would like to thank Kelly Evans for her help with data collection.
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Abstract Stigmatization is a culturally widespread social justice challenge with broad implications for the development of children. This study examines the reflections of elementary school
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educators in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US on how stigma affects their relationships
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with parents whose children have disabilities and how they respond to these challenges. We
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conducted cross-cultural analyses of individual, audio recorded interviews with 26 Japanese, 43 Korean, 16 Taiwanese and 18 US educators, including school social workers. Educators from all
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four cultural groups characterized the development of collaborative relationships with parents as
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critical to supporting the school success of children with disabilities. They also described challenges posed by stigmatization to those relationships, and solutions to those challenges.
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Japanese educators watched over, carefully guided, and expressed empathy to parents responding
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to stigmatization. South Korean educators avoided openly indicating children’s struggles to parents, but provided them with education about disabilities to counter misperceptions.
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Taiwanese educators exercised patience with parents who expressed distress due to stigma, and
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concealed their own negative emotional responses to such displays. US educators engaged parents through fact-oriented, solution-focused responses to children’s struggles. The
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perspectives of educators from diverse contexts can be used to identify cultural blind spots, and develop effective culture- and stigma-sensitive strategies to build relationships with parents to better support children with disabilities.
Key words: disability; stigmatization; parent-teacher relationships; elementary school-aged children; cross-cultural analyses
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East Asian and US educators’ reflections on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities: Challenges and solutions 1. Introduction This study examines the reflections of elementary school educators in Japan, South Korea,
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Taiwan and the US on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children
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have disabilities and how they respond to those challenges. Stigmatization is the process through
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which individuals with socially constructed “undesired differentness” are marked, separated and discredited in the larger society through labeling, stereotyping, status loss, discrimination, social
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exclusion and negative emotional responses (Goffman, 1963; Link, Yang, Phelan, & Collins,
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2004; Yang, Kleinman, Link, Phelan, Lee, & Good, 2007). Stigmatization may be directed both at the individual with the stigmatized characteristic, and those with whom they have close
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relationships (i.e., “courtesy stigma”; Goffman, 1963). Many parents of children with disabilities
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are required not only to cope with the demands of their child’s disability, but also with social exclusion, and others’ demeaning, hostile or rude behaviors (Gray, 2002). Parental responses to
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their children’s disabilities and courtesy stigmatization can include emotional sensitivity or
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distress (e.g., Lalvani, 2015), limiting information about their children’s struggles and social withdrawal (Farrugia, 2009; Gray, 2002). Such responses can pose challenges for effective
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parent-educator communication necessary for building and sustaining collaborative relationships to support children’s school success. Building and maintaining collaborative parent-educator relationships is critical to all children’s education (see Markward, 2006), perhaps especially for children experiencing challenges such as disabilities (Turnbull & Turnbull, 2015). Parents of children with disabilities assume a critical role in working with educators to manage their children’s access to special
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education and other services (Authors, 2013; Constable & Walberg, 2009). Indeed, educators describe that they can best support children with disabilities when they have established collaborative and trusting relationships with their parents (Authors, 2014, Blue-Banning et al., 2004). The role of parents is so significant that establishing and sustaining family-school
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collaborations is part of contemporary US special education and school social work policies and
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practices (e.g., Blue-Banning, Summers, Frankland, Nelson, & Beegle, 2004; Constable &
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Walberg, 2009; Summers et al., 2007; US Department of Education, 2016). Yet educators also describe frequent challenges in working collaboratively with parents (Authors, 2014).
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Parents’ responses to their children’s disabilities can affect their interpersonal
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relationships (Link et al., 2004; Yang et al., 2007) including with educators. For many parents, simply learning that their children have disabilities is an emotionally-charged experience (e.g.,
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Lalvani, 2015). Although many parents readily accept that their children have disabilities and
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understand their needs for supportive services, they also may experience concerns about labeling and stigmatization associated with special education as well as a range of feelings (Lalvani,
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2015) including guilt (Koro-Ljungberg & Bussing, 2009), sadness, grief (Cantwell, Muldoon, &
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Gallagher, 2015; Kobayashi, Inagaki, & Kaga, 2012), protectiveness (Schneider, 1988), anger and fear for their children’s future (Authors, 2014). Some parents can become highly conscious
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of other peoples’ responses to their children’s disabilities (Authors, 2014), withdraw socially (Koro-Ljungberg & Bussing, 2009), avoid communication with professionals about their children’s disabilities (see Chang & Hsu, 2007; Chen, 2003; Kim, Yeom, Seo, Kim, & Yoo, 2002), express anger at educators, and even refuse permission for their children to receive services (e.g., Authors, 2014). How educators respond to children’s disabilities also may affect parent-educator
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relationships. Educational practices, including meetings with parents that focus on paperwork or technical aspects of diagnosis and establishing services, can appear uncaring to parents and thus exacerbate any relationship challenges (Authors, 2015; Blue-Banning et al., 2004; Summers et al., 2007). How parents and educators respond to children’s disabilities and how their emotional
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responses affect their relationships, however, are likely culturally nuanced.
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1.1 A developmental-cultural, comparative approach
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We approach the impact of stigmatization associated with children’s disabilities on parent-educator relationships sensitized by concepts from developmental cultural psychology
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(Gaskins, Miller, & Corsaro, 1992; Miller, Hengst & Wang, 2003) including “universalism
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without uniformity” (Shweder & Sullivan, 1993). Although disability and associated stigma are common issues in diverse cultural contexts, how biological differences are experienced and
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communicated are shaped within specific sociocultural and historical contexts (Varenne &
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McDermott, 1998). For example, in the context of contemporary school systems that prize early literacy, a child with neurological differences that make the decoding of written symbols difficult
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is considered to have a “disability” (dyslexia) and may experience stigmatization. In different
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sociocultural or historical contexts, however, where literacy skills are/were not prioritized, this same child would be considered typically developing and his/her experiences of self would not
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be challenged by stigmatization (Authors, 2014, 2016a). Our comparative approach rests on the premise that attention to diverse cultural cases is necessary to expose cultural blind spots in current theory, policy and practice. Generally, US educators and policy makers focus on children’s cognitive and behavioral issues and interventions with relatively less attention to the social-emotional aspects of disability. By contrast, educators and policy makers in East Asia are particularly sensitive to social responses
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to stigma and disability (e.g., Authors, 2016a, 2016b). Attention to practice and policy in East Asia can expand our understanding of the role of stigma in parent-educator relationships, and contribute to the development of culture- and stigma-sensitive practices in the US. Our specific focus on Japan, South Korea and Taiwan is motivated by their key
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differences with US culture in conceptualizations of “disability” and general sensitivity to stigma
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(e.g., Authors, 2014; Chen & Shu, 2012; Grinker & Cho, 2013). Individuals in these East Asian
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countries are generally socialized to be particularly sensitive to individual differences that may cause them and their families to lose face or social status (Authors, 2014; Chen & Shu, 2012;
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Grinker & Cho, 2013). Until recently, individuals with disabilities often were regarded as
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burdens to family members, and even hidden to avoid stigmatization (e.g., Jegatheesan, 2009). Even today, individuals with disabilities and their families may decline formal support services
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to avoid stigmatization (Authors, 2014, 2016b).
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1.2 Emotion communication1 in cultural context Likewise, cultures vary in how individuals communicate and display emotions when they
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face stigmatization. Relative to individuals in East Asian cultures, individuals in the US
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generally communicate emotions explicitly and their abilities to express themselves may be prioritized over sensitivity to other people’s emotions (Azuma, 1994). In addition, individuals,
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especially middle-class whites, may handle emotional distress by seeking professional services (Cheng, Lo, & Chio, 2010; Kim, Greenberg, Seltzer, and Krauss, 2003; Lalvani, 2015). Once parents understand and accept that their children have disabilities, they tend to actively seek professional support (Lalvani, 2015). US educators generally provide support to parents that focuses on procedural guidelines and advocacy for their children’s rights (Summers et al., 2007). 1
Such communication occurs through emotions expressed verbally and behaviorally that have culturally and socially constructed meanings. Emotion communication can affect others’ perceptions, thoughts, feelings and behaviors (Barret & Nelson-Goens, 1997).
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Such responses are consistent with a sociocultural context in which individual differences are respected and access to a free and appropriate public education has been ensured since 1975 as a right of children with disabilities (US Department of Education, 2016). In contrast, people in East Asian countries generally seek to control rather than express
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their own emotions, and change their own thoughts before seeking professional services (e.g.,
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Mak & Chen, 2010). In Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, people are socialized to conceal their
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emotions to maintain interpersonal relationships and avoid conflict (Azuma, 1994; Fung & Chen, 2001; Park & Cheah, 2005; Rӧ ttger-Rӧ ssler, Scheidecker, Funk, & Holodynski, 2015). From
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early childhood, for instance, Japanese children are socialized to control their emotional
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responses to avoid imposing their strong emotions on other people (Azuma, 1994). Parents may be particularly sensitive to any inconvenience, extra responsibility, or intense feelings their
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children’s disabilities may cause others (e.g., Sato, Araki, Ito, & Ishigaki, 2015). In such contexts,
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a child’s special education services may lead to parents’ loss of face and social status (e.g., Cheng et al, 2010). Thus, educators and other professionals must be acutely sensitive to parents’
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emotions when addressing children’s struggles to minimize any negative emotional reactions
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(Authors, 2014; Grinker & Cho, 2013). Individuals’ sensitivity to emotions in East Asian countries and their tendency to
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internalize emotions during stressful events reflect shared Buddhist and Confucian beliefs (Cheng et al., 2010). Buddhist beliefs and practices focus on the importance of internal stability in dealing with human vulnerabilities such as sorrow and grief (Heim, 2008). In Buddhism, individual suffering reflects mental imbalance. Individuals suffer when their desires and pleasure seeking are not balanced with aversion of pain (Cheng et al., 2010). When confronting an emotionally distressing event, individuals are encouraged to be mindful of their inner self, or
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psychological states, and transform their desires into constructive thoughts, free from personal, selfish preferences. In Confucianism, the doctrine of the “mean” (中庸: equilibrium and centrality) describes harmony, including of human emotions (Fu, 2012). The “mean” occurs when emotions such as
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joy, anger, sorrow or pleasure have not arisen. Harmony is achieved when emotions are present,
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but at the appropriate levels (Fu, 2012; Sundararajan, 2015). Too strong emotions, such as an
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outburst of frustration, can break the harmony of self-regulation that allows individuals to control
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how internal thoughts and emotions are appropriately expressed in particular social situations. To avoid socially-inappropriate emotional episodes, it is necessary to maintain emotional harmony,
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for example, by calming strong emotions (see Sundararajan, 2015). Note that although Buddhist and Confucian roots are shared by various East Asian
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countries, they also have been shaped and interpreted within diverse historical and political
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contexts (Authors, 2016a). Thus, we might expect some cultural variations within East Asian cultures in parents’ and educators’ emotional responses and communications around disability
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issues.
