ABSTRACT
Although special education legislation and researchers acknowledge the importance of family–professional partnerships (FPPs) in schools, research continues to document a number of challenges experienced by families with actualizing this intended partnership. This chapter presents a call to action for researchers to critically examine existing studies and generate new research with, rather than on, families that considers the multifaceted and unique needs of all families. The chapter begins with a presentation and examination of the limitations of existing special education FPP research and later discusses how existing theoretical frameworks consider issues of culture and diversity that intentionally elevate family voices in research. Next, the chapter presents the application of key frameworks for consideration, including the interrelated notions of intersectionality, DisCrit, along with discussion and application of equitable collaboration. Following this discussion is the presentation of research methodology that actively includes families as direct partners across essential research activities, including developing research questions through the dissemination of findings. Finally, the chapter concludes with a call for the next steps challenging researchers to shift and/or re-create a conceptualization of special education research that examines culture, diversity, and the inclusive role of families in shaping educational change.
