"Collaboration involves parent and professional, professional and child, parent and parent, professional and professional, agency and parent, federal and state administrators, and others. Collaboration will not look the same for all families and professionals. Some collaborative relationships will be simple to develop, others will be much more complex and demanding. Collaboration must be developed between and among all of us" (Mattessich & Money, 1992, p. 7).

Collaboration between secondary special education service providers is especially important because of the wider diversity of individuals and agencies involved in the transition from adolescent to young adult for students in special education. Professionals and parents acknowledge the need for effective collaboration for successful outcomes for each individual student. The collaboration between special education, rahabilitation, and vocational education can be difficult when there is a lack of cooperation, coordination and because of the administrative differences between the three. For the purposes of this family involvement collaboration module - the focus will be on collaboration with families, professionals and schools.

The first issue of concern in collaboration is one of ethics. The following three points are not meant to be inclusive of all ethical issues but which can be easily abused in the process of collaboration.

Confidentiality - professionals in the field of special education, vocational education, rahabilitation and other disability related services are told repeatedly to respect confidentiality of information. The professional organizations have codes of ethics that guide their professional conduct. Parents and family members are assured information about their child and family will be confidential. When information is shared among team members - confidentiality sometimes get lost in rationalization of team members wanting to know everything even in circumstances when it may not be necessary. When addressing confidentiality in collaborating with families, the issue becomes one of trust. If trust is lost, can collaboration happen?

Feasibility - collaboration may be viewed as the exemplary method for transition planning by the team members and agencies involved, however, if the time, resources, and/or supports are not available, effective collaboration is jeoparized. Would this be unethical to promote collaboration when in fact the team members know it is impossible in their specific circumstances?

Accountability - an individual team member comes to the planning process with a frame of reference. Each team member see the needs of a student and/or how they can be met in different ways in the lens of their frame of reference. This leads to disagreements in the planning process about priorities of needs, placement decisions, assessments, programming, related services, and other transition issues. At what point do you compromise? Where does accountability to the collaboration process and/or to your professional beliefs come into play?

It is important to recognize practices/decisions that you can live with and those you cannot. Discussions involving ethics and ethical practice should be an ongoing topic in professional development and parent training. The Council for Exceptional Children has a Code of Ethics for Educators of Persons with Exceptionalities - the following link takes you to the CEC Code of Ethics Professional Standards http://www.cec.sped.org/ps/ps-ethic.html

Friend, M. & Cook, L. (2000). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals (3rd ed.). Longman: New York.

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Characteristics of Collaboration

There are key characteristics that distinguish collaboration from cooperation and coordination.

These collaboration characteristics include:

• Voluntary
• Requires parity
• Based on mutual goals
• Shared responsibility for participation and decision making
• Shared resources
• Shared accountability for outcomes (Friend & Cook, 2000)

For collaboration to be effective and successful, the above characteristics need to be present. It is important for the process to be voluntary. Team members and/or agencies will participate in the collaborative process if they believe it is an important process rather than one mandated - particularly by administrators. Parity is where one perceives they have equal status in the process. If the team members or agencies do not have equal status (parity), then the collaboration process cannot function as intended. A primary focus of a collaborative team should be the shared vision and mutual goals. Although there may be different avenues to the identified goals, the team/agency knows they are working towards the same end. This shared vision/goal needs to be discussed and clarified. The shared responsibility for participation, decision making, resources, and accountabilty for outcomes are factors that make collaboration so appealing to team members and agencies alike. The feeling of not being alone or solely responsible plus the differing opinions, insights of each participate is an additional benefit of collaboration. Other emergent characteristics include; individuals who collaborate value this interpersonal style, professionals who collaborate trust one another, and a sense of community evolves from collaboration (Cook & Friend, 1990).

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How do we collaborate?

Ideally families and professionals would know how to collaborate in transition planning. Sometimes professionals and families have difficulty with the collaborative process. Each discipline has a different professional language, different strategies for working with families, and differing goals or outcome expectations for their agency. Families may have never experienced a situation where they feel like an equal partner, where someone is asking for their opinion, especially in the decision making process. Fortunately, collaboration can be learned. Collaboration is a style of interaction between colleagues, families and others. This style of interaction is focused on positive interactions between participants. However, collaboration with all families may not be an appropriate goal. The first goal may be just to encourage the family to participate. Without participation of the family, obviously collaboration between family and school can not develop. This does not mean attempts to engage the family or opportunities for family participation should stop. What is does mean that in certain circumstances with a specific family - participation alone may be the appropriate expectation (Cook & Friend, 2000).

To develop a collaborative relationship there needs to be interactions where collaboration characteristics can emerge. This takes time, effort, patience, and opportunities for collaboration to occur. Integral to the concept of collaboration is teaming. Steps for effective collaborative team fuunctioning are as follows:

1. Make sure members of the team - know they are members, especially parents/families. Parent know they are attending program planning meetings but may not 'know' they are an integral part of the decision making process.

2. Members need to participate and encourage the participation of all other members.

3. Clarification of roles and responsibilities of each team member.

4. Responsibility to learn effective communication skills - supportive and accepting communication leads to meaningful collaboration. Clarification of communication leads to open, honest expressions and trust.

5. Evaluation of issues and problems - not an evaluation of other team members.

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Cultural diversity and collaboration

The overrepresentation of minorities in special education is common knowledge and an ongoing problem for special education programs. " Ethnically diverse families and children may have had poor prior experiences with professionals who did not recognize or value their cultural differences. They may have difficulties trusting and communicating with the team until members demonstrate their cultural competence and sensitivity" (Flexer, Baer, Luft, & Simmons, 2005, p. 285). Since trust is an emergent characteristic of collaboration and without trust, the collaborative process is inhibited if not impossible.

School personnel or other professionals can effectively collaborate with diverse families in a culturally competent way and still meet legislative mandates and practices. For example, " be alert to goal and outcome differences; begin with personal interactions (visiting). Establish a trusting relationship with family (regarding cultural preferences for formal/informal gender, and role-consciousness). Gradually begin to solicit from family members their description of preferred adult outcomes. Negotiate differences by suggesting a variety of alternatives and explain rationale for professional suggestions in a culturally appropriate