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1.3 Focus on children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities We focus on children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities, such as those with
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specific learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), high functioning autism spectrum disorders, speech/language disorders, and certain emotional and behavioral disorders. Not only are these disabilities considered “high incidence” disabilities in the US2, the challenges they pose are less apparent and more context specific than those involving hearing, vision and mobility, or intellectual disabilities (see Authors, 2014). How parents and educators 2
Approximately 70% of children who receive special education services in the US do so for mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012).
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weigh the relative psychosocial risks of stigmatization due to disability labels against the benefits of specialized support services may vary across cultural groups, especially for these children whose functioning is at the border of “typical development” and “disability” (See Authors, 2014). For example, in the US, special education has been available for children with mild cognitive
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and behavioral disabilities by law since 1975 (P.L. 94-1423), and currently, more than 8% of
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school aged children in the general population receive special education services for these
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disabilities (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). In contrast, formal services for children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities have only been available in Japan since
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2007 (Ministry of Education, Japan, 2007). Currently, 1.6% of Japanese children receive special
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education for mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities. Such services have been available in South Korea since 1994 (Yoo & Palley, 2014) and in Taiwan since 1984 (See Ministry of
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Education, Taiwan, 2012), but only 0.2% of South Korean (Ministry of Education, South Korea,
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2013) and 1% of Taiwanese (Chiang & Chang, 2009) children currently receive services for mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities.4 These discrepancies between US policies and practices and
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those of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are due, in part, to relatively greater concerns among
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East Asian educators, policy makers, scholars, and parents about stigmatizing children who are otherwise typically developing (see Authors, 2014, 2016a, 2016b).
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Yet culture is neither static nor monolithic (Markus & Hamedani, 2007), but complex, evolving and re-created over time (Gaskins et al., 1992; Miller et al., 2003). Cross-cultural conversations and influences are important sources of such complexity and dynamism. For example, the implementation of special education policies for children with mild cognitive and
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Currently, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Note that caution is required in comparing the percentages of children in the US, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan receiving special education services due to differences in data collection (See Authors, 2016a). However, it does appear that relatively more US children receive special education services. 4
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behavioral disabilities in East Asian countries was strongly influenced by international conventions, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989), the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006) that have facilitated and reinforced the implementation of
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inclusive education across the world. International pressure, policies and practices in Western
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countries, especially those in the US, have affected East Asian countries’ implementation of
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special education services for children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities (Authors, 2014; Tzeng, 2007; Yoo & Palley, 2014). The implementation of special education policies for
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children with these disabilities in East Asian countries resulted in increased awareness of such
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disabilities among parents and educators, and have contributed to changing perspectives on disability (e.g., Authors, 2014).
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1.4 Current study
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This study examines cultural similarities and variations in the perceptions of educators in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US on the role of stigmatization and associated emotional
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responses in their relationships with parents of children with mild cognitive and behavioral
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disabilities. Through semi-structured, qualitative interviews, we consider the following research questions: 1) What is the role of parent-educator relationships in supporting children with mild
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cognitive and behavioral disabilities? 2) What are challenges to developing collaborative parenteducator relationships, especially due to stigmatization and associated emotional responses? 3) What are effective strategies to build and maintain collaborative relationships with parents of children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities? 2. Methods 2.1 Research sites, participants and research team
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As described in (Authors, 2016a, 2016b), data were collected from 103 educators serving children aged 6 to 12 years at 43 public elementary schools in seven cities in four countries5. As detailed below, recruitment procedures were adjusted to be appropriate to the cultural context of each country (See Miller et al., 2003). We sampled educators serving in a variety of roles
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including administrators, special and general education teachers, and school social workers, but
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all participants had direct teaching and practice experience at public elementary schools.
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Research sites and participants were purposely selected to yield data on a range of cultural understandings and responses to parents of children with disabilities, not to be representative of
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their respective countries or professions in a statistical sense.
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Given the relative paucity of literature written in English from East Asian countries, we purposely oversampled East Asian sites and participants. Note that the amount of data available
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also varies across East Asian cultural groups. These discrepancies may impact the relative
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validity of our interpretations. The most extensive data is available from Japan where fieldwork for our ethnographic study began in 2009. We did not begin collecting data from Taiwan, South
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Korea until 2012. [Author 4’s] extensive professional network yielded an especially rich and
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varied set of interviews in South Korea. The research protocol was approved by [the institution this study was conducted], and
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permission from schools was obtained, if required, before recruiting educators. Prior to their participation all educators provided informed consent which included their voluntary participation and confidentiality. 2.1.1 Japanese research sites and participants As described in (Authors, 2016), our primary Japanese site was an elementary school
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To maintain confidentiality of our research sites, we have excluded some information sources from the reference list of this report.
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serving approximately 200 children from 1st to 6th grades, mostly from Japanese families with a few (2%) from immigrant and bicultural families. The school is located in a lower-middle to middle-income, agricultural community near a large city. It has a reputation among educators and scholars as providing high quality special education services. This site was nominated by an
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administrator of the Center of Special Education within the city’s local board of education. A
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team of specialists from the Center of Special Education recommended that about 10% of
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children at this site receive specialized support, but only 2% did so primarily due to parents’ resistance to children receiving support different from their peers, as well as limited special
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education resources. [Author 1] collected ethnographic data at this school from 2009-2010
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during the third and fourth school years of implementation of a new special education policy involving the provision of formal, specialized support for children with mild cognitive and
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behavioral disabilities.
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Our Japanese secondary sites were four public elementary schools and one special education school located in lower-middle to middle-income communities in rural and suburban
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areas. They served approximately 100-700 students in grades 1-6. Students primarily were from
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Japanese families but included a few6 students from immigrant and bicultural families. These schools were nominated by social work and special education colleagues of [Author 1] to expand
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the diversity of schools with respect to geographical region. All these schools had at least one special education classroom and/or resource room. Data collection at these secondary sites occurred in 2012-2013. A total of 26 educators participated in individual interviews: 17 classroom teachers, 5 administrators, and 4 other educators (one school nurse and three part-time teachers), with a 6
The exact number of non-Japanese students is not available. Nationwide, 0.6% of children in 1 st to 9th grades are from immigrant families in 2014. Children from bicultural families were not counted if one of their parents is a Japanese citizen (Ministry of Education, Japan, 2014).
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range of 1 to 38 years of professional experience in education. At the primary site, 15 out of 17 educators responded to an invitation sent by the principal, and participated. In addition, two administrators at the local board of education were interviewed. Nine additional Japanese educators from our secondary sites were invited to participate by [Author 1] and her Japanese
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colleagues, and they all participated. Our intention in including educators from the secondary
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interpretations. Twenty participants (77%) were female.
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sties was to broaden our findings, consider their transferability, and enhance the credibility of our
2.1.2 South Korean research sites and participants
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Our South Korean sites were 34 public elementary schools serving 128-1,511 students in
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grades 1-6. They were located within a large city and adjacent suburban city. Schools are located in diverse areas within the cities, and served students from lower to upper income families. A
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few students’ parents were “foreign workers7,” but the vast majority were South Korean. All
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schools had at least one special education and/or inclusive classroom. We selected multiple schools because of the relative paucity of information written in
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English regarding special education in South Korea and the diversity of public schools within
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these cities. Among the sites, one school has been designated as a model school for special education by the city’s department of education. In this school, general education teachers who
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have children with disabilities in their classrooms receive consultation as needed and a workload reduction. Another school is a national elementary school affiliated with a national university. It accepts children from across the country by lottery. All of the other schools were considered “typical” public elementary schools by local educators, and had at least one special or inclusive education classroom with more than one licensed special education teachers. The data were 7
One of the research sites is located near the community of immigrant workers and serves students from immigrant families, but the exact number of such children is not available. Within the city our research sites are located, approximately 1 % of children attending public schools are from immigrant families.
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collected in 2012-2013 during the fifth school year of implementation of a new special education policy that reinforced support for children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities. Participant educators with experience teaching children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities were nominated by the local Special Education Support Centers (SESC)8
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in the cities where our research sites were located. [Author 4] contacted individual educators by
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email to introduce the study and schedule the interviews. In addition, 6 educators were
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nominated by participant educators or recruited through [Author 4’s] professional connections. All but two invited educators participated.
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Forty-three educators participated in individual interviews including 6 administrators, 14
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general education classroom teachers, and 23 special education teachers with 6 to 40 years of professional experience. They included educators with a range of experiences working with
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children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities. Some special education teachers, for
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instance, had previously worked at special education schools while others had relatively less experience as general education classroom teachers. Forty one educators (95%) were female.
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2.1.3 Taiwanese research sites and participants
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Our Taiwanese sites were two elementary schools serving children in grades 1-6. Site one enrolled approximately 1,200 children from middle-income families. Site 2 enrolled
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approximately 1400 children from middle to upper income families. With the exception of a few bicultural children (primarily with mothers from Vietnam)9, all children were Taiwanese. Both schools had multiple special education classrooms and resource rooms.
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SESCs are located in every school district. Their functions include early identification of children who may have disabilities, providing diagnoses, evaluating students’ eligibilities for special education, training of special education teachers, and support of faculty and special education-related services (Ministry of Government Legislation, South Korea, 2012). 9 Exact numbers of bi-cultural children for this school are not available. In 2008, about 4% of children attending public elementary and junior high schools were from transnational families. (See Chen, 2011).
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Both schools were located in a large city. We selected this city and the schools because they are acknowledged by the Ministry of Education as providing high quality special education services. The first elementary school is the model school for special education in Taiwan10. Through personal and professional contacts, [Author 3] was introduced to the special education
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administrator of this school. He provided her with a list of educators who worked closely with
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him, and who she personally contacted.
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The second research site also has a reputation for providing high quality academic programs. A teacher at this school and personal contact of [Author 3] provided a list of educators
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willing to participate in this research. All data were collected in 2012-2013.
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All 16 invited educators (8 from each site) participated. All educators had extensive experience ranging from 10-30 years in working with children with mild cognitive and
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behavioral disabilities. Thirteen participants were general education classroom teachers and 3
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were administrators. The 3 administrators were seasoned special education teachers with dual administration and teaching responsibilities. Thirteen (18%) participants were female.
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2.1.4 US research site and participants
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Our US site was an elementary school serving approximately 700 children from Kindergarten through grade 6. We selected this school because of its local reputation as
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providing high quality special education. It is located in a suburb of a large, Midwestern city. In contrast to the East Asian schools, the US school was ethnically and socioeconomically diverse. Approximately half of the students were White. Asian, Black and Hispanic students comprised of 26%, 15%, and 10% of the student population, respectively. About 40% of students received free or reduced price lunches, a rough indicator of poverty. Nine percent of students received 10
In the 1980s, Taiwan initiated a policy of inclusive education. In 1982, educators collaborated with scholars from the psychology department, sociology department and medical school of National Taiwan University and the Bureau of Education to set up the first special education classroom in Taiwan.
