Developing Culturally Responsive Approaches to Family Participation

Powell, 1989; Vassallo, as cited in Callicott, 2003). Barriers such as unfamiliarity with special education processes and life demands (e.g., single-parent families, economic challenges), however, may decrease family participation (Friend & Cook, 2003). Furthermore, a mismatch of values between the school culture, charac-terized by the values of a Euro-American middle-class, and the values of parents of culturally and linguistically diverse heritage and their children may account for parents ’ lack of involvement (Callicott, 2003). Parents whose values differ from those of the school culture may not trust school personnel and may feel confusion (Manning & Lee, 2001) and resentment (De Carvalho, 2001) when misunderstandings occur. Furthermore, judgments about good parenting skills, as defined by the school culture, may alienate parents of culturally and linguistically diverse heritage (Kalyanpur & Harry, 1999). This cultural mismatch theory may also explain the lack of parent involvement in special education (Kalyanpur, Harry, & Skirtic, 2000; Sileo, Sileo, & Prater, 1996). Addressing the divide created by cultural differences is an area in which schools can be responsive