Collaborating with Families: A Case Study Approach - Softcover

Sheri Overton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1478632097 ISBN 13: 9781478632092

Publisher: Waveland Press, Inc., 2016

Synopsis

Students in general education and special education classes will learn from and be moved by this collection of field-tested, personal cases. Overton asked family members from diverse income levels and racial and ethnic groups, whose children varied in age and learning challenge, to record their personal stories. Many of these family members were not well-known or active in their children's schools; their cases facilitate an understanding and respect for the variety of families in which children live. The resulting set of cases will stimulate reflection, provoke discussion, and encourage the determination of best practices to support and bring about collaboration with all families.

Activities, margin notes, and author commentaries emphasize and clarify points, facilitate reflection, and tie theory and research to each story. This compelling book can make a difference for those who work with students with special needs and their family members.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The idea for this book must have germinated for years before it suddenly popped up in a moment of insight. As a teacher-educator and parent, I always tried to share my respect for families with the students in my classes. I told stories about the many families I knew and invited numerous parents to speak to my classes. Although students were typically inspired and gained valuable insights, they were not fully aware of the wide range of parents they would meet in their classrooms. I wanted to facilitate my students' understanding and respect for the variety of families with which they would work.

I began to ask family members to write their stories for me. I sought to obtain a good mixture of people from across the country, from different income levels and personal histories, from diverse racial and ethnic groups, who had children with various disabilities at various ages. I drew on a number of individuals I met from living and working in various parts of the country. In addition, I contacted other individuals around the country to ask if they were aware of individuals who would be willing to share their stories. These contacts included teachers and administrators, parent e-mail groups, parent centers, and others whom I knew had some interaction with individuals with disabilities. I particularly wanted to include individuals whom others would not consider active in their children's schools or disability organizations, and I looked for fathers and others whom educators may not know as well. The family members wrote or dictated their stories with minimal direction from me. As time passed, I asked for elaboration or clarification of their stories. While I provided some editing or rearranging to make the cases more useable, I was committed to making minimal changes to preserve the tone of each storyteller's voice. I felt that it was important that the individuals be heard and respected just as they were in reality, rather than polished versions. To check the suitability of the story resulting from my editing, family members read and approved my versions. All names were changed to preserve confidentiality.

The activities, margin notes, and commentaries developed over time to emphasize and clarify points, facilitate reflection, tie theory and research to the story, and occasionally to correct the misinformation presented by parents. Even though parents do not always operate with the most accurate or current information, the publisher and I were committed to publishing accurate information for teacher preparation. All of the cases have been field tested and reviewed multiple times, allowing revision to enhance their use. The result is a set of diverse cases that have been successful in stimulating reflection and discussion and, I hope, more reflective practice. It is my hope that, at the end of your work with this book, you will have developed many resources and ideas for working with families. To that end, each case asks you to determine and discuss the best practices that would support and facilitate collaboration with each family.

Review

"This brief book of thought-provoking case studies helps students put themselves in the place of families who face a variety of challenges. I used this text in a graduate course designed for general education teachers and special education teachers. The students loved it. Just a single case could prompt the class to talk for an hour or more. Student reactions ranged from laughter to tears." --Joan E. Aitken, University of Missouri, Kansas City

Edition details

• Publisher: Waveland Press, Inc.
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1478632097
• ISBN 13: 9781478632092
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 155