Effective parent-teacher partnerships can improve outcomes for autistic students. Yet, we know little about what effective partnerships look like for parents of autistic children from diverse backgrounds. Using participatory methods, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 Somali mothers of autistic children attending Australian…

This article takes a closer look at the issue of access by describing the author's process of access during an ethnographic study on the home--school collaboration between Somali diaspora mothers and teachers in Danish public schools. The article is structured around metaphors of the field and unfolds as a progressive narrative of these metaphors;…

This study examines collaboration between American special educators and Somali American families of boys with autism through the lens of capital theory. Subthemes are organized according to phases in the educational planning process, from ongoing and pre-meeting interactions through finalization of the Individualized Education Program (IEP).…

Situated in social capital theory, the purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the relationship between African-born immigrant parents' educational level, income status, family structures, and academic performance of their children in the United States (U.S.). To that end, 205 African-born immigrant parents from a metropolitan city…

Drawing on discursive psychology this article examines the understandings teachers and principals in Danish Public Schools have regarding Somali diaspora parenting practices. Furthermore, the article investigates what these understandings mean in interaction with children in the classrooms and with parents in home-school communication. It is…

The ability of parents to nurture and support their children during their primary school years is considered to be fundamental for the child's development and learning. Teachers and educational psychologists assign great prominence to parental involvement as a tool to advance educational success for children, especially for those who are faced…

This study examines the encounter of Somali parents with their children's teachers and how these relations "affect" their possibility of supporting their children's attaining a successful school experience. The study is inspired by and combines the insight and concept of social capital developed by Coleman and Bourdieu. The parents…

Family member-educator collaboration is envisioned as the "cornerstone" of the educational decision-making process for students with disabilities (e.g., Harry, 2008; Olivos, Friend & Cook, 2007, Gallagher & Aguilar, 2010). In the case of immigrant and refugee families, however, the ideal of coequal collaboration is often elusive…