ERIC ED412697: Parent Perceptions of Home Visitors: A Comparative Study of Parents Who Are American Indian and Non-Indian Parents.

43 Pages·1997·0.47 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
EC 305 912
ED 412 697
Bailey, Don; Applequist, Karen
AUTHOR
Parent Perceptions of Home Visitors: A Comparative Study of
TITLE
Parents Who Are American Indian and Non-Indian Parents.
North Carolina Univ., Chapel Hill.
INSTITUTION
Special Education Programs (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC.
SPONS AGENCY
1997-00-00
PUB DATE
NOTE
44p.
H023B30006
CONTRACT
Research (143)
PUB TYPE Reports
EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.
American Indians; *Cultural Influences; *Disabilities; Early
DESCRIPTORS
Childhood Education; *Early Intervention; Family
Characteristics; Family Programs; *Navajo (Nation); *Parent
Attitudes; *Participant Satisfaction; Young Children
ABSTRACT
This final report discusses the outcomes of a research
project that examined the nature of the relationship between 52 Navajo
caregivers' perceptions of the early intervention service system and specific
program, provider, and family variables. The project also investigated
perceptions of 16 early intervention personnel regarding barriers to, and
strategies for, providing early intervention services to eligible families in
the Navajo Nation. Results found caregivers had greater satisfaction with
early intervention services in programs perceived to be more family centered.
Those individuals who were less educated or more traditional generally rated
the program as being less family centered. Provider variables such as ethnic
matching between the provider and caregiver, and the educational level of the
provider, failed to relate strongly to either measure of satisfaction.
Ninety-six percnt of the caregivers had no preference with regard to the
ethnic/racial background of the provider. The acculturation status had a
strong and statistically significant positive relationship with satisfaction
with family-related aspects of services. Overall, caregivers were quite
positive about early intervention services and seemed to be unable to
identify anything needing improvement. Service providers identified travel
time issues as a significant barrier to providing services. (Contains 40
references.)
(CR)
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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
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Parent Perceptions of Home Visitors: A Comparative Study
of Parents who are American Indian and Non-Indian
Parents
Project Directors: Don Bailey
Karen Applequist
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
CB 8180
Chapel Hill, NC 27593
H023B30006
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
ai This document has been reproduced as
received from the person or organization
originating it.
Minor changes have been made to
improve reproduction quality.
Points of view or opinions stated in this
document do not necessarily represent
official OERI position or policy.
2
Err COPT AVEILAME
Introduction
Early intervention programs face a wide range of challenges and must
make adaptations in their models of service delivery in
an effort to be
responsive to the resources, priorities, and concerns of families living in the
Navajo Nation. The federal directive (Part H of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, IDEA) to bring the family to the center of the
service system requires close scrutiny of what constitutes best practice for
Navajo families. Families whose lives are influenced by the interaction of
geographical realities, a rich and varied cultural context, and the prevailing
theme of poverty demand approaches that are flexible and responsive to the
uniqueness of each family.
Overview
The policy of assimilation imposed on the Navajo people by the
United States government has resulted in a dissonance exemplifying what
Festinger (1957) describes in his treatise on cognitive dissonance. He states
that "dissonance could arise because of cultural mores. The dissonance exists
simply because the culture defines what is consonant and what is not"
(Festinger, 1957, p. 14). Policies of assimilation forced American Indians to
reject their own culture and adopt the majority one. Compher (1989) could
have been writing about the case of the American Indian when he wrote:
Major discord occurs as the majority culture imposes its values of
competition, individualism, and productivity upon cultures, which, by and
large, are more socially and expressively oriented. Dissonance is most
evident for the individual or family where it relates to other necessary
systems of the society which are usually controlled by the majority culture.
(Compher, 1989, p. 63)
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Some suggest that efforts to reduce cultural dissonance
in the
provision of human services be directed beyond the practice
of individual
professionals to the design of the service system. This
was recognized in a
recent forum centered upon the American Indians with developmental
disabilities: "Programs designed along the dominant cultural
patterns are
known to be non-conducive to American Indian and Alaskan Native
participation". (ADD Commissioner's Institute, 1993, p.4).
