PREPARING PROFESSIONALS FOR PARTNERSHIPS WITH PARENTS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES - TEXTBOOK CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING CULTURAL-DIVERSITY

Strong bonds of family-school collaboration are critical to the academ ic and social development of students with disabilities, especially wh en parents and teachers differ in ethnic, racial, and cultural backgro unds. These linkages necessitate preparing educators to address the ne eds of diverse students and family members. We evaluated 10 textbooks, related to working with families of students with disabilities, that may be used in special education teacher preparation programs. The tex tbooks were appraised regarding cultural diversity content, vignettes and examples of diverse groups, and inclusion of cultural issues. We a lso assessed the textbooks qualitatively to identify the relationship of cultural diversity content to parental involvement. Results indicat ed variability concerning representation of diverse populations, cultu ral content, and discussion of diversity issues.