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special education services, primarily for mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities. This school has 28 classroom teachers and a variety of specialists including special education teachers, a speech and language pathologist, a school social worker, a school psychologist, a behavior coach, and Title 1 reading teachers. In addition, the principal is a former special education teacher, and
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takes a leadership role in providing high quality services for children with disabilities. Data
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collection occurred during the 2012-2013 school year.
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We consider our US site to be a relatively progressive school. Educators have partially implemented strategies from the Responsive Classroom approach (Center for Responsive
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Schools, 2016). This research-based approach is designed to promote all children’s social and
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emotional, as well as academic development, and underscores the importance of creating a community within the classroom.
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A total of 18 US educators participated in individual interviews. Eleven out of 28
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classroom teachers responded to an invitation distributed by the principal, and agreed to participate. In addition, 7 specialists who had experience working with children with mild
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cognitive and behavior disabilities were nominated by the principal, and all agreed to participate.
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They included an administrator, a school social worker, a behavior coach, Title 1 reading teachers, and special education teachers. All participants were white, and had between 2 and 33
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years of experience in education. Fifteen educators (83%) were female. 2.2 The Research Team A significant strength of the research team is the combination of insider and outsider perspectives (Morson & Emerson, 1990; Authors, 2014). Insider cultural knowledge and experiences provided a necessary context for identifying appropriate research questions, crafting culturally sensitive methods and procedures, gaining access to and establishing rapport with
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participants, and interpreting their responses. Outsider perspectives were critical for identifying constructs taken-for-granted by insiders (Morson & Emerson, 1990). The research team is comprised of individuals from all four cultural communities. [Author 1] collected the Japanese data. She is a Japanese citizen who obtained her MSW and
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PhD in the US. [Author 1] also collected the US data with the help of a US graduate research
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assistant. [Author 2], a US citizen, has expertise in developmental cultural psychology and
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ethnographic approaches. [Author 3] collected the Taiwanese data. She is a Taiwanese citizen who obtained her MSW and PhD in social work in the US. [Author 4] collected the South
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Korean data. She is a South Korean citizen and PhD student in Social Work in the US. [Author
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5] is South Korean, and completed her MSW and PhD in the US. Insider and outsider perspectives also were brought to bear on the issue of disability.
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[Author 1] has used a wheelchair for the past 16 years. [Author 2] has lived with a disability
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since early childhood. In addition, her adult son, who recently completed his graduate education in the US, has dyslexia.
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Another strength of the research team is the inclusion of all team members in all phases
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of this cross cultural research from designing the study to collecting and analyzing data, and to writing. For example, the involvement of international team members allowed us access to
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history, philosophy, psychology, education and social work literatures, as well as the social and mass media, in Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and English. This access to international scholarship and other cultural materials enhanced the breadth and relevance of our study and the credibility of our interpretations. The process of cross cultural collaboration, however, was challenging given our culturally distinct worldviews, especially as they pertained to weighting the relative importance
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of various themes expressed by participants that, necessarily, is not inclusive of all themes. Our shared history, trust and developmental cultural perspective provided a foundation for our communications. [Authors 1, 3 and 4] were former or current PhD students of [Author 2]. Authors [2 and 5] are close colleagues who have worked together on a number of projects.
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2.3 Procedures
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Semi-structured, audio-recorded11 individual interviews lasting 20-60 minutes were
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conducted in participants’ native languages in private spaces such as conference rooms, offices, and classrooms after school. Mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities were defined for
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participants, and they were then asked to discuss their perceptions of these children, including
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academic and interpersonal challenges. Participants’ discussions included: (a) the significance of parent-teacher relationships in supporting children with disabilities, (b) any challenges faced by
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parents due to stigma, (c) the impact of any stigma on the development of parent-educator
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relationships, and (d) effective practices and strategies for developing collaborative relationships with parents.
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2.4 Data analyses
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All individual interviews were transcribed verbatim in their original languages. Then, the perceptions of educators in each cultural group were examined. Researchers who conducted the
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interviews in each country induced participants’ perceptions and meanings of their experience through repeated readings of the transcribed interviews (emic coding; e.g., Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Schwandt, 2007) contextualized by cultural insider knowledge and experiences. Negative cases were used to expand and revise initial interpretations (i.e., analytic induction; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Schwandt, 2007). In order to conduct cross-cultural analyses, we identified and 11
One Japanese and one South Korean educator participated through e-mail. One Japanese educator was not familiar with recorded interviews, and [Author 1] considered that it was an inappropriate request. Instead, detailed field notes were taken.
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examined common issues that emerged from educators practicing in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the US (see Shweder & Sullivan, 1993). We then described variations in how common socialization themes were understood by educators from different cultural communities. The credibility of our analyses was critiqued by Japanese, South Korean, Taiwanese and
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US colleagues for the purpose of peer debriefing (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). In addition, we
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considered the consistency of our interpretation of educators’ perspectives with existing
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literature, and their contextualization within specific cultural contexts. Research team members communicated on an on-going basis, developed and modified the coding system as needed based
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on consensus. Given the complexity and amount of data, we necessarily present a selective slice
serving in different roles in each culture.
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of the findings. In this paper, we focus on themes that were emphasized by multiple participants
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3. Results and Discussion
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In this section, we present the perspectives of educators organized by the four cultural contexts in which they practice. Within each of the four subsections, we begin with a brief
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abstract of main themes articulated by educators. Next, we provide an overview of broad cultural
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norms for emotion communication and relationships necessary to understand these themes.12 Then, we then present a more in-depth discussion of these themes in participants’ own voices.
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These discussions include their perceptions of the significance of their relationships with parents, challenges to those relationships, and solutions to those relationship challenges. Finally, we discuss culturally-common perspectives and variations across the four countries. 3.1 Educators in Japan 3.1.1 Abstract
12
Note that these descriptions are only a part of the larger cultural contexts pertaining to disability and stigmatization.
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Educators from Japan generally characterized themselves and parents as partners in raising children. Due to stigma associated with disabilities, however, parents are sensitive to other people’s “eyes.” Many parents do not readily accept that their children have disabilities and withhold their permission for them to receive special education services that would highlight
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their differences from peers. Educators are sensitive to parents’ emotional reactions to stigma
IP
and respect their decisions to decline services, even though children may not receive support
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necessary for their school success. Educators express omoiyari (思いやり: sensitivity and empathy towards others; omoi: thoughts, feelings, wish, concerns, etc.; yari: doing for others) to
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parents and guide them through mimamori (見守り；mi: look and watch; mamori; protection and
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support) to allow them time to accept their children’s needs and develop trusting relationships with educators. In the context of trusting educator-parent relationships, parents can freely express
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their thoughts and concerns to educators.
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3.1.2 Overview of cultural context: Implicit emotion communication and empathy To understand educators’ responses, it is necessary to contextualize them within
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interpersonal relationships and emotion communication in Japan. The communication of emotion
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in Japan often is implicit and symbolic. In ancient Japanese literature, for instance, emotions such as sorrow and grief are presented through illustrations of ritual acts, such as a posture of
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prayer grieving a loss, emotionally charged places, and memory laden items possessed by deceased persons (Ebersole, 2007). Individuals must “read” not only the literal meaning of the text, but the authors’ implicit thoughts and feelings. Such stylized expressions of emotion also have been incorporated into Japanese Buddhism. Core emotions of Japanese Buddhism, such as sabi (sadness, quiet, simplicity), are expressed as aesthetic illustrations (Ebersole, 2007), for instance, in contemporary Japanese Buddhist gardens.
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The importance of implicit emotion communication also is reflected in Japanese socialization practices of omoiyari that value empathy toward others. Such omoiyari is considered critical to maintaining interpersonal relationships and avoiding unnecessary conflicts. From early childhood, Japanese children are socialized to read others’ emotions and thoughts and
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act in a way that accommodates others’ needs, rather than expressing their own emotions and
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thoughts explicitly (Azuma, 1994). If a conflict arises in their relationships, Japanese people’s
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responses tend to focus on the emotions of others, as well as their own, even if others are responsible for the conflict (Azuma, 2001). Further, hurting others’ feelings is considered a
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serious offence in Japan. For example, children may be scolded by parents for hurting parents’
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feelings, rather than for the misdeed that provoked parents’ emotions (Rice, 2001). Consistent with these socialization beliefs and practices, Japanese parents’
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communications about challenges caused by their children’s disabilities and others’ responses to
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them are indirect, based on omoiyari, and require reading and accommodating others’ minds and feelings. For example, maintaining social relationships after their children’s diagnoses of
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disabilities is a primary concern for Japanese parents, along with handling their own emotional
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reactions and coping with their children’s disabilities (Sato et al., 2015). Parents may exert great effort to create an environment in which their children are naturally accepted by “laying the
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foundation” within the community. They may disclose their children’s disabilities to community members, including parents of typically-developing children to build relationships with them. These parents generally appreciate their community members’ understanding. At the same time, however, they may feel that they are bothering (meiwaku) other community members with extra burdens. Such feelings can make it difficult for them to build and maintain relationships with parents of typically-developing children (Sato et al., 2015).
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Relationships based on empathy can be extended to parent-educator relationships. Educators’ expression of empathy towards parents of children with disabilities experiencing stigma may be critical to building trusting relationships. Indeed, Japanese educators and parents of children with disabilities described educators’ omoiyari towards parents experiencing stigma
T
as critical to building collaborative relationships (See Authors, 2014; Kasahara & Turnbull,
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2005). Mothers of children with disabilities, for instance, described that they prefer to work with
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educators who treat their children as if they were their own, and not those who provide support merely to meet their professional obligations. They also expected educators to be supportive and
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reliable allies with whom they could share not only the responsibility of taking care of their
AN
children, but also the broader aspects of raising children including their joys and frustrations (Kasahara & Turnbull, 2005). Japanese educators, who generally are aware of parents' sensitivity
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to stigma and resistance to special education, do their best to support children with disabilities in
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general education classrooms while providing support to parents (Authors, 2014). 3.1.3 Educators’ perspectives: The current study
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3.1.3.1 Parent-educator relationships: Partners in raising children. Educators
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described the importance of engaging with parents as partners in “raising” children at home and school. An administrator described that for elementary school-aged children, “How children
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think about school is strongly influenced by their mothers… thus, I’d like mothers to work together with us.” A principal also described the importance of their relationships with parents: “We can’t do anything [for children] if we lose trusting relationships [with their parents]. Therefore, trusting relationships and connecting the ‘pipeline’ [between school and home] is necessary.” If children have disabilities, relationships with parents become even more important. A classroom teacher described, “If we know [about children’s disabilities]… we begin
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communicating early and discuss how we teach the child, so we can do the same at home and school.” With some parents whose children have disabilities, however, such trusting relationships may take time to develop. Educators described how they patiently develop collaborative
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relationships with parents. A classroom teacher articulated:
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There are times I feel it’s difficult to build that [positive] relationship… Sometimes, it’s
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hard to understand each other. It may take very long, [over several years]… We can’t see the progress immediately, but [relationships] are something we “raise” together over time.