The significance of the cultural context is underscored in the
developing system of services for families of infants and toddlers with special
needs (Anderson, Fienchel, & Schrag, 1989). In his qualitative evaluation of
early intervention programs conducted prior to the passage of Part H of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Mallory (1980) revealed
that programs were most likely to serve those families who could adapt to the
demands of the program regarding family form and cultural values. It is
imperative that the system of services be continuously examined to
determine whether it is in concert with the cultural context of the family,
or if
early intervention becomes a new culture imposed on the family.
Understanding the need to develop programs consonant with the
culture of the American Indian led to the formation of a Blue Ribbon Panel
charged with the development of guidelines for the delivery of services to
Navajo children with special needs and their families (Agosta, O'Neal, &
Toubben, 1987). In their report, the conceptual framework for early
intervention services for Navajos is outlined. Underlying values proposed
by the panel focus on the provision of services within the context of the
Navajo family, recognizing the role of individual family members as well as
cultural beliefs and practices of the Navajo. To understand how well these
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guidelines have been followed, it is critical to
assess the consonance between
the family and the service system for Navajo families.
As the complex interplay of culture, family, and human
services is
more fully appreciated, the necessity for service systems that are responsive to
the unique resources, concerns, and priorities of each and
every family is
imperative. The only effective measure of that responsiveness is
to involve
those individuals whose culture is markedly different from the
dominant
culture, as in the case of the Navajo, in the
process of assessing the
consonance between the early intervention system of services and the
families it serves.
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine the nature of the relationship
between caregiver perceptions of the service system and specific
program,
provider, and family variables, and to investigate perceptions of early
intervention personnel regarding barriers to, and strategies for, providing
early intervention services to eligible families
on the Navajo Nation.
Research Questions
1. What is the relative contribution of program variables (family
centeredness, intensity, travel time), provider variables (ethnic match
between provider and caregiver, educational level of the provider), and
child/caregiver variables (disability, duration in services, caregiver education,
acculturation, and socioeconomic status) to caregiver satisfaction with early
intervention services for Navajo families receiving services under Part H?
2. What are Navajo caregiver perceptions of the early intervention system of
services?
3. What are the perceptions of service providers regarding the system of early
intervention services for Navajo families?
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A Review of the Literature
The Navajo People and Their Land
Approximately 148,451 Navajos reside on the Navajo reservation and
trust lands (see Figure 1), 25,351.4 square miles in Arizona, New Mexico, and
Utah (Rodgers, 1993). Their existence is characteristically rural with
an
estimated 6.37 people per square mile (Rodgers, 1993) compared to 70.3 in the
entire country, 32.3 in Arizona, and 12.5 in New Mexico (U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1992). Many people live in remote areas accessible only by dirt
roads, which are frequently impassable during the winter months. Hence,
many Navajos are far removed from marketplaces, schools, health services,
and employment opportunities. This isolation plays
a major role in the lives
of many Navajos, and ultimately impacts the provision of human services.
During the last decade, this country has witnessed an increase in
Navajo population by 38%, while the Caucasian population increased 5%
(Tsosie, 1992). It is estimated that 58.8% of Navajo people over the
age of 25
have not graduated from high school, 28% are unemployed (Rodgers, 1993),
and 57.9% of the Navajo people live below the federal poverty line (Tsosie,
1993). The overarching theme of poverty on the Navajo Nation has
considerable impact upon the people, and many of the characteristics
suggested by Lewis (1966) in his classic description of the "Culture of Poverty"
are played out in the Navajo Nation (e.g., higher rates of fertility, lower levels
of education, and higher unemployment rates).
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Figure 1. Map of the Navajo Nation.
Navajo Reservation
Hopi Reservation
Cultural Influences
Family structure and childrearing practices.
Nuclear families are the
exception rather than the rule, most families extend to include aunts, uncles,
grandparents, and nieces and nephews. Historically, Navajo society has been
matrilineal; in many families the aunts and grandmothers assume caregiving
responsibilities of the young children.
As soon as they are able, the young child is given responsibility.
Children seldom receive harsh discipline, and learn early on to be responsible
for their own behavior. Caregivers generally model behavior rather than
attempt to shape it. Milestones in the life of the young child include the first
smile and the naming ceremony, and these are celebrated by everyone in the
family.
