Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association; San Diego, CA, April 13-17, 2009

1. Openings: Mediating Collaborative Spaces for
the Families of Youth with Disabilities
N Kathleen Kosobud
Michigan State University
CEPSE: Research Practicum
June 11, 2009

3. Detroit Public Schools (2006)
 15th largest school
district in US
 Largest employer in
city
 City unemployment
rate estimate: 8%-11%
 Mean household
income: $38,000
(Median: $28,000)
 33.4% poverty rate

4. Conditions for Students
 64,000 free and 2,500
reduced fee lunches
served daily
 150,000 students in
district
 19,200 students with
disabilities (2006)
 49.6% in special
education more than
60% of the time
 Parent involvement??

5. Research Questions
 What are the experiences
of families as they seek to
collaborate with schools to
secure educational
services for their children
with disabilities?
 What kinds of support and
collaboration would
families like to experience
with schools?

6. Model of Family-School Collaboration K. Kosobud, 2008
SCHOOL Reciprocity COLLABORATION
y
wa
o
tw
BA S
Authorship
LA ON
Authority
NC I
PIVOT POINT: E AT
C
SYNCHRONOUS OF
U NI
M
CONCEPTUAL M
CO PO
SPACE OF W
ER
W
(“thirdspace”) FLO
y
wa
e
on
ISOLATION/ FAMILIES
MARGINAL
Synergy
Extension of a model created by: Salomon and Perkins (1998). Individual and Social Aspects of
Learning, Review of Research in Education, Volume 23.

7. Four Families
MotherCh Birth Ethnicity Age Disability
ild order
Jeannie 6th of 7 Caucasian 11 CI w/
Shawn children Down
Syndrome
DorothyD 1st of 2 Bi-racial 9 CI w/ EI
aniel children
Christine 2nd of 2 African- 11 CI w/
Julius children American Down
Syndrome
Tania Only child Caucasian 10 OHI and
Frederick HI

8. Jeannie and Shawn
“I was already in a fighting
mode to make sure that
my child got the chances
that he deserved.”
“When I taught him sign
language the OT told me
to stop because he
wouldn’t talk…His first
sentence at age two was
in sign.”

9. Model of Family-School Collaboration K. Kosobud, 2008
SCHOOL Reciprocity COLLABORATION
y
wa
o
tw
BA S
Authorship
LA ON
Authority
NC I
PIVOT POINT: E AT
C
SYNCHRONOUS OF
U NI
M
CONCEPTUAL M
CO PO
SPACE OF W
ER
W
(“thirdspace”) FLO
y
wa
e
on
ISOLATION/ FAMILIES
MARGINAL
Synergy
Extension of a model created by: Salomon and Perkins (1998). Individual and Social Aspects of
Learning, Review of Research in Education, Volume 23.

10. Dorothy and Daniel
“ I gots to take him out of here,
‘cause she wasn’t doing
nothing. …I told the aide why
don’t you teach the kids
something? …The teacher’s
supposed to be teaching, not
watching tapes that I can do
at home with my own child…I
have tapes for learning at
home…”
“when it start the following year he got transferred …I did that
on my own…I got the transfer papers, he had to be assigned
first. I wanted to make sure that they could accept the boy,
‘cause if they didn’t I was going to have to leave him…

11. Model of Family-School Collaboration K. Kosobud, 2008
SCHOOL Reciprocity COLLABORATION
y
wa
o
tw
BA S
Authorship
LA ON
Authority
NC I
PIVOT POINT: E AT
C
SYNCHRONOUS OF
U NI
M
CONCEPTUAL M
CO PO
SPACE OF W
ER
W
(“thirdspace”) FLO
y
wa
e
on
ISOLATION/ FAMILIES
MARGINAL
Synergy
Extension of a model created by: Salomon and Perkins (1998). Individual and Social Aspects of
Learning, Review of Research in Education, Volume 23.

12. Christine and Julius
“When he was 3 years old,
having learned about
inclusion and LRE, I
began to research
inclusive practices in the
Detroit Public Schools…
There was a lot of fear
and ignorance.”
Julius began to “amass a
behavioral history” when
the paraprofessional
written into his IEP was
not provided.

13. Model of Family-School Collaboration K. Kosobud, 2008
SCHOOL Reciprocity COLLABORATION
y
wa
o
tw
BA S
Authorship
LA ON
Authority
NC I
PIVOT POINT: E AT
C
SYNCHRONOUS OF
U NI
M
CONCEPTUAL M
CO PO
SPACE OF W
ER
W
(“thirdspace”) FLO
y
wa
e
on
ISOLATION/ FAMILIES
MARGINAL
Synergy
Extension of a model created by: Salomon and Perkins (1998). Individual and Social Aspects of
Learning, Review of Research in Education, Volume 23.

14. Tania and Frederick
“…for two years (in another
district) I fought to get a
behavioral intervention plan. I
got a letter of denial because
he was on medication, see…”
“My son’s not innocent, he has
speech problems and I’m
working on it but I need to
know what else is available to
him because of these
problems…I’m not sitting back
and just letting it pass…”

15. Model of Family-School Collaboration K. Kosobud, 2008
SCHOOL Reciprocity COLLABORATION
y
wa
o
tw
BA S
Authorship
LA ON
Authority
NC I
PIVOT POINT: E AT
C
SYNCHRONOUS OF
U NI
M
CONCEPTUAL M
CO PO
SPACE OF W
ER
W
(“thirdspace”) FLO
y
wa
e
on
ISOLATION/ FAMILIES
MARGINAL
Synergy
Extension of a model created by: Salomon and Perkins (1998). Individual and Social Aspects of
Learning, Review of Research in Education, Volume 23.

16. Themes
 Boxers sparring in a ring
 Parallel play
 Ballroom dancing

17. Knowledge, Power, and
Resistance (Pushing with)
 Persistence
 Creativity and flexibility
 Engagement
 Self-confidence
 Divergent thinking and doing

18. Knowledge, Power, and
Resistance (Pushing back)
 Instinct
 Subversion
 Passion and drive

19. Conclusions
Parents of children with disabilities
 Express their agency as personally
authored performance
 Resist socially constructed
attributions of deficit
 Show great resilience in acquiring
support and knowledge
 Creatively resist marginalization as a
technique for silencing opposition to
control

20. Recommendations
Listen for perspective
Pool knowledge
Share power

21. This study was part of a larger
project funded through an OSEP
Urban/Diversity Doctoral
Fellowship and a Spencer
Research Training Grant.