Respecting Diversity
Definition: Schools welcome and respect all families and value their diversity (cultural, socioeconomic), thereby supporting families as active participants in the transition planning process.
Online trainings about family engagement
- Collaborating with Families, from the Iris Center at Vanderbilt University. It highlights the diversity of families and addresses the factors that school personnel should understand about working with the families of children with disabilities. It’s an engaging training with a variety of delivery methods (videos, audios), especially at the beginning, and takes about an hour to complete.There’s good information and self-reflection, but not many tools. Module outline
- Mindful Engagement Modules, from the Louisiana SPDG project, based on the work of Joy Epstein, Anne Henderson and Karen Mapp. There are 10 different modules, each 20-30 minutes long. While not specific to special education and transition, the modules offer a lot of good tools in general for family engagement. The format is narrated PowerPoints, and the modules are well-paced and move along quickly. Modules overview
Articles on cultural & linguistic diversity
- Preparing for Cultural Diversity: Resources for Teachers from Edutopia.org. Practical classroom ideas.
- Culture Clues™ are tip sheets for healthcare clinicians, designed to increase awareness about patients from diverse cultures served by University of Washington Medical Center. Take a look – there is lots of crossover to education.
- Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Implications for Transition Personnel, article from NCSET. Statistical information and high-level view of the field.
- Quick Guide: Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Youth and Secondary Transition (PDF, 7 pages, 2017) is an overview and annotated bibliography from NTACT.
Videos on diversity & sensitivity to cultural differences
- Hassan Samantar, a parent advocate serves Minnesota’s Somali population, discusses in a 6:00-minute video how Somali culture impacts families and their experience with having a child with a disability. It’s a reminder of the need to check assumptions and keep an open mind when dealing with someone from a culture different from yours.
- The Choate Student Diversity Association made this club video (2:48 min.) on improving conversations about diversity.
Updated 5/18/19
