Feature Article Working with Families: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

Research indicates that when educators involve them in the educational process, parents can be instrumental in promoting their children's academic and social progress. Most strategies and programs to solicit paren-tal involvement have been designed to serve families who are English speaking, have sufficient economic resources, and possess cultural perspectives that allow them to feel comfortable with and participate in the special education decision-making process. However, demographic data indicate that schools are serving, and will continue to serve, a growing number of students and families from diverse cultural and linguis-tic backgrounds who may not respond to traditional methods for establishing family/school partnerships. The purpose of this article is to identify some of the cul