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As parents develop relationships with educators, they may disclose their own and their
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children’s struggles and become open to collaboration. A classroom teacher described: Gradually, as [parents] understand what we feel, they begin, a little by little, to talk about
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how it was difficult to raise the child. Then slowly, [I] may say, “Are you interested in
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[having your child] take a test?” Then, I may explain, “If [the child] takes the test, we can learn how to support [the child]. What do you think?” Then, they may say, “Ok.”
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3.1.3.2 Challenges to parent-educator relationships: Parents’ fear of being different,
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stigma and educators’ exhaustion. Educators described parents’ emotional responses to disabilities and special education as impediments to forming collaborative relationships. Parents
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may worry about other peoples’ “eyes”, and avoid situations in which other parents might realize that their children have disabilities, for example, talking with a special education coordinator in the hallway. A classroom teacher described parents’ anxieties: I think mothers also may have noticed something [children’s struggles] and may have become anxious, but do not want to recognize it. It’s scary to make it clear. Or, [they are] hoping it is not [a disability]… It takes a long time to accept it [disabilities]… Also, they
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don’t want to think [of their children] as different from other [children]. Educators’ discussions also reflect that just as others in Japanese society hold stigmatizing beliefs about individuals with disabilities, so too do some parents of children with disabilities. Such beliefs can contribute to their denial of their children’s struggles. A classroom
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teacher described a father who resisted placing his son in a special education classroom because
IP
of his own biases, “He saw special education as somehow ‘below’ [general education], and
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resisted… He really resisted that his son was considered different from other children in his general education classroom.”
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A special education teacher also described that parents of children with milder, hidden
AN
disabilities may resist special education more than parents of children who have more obvious, severe disabilities. Because these children are typically developing in most respects, the
M
consequence of labelling and stigmatization associated with special education may be greater for
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them than for children with more obvious or global disabilities. Some educators expressed their own emotional exhaustion in trying to build relationships
PT
with parents who are reacting to stigmatization. One teacher described, “Whenever I say
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something, she [mother whose son is struggling] talks back to me harshly… she also cancelled a meeting [to discuss the child’s special education placement] at the last minute.” Another
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educator described.
It’s exhausting. [At the end of the day], I notice I haven’t done anything that can be reported [as part of my official responsibilities], but I get very tired, exhausted. …I go home [everyday] without any energy left, so I can’t do anything at home that has to be done. I also have paperwork… but I can’t do that. If I try to do both, I won’t have patience [余裕: time and energy to step back and respond appropriately] toward children
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[and parents]. Educators also described how broader contexts and issues compound their relationship challenges with parents. For example, educators described family issues and stressors such as poverty as distracting parents from attending to the apparently less urgent issues of children’s
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relatively mild disabilities. They also described problems in parent-teacher collaborative
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relationships arising from parents’ relationships with extended family members. A special
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education teacher described:
[The child’s] grandma and grandpa didn’t want to put [the child] in [special education]
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because they didn’t want other people in the community to know about that. It’s about
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sekentei [世間体, worrying about appearance/others’ responses, or saving face], not about what this child really needs to learn. They have lost this perspective [because of stigma].
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3.1.3.3 Educators’ strategies for effective family-educator collaborations: Develop
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trusting relationships by guiding parents through omoiyari and mimamori. Educators generally characterized their responses to parents who are facing challenges due to stigmatization
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as omoiyari. A principal explained:
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The hardest for children is not only that their mothers can’t accept [their children’s disabilities], but also that they become enraged because they can’t admit that such things
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have happened to them. They take their anger out on us, directly. So, we don’t make excuses, but just listen to them and say, “I think so,” and take it seriously and think together about what is best and what makes the children happy, and try to understand each other. (Authors, 2014, p. 117) Japanese educators also supported parents through mimamori, for example, by flexibly attending to parents’ concerns and guiding them to accept their children’s struggles. Their goal is
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for parents to make their own decisions, not to pressure them to place their children in special education. Educators described a number of ways to guide parents. They discussed that the initial conversation with parents regarding their children’s struggles at school is critical because parents may lose trust in educators if they are not emotionally ready to hear this information. Before
T
communicating with parents, educators carefully plan how to create opportunities and
IP
environments in which parents will notice their children’s struggles at school and become
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spontaneously involved in conversations with educators. For example, they may invite parents to school so that they can observe their children. One classroom teacher described, “I’d say, ‘Please
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come to see my class,’ so the mother can notice [her child’s struggles.]” Another classroom
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teacher described:
We can’t ask parents to come [to school] just to [tell them about their children’s
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disabilities], so whenever there is a chance [to communicate with them] for something else,
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I tell them, “There is a teacher like [special education coordinator]. Would you like to hear what [he/she thinks about your child]?” And take [parents’ attention] to a direction like this.
PT
To do so, very careful coordination and meetings [among teachers] are necessary.
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At times, educators have to explicitly explain children’s struggles and needs for specialized support to parents. In such cases, educators discussed that they have to avoid pushing
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parents. A classroom teacher described, Instead of pushing what I think, to some extent [we need] to describe objectively [what their children are like at school]. Also, always listen to what mothers and parents think. First of all, listen [to them]... Then [send a message], “Think about [your] child’s future.” Many educators also described that they have to continually sense from each parent’s response how to communicate with them. A special education teacher explained that even a
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mother who has accepted her child’s disability can be very sensitive to what teachers tell her. It is necessary to know individual parents and to what extent teachers can talk about sensitive issues. A classroom teacher described: In the case of a parent of a 6th grader, [the mother] says, “My child is normal.” So, then
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it’s a sign [that I shouldn’t talk any more about his struggles]. Also, there is a mother who
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says, “My child is an only child, so that’s why she doesn’t know [how to deal with
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friends].” Like that, if [parents] respond somehow negatively or clearly say what they think, then I feel that I shouldn’t go [and push them] further.
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Educators emphasized the importance of respecting parents’ feelings and readiness to
AN
accept that their children are struggling in school. While waiting for parents to become ready for placing their children in special education, for instance, one principal described,
M
If necessary, get permission from the parents to give instruction individually in other
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rooms [but not special education]…. [Even if their parents resist], children come to [school] everyday, so we are always thinking about how to support these children’s
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education.
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Yet many educators expressed concern about the quality of support for children with disabilities whose parents refuse permission for them to receive special education. Such parents
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prefer that their children remain in their general education classrooms so that they do not look “different”. One teacher described: Because of his parents’ wish, [the child] is in his general education classroom, but the child is clearly [struggling] and is almost like a visitor [who is just sitting there], not learning anything. I think this child should go to a special education classroom, absolutely, but it’s parents who have the power to make a final decision.
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Another classroom teacher also expressed her concern that by remaining in general education classrooms children with disabilities are exposed to additional stigmatization. She articulated: When [children with disabilities] are being panicked [“melting down”], I don’t want other children to see …because that strengthens [other children’s] biased ideas [偏見:
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henken]. [They will think] that once this child gets upset, he will be out of control. Of
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3.2 Educators in South Korea
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course, the child himself is suffering the most.
3.2.1 Abstract
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Educators from South Korea generally acknowledged parents’ understanding of their
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children and used their insights in interacting with children. Yet they also described many parents as reluctant to accept their children’s disabilities and needs for specialized services due to
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their concerns about stigmatization. Educators expressed hesitation in openly discussing
ED
children’s struggles, which could hurt parents’ feelings and lead to conflicts. They also described complaints from parents of typically-developing children concerned about disruption of their
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children’s learning environment. Educators described responding to these parents by offering
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disability awareness programs.
conflicts
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3.2.2 Overview of cultural context: Controlling emotions to avoid interpersonal
To understand educators’ responses, it is necessary to contextualize them within interpersonal relationships and emotion communication in South Korea. South Koreans tend to avoid openly displaying their emotions, even when they are distressed (Kim, 1991; Park & Cheah, 2005). Such restraint is due, in part, to a relatively strong influence of Confucianism. In contemporary society, South Koreans strive to be sensitive to others’ feelings, conscious of their
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own social status, and display emotions appropriate within their hierarchical relationships. The feelings of those higher in the social hierarchy, such as adults, are generally given priority over those lower in the hierarchy, such as children (i.e., affective hierarchy; Ahn, 2016). In everyday conversations, South Korean people communicate their emotions subtly and nonverbally.
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Communication partners are required to “read” one another’s facial expressions and behaviors
IP
(Kim, 1985). Such emotional sensitivity strengthens the mutually supportive, interpersonal
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relationships that are the basis of South Korean social life (Kim, 1991).
From early childhood, children are socialized to moderate their emotional displays (Park
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& Cheah, 2005). For example, educators may discipline young children to correct inappropriate
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emotional displays, rather than directly addressing the interpersonal conflicts with peers that led to them (Ahn, 2016). Adults also socialize children to control and moderate their inner feelings,
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for example, by discouraging children who are crying as shameful “babies.” Children who
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display age-appropriate emotional regulation skills gain social status as “big brothers/sisters” within their peer groups (Ahn, 2016; Yang & Rosenblatt, 2001).
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These beliefs and practices pertaining to emotional regulation also are reflected in how
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South Korean parents control their own emotional responses to their children’s disabilities and illnesses. Their strategies may include avoidance, denial, and withdrawal from social interactions
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(Han, Cho, Kim, & Kim, 2009; You & McGraw, 2011). Parents may avoid engaging with formal services for fear of negative societal responses (Grinker & Cho, 2013). Indeed, South Korean parents report less frequent use of professional and formal services for their children’s disabilities or illnesses than those in the US (Shin, 2002; see also Kim et al., 2002). Parents also may deny the longer term implications of their children’s challenges believing that they will become “normal” with intensive medical or educational services (Han et al, 2009; You &
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McGraw, 2011). Parents also may withdraw socially, for instance, to avoid exposing their children and families to stigmatization (e.g., Han et al., 2009; Shin, 2002). South Koreans’ value of strong interpersonal and emotional ties also is reflected in parents’ and educators’ responses to children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities. The
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primary concern of parents is that their children will be left out of peer groups (Grinker & Cho,
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2013). This concern is heightened by South Korea’s relatively strong emphasis on children’s
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academic achievement (e.g., Kim-Renaud, Grinker, & Larsen, 2005). Many parents of children with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities expend great effort at home and after school so
US
that their children can excel academically and be considered typically-developing. Educators
AN
generally acknowledge parents’ efforts and are willing to tolerate children’s disruptive behaviors if they are doing well academically (Grinker & Cho, 2013; Hong, 2008). Educators, however,
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may be reluctant to communicate with parents about their children’s struggles for fear of hurting
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their feelings or becoming involved in power struggles with them (Grinker & Cho, 2013). Educators also must navigate their relationships with parents of typically-developing
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children. These parents may express concern about how children with disabilities disrupt the
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learning environment for their children. They may even pressure educators to remove children with disabilities from their children’s classrooms, or directly tell their parents to transfer them to
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another school, especially if they have behavioral concerns (Grinker & Cho, 2013). Some educators agree that disruptions by children with disabilities violate the right of typicallydeveloping children to receive an appropriate education (Hong, 2008). Thus, balancing the needs of children with disabilities and their typically developing peers can present South Korean educators with a seemingly unresolvable dilemma. 3.2.3 Educators’ perspectives: The current study
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3.2.3.1 Parent-educator relationships: Respect parents’ understanding of their children. Educators from South Korea generally expressed respect for parents as experts on their own children, and as partners in educating them. A special education teacher described, “Parents know how to raise their children because they have been educating them for more than 10 years.”
