Section | The Posture of Cultural Reciprocity -that morning, the moraing of my Best day, the moming that followed ny righ, as uy Shorsing, It was not the sort of bright sun sgn making everyting cst at Une edges almost im ght, Ot Twas. Yelow rate paleryellow sun, os ifthe sun bad grown weak fom Eng sed t,o os but stilt was sunny, and that was nice and mado e {oo hare Koue less. And s, soeing the sun, got up and putjon 8 Gr, miss T¥sca made out of madras cloth-the same sort of dress tht ‘would Seek iT were at home and setting out for # de weed The run was abining, but the alr was cold. Tt was te Jenngy, afer all, But I did not know that the sun could shine and the January, AG Gyno one had ever told me. What a feeling that was! How sir roma Gat Something {bad always Known the way Lest By 4° can | expla grown ofa nut rubbed repeatedly with a soft cloth, or the et Enew my own name-something I took completely or granted, pay Tne Pag the a i warm” was not so. (Excerpt from LUCY, Kincaid, 1980, p. 5) Many of you may have had an experionce similar to that of ‘incy, the young Caribbean gil in the previous excerpt, when som thing you took for granted suddenly turned “all ‘wrong’—and made You aware of what you had taken for granted until thet polrt time. HCmay have happened when, lke Lucy, you visited a foreigh cole thy ta probsbly expected some overt differences, such as Iangvaah ea yourmay even have prepared yourself by beinging a Phrase ‘book along with you. But then, during tho course of your wip, You ‘began sions ire other differences that you had not expected. For instance, 12 Building Cultural Reciprociey with Families ‘you might have found that, when people talked to you, they stood a Jot closer than you were accustomed to. Or that parents and chil- dren and grandparents talked to each other differently from what you grew up with. How did these experiences make you feel? Were you uncomfortable? Irritated? Threatened? Bewildered? Curious? Glad you had this experience because you leaned about yourself something that you had always taken for granted? Would it have helped to have had somebody to explain waat was happening and make you feel a little less out of place? ‘All of the things mentioned here, and many, many others, con- tribute to what we call culture. People who have lived all their lives within the dominant group of a society often think that they “have no culture”; they tend to think that culture is something that be- longs to minority groups. The reason for this thinking is that people the grouy inasociety usually do not have ta dling. explain, or contrast themselves to anyone be- cause they_helong to the group whose ways and rules are the ” in the society. If you find that you think this way, then the jst way to do have a cniture is to Mall antitssocaty oc ommunity. Anotho ugh mor dite, ‘way to bacome more aware is to question yourself carefully about what you value most in-life, then ask from where-you-derived those bbelieis-For example, a quick look at a famous phrase from the U.S. Constitution reveals a great deal about American culture: U.S. cit zons have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. ‘These values are so deeply embedded in U.S. society that it may be hard to imagine that they are not necessarily universal values. Yet, if you think about it, you can quickly see that they are not the cor- norstones of many cocicties. Discovering your cultural stance and how it affects your inter- action with families is what this book is about. It will give you op- portunities to learn about yourself and to develop an a sof your cultural dentity, to learn to recognis rfor-granted Sats and Boles that you hold and that make you think and act ‘the way you slo, and Mo use this understanding aboUryOUTe toun- derstand others. You may ask, “What has this got fo do with special education?” Everything, we believe, For many families of children with disabilities, entering the culture of special education is like going to a foreign country. Just as each country has a dominant culture, so does each profession. The culture of a professional group may have several markers: language, style of dress, personal interaction pattems, status differentiation, laws and regulations, and, certainly, values and beliefs. To a great ‘The Posture of Cum Reciprocity 3 extent, these cultural markers are expressions of the various aspects of the national culture. ‘Special education in the United States is a product of American culture. There are certain core American values that have con- tributed to the way in which the field of special education has de- veloped over the years, and they continue to be the underpinnings for current policy and practice. For instance, in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act goes) of 1990 (PL 101-476), the princi- ple of parent participation is based on the value of equality and tha. Expectation Hat parents and service yauviderssibuld dovsop pa - ships in. z i ing process of students with “tahitian Similarly, the principle of az ‘process of law is based on the value of individualism: the understanding that, in a culture where individuality is highly prized, people have rights to ensure that their individual interests are protected. Conversely, when fami- lies believe sintial bioreschies rather than in-sacil equality and consider professionals to be the experts and the holders of author- ity, the expectation