A cross-case analysis of Asian American students with learning disabilities

Disproportionate representation, validity of identification and assessment, and equity continue to be core concerns in the education of CLD students with disabilities. The rapid growth of the Asian American population dictates investigation of these children's educational needs. This study therefore aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of factors related to the identification and placement of Asian American students with learning disabilities from multiple data sources including special education folders, parents, and teachers. Findings revealed that parents’ primary roles in the entire process were to attend the meetings and give consent without adequate explanation of their child's difficulty and needs and issues of intercultural communication between teachers and parents were spotted. Both school personnel and parents failed to see how their words and behaviors were interpreted differently than they were intended and were unable to break through the barriers to better understand each other. Analyses and discussions concentrated on how parents could be involved in the process as well as cross-cultural communication issues between home and school and consequent inadequate parent advocacy. Recommendations included personalizing home-school communication, empowering parents through local community, establishing parent network, and teacher training in effective inter-cultural communication. Copyright © 2011 The Korean Association of Multicultural Education.