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Another special education teacher described a mother’s response to her child’s disability:
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After she thought a lot about ways to improve the situation, she decided to read books to
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her child. She believes it to be good because her child can acquire a variety of vocabularies from books. So she tries to read books aloud to her child... I was very
US
impressed by her thoughtful parenting… She is trying to understand her child’s
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disability… I think her strength is that she has an objective view of her child’s ability. It is very difficult to have such a view either for parents who have children with disabilities
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or without disabilities.
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The special education teacher went on to describe how this mother provided her with valuable new perspectives on children with disabilities.
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3.2.3.2 Challenges to parent-educator relationships: Parents’ responses to
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stigmatization, and educators’ avoidance of conflicts. Educators discussed challenges to parent-educator relationships arising from parents’ responses to actual or anticipated
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stigmatization. Some educators described parents who refuse to acknowledge or actively deny that their children have a disability. A general education classroom teacher described a father who believed that his child had no problem and would become “normal, as if hatching from an egg.” He refused to even discuss his child’s struggles with educators. Another classroom teacher described: Parents believe that their children are as “normal” as other children. So, if their children
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get a label of disability [in order to receive] special education, parents think that they themselves are stigmatizing their [own] children by [labeling them]. They feel guilty. Educators also described how parents’ perceptions of being stigmatized can impair their relationships with educators. A principal described: “These parents consider themselves victims
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whom no one cares about. Because of such feelings of inferiority, they always overreact to us
IP
when we talk about their children.” A classroom teacher described parents’ oversensitive
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responses, “When I tried to discuss the struggles of their children with [parents], they just thought of me as a sort of teacher who favored [certain] students and misinterpreted that I hated
US
their children.” A special education teacher also described a mother who always complained that
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the teacher did not care for her child as sincerely as other children. As a result of such perceptions, some parents may transfer their children to private alternative programs. Those who
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can afford it may even move to Western countries to avoid the stigmatization associated with
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their children’s disabilities.
Educators’ discussions also reflected that some parents of children with disabilities, like
PT
those in the wider South Korean society, hold stigmatizing beliefs about people with disabilities.
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They described parents’ refusal to place their children in special education as stemming, in part, from negative preconceptions of disabilities and special education. Even parents who have
AC
accepted their children’s disabilities may refuse to place them in special education out of concern that studying with children with more obvious disabilities would have a negative impact on their children. A special education teacher described, “They [parents] believe that being with those children with severe disabilities in special education classrooms makes their children’s symptoms worse.” These parents prefer their children to be with typically-developing children from whom their children can learn, socially and academically.
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While educators acknowledged and understood challenges faced by parents because of stigma, they also discussed difficulties in handling their resistance and complaints. Consistent with South Korean peoples’ priority on maintaining strong interpersonal and emotional ties, some educators described politely choosing not to respond directly to parents’ resistance and
T
complaints. They described that some parents devote a great deal of time and attention to
CR
to avoid special education. A classroom teacher explained:
IP
tutoring their children at home. They also may attempt to hide their children’s medical diagnoses
I have a student who has been in the general education classroom for two years. I know
US
what his disability is, but I am pretending that I don’t know it [because his parents are
AN
trying to hide his disability]. He has a diagnosis of autism. For example, if there is an exam in language class, this mother makes her child practice [before the exam] until he
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gets a perfect score. Likewise, she is obsessed with everything for her son’s school work.
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This worked until he was in the second grade. But now, he is really struggling because he doesn’t have good social skills.
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Educators’ patience may allow parents time to accept their children’s needs. A special education
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teacher, however, emphasized that this strategy only works during the lower grade levels when academic demands are not extensive and interpersonal struggles are not yet obvious.
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Educators also discussed their needs to handle complaints from parents of children with disabilities. As South Korean society strives to ensure equal opportunities and rights for people with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities have formed mutual support groups. Such groups provide informal support to parents, and also have helped them to gain power and raise their voices. Educators can experience such changes as problematic. A principal described: If parents [of children with disabilities] are not satisfied with even a small thing about
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special education services for their children, they directly report it to the authorities [Department of Education or National Human Rights Commission of Korea] without any hesitation. So, teachers don’t have any other ways other than showing a submissive attitude toward parents. Teachers are always cautious about talking with parents.
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Likewise, educators frequently have to handle complaints from parents of typically
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developing children who are concerned about the negative impact of children with disabilities on
CR
their children. A principal described:
Almost all parents of typically developing children don’t like to have children with
US
disabilities in the same classroom with their children. They ask, “Why did [their parents]
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send their children to regular school instead of special school?” As children move to upper grades, they start complaining [to their parents], “Why don’t they [peers with
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disabilities] go to special school?” These children’s complaints make their parents raise
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their voices.
Educators also described how broader social contexts compound their relationship
PT
challenges with parents. For example, some educators indicated that the resistance of
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grandparents and extended family members affect parents’ decision making. They may oppose parents who want their children in special education for fear that the children will experience
AC
stigmatization. A classroom teacher described parents who were discouraged by the child’s grandmother, “They don’t like to receive any support because they believe [what the grandmother said], ‘Receiving [intervention] leaves official records, which disables my grandchild’s social life.’” Similarly, a principal described a father who refused permission for his child to receive support despite the mother’s wishes: He [father] never acknowledges that his child is not “normal” and thus needs specialized
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support. Whenever I tried to talk with him to get parental consent for special education, he just became upset. He said, “Stop the [informal] support my child is currently receiving. My child does not need any additional assistance at school.” In addition, many educators discussed that parents may exhibit uncooperative attitudes
T
toward educators because of family issues, such as poverty and parental alcohol abuse or
IP
disabilities, which also exacerbate their relationships challenges as well as children’s struggles.
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3.2.3.3 Educators’ strategies for effective family-educator collaborations: Avoid conflicts by educating parents. South Korean educators’ strategies focused on both parents of
US
children with disabilities and parents of typically-developing children. An educator emphasized,
AN
“We need to educate parents because elementary school-aged children are still greatly influenced by their parents.”
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In supporting parents of children with disabilities, educators described investing time and
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effort, especially at the initial stage of the conversations with parents about their children’s struggles. They patiently involve parents in conversations to help them understand the benefits of
PT
special education for their children. A classroom teacher described:
CE
I can’t openly discuss [children’s struggles] with their parents… Sometimes I help parents to understand [the struggles of their children], by tentatively describing [their
AC
struggles] as a “cold in the mind” which afflicts their children. [Thus, they] need to receive some kind of treatment. If parents of children with disabilities resist acknowledging their children’s struggles, classroom teachers may involve experienced special education teachers. They may suggest educational programs to help parents understand their children’s disabilities and inclusive education. Educators continue to support parents after their children are receiving special education,
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for example, though regular conference and follow-up meetings. Some educators also send parents a daily record of classroom work and exchange daily journals with parents. These regular communications keep parents informed about their children’s school functioning, and also help educators to learn about parents and their children. A special education teacher described:
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It is useful [because] in those [journals], parents can express their emotions or satisfaction
IP
and make suggestions to us with regard to special education services for their children. It
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was not easy for them [parents] to give their comments to teachers at first but their reactions [to daily journals] were positive. So I will continue using them. I believe this
US
…improves our communications.
AN
Educators also provide family-oriented programs broadly promoting parents’ participation in school activities, such as family picnics, field trips, and family festivals. These
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A special education teacher described:
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programs also aim at relieving parents’ burdens and stress from raising children with disabilities.
I focus on emotional support for parents rather than information or knowledge about their
PT
children’s disabilities because it is more important for them [parents] to open their minds.
CE
So I continue [organizing] family support programs every year. The main purpose of the family support program is to provide parents with respite care. We take care of their
AC
children [with disabilities] and even their siblings all day long. Then, parents can have their own time. Further, some schools provide disability awareness education for parents of typically developing children to help them understand the struggles of children with disabilities at school and promote their positive perceptions of special education and disability. A special education teacher described:
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37
This education program is implemented at the local government level. We applied and received a grant for this program. [As part of the program], the Department of Education organized three sessions, such as an educational play and/or special lectures by persons with disabilities. Parents’ responses to the program were much better than we expected.
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We thought that they [parents of typically developing children] were not interested in
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these programs. Every session was overbooked and they commented that it would be
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good if there were more programs like this. 3.3 Educators in Taiwan
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3.3.1 Abstract
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Many educators from Taiwan acknowledged the importance of working collaboratively with parents, and likewise described that many parents consider educators as important resources
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for their children. Other parents, however, deny that their children are struggling, display intense
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emotions in their interactions with educators, and even file formal complaints with administrators against educators. As a result, many educators expressed their feelings of
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helplessness and depression. They minimized conflicts with parents by concealing their own
children.
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feelings, being patient with parental resistance, and continuing to support parents and their
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3.3.2 Overview of cultural context: Emotional regulation To understand educators’ responses, it is necessary to contextualize them within interpersonal relationships and emotion communication in Taiwan. Emotion expression in Taiwan is influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism, but also Taoism. In Taoism, two opposite values, such as good and bad, are believed to operate in a cyclical pattern, similar to the changing seasons. In order to handle emotional distress, Taoism encourages people to transform their
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thoughts so that they fit with the harmony of nature and the environment (Cheng et al., 2010), and wait for good fortune to return. This requires that individuals remain calm, instead of explicitly expressing strong emotions. From early childhood, Taiwanese children are socialized to control their expression of negative emotions. In particular, crying and externalizing emotions,
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for example anger, are viewed as problematic and disciplined by parents (Fung & Chen, 2001;
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Rӧ ttger-Rӧ ssler et al., 2015).