thet the family should partner with profession- als can be bewildering. When families do not value individual rights because they believe that society is more important than the individual, the expectation that they will advocate for their chil- dren and assert their rights can make them quite uncomfortable. If they do not have someone to explain what is happening and make them feo! a little less out of place, then they can end up becoming alienated from the process. As a result, the services that their chil- dren receive will be less effective, and nobody will benefit. ‘As a professional in the field of special education, you know the current recommended professional practices and you have the skills to implement them. This is what you learned in your profes- sional training program. You may even have taken a course on ‘working with families of children with disabilities and learned that collaborating with families is recommended professional practice or, at the least, a legal requirement, Perhaps you were taught the ‘communication skills that you would need to build relationships and collaborate with families. However, as Skrtic (1995) pointed out, chances are that you probably did not have an opportunity to question why collaborating with families is considered recom- ‘mended practice and is legally mandated. And chances are that, be- cause you believe in equality, you would accept without question, even take for granted, the premise that building partnerships with families is good professional practice. Yet the professional prepara- tion program that you have undergone also has taught you another value: The knowledge you have received is highly specialized and4 Building Cultural Reciprocity with Families is valued more highly than a layperson’s knowledge. It is most ‘probable that you will not have been encouraged to note that the be- lief in equality and the beliof in the superiority of export knowledge are likely to come into conflict. In fact, itis very likely, if you have successfully undergone the process of becoming a professional, ‘that, although you share many of the values that are embedded in the culture of special education, you may never have explicitly ac- Kmowledged them. ‘The reason that many of your values may be common to those that are embedded in special education culture is that most of the values of special education are mainstream values, or what Banks and McGee Banks (1997) called the values of the macroculture. ‘This macroculture is a bros rarching em- be -valiaes. By belonging to this national macro- ‘culture, you subscribe to ell or some of these core values: They con- tribute to a part of who you are. But, as Figure 1 shows, subsumed ‘under the macroculture are other, smaller, or microcultural, groups to which you might also belong. These microcultures are likely to reflect the values of the particular ethnic group or groups in which you grew up, and, of course, these microcultures may even overlap ‘each other. However, Banks and McGee Banks took the concept of culture to a more personel level by pointing out that other aspects of your identity, such as your ethnicity, your gender, your age, your religion, and your professional training, also combine to create @ cultural identity that is uniquely yours. Culture, then, is a broad ‘concept that reflects a wide range of boli tudes {atauabe np cach dodetdgal. Figure 2 gives you a picture of what 1e various microcultural affiliations might be. Look at each of these figures in turn, and think about how they may apply to you. This unique combination of micro- and macrocultures that sakes up your cultural identity is what you bring to any interaction ‘with families in the special education system. It affects how yuu spond or react to them, what you recommend to them, and why you ‘might feel comfortable working with some families and not with others. If you and the family both believe in equality, then you will find it easier to collaborate with them because they are just as eager ‘as you are to become partners. If, however, a family continues to de- for to your authority or to avoid interactions with you, despite your best efforts to involve them as partners, then you might begin to be- lieve it impossible to collaborate. Most significant, you may not un- derstand why collaborating with this family is so difficult-unless you question the assumption, the taken-for-granted belief, that is ‘embedded in your asking them to collaborate with you. To compli- ‘The Posture of Cultural Reciprocity 5 Microculture A National Macroculture Microculture 0 Microcutture 8 Microcutture © Figure 1. Micocutres ad the national macrocutur. The shaded area epre- tents the national macroclture. A,B,C, and D represent microaltres that Gora of une istang, values, ind cla eemans at ae n= Univeralized and ate shared primarily by members of specie cuturl groups. (From Banks, }A, & McGee Banks, C/A. [ed 11997]. Mulicutal education: Isues and perspectives [ad edy p12), Needham Heights, MA: Alyn & Bacon; reprinted by permision) cate matters further, you may not recognize that some of your own boliefs may be in conflict-that is, your belief in equality as well as ‘your belief in expert knowledge. This conflict may be affecting your own attitude toward the importance of the family’s input. Thus, you ‘may want to soe the family as equal to you, yet you may find it difi- cult to place as much value on their “everyday knowledge” as on your own specialized knowledge. CORE VALUES THAT UNDERLIE SPECIAL EDUCATION POLICY AND PRACTICE In our book Culture in Special Education: Building Reciprocal Family-Professional Relationships (Kalyanpur & Harry, 1999), weExceptionally! Nonerceptlonalty Figure 2. Multiple group membership. An individual belongs to several roups Fee same time, (From Banks, A, & McGee Banks, C.A. [Eds.). (1997). Multi- Cultural education: Issues and perspectives [3rd ed., p. 15]. Needham Heights, ‘MA: Allyn & Bacon; reprinted by permission.) identified certain American values that have influenced the way in ‘which disability and disability services are conceptualized and implemented in the United States. You will need to turn to that ‘book for a fuller explanation of the impact of these values, but for the purposes of analysis of the case studies in this book, we offer the following list of values for you to consider as you read the sto- ries and examine your own reactions to them: individualism, inde pendence, freedom of choice, equality/equity, expert knowledge, ef- ficioncy, and objectivity. DEVELOPING A POSTURE OF CULTURAL RECIPROCITY ‘The purpose of this book is to introduce you to an approach to earning more about yourself and the process of collaborative inter- action with families of children with disabilities. Different cultural boliefs and practives have been noted as a froquent barrier tn affar- tive interaction; therefore, some movement toward mutual under- standing usually is required before poople can begin to work well together. However, many researchers have noted that it is most of- ten the people from the minority group who are required to under- ‘he Postar of Cultural Reciprocity 7 stand ot become acculturated to the ways of the majority group. Overall, this is probably a reasonable expectation. However, the posesee of asculturstion takes tyme, and ‘professionals who are hop- to make a difference for chilldron must be willing to take the i tiative in building a bridge between the cultures of diverse families and the culture of schools, To do this, we advocate that profession- als initiate a two-way process of information sharing and under- standing—a process that can be truly reciprocal and lead to genuine mutual understanding and cooperation. We outline four steps that are essential in developing what we havo called a posture of cul- tural reciprocity. Step 1: Identify the cultural values that are embedded in your interpretation of a student’s difficulties or in the recommendation for service. ‘When you begin to identify the values and assumptions that are em- bedded in your professional practices, you are atthe first step of our framework for developing reciprocal, empowering relationship: th families. Let us offer you an example. Imagine this scenario: You have recommended that a young ,dult with a developmental disability move out of the family home into a small group home or supported apartment. Ask yourself which values underlie your recommendation. You might find that your rationale goes something like this: se ‘© Independence and individuality are highly valuable. Becoming increasingly independent is a mark of adulthood. At approximately the age of 21, moving out of the family home ‘and establishing one’s own home (alone, with friends, or with a spouse) is an essential step toward establishing adult indepen- dence and individuality. + All human beings have equal value and should have equal op- pornunities. «Young adults with disabilities should have the same opportuni- ties as their peers without disabilities. + A living arrangement that is as similar as possible to that of a ‘young adult without a disability should be sought. «© This living arrangoment will provide my client with greater opportunities to develop his or her independence and individu- ality. By this analysis, you can see that there are two or three central val- ues underlying your recommendation: Equity, independence,8 Building Cultural Reciprocity with Families and/or individuality. The last two are closely intertwined because ‘you might seo individuality as an aspect of independence in that Zach individual should create a life of his or her own, according to his or her own wishes. ‘Now, use Figure 3, which we call your personal identity web, to identify those aspects of your identity that you think kave con- ‘ribnted to your holding those three values. For example, you might ook first at the aspects of nationality and culture: Did you derive your value of independence from the macroculture of the country ja which you grew up? Did you also learn to value equity through the cultuze of the country in which you grew up? Or, to the con- trary, maybe you grow up in a country where equity was not valued, which led you to desire it. Now relate this to your ethnicity: Was the valuo of equality supported by your ethnicity, such as boing a Caucasian who grow up in a family who believed that all siblings have the right to the same opportunities in life? Or think of socio- economic status: Was your belief in sibling equality supported by your family’s having enough financial resources to provide for all family members’ development? Did your financial resources also enable you to consider the option of establishing your own home as. f@ means of achieving independence? You also might think about your own adult experience-let’s say, parenthood: If you are a