The experiences of Chinese parents in IEP meetings whose first language is not English

ABSTRACT This paper explored the perception of the experiences of 5 Chinese parents of children with special education eligibilities and how their experiences related to each other. 3 overall questions with 4 sub-questions were asked in each face-to-face interview conducted in conjunction with a native Chinese speaker acquainted with special education law and terminology concerning how the child’s special education needs were determined, how language differences were accommodated, and how the parent participated in the IEP meeting. Where appropriate, the differences of experiences between Chinese special education and American special education were noted. The interviews were then analyzed and compared to find those who had the same type of experiences, similar experiences, and those who had different experiences. The interviews were then compared to the recommended practices found in the review of available literature.