Abstract
Family partnerships are critical to supporting the learning and development of young children, including those with disabilities. However, systemic inequities create barriers for families to meaningfully engage in the special education process, especially for those from nondominant backgrounds. The family systems theory (FST) is a framework used to understand the dynamic nature of a family system by understanding an individual with a disability as interrelated to the rest of the family unit. The author offers a reconceptualization of the framework by embedding intersectionality within family inputs to honor families' multiple, overlapping identities. Funds of knowledge, culturally responsive teaching and reflective practice are offered as tools to strengthen understanding and responsiveness to children and families with intersectional identities.
TopIntroduction
All practitioners of the early childhood ecosystem are responsible for advancing equitable practices to support the learning and development of all young children (National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], 2019). These practices honor children’s identities, elevate the diverse communities they belong to, and dismantle structural inequities that create barriers for children and families. This includes establishing reciprocal family partnerships, where family strengths, identities, and knowledge can be elevated to ensure children, including those with disabilities, and their families have what they need to thrive. When family-centered practices are established, families can engage in active decision-making, share their priorities and goals, and advocate for their child’s learning and development (Division for Early Childhood [DEC], 2014).
Family partnerships also support the inclusion of young children with disabilities and their families. According to the Division of Early Childhood and the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (2009) joint position statement on early childhood inclusion, early education professionals must support children within the context of their families and communities. They define early childhood inclusion as embodying
the values, policies, and practices that support the right of every infant and young child and his or her family, regardless of ability, to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts as full members of families, communities, and society. (p. 2)
For programs to be inclusive, services and support acknowledge and respond to the needs of children, in relation to the family and communities in which children belong.
Systemic inequities create barriers for meaningful family partnerships. Child development frameworks often center White, middle class, suburban, nondisabled, English-speaking, and nuclear family structures, failing to acknowledge the complex identities young children and their families may experience (Derman-Sparks et al., 2020). Families from historically marginalized communities, including those who are of color (Kayser et al., 2021; Yull et al., 2014), multilingual (Kayser et al., 2021; Ortega, 2014), refugees (Haines et al., 2015), and/or disabled (Gerzel-Short et al., 2019; Kalyanpur & Harry, 2012), may experience additional barriers when collaborating with teachers. In addition, families who hold multiple marginalized identities may experience additional barriers due to the intersections of those identities (Crenshaw, 1989). Early educators must actively engage in family-centered practices that respond to the individualized context of each family unit, while acknowledging the complexities when their identities overlap.
The Family Systems Theory (FST) is a framework for understanding the interactive and dynamic nature of a family system (Turnbull et. al 1984, 2015). Family members are seen as interrelated and interdependent, adapting and responding to changes within the family unit and external environment. Although the existing framework acknowledges the dynamic nature of the family system when supporting a child with a disability, it does not explicitly address the additional layers of complexities when families hold multiple and marginalized identities or when those identities overlap.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Individualized Family Service Plan: A legal document developed for infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities around early intervention services for young children birth to three and their families.
Race: A socially constructed concept used to classify groups of people based on perceived differences, leading to various forms of power in society that systemically advantages some and disadvantages others. Each group may identify with their own set of shared values, norms, or culture.
Disability: Individual contexts or conditions that in conjunction with societal barriers, create difficulties for individuals to access and participate in daily living experiences and tasks.
Intersectionality: How multiple identities interact to exacerbate patterns of oppression.
Family Systems Theory: A framework for understanding a child with a disability within the context of their family unit by acknowledging the dynamic relationships between family characteristics, interactions, functions, and life cycle changes.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Federal legislation that guarantees the educational rights of children with disabilities from birth through twenty one and their families to access special education and early intervention services.
Reflective Practice: A process of engaging in a cycle of self-inquiry to reflect on one’s own actions to deepen understanding around beliefs, biases, and actions.
Individualized Education Program: A legal document developed in partnership with families and children around special education services for children ages three to twenty one, which includes present levels, assessments, goals, and services.
Funds of Knowledge: An approach to embedding cultural practices and other knowledge acquired from daily living tasks and experiences to learning.
Culturally Responsive Teaching: An approach to learning that builds trust and relationships with children by connecting their cultures, languages, and experiences into school experiences.