parent, then you might ask whether this has led you to believe ‘hat living ‘on one’s own is a good experience for your own child. Then, turn- ing your attention to your professional education, you might ask whether you are a scientific rationalist/ professional whose judg- ‘ment is based on data that show improved quality of life for indi- viduals who live in group homes. By noting on your personal identity web several aspects of your identity-nationality/culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, par- enthood, and professional education-you now have a more explicit ‘understanding of the sources of your own beliefs. This bas two im- portant implications: First, you will see the relation between your went a your recommendation thet vour client move out of the family homé:Second, by recognizing that your recommenda al experience and identity, vou see that ~xou ce of ita validity onty within that framework. It may not, however, be valid outside that framework. It is not, after all, a ‘universally held truth. ‘Now that you've had an example of the process ontailed in Stop 1, you might like to try the Introductory Exercise on pages 12-13. Alternatively, you can read on through the next three steps of our hypothetical example before trying your own first step. “The Posture of Cultural Reciprocity 9 Figure 3. Personal identity web. (From Banks, |.A., & McGee Banks, C.A. (Ed. 118971, Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives [3rd ed., p. 14]. Need- ham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon; adapted by permission.)10 Building Cultural Reciprocity with Families Step 2: Find out whether the family being served recognizes and values these assumptions and, if not, how their view differs from yours. Your approach to this d:alogue must be marked by respect and a genuine desire to unders‘and. Let us imagine that, in this example, the family does not want to consider a group home as a residential, option for their young adult. Lot us try a few possible explanations that they might give for their position. First, moving out of the family home may not be normative for this family. The pattern may be for older siblings to continue to live with the parents until they get married, and maybe even after mar- riage. Therefore, the family may not see living on one’s own asa milestone to adulthood and independence even for their children without disabilities. They may be more adamant about this regard- {ng the child with the disability because they soe that child as par- ticularly vulnerable. They may see the chief marker of adult inde- pendence as the individual's ability to bring in adequate income to support other family members, or adult independence may be sig- naled by marriage. ‘You may also find that the family’s view of equality is not the same as yours. They may see the family member with the disability as essentially not oqual :0 the others in terms of having the same rights to independence. They may explain this in terms of the greater vulnerability of the family momber with the disability, or they may even explain that they do not expect the siblings to be equal anyway because not all people are equal. Similarly, the family may explain that individuality is not highly valued and thet it is more important to be a good member of the group. Step 3: Acknowledge and give explicit respect to any cultural dif- ferences identified, and fully explain the cultural basis of your as- sumptions. Remember how, when things went “all wrong” when you visited another culture, you wished you had someone to explain what was happening to you so that you would feel less out of place? Now, itis your responsibility to explicitly “put on the table” both your and the family’s points of view. By letting the family know why you made the recommends- tion, you explain to them what is happening and enable them to fee! loss out of place in their intoractions with you. You explain that your recommendation is based on your belief in independence, in- dividuality, and equality. You acknowledge that this belief reflects ‘The Posture of Cultura Reciprocity 11 some key mainstream beliefs that are also part of your professional. training, By placi ofa i ext of ‘you demonstrate your-awartnoss that yours, or the mainstream’, is . Also, by offering this explanation, you are offering the family information atryut-beliefs or practices that are valued in the mainstream of tha society; as Apple and Beane (1995) would say his information can become part ofthe family’s cultura caitl as they set about negotiating with mainstream professionals. At the same time, by asking the family what their point of view is, you are getting an explanation for what is happening from their perspective, which enables you to feel less out of place, too. This process creates a shared understanding that empowers both you and the family and creates an atmosphere of mutual respect. Step 4: Through discussion and collaboration, set about determin- ing the most effective way of adapting your professional interpreta- tions or recommendations to the value system of this family. ‘Through your dialogue with the family, you may have found thet al- though the family does not want out-of-home placement, they do acknowledgo needing assistance in supporting the member with the disability. Your challenge, then, is to work out with the family a so- lution that respects their family system while