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Taiwanese people tend to suppress negative emotions caused by diagnoses of disabilities or illness to maintain their face and harmony in their social relationships (e.g., Lin, Tsai, &
US
Chang, 2008; Mak & Chen, 2010). They may prefer to cope with stressful events by changing
AN
their own thoughts, rather than changing others and their environments (Cheng et al., 2010; Lin et al, 2008). For example, Taiwanese parents whose children were diagnosed with disabilities
M
described a wide variety of strategies for changing themselves to cope with their children’s
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diagnoses. These strategies included adjusting their thoughts and expectations for their children; changing their parenting styles; seeking knowledge about their children’s disabilities; and
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(Chang & Hsu, 2007).
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releasing stress through religious and spiritual rituals at local Buddhist and Taoist temples
Labeling children as having disabilities may be particularly challenging for parents in
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Taiwan, a society where academic achievement is emphasized as a pathway to success. Until serious issues, such as behavioral problems arise, parents may deny that their children are struggling or that professionals have correctly assessed them (See Chiu et al., 2014; Lin et al, 2008). They also may express dissatisfaction with the support children are receiving, and eventually lose trust in professionals (Chang & Hsu, 2007; Huang, Kellett, & St John, 2010). Elementary school educators describe that parents may even blame them for their children’s low
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academic performance. Some parents of children with disabilities even file formal complaints against teachers. Educators express frustration because they must continue to patiently communicate with parents even though their formal complaints may negatively affect educators’ job performance evaluations (Chen, 2003).
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3.3.3 Educators’ perspectives: The current study
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3.3.3.1 Parent-educator relationships: Resources for children. Educators generally
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valued on-going communication and cooperative work with parents. They described parents who actively utilize educators and community resources in raising their children. One educator
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described,
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He [father] comes eagerly to our school and says, “My child is a special hyperactive child. What resources would you be able to offer?” He strives for the resources. [While he seeks
M
resources at school], his wife finds out [other] resources available in the community [such
ED
as associations for children with disabilities], and [they] join these associations. 3.3.3.2 Challenges to parent-educator relationships: Parents’ avoidance, stigma and
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intense emotion, and educators’ feelings of helplessness and sadness. Educators described
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parental responses that can be barriers to effective collaborative relationships both with parents of children with disabilities and those of typically-developing children. Some parents may not
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have noticed their children’s struggles, or may not know how to respond. Other parents, however, may refuse to acknowledge their children as having disabilities and even refuse permission for them to receive support at school. Even after children receive medical diagnoses, parents may hide them from educators due to fear of stigmatization. One educator described, “Parents will say, ‘He [the child with a diagnosis of ADHD] may not concentrate well enough. Can you please encourage him more?’ They would tell you about [their child’s struggles], but not very clearly.
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They’ll hold back on details.” Such parents may refuse any formal support at school. An educator described: First, the child is still young, they [parents] think that the child is still learning, so it’s inappropriate to make a conclusion this early. Secondly, they are afraid of being labeled
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by the school and educators. That affects the child’s personality and his interaction with
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his peers.
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Other parents may try to explain away their children’s struggles. One educator described: Parents say that my child is just more romantic, after being told by the [child’s] teacher
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that he was not focused and daydreaming in class. Despite receiving reminders [from the
AN
teacher] a couple of times, parents still tell you that his character is more of a romantic type. As a result, [we are having] difficulties in handling the child now [in classroom].
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Educators also described some parents’ concerns that receipt of special education
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services will expose their children to stigma from their typically-developing peers. Despite these concerns, however, educators indicated that these children may have already been “labeled” by
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their typically-developing peers because of their behaviors. One educator described a child with
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ADHD who exhibited potentially harmful behaviors, for instance, standing in an open third-floor window. Such behaviors have impacted his relationships with peers as well as his academic
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performance. Yet when his parents were advised to consider special education, they transferred him to another school.
Educators acknowledged that stigmatization due to their children’s disabilities also may harm parents. Parents’ concerns about labeling by educators and typically-developing children may reflect parents’ own stigmatizing ideas about disability and special education. In addition, they may feel ashamed at needing to make repeated apologies to other parents or educators
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because of their children’s behaviors. One educator described, “Some parents will come to you …and ask you for your forgiveness… After that I thought, ‘These parents are indeed vulnerable.’” Educators further described some parents as reacting with intense emotions when they attempt to discuss children’s struggles or potential disabilities. One classroom teacher described
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a mother who was upset, “[She told me], ‘Teacher, why do I always see you writing negative
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things about him? Why don’t you ever encourage him at all?” Some parents even filed lawsuits
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or sent formal complaints to the city’s Bureau of Education against teachers who had described to them their children’s struggles at school. One educator described a specific case:
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She [mother] had plenty of ways of expressing her complaints. In addition to appealing to
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the principal, she went to the City Council or the Bureau of Education [of the city]. But actually, is it a very big deal? In fact those weren’t situations where communication was
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scarce. I felt that… all of our hearts were hung in mid-air. I felt helpless.
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Many educators indicated that they become psychologically distressed as a result of working with such parents. They described feelings of sadness and helplessness as a result of
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parents’ harsh attitudes toward them. A classroom teacher described that after working hard to
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find resources to help a child, “[His] parents’ response was ‘Not so good’. I felt rather depressed.” Further, educators have to handle complaints from parents of typically-developing
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children about children with disabilities. A classroom teacher described parents who requested that a child with a disability be removed from the classroom: Some students with mild disabilities exhibit behaviors that are disturbing in [my] class, which affects the progress of the whole class. During the parents’ meeting [in which all parents participate], some parents pointed out that a child should be sent to the Resource Room or referred to move to other [special education] classrooms or schools. This is
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when the classroom teacher has an important role. We need to help the other parents settle down. Another classroom teacher described parents’ responses to her discussion of a child with a disability, “Parents [of typically-developing children] just talked back impolitely.”
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Educators also described how broader social contexts, including issues of social class and
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family, compound their relationship challenges with parents. An educator described a fourth
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grade child with ADHD whose single mother worked in the porn industry. Much to the concern of educators, when the child ran away from home, his mother’s response was, “The police know
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and will handle that, it’s alright.” Other parents’ responses to their children’s struggles reflected
AN
their concerns about other family members. For example, one educator described a mother’s struggle to accept her younger son’s disability without jeopardizing his academically talented
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sister’s “face.”
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3.3.3.3 Educators’ strategies for effective family-educator collaborations: Avoid conflicts by concealing feelings and practicing patience. Consistent with Taiwanese
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socialization practices that value emotional regulation (Fung & Chen, 2001; Rӧ ttger-Rӧ ssler et
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al., 2015), educators’ strategies focused on avoiding unnecessary conflicts with parents, including by concealing their own negative emotions. Educators generally described that they
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respond to parents carefully, modestly and courteously, even if they have “unpleasant feelings deep down inside their hearts.” One educator described how she and her colleagues worked with a challenging mother over several years: I have been telling the mother, “Mom, can you calm your heart down today and look at your child for a while more?” … They [parents] have been told to do so from the beginning [since the child started school], but they didn’t want to come to observe for a
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very long time. We were concerned about their child being together with typicallydeveloping children in the same classroom… I think she [mother] knows [her child’s struggles], but she was unwilling to accept [them]. It was too tiring and tedious. To avoid unnecessary conflicts and arguments with parents, educators also have to
T
exercise care in initiating conversations with parents regarding their children’s struggles. One
IP
educator described:
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Parents would never face it when they are informed that their child has problems. We try our best not to point it out straight, but parents just won’t accept it… Parents will feel that,
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“Why do you always have a bias towards my child,” and do not believe that their children
AN
have some problems in school. Therefore, parents sparked a conflict with educators. Parents may even initiate lawsuits against educators. To protect themselves, some educators
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described time consuming practices of documenting their conversations with parents and keeping
ED
records after every meeting.
If parents refuse to acknowledge their children’s struggles, educators described
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continuing to support their children by seeking and informally utilizing resources available for
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children with disabilities. An educator reported: I made a great effort to help him. For him, I spent a lot of time seeking aid from many
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friends, including a counselor … I also asked him [the counselor to find time] for him [the child]. Actually, his schedule was already full, but the counselor specially arranged his time and slotted the child in. This is almost like for me using my personal connections in order to help the child. Although it may take years, educators described that by continuing to communicate with parents and provide informal interventions for their children, parents may eventually understand
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and accept their children’s disabilities. Another educator described, “Do you know what the child’s mother told me today? ‘Teacher, I finally admit that my child is problematic [after working with her for years].’ I felt like crying at that moment!” Educators also described the need to respond to parents of typically-developing children.
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Educators can prevent these parents’ complaints by “settling down children,” that is, solving and
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minimizing any problems among children before parents become aware of them. When
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complaints do arise, it is necessary to respond directly to parents of typically-developing children. If these parents come to understand and accept the child with a disability, then they will tell their
US
children to support the child. A classroom teacher described:
AN
Usually, when you have a student with a disability in your classroom for the first time, you have to convince the parents of other children to accept him, instead of persuading
M
other students to accept him… In my classroom, I’ve had [a child with a disability] from
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third to sixth grades, and throughout that time, I have been persuading other parents to accept him, because parents definitely find it hard to accept his unusual behaviors…
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Gradually, they began to view him from a more sympathetic point of view, but if that
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child causes troubles with others, parents would of course be unhappy! To encourage parents of typically-developing children to accept the presence of a child
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with a disability and restore relationships, educators also may ask that child’s parents to apologize to other parents when their child causes problems for other children. One educator commented, “How can you give up the rights of the other children to learn and be educated because of this one child? [Therefore the child’s parents have to apologize].” Note that in Asian cultures, such apologies may be issued to restore relationships and soothe feelings, not only to acknowledge wrongdoing or responsibility.
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3.4 Educators in the US 3.4.1 Abstract US educators described parents as partners in educating their children. They generally understood that the challenges parents face due to stigmatization associated with disabilities and
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special education services can make some reluctant to communicate with educators. While they
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try to be supportive of such parents, they also experience frustration in building collaborative
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relationships with them. Educators’ strategies to support parents and build collaborative relationships tended to focus on providing fact-oriented information.
US
3.4.2 Overview of cultural context: Emotional distress and professional services
AN
To understand educators’ responses, it is necessary to contextualize them within interpersonal relationships and emotion communication in the US. Many individuals in the US
M
who are experiencing emotional distress value and find most effective those problem solving
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strategies aimed at changing stressful situations using concrete, objective information; not those aimed at managing subsequent emotional experiences (e.g., Azuma, 2001; Cheng et al, 2010;
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Kim et al., 2003; Lalvani, 2015). This preference is consistent with a relatively strong emphasis
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on individual rights and social justice in US society reinforced from early childhood in schools (see Azuma, 2001). In official institutions such as schools and courts of law, problem solving is
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presumably based on objective facts and actions, and not emotional responses or the particular characteristics of the individual persons involved, e.g., their ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. Indeed, US laws have long been influenced by the concept of social justice (Stone, 2012; Sypnowich, 2010). Furthermore, the voices of marginalized people and political activism have heighted the awareness of the general public to social justice issues leading to changes in the law (e.g., Stone, 2012). For example, implementation of the federal special
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education law, currently the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), was impacted by the public’s heightened sensitivity to protecting the individual rights of people with disabilities to a free and appropriate public education (Wright, 1999; Zettel & Ballard, 1979). Consistent with the values of individual rights and social justice, US professionals
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working with parents of children with disabilities emphasize the importance of respecting
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professional roles and boundaries. Although professionals express their desires and obligations to
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be empathetic and available to parents of children with disabilities, they also emphasize the importance of balancing their professional responsibilities and personal lives, and of avoiding
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unnecessary conflicts and emotional entanglements with parents (Nelson, Summers, & Turnbull,
AN
2004). Similar to educators, parents express uneasiness when they feel that professionals step out of their professional roles, for example, behaving towards a parent as a friend or developing
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strong emotional bonds with their children as a “parent at school” (Nelson et al., 2004).