Family perceptions and attitudes. Joe (1980) found that people
frequently lack names for disabling conditions and consider the symptoms of
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an illness or disability more important than its cause. Disease etiology is
typically seen as either natural, as in the case of a broken bone, or
supernatural, involving sorcery or breaking of a taboo.
After the birth of a
child with special needs, the family may arrange for a sing or healing
ceremony for the child. Joe (1982) indicates that many families who have a
ceremony feel they have hope even if little change is seen in the child.
Language and communication styles: Many individuals
are
bilingual, frequently using their native language in the home
or community
and adopting English when seeking assistance through the educational,
medical or social service systems.
The communication style of the Navajo differs significantly from the
Anglo. Upon meeting one another they extend a hand in greeting, showing
respect by using a weak grasp. The speaker does not address one person
specifically, rather communicates generally to others. They do not interrupt
others or attempt to control the conversation. Longer pauses often
occur, and
greater silence is tolerated (Phillips, 1983).
Navajos have undergone considerable cultural conflict in recent
history that has major implications for those who are providing human
services to families. Each individual, and each family responds uniquely to
the demands of the dominant culture. Understanding and respecting an
individual's cultural identity and their degree of acculturation can serve to
reduce dissonance between that individual and the individual or program
providing services.
Early Intervention for Navajos
The Navajo Nation has been faced with a unique dilemma in its
implementation of Part H services. The Nation contains lands in three
different states, each having its own definitions for eligibility for services and
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respective service systems. Recognizing the need
to identify a plan for
implementing Part H, the Navajo Nation created its
own early intervention
program, known as "Growing in Beauty".
The Assistant Director of Growing in Beauty reported that
a total of
1,262 Navajo infants and toddlers with disabilities had been identified by
April 15, 1994, and 708 of those children had Individualized Family Service
Plans (Seanez, 1994).
Cultural Dissonance within Human Services
Harry (1992) enumerates several potential sources of dissonance which
may occur between professionals and families of infants and toddlers with
special needs.
These include the meaning of disability, concepts of family
structure and family identity, and finally, parenting style. Anderson, Fenichel
and Schrag (1989) provide a similar perspective and add a very important
dimension, the interaction style between the professional and the family.
Various approaches have been adopted in an attempt to reduce cultural
dissonance. Out of the vast literature on cross-cultural counseling it has been
learned that particular characteristics of the counselor can influence the
counseling interaction and ultimately the outcome. In the case of the
American Indian, it has been learned that trustworthiness is valued over
ethnicity in counselors (Heinrich, Corbine, & Thomas, 1990). Dauphinais
(1981) found Indians preferred more subtle, non-directive approaches where
Anglos preferred more direct approaches.
The quality of the relationship between helper and client has been
found to be highly correlated with overall outcome (Beck & Jones, 1973).
Rouse (1989) found the temperament, values, and beliefs of the early
interventionist were the best predictor of change in the maternal
commitment to the mother/child interaction.
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In recent years there has been much written about becoming culturally
competent as a professional. Becoming culturally competent is critical to the
non-Indian professional working with Navajo families, particularly with the
present shortage of qualified Navajo professionals (Johnson, 1991).
In fact, it is this shortage of qualified personnel that led to the
employment of paraprofessionals on the Navajo Nation. In spite of the
obvious benefit of hiring paraprofessionals during personnel shortages
(Savino, Kennedy, & Brady, 1968), another perhaps
more important benefit is
the value of employing indigenous persons to serve
as liaison between
professional staff and the community (Koerber, 1979).
Another approach to reducing cultural dissonance utilized by
programs providing service to families on the Navajo Nation is the home
visiting model. Instead of requiring families to take their children to clinical
settings, the provider visits the family in their home, within their own
context. Employment of the home visiting model has received support for
indigenous populations (Lamer, 1990), including the Navajo (Roach &
Resnick, 1992).
Assessing Cultural Consonance
Utilization of services is an important indicator of satisfaction with or
acceptance of services. Because utilization can be influenced by many factors,
one should be cautious as to its use as the sole marker of acceptance of the
services.
Weiss (1988) discusses the important role parent perceptions play in
understanding the interplay between the service delivery system and the
family. Slaughter (1988) suggests that in the case of racially diverse
communities, parent perceptions should be sought before program goals are
developed, as a formative rather than summative process.
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