bringing in the best that your professional knowledge and expertise can offer. Your first steps would probably be to seek sources of additional income that could help the family achiovo their goal. You would in- form and assist the family in gaining access to any sources of finan- cial aid for which they are eligible, such as Social Security Disabil- ity Income (SSDI), or you might focus on employment agencies that could assist the member with the disability in finding more appro- priate employment. You might also need to seek sources of financial assistance that could provide home renovations that would make the plan more feasible for the family. You and the family might even decide to work toward creating a semi-independent arrangement within the family home. There are many more potential outcomes of your interaction with this hypothetical family. Overall, this example is merely « be- ginning to illustrate what we mean when we speak of cultural reci- procity. Any of the interpretations that we have offered in this ex- ample might be inappropriate. Your examination of your values or those of the family and the sources of those values might produce ‘an entirely different picture than the one we have depicted. This is exactly the point: There is no recipe for how your examination of12 Building Cultural Reciprocity with Families yourself or your work with a family will transpire. By developing 2 osture of cultural ssignocty, however you can. ensure that every teraction with a family will be a learning experience for both you ‘nd the family and that any assistance that you offsr will ho within, ‘thet famaily. This book contains the stories of eight families. As you read these accounts, we encourage you to apply the framework of the posture of cultural reciprocity to the situations that the families ex- countered with various professionals. Ask yourself, “What were some of the underlying values in the professionals’ practices, and what values would I have brought to the situation?” Next, try to identify what the families’ values were, After the first case study, “Silvia,” we offer an interpretation of how the process of cultural reciprocity applied to our work with this family. After the other seven accounts, we suggest some brief interpretations and ask ques- tions to prompt you to apply the process of cultural reciprocity. Our interpretations are by no means the only ones possible. You might find that you have a very different response to the stories, and, based on your personal cultural identity, you might identify other values. By ceveloping your own cultural self-awareness, you will be able to recognize the cultural underpinnings of your professional practice, This, in turn, will enable you to facilitate conversations with the families with whom you interact, toward identifying the values and beliefs that underlie their priorities, goals, and vision for their child. As you learn about yourself and the families with whom you work, the families will also acquire knowledge about the special education system that will enable them to make informed decisions about services. You will have developed reciprocal, truly collaborative relationships. Be sure to read the Introduction on pages xi-xviii. It contains essential information about the unique dimensions of the study on which this book is based. INTRODUCTORY EXERCISE This exercise serves as an introduction to the process of cultural reciprocity. The following questions require you to work only on ‘Step 1 of the process because you may not know enough about how the family really felt about tho issues to imagine the rest of the process, If you think you do, however, then you might be able to at- tompt a hypothetical analysis of how Steps 2, 3, and 4 might have worked. If you can do only Step 1, do not be anxious, because each, “The Poste of Cultura Reciprocity 13 of the case studies in the book will give you the opportunity to try the process in more depth. For now, here's what we want you to do: Recollect an episode or an interaction that you have lad with a par- cent of a child with a disability (or a child suspected to be at risk) in which you recommended a particular course of action or service. Briefly describe the incident. Now, respond to the following ques- tions: 1, Why did you choose thet story? 2, What made you recommend that particular service? 3, Does your recommendation reflect a value that comes from your culture? What do you think it might be? 4, Use your personal identity web to identify specific cultural affil- ations that affected your recommendations and your interac- tions with this family. wv‘The Posture of Cull Reciprocity 13 of the case studies in the book will give you the opportunity to try the process in more depth. For now, here's what we want you to do: Recollect an episode or an interaction that you have had with a par- ont of a child with a disability (or a child suspected to be at risk) in which you recommended a particular course of action or service. Briefly describe the incident. Now, respond to the following ques- tions: : 4. Why did you choose that story? 2, What made you recommend that particular service? 3. Doos your recommendation reflect a value that comes from your culture? What do you think it might be? 4, Use your personal identity web to identify specific cultural aff- ations that affected your recommendations and your interac- ‘ions with this family. a