An investigation of parent participation among first-generation Mexican American and Mexican immigrant parents of developmentally delayed preschool children and the Individualized Education Plan experience

The purposes of this study were to (a) examine and describe the participation and satisfaction levels of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) first generation Mexican American and Mexican immigrant parents with the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) of their developmentally delayed preschool children; and (b) examine how the efficacy and utilization of their participation in the educational planning may relate to feelings of empowerment for parents. There is limited research which examines whether (a) CLD parents are satisfied with information shared at the IEP meetings; (b) parents feel empowered as a result of their level of participation; and (c) their needs or expectations are congruent with those of early intervention professionals. Qualitative research methodologies included the use of observations, semi-structured, open-ended interviews, and document analysis of IEP's to gather data on 23 first generation Mexican American or recently immigrated Mexican national families with children enrolled in a bilingual preschool project. IEP's were observed and coded for conduciveness to parent and professional interaction relative to compliance, native language accommodations, and effective meeting strategies and outcomes. Open-ended interviews facilitated the parent narratives about their experiences and feelings in the IEP process. Development of five profiles from interview and observational data with fourteen families established the following emergent themes relative to the IEP process: (a) unconventional notification procedures enhance CLD parent attendance; (b) legislative and litigation procedures are the focus of special education professionals, to the detriment of active parent participation; (c) parent expectations and needs often determine their level and type of participation; (d) language proficiency, cultural competence, and cultural etiquette engage parents in participation, but cultural roles and practices may deter participation in spite of the SPED system efforts to engage parents.