Family and Community Perceptions of Children Who Have Disabilities or Special Needs, the Ranches near Irapuato, Guanajato, Mexico
A Field Study Proposal
Statement of Intent
My purpose in going to Mexico is to see how children with special needs are viewed by their families and community. I would like understand how these families are viewed by the community. While I am there I hope to find answers to these questions. Do parents feel their child who has special needs is able to learn and progress? Do people in the community feel that these children can progress? What are the perceptions the community members have of these families? Where do these ideas originate from?
During my field study I will gather data through different means. I would like to interview parents who have a child with special needs. I will also complete surveys with local community members and collect information through observation.
Through this experience I hope to understand how these parents feel. I would like to see things how they see things. I hope to come back to Utah and benefit from this knowledge that I have gained there. Previous to this field study I worked with families from Mexico. When I come back from Mexico I would like to continue providing early intervention services. I hope that this new perspective that I will have gained while in Mexico will help me know how to help these families better because I will see things how they see things. I would like to understand more fully what they are thinking and why they might be thinking this way. Because of this experience I will be more sensitive to their individual needs and provide better services for them and their children.
I would like to complete this study to help me determine future decisions of my education. I have always loved other countries and living with other people. It is so wonderful to understand and see things from their perspective. I have contemplated going into a masters program along this area of interest. I want to study different people and how they view the world. This experience will help me to decide if this is the area I would really like to continue my education in.
Background and Significance & Literature Review
Irapuato was founded in 1547 and has a population of around 342,500. Agriculture is the main industry of this city and the area is well known for its strawberries. Surrounding Irapuato are numerous outlying communities. My field study is an appropriate fit for this location mainly because it does have outlying communities where some of the historic and cultural ideals have been preserved. I specifically want to understand education opportunities for children from rural areas of Mexico, these provides those rural areas. I will live in these rural areas and be able to observe children who have special needs in their communities. I will also be able to go to Irapuato to see what schools there are, or are not available, to provide services to meet these children’s educational needs.
Since having a child with a disability can be looked on from community members as a bad thing. This creates a very tender and touchy subject. I do not wish to draw unwanted negative attention to these families because of views the community might have. If I am gathering feedback or people’s opinions they could begin to talk and this could impact the family feeling hostile towards the community members and their opinions or towards myself as well.
If I were to gather this information through interviews or surveys that would call direct attention to these families which could be unwanted. This may mean that I will only be able to gather information through observation. Possibly as relationships deepen I might be able to complete a few interviews with the family members or parents of these children.
Much information about attitudes and perceptions of these children has been gathered previously. Some of this information is specific to location and cultures. Much of what has been gathered connects to the family. What are the feelings of these families and what are the emotions they are dealing with. Then it looks at how these emotions impact the family unit.
I feel that it is very important to understand these views. Understanding how a child is perceived by their parents influences how those parents interact with them throughout the day. Those influences impact the child and their development. It is also important to understand where they are coming from. I would like to work with families from Mexico to provide services for their child. I need to better understand where they are coming from so that I am more fully able to address their needs.
Methodology/Procedures
In order to for this information to be gathered I will first need to build rapport with the families and community I will be working with. I believe this rapport is built by becoming an active participant of the community and as well by connecting on a personal level with individuals and families. My first month and possibly even more time will be dedicated to building this rapport.
To be an active participant of the community I must do things the way they do things, know about the concerns that face the community, and be willing to serve and give back to the community. This process will have begun even before I go to Mexico. I will study and learn about this area now so that when I go there, I will already have a good understanding of them and what is important to them as a whole. For example I will have an understanding of their history, how they became who they are. As well I will learn about their current situation and challenges they may be facing in the future. Understanding where someone comes from and being aware of their concerns helps to show awareness and a genuine care which can bond and strengthen the relation I will have with those there. When I am there I will take part in the things that they do as a community to show my support and I will do my best to fit in and do things the way they do things.
To connect to people on a personal and family level I will have to sincerely come to know them and care about them. These relationships can be built by spending time together. I will do activities they do in their homes with them. As I do what they do I will gain greater insight into what their lives are like. Then as I begin to see things from their perspective and can more fully understand them, I will in turn be able to support and strengthen them. I must be aware of their life and what matters to them. Conversations will aid this as well as confiding in them. If I go with a desire to learn from them I will bond with them as they teach me.
The population I will be sampling will be very small. I hope only to reflect on the perceptions of a few families and then the perception of that specific small community that I will be living in. These perceptions will come mainly from mothers and hopefully a few fathers.
These people that I will be gathering my sample from will be those whom I have come to know. It will be the people I have come close to because they have been willing to spend time with me and we have build and developed a good rapport. This is a heavy issue and so the only way to gain access or insights is through those who want to and choose to open up and share information with me.
This information will be gathered in a variety of different ways. Observations will be done in homes where there is a child with special needs or disabilities. Interviews will also be conducted with those who have children with special needs. Due to the sensitivity of my topic and to protect these families only observations will be conducted to more fully understand how those in the community view them. This will lead to much hypothesis when drawing conclusions about their understanding, but it is the more ethical way to approach this topic.
The method which I will use, interviewing, to gather insight into parents’ perceptions will lead me to conclusions for my field study purpose. I will have to be immersed in their culture and see things how they see things if I’m going to accurately reflect their perceptions and understanding. Due to language there may be some barriers. I speak Spanish, but not perfectly. There is sure to be some miscommunications. Even with the words translated correctly there can be some confusion due to different interpretations or meanings of those words. To address these problems I will need to clarify meanings and verify what has been said and what I understand to have been said.
Ethics and Approval
To maintain confidentiality of the information that has been gathered will be unidentifiable. Genders and ages of the children will be known but names and places will be left confidential. This will help to protect the identities of those families I will be working with. These people will participate because they want to not because they feel an obligation. The interviews will be conducted through casual conversation. If a parent does not wish to answer something I’m sure they would change the conversation. I as the one conducting this interview will have to be aware of those feelings and respect the change of direction of the conversation. I will not continue to press and issue if they have avoided answering.
To minimize risk and mazimize be….reciprocity
Preliminary Plans for Post-field Application
This field experience will benefit me greatly in the future. I plan to continue working in the early intervention field as a developmental specialist. Since I speak Spanish I will be working with Hispanic families who have children with disabilities. The majority of which are from Mexico. This experience will give me insight into how these parents view their child who has special needs. Their understanding of their child impacts their involvement and interactions with them. This inquiry will allow me to see things how they see things and then allow me, because I am coming from their point of view, to know how to better help them.
I am also trying to look into masters programs. I love cultures and seeing how people view the world. This experience will permit me to live in another culture and study how they see things. Through this experience I will see if this is really the direction I would like my education to go as I go forward with these plans.
Qualifications and Limitations
I am qualified to participate in this field study program for a variety of different reasons. I
This information will be gathered in a variety of different ways. Observations will be done in homes where there is a child with special needs or disabilities. Interviews will be conducted with those who have children with special needs.
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