Forced Choices and Limited Options: Parent Perspectives on High School for Their Children With Disabilities

• In Event: Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Familiy Stories, Stories of Families

Abstract

This paper describes a phenomenological study exploring families' experiences with both disability and school systems in the adolescent years. Analysis of interview data from six families of adolescent children with significant disabilities examines the role of institutional narratives in the educational decisions made by families. The strategies used by families to navigate the school system were also examined through the lens of cultural and economic capital, with distinct differences revealed between those families with the least and the most economic and social resources. Implications include how schools and families might provide counter-narratives that support meaningful learning and inclusion in secondary settings, as well as how families might be oriented to successful strategies for advocacy within large school districts.

Author

• Amy Hanreddy, California State University - Northridge