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Similarly, parents express their preferences for receiving concrete, material services from professionals for them and their children with disabilities (Summers et al., 2007). Such parental
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responses may reflect the complexity of the relatively rigid, formal procedural guidelines they
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are required to navigate to insure their children receive disability services (Blum, 2007). These procedures can be especially burdensome to parents experiencing other stressors such as poverty,
AC
health and mental health issues (e.g., Authors, 2013). Nonetheless, parents also report relatively low levels of satisfaction with the emotional support provided to them by professionals (Summers et al., 2007), which suggests that improving emotional communication with parents may strengthen parent-educator relationships. 3.4.3.1 Parent-educator relationships: Educational partners. Educators described parents as educational partners who are experts on their children, their personalities and what
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works best for them. One classroom teacher described her relationship with parents and children using a metaphor, “a three legged stool”: I talk to the children and parents at conferences all the time about, “We’re a three legged stool.” We’ve got the child, the parent and me as the teacher. Without one of us working,
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the stool falls down. So if the child’s not with us, if the parent’s not with us ... it gets hard.
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… It’s important to be able to have the team working around the child.
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Maintaining effective partnerships with parents is especially important when educators must communicate with parents about children’s struggles in school. A classroom teacher articulated:
US
It’s really important to keep it open and they [parents] are definitely an equal partner…
AN
They know their child best, so we really have to be a partnership and really, really listen to the parent because if you shut that parent off and you don’t listen to them that’s going
M
to damage the relationship and it’s all about working together for the best for the child.
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And sometimes there may be a difficult thing you might have to share with them, but try to be as empathetic as possible …you’ve gotta really make them feel comfortable in that
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they’re an equal partner.
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3.4.3.2 Challenges to parent-educator communications: Parents’ grief and reluctance to work with educators, and educators’ frustration with uncooperative parents.
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Similar to educators in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, US educators described some parents as resistant to accepting their children’s needs for specialized services, in part, because of guilt and stigma. An educator described parents who blamed themselves, “It was really a stigma with parents, ‘Oh, my child needs [special education]. What didn’t I do?’” It is especially challenging for parents when their children’s struggles are first noticed by educators. One classroom teacher described, “It’s hard for parents to recognize if their kids are [only] struggling in school and
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[they] want them to be just like everybody else.” Similarly, a special education teacher described the grief and mourning experienced by parents: There’s a level of mourning. You have your baby, and you have all these wonderful dreams for them and then everything, [then] they kind of start turning into their own
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selves and you sort of go, “Oh that’s not it.”… that happens for all parents. I think some
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peers, but perhaps they put it upon themselves.
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parents have a harder time accepting it. So I don’t know that there’s stigma amongst adult
In addition, educators’ descriptions of parents of children with disabilities reflect parents’
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anticipated stigmatization or their own stigmatizing attitudes toward people with disabilities and
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disability services. Educators, for instance, described some parents’ concerns that the label of special education may affect their children’s future career opportunities. A special education
M
teacher described:
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[When they are asked to sign the consent form to initiate special education evaluation], sometimes parents are like “Whoa, I don’t want this on my child’s record… They’re not
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gonna be able to get into the military if they [receive special education].” They’re
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thinking ahead and they just are like, “Whoa! No special ed, no! My child doesn’t have a disability…I don’t want them to be considered learning disabled or EBD.”
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Many educators discussed that those parents who struggle to accept their children’s needs for specialized services may become reluctant to work or communicate with educators. For example, they may not respond to e-mails and phone calls from educators or become upset when educators initiate conversation about their children’s struggles. A classroom teacher described, The biggest thing is, parents are on the defense. And it’s hard to explain to parents that, “You want what’s best for your child and we really do, too. We wouldn’t call meetings to
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figure out what’s going on if we weren’t legitimately concerned and want the best for your [child].” I think that’s really a hard place because…parents are first off defensive or have a lot of reasons that seem more like excuses that something might be off. As a result of parental resistance to special education, some educators become reluctant
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to communicate with them. Some may even conclude that these parents do not care about their
IP
children or value their education. Such responses can affect parent-educator relationships. A
CR
school social worker articulated:
It’s not often that we run into a parent who says, “Do not do anything to help my child.”
US
… Now we would call, we would send emails and invite them to meetings and they
AN
might not show up. And what sometimes happens is that we interpret [and] believe that they don’t care about education, they don’t care about their kids. I’m reluctant to believe
M
that’s the case. But sometimes … that can then influence the way we perceive a student, a
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parent, their commitment to education.
Educators’ frustration toward parents who are uncooperative may be exacerbated by the
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requirements by the IDEA to involve parents in planning and providing special education
CE
services to their children. A principal described the challenge: [In the past], we were charged with the responsibility of “child find”, [i.e.,] identifying
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students [who were struggling] with or without parent permission. That was our job. … Now, the parent has all the power. We can go down that road but if the parent says, “No, I don’t agree,” we're back to square one. Unless we're working very carefully, slowly with that parent, year by year, that parent can just say, “No special accommodations. Nothing. You deal with it, classroom teacher.” And we don’t have anywhere else to go. The power of the parent now is so precise or so powerful that we're left powerless.
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Educators also described that the broader contexts of parents’ lives impact their relationships. For example, parents who have had negative experiences with educators when they were in school may be hesitant to engage in collaborative relationships with their children’s educators. Other parents are struggling with a variety of stressors such as poverty,
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homelessness, substance abuse, health and mental health issues that seem more urgent than their
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children’s relatively mild disabilities.
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3.4.3.3 Educators’ strategies for effective family-educator collaborations: Build partnership with parents. Many educators discussed the importance of on-going
US
communication with parents. During the initial stage of identifying and understanding children’s
classroom teacher described her approach:
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struggles, educators have to be especially careful in their communications with parents. A
M
The approach with parents at the beginning is a lot of questioning … like ‘Okay so, here
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are some resources we have at school, do you mind if I talk to this person and find out [what your child is struggling with]?’ And it’s never “Hey, let’s go to referral.” I just am
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dealing with questions in my mind, “How can we help your child be successful?”
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Even when parents avoid communicating with educators, it is important to continue making efforts to communicate with them. A special education teacher described:
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I still communicate with them, so even if they don’t come I still call and make all those same efforts that I would.… Whatever reason they gave [for missing a meeting], I am just going to accept that’s their reason why they couldn’t be there. I’m not going to make any judgments … I mean, whatever judgments we make as humans it doesn’t negate the fact that they are the parents and that they are trying [their best] for their child. In addition, to engage parents who are not collaborative, educators described how they
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gain their trust. A behavior coach described, “I believe that every parent wants their child to do well so that I feel like I spend time convincing them so they trust that… I like their child and want their child to do well.” A classroom teacher articulated the importance to “open up the door of communication” with parents:
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The biggest thing I want first and foremost is for parents to believe that I’m working on
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behalf of their child and I want to team with them on working on behalf of their child.
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And so opening up the door of communication and making sure that they're well-aware of their rights and that they are the ones who are making the final say and what we're
US
giving them is recommendations but ultimately it is up to them. And I feel like that’s
AN
empowering parents. And then it almost builds a level of trust where they will trust us as educators to say, “Ok then I trust that you are going to make the right decision because
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you're not telling me what to do; you're involving me in the process.”
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Further, educators discussed that it is necessary to help parents to navigate the complicated IEP (Individualized Education Program) procedures, so that they can better
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advocate for their children. A classroom teacher described how it is difficult for parents to
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participate in meetings, “It’s hard [for parents] to understand. Academic language, school system language, is hard to follow.... You try to break it down, but it’s huge! It’s confusing and it can be
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overwhelming.” A school social worker, who also is a parent of a child with a mild cognitive and behavioral disability, described how educators can help parents: Sitting on that side of the table, in that meeting when we’re talking about your child, I’ve been that parent, right? Who’s had to either listen to or feel what they might be feeling. And it’s helped me I think demonstrate empathy… The stuff we’re supposed to do as social workers.
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3.5 Common perspectives across four countries: “Universalism…” Despite differences in sociocultural contexts, educators practicing in all four cultural contexts valued parents as partners with extensive knowledge about their children. They described the importance of communication and consistency between home and school as well as
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building and maintaining effective, collaborative relationships.
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parents’ positive attitudes toward school. They also identified several common challenges to
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First, consistent with existing literature, educators described stigmatization as posing a significant challenge to parents’ emotional and social functioning (Link et al., 2004; Yang et al.,
US
2007). They described parents’ responses to their children’s disabilities as affected not only by
AN
the stigmatization they have actually experienced (i.e., “enacted” stigma), but also by their anticipation of the negative effects of others’ stigmatization (i.e., “felt” stigma; Scambler &
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Hopkins, 1986). In addition, some parents, themselves, held stigmatizing beliefs about
ED
individuals with disabilities. Some parents responded to these experiences and concerns with denial of their children’s disabilities and resistance to special education services.
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Educators from all four cultural groups also described mild cognitive and behavioral
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disabilities as posing unique challenges for parents. Parents may believe and hope that their children, who appear to be “normal” in most respects, will become like typically-developing
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children. Even if parents accept that their children have disabilities, they still may prefer that they remain full-time in general education classrooms where they can interact with typicallydeveloping children. Next, educators practicing in all sites described that parents’ responses to a variety of social and family issues can exacerbate the challenges of establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships. Parents experiencing stress from poverty, family violence or unmet
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health and mental health needs, for example, may not prioritize responding to children’s relatively mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities (see also Authors, 2013). Finally, educators also described their own emotional responses to parents’ resistance and emotional displays as a challenge to establishing collaborative relationships with them. Although
T
they generally expressed empathy towards parents and understood that how they communicate
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with them regarding their children’s school struggles can further stigmatize them, they also
CR
described feelings of frustration, and even helplessness, when parents’ resistance delayed children’s access to services necessary to their school success. Educators described approaching
US
parents cautiously because their permission is required for children to receive special education
AN
services. 3.6 Cultural variations: “…without uniformity”
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Educators’ descriptions of challenges to establishing collaborative relationships with
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parents, as well as their responses to these challenges, also contained cultural nuances. Variations in educator perspectives across the four cultural sites, however, generally reflected relative, not
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absolute differences. In other words, many of the themes discussed, below, were articulated by
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some educators in all groups, but with widely varying emphases. 3.6.1 Variations between the US and East Asian countries
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Relative to educators in East Asia, US educators focused more on adults’ responsibilities to insure children’s rights to an appropriate education, and less on the social and emotional aspects of challenges faced by parents and educators. Although the emphasis on individual rights has increased in East Asian countries as a result of Westernization (see Authors, 2016a), traditional beliefs and practices that emphasize individuals’ emotional and social functioning remain strong, including in their local implementation of special education services for children
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with mild cognitive and behavioral disabilities (see Authors, 2015). In contrast to educators in the US, who focused primarily on the impact of stigmatization on individual parents and their children, those in East Asia emphasized parents’ social contexts. Educators in East Asia were particularly sensitive to parents’ responses to the negative attitudes
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of their family members. Even if parents understand their children’s needs, they may withhold
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permission for them to receive special education because of grandparents’ and other family
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members’ anticipation not only of the impact of stigmatization on the child, but the family’s loss of face.
US
Educators from East Asian countries also discussed the stigmatizing behaviors of other
AN
parents. Educators in South Korea and Taiwan, for instance, discussed complaints from parents of typically developing children that children with disabilities disrupt their children’s education.
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Similarly, in Japan, some educators described parents of typically-developing children who
ED
devalued children who struggle academically (Authors, 2014). These reports are consistent with those of Japanese parents who discussed their concern about other parents’ negative responses to
PT
their children with disabilities as contributing to their hesitance to engage with educators (see
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also Authors, 2014). The stigmatizing responses of parents of typically-developing children may be especially relevant given elementary school practices in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
AC
Unlike elementary schools in the US, parents of children in the same classrooms are formally introduced to each other and meet together with their children’s classroom teachers as a group to discuss classroom activities and any concerns. Such opportunities allow parents to express their concerns about other children, which can be painful for parents of children with disabilities and contribute to their resistance in acknowledging their children’s struggles. Cultural variation between US and East Asian educators also was apparent in how they
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articulated their own emotional experiences in response to parents who are resistant or defensive. US educators’ descriptions tended to focus on their frustration with parents’ uncooperative behaviors, e.g., not responding to emails and phone calls. In contrast, educators in East Asian countries described their own responses to parents’ intense emotional displays, negative
T
emotions they tended to conceal when communicating with parents. Such practice is consistent
IP
with Buddhist and Confucian values of maintaining internal stability and self-regulation,
CR
respectively, as well as related cultural practices of maintaining control of emotional expressions in social contexts. Educators in East Asia struggled to uphold these culturally-embedded values
US
and norms when parents failed to do so.
AN
Educators’ reports of their responses to parents’ resistance were consistent with their practices for developing and maintaining relationships with them. Educators in the US attempted
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to engage parents through direct, fact-oriented and solution focused responses to children’s
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struggles. Educators in East Asia allowed parents time to emotionally accept their children’s disabilities and needs for specialized services, even if necessary services to children were
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substantially delayed. When their relationships with parents were challenged by parents’
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unwillingness to acknowledge their children’s struggles or allow them to receive services, their responses were primarily indirect. For example, Japanese educators watched over, carefully
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guided and expressed empathy to parents (mimamori and omoiyari). South Korean teachers avoided openly indicating children’s struggles and provided education to counter widespread misperceptions about disabilities and special education. Taiwanese educators concealed their own strong emotions and exercised patience with parents. In addition, educators in the US and East Asia expressed somewhat different expectations of professional boundaries in their relationships with parents. In the U.S, educators worked in
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multidisciplinary teams, including school psychologists, social workers, special education and general education teachers, and school administrators. In this context, educators maintained relatively clear professional roles and boundaries. In contrast, educators in East Asian countries described relatively looser professional boundaries and broader roles with parents. They
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generally appeared, for example, to be more involved in parents’ emotional experiences and
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family issues than in the US. This is consistent with general trends in East Asia for classroom
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teachers to assume a broad role in raising children, including teaching them moral values and social skills. Furthermore, it is only recently that schools in East Asian countries have begun to
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hire professionals other than general education teachers at public elementary schools.
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3.6.2 Variation within East Asian countries
Relative differences also were apparent within East Asian contexts, especially in their
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interpretations and responses to parents’ resistance to engaging with them in collaborative
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relationships. Relative to educators from South Korea and Taiwan, Japanese educators appeared to be less influenced by parents’ negative emotional displays. They stressed the importance of
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always responding to parents with empathy and very carefully planning any conversations with
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them regarding their children’s struggles at school. They generally advocated strategies guiding parents through mimamori and omoiyari, and avoided pushing them. They waited for parents’
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emotional readiness to accept their children’s disabilities and needs for services, rather than attempting to force them to do so. Such strategies generally were implicit and indirect, but had the clear goal of helping parents to decide to place their children in special education. These strategies also required educators’ patience and careful emotional regulation, as well as understanding and empathy toward parents experiencing stigma (e.g., Authors, 2011, 2014; see also Tobin, Wu, & Davidson, 1989). Such practices, however, can lead to educators’ emotional
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exhaustion. South Korean educators were concerned that parents’ defensive attitudes and feelings of stigmatization and inferiority would damage their relationships. In some cases, parents reportedly transferred their children to other schools or even abroad. In order to maintain
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relationships and avoid conflicts with parents who are gaining power, educators described
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concealing their own emotions and showing submissive attitudes. Similarly, educators’ strategies
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for handling parental complaints, both from parents of children with disabilities and parents of typically-developing children, tended to be indirect. They avoided directly addressing parents’
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emotional distress, but indirectly suggested strategies for solving problems by providing
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information and formal education programs.
Similar to educators from South Korea, educators from Taiwan avoided expressing their
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own emotional reactions in interactions with parents, even if parents exhibited defensive and
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uncooperative attitudes. Yet relative to educators in South Korea, Taiwanese educators’ descriptions of their own and parents’ emotional responses were explicit and intense. For
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example, many Taiwanese educators described feelings of helplessness and depression in
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responding to parents. Their intense emotional experiences were exacerbated by their frustration towards parents who did not acknowledge their willingness and efforts to support them and their
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children. Some parents reportedly filed lawsuits against educators who had described their children’s struggles to them. These accounts are consistent with Chen’s (2003) description of mothers blaming educators for the learning disabilities of their children, including through filing lawsuits. Internalization of strong emotional reactions to such parental responses, however, can make educators vulnerable to psychological distress (see also Chu, 2015). Educators’ strategies focused on avoiding further conflicts with emotionally distraught parents to protect themselves
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and continue to support parents. By concealing their negative emotions and being patient, educators eventually provided parents with time to emotionally accept their children’s disabilities and needs for specialized services. 4. Conclusion
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In this report, we described educators’ perceptions of challenges posed by children’s
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disabilities and associated stigmatization to building and maintaining collaborative relationships
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with their parents, and their responses to those challenges. Our explorations were sensitized by the concept of “universalism without uniformity.” Common themes addressed by educators from
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Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the US allowed us to focus on issues relevant to parent-
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educator relationships in four cultures. Variations in these commonly addressed themes sensitized us to culturally specific beliefs and practices pertaining to disability and stigma.
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4.1 Limitations
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Before considering implications of this study, there are several limitations that have to be addressed. First, we described educators’ perspectives on the role of stigmatization in their
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abilities to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with parents. Additional research
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clearly is needed to examine parents’ perspectives. Examining parents’ perspectives is especially important given that educators may, themselves, perpetuate stigmatizing beliefs and practices.
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Second, this study relied on interview data. In East Asian countries, where individuals tend to conceal strong negative emotions in their everyday interactions with others, interview data may overemphasize educators’ actual negative emotional displays with parents. Direct observations of parent-educator interactions are necessary to further understand parent-educator relationships. In addition, this study focused on broad themes shared by educators from diverse, complex societies. Additional research is needed to probe within group variations equally important to
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understanding the cultural shaping of parent-educator relationships. For example, US educators were primarily from white, middle-class communities, but emotional communication varies across subgroups (e.g., Kymalainen, Weisman, Rosales, and Armesto, 2006). Perspectives of educators of color on challenges to the development of educator-parent relationships may be
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quite different. Finally, this research focused on the challenges parents experience, not their
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sources of strength and resistance to stigmatization (see Farrugia, 2009). Future research needs to
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probe how parents’ resilience impacts emotion communication and the development of collaborative parent-educator relationships.
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4.2 Implications
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The primary aim of this research has been to address diverse perspectives on the culturally widespread and intransigent problem of stigmatization as it affects the development of
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educator-parent relationships broadly relevant to scholars, practitioners and policy makers. In
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other words, our goal is to enhance understanding through the exchange of ideas with experienced professionals with alternative cultural understandings of stigma and relationships,
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not to supply specific recommendations, or to provide a comprehensive, comparative description
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of perspectives and contexts in four highly complex and diverse cultures. The examination of educators’ perceptions of the role of stigma in their relationship with
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parents, however, does have some broad implications for strengthening family-school partnerships to better support the development of children including in the US. The discussions of educators from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the US sensitize us to the impact of stigmatization on parents. In addition, educators from East Asia emphasized the distress parents may feel when learning that their children may have disabilities and need special services. They advised that empathetic responses to parents’ distress allow the development of strong, trusting
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partnerships. Practicing empathy may require educators to exercise patience with parental resistance, and minimize any overt pressure on parents before they are emotionally ready to accept their children’s needs for special education. Once trusting relationships have developed, parents and educators can express and share concerns.
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The discussions of East Asian educators also sensitize us to the potential impact of
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resistance from family members, friends and acquaintances on parents’ ability to develop
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relationships with educators. At times, parents may require support not only for navigating formal services for their children with disabilities, but for responding to grandparents, friends or
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even parents of typically-developing children. Although how emotional support is provided
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varies across cultures, such support may improve parent-educator relationships. East Asian educators’ discussions also sensitize us to the importance of providing support
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to educators. Responding to parents can be stressful, especially when anger, grief, fear and
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frustration are directed towards educators. Administrators need to be aware of the day-to-day stress educators experience, acknowledge their efforts to work with parents, and provide formal
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and informal support to minimize burnout and maintain healthy working environments.
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Finally, perspectives of educators from East Asian countries can sensitize US educators to challenges faced by parents from East Asian communities. In the US, cultural variation across
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Educators discussed their relationships with parents of children with disabilities. Japanese educators watched over, carefully guided, and showed empathy to parents. South Korean educators provided formal education to parents about disabilities. Taiwanese educators exercised patience with parents who expressed distress. US educators engaged parents through fact-oriented, solution-focused responses.
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
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