| The objectives of this study were: (1) to investigate cultural variations in how parents practice and define "participation" in transition planning, (2) evaluate the extent to which parental definitions of "participation" vary from that of educators and (3) identify barriers against and strategies for promoting parent involvement. To accomplish these goals, a mixed design of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. Specifically, focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with Native American, African American, Hispanic and Caucasian parents, as well as with school professionals to identify the context and processes at work in parental participation. Additionally, a large-scale survey was used to assess actual levels of parent participation and the importance of different transition activities.; It was proposed that there would be a significant difference among parent groups in their level of participation across various transition activities. This hypothesis was confirmed as minority parents were found to have significantly higher levels of involvement in several activities, including: (1) talking to children about future life after high school, (2) teaching children about the family's cultural values and beliefs, and (3) teaching children to use transportation independently. In contrast, Caucasian parents reported higher levels of involvement for school-based transition planning.; Hypothesis II predicted there would be a significant difference among parent groups in the level of importance they assigned to transition planning. This hypothesis was also confirmed, as minority parents assigned more importance than Caucasian parents to activities such as (1) talking to their children about life after high school, (2) helping their children prepare for education after high school, (3) teaching their children about their family's cultural values and beliefs, and (4) teaching their children how to use transportation independently.; It was predicted that that there would be a significant difference between parents and professionals in the level of importance they assigned to parental participation across different transition activities. This hypothesis was also confirmed, although a significant group difference was obtained for only one activity. Minority parents assigned more importance to teaching a child about the family's cultural values and beliefs than did professionals.; The qualitative analyses identified a number of barriers to parental participation, including: (1) power, (2) psychological/attitudinal, (3) logistic, (4) information, (5) communication, (6) SES/contextual and (7) cultural factors. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
