Cultural Brokering With Families in the Research and Writing Process

• In Event: Centering Family Perspectives: Dreams and Possibilities of Public Schools

Abstract

Power imbalance and social hierarchies are evident in both the structural organization of schooling and the research process used to study education systems. In this paper, we examine how we tried to mitigate challenges inherent in educational research and negotiated shared meaning between people from different cultural backgrounds and perspectives during longitudinal research resulting in a book. The participants/coauthors represent six immigrant families of children with dis/abilities. They are all women; five were mothers of individuals with dis/abilities and one a sibling. Each engaged in co-constructing a narrative portrait of their family. Findings emphasize not only the invaluable content of the families’ lived experiences and construction of dis/ability, but also the process involved in constructing their portraits as authoritative storytellers.

Authors

• Zach Rossetti, Boston University

• Kimiya Sohrab Maghzi, University of Redlands

• Janet S. Sauer, Lesley University

• Oanh Thi Thu Bui