What Mothers Say about Special Education: From the 1960s to the Present (Palgrave Studies in Urban Education)

This Book Documents The Experiences Of 15 Mothers Whose Children Labeled Learning Disabled Attended Public Schools During The Last Four Decades. Despite The Right Of Parents To Participate In Educational Decision-making, These Mothers Describe The Challenge Of Exercising That Right. In Candid And Compelling Narratives, Mothers Speak To The Language Of Experts, Conflicts In Shared Decision-making, Devaluation Of Mother Knowledge, And The Influence Of Race, Class, And Gender. The Constancy Of Issues Suggests That This Landmark Legislation May, In Fact, Have Engendered Minimal Changes In The Lives Of Mothers And Their Children. Setting The Stage : Context And Method -- From Past To Present : American Culture, Public Schools, And Parents -- The Early Years : First Generation Mothers -- The Implementation Years : Second Generation Mothers -- The Maintenance Years : Third Generation Mothers -- Mothers Speaking To Mothers : A Cross-generational Conversation -- Special Education As Ethical Practice. Jan W. Valle. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [233]-242) And Index. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Series Editor’s Foreword......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Acknowledgments......Page 18 One: Setting the Stage: Context and Method......Page 20 Two: From Past to Present: American Culture, Public Schools, and Parents......Page 38 Three: The Early Years: First Generation Mothers......Page 72 Four: The Implementation Years: Second Generation Mothers......Page 118 Five: The Maintenance Years: Third Generation Mothers......Page 162 Six: Mothers Speaking to Mothers: A Cross-Generational Conversation......Page 202 Seven: Special Education as Ethical Practice......Page 218 Appendices......Page 244 References......Page 252 D......Page 262 H......Page 263 P......Page 264 S......Page 265 T......Page 266 Y......Page 267 "This book documents the experiences of 15 mothers whose children labeled learning disabled attended public schools during the last four decades. Despite the right of parents to participate in educational decision-making, these mothers describe the challenge of exercising that right. In candid and compelling narratives, mothers speak to the language of experts, conflicts in shared decision-making, devaluation of "mother knowledge," and the influence of race, class, and gender. The constancy of issues suggests that this landmark legislation may, in fact, have engendered minimal changes in the lives of mothers and their children."--BOOK JACKET This book is an alternative account of special education from the cross-generational perspective of 15 mothers whose children labelled learning dis/abled (LD) attended public schools during the last four decades. This book is an alternative account of special education from the cross-generational perspective of 15 mothers whose children labeled learning dis/abled (LD) attended public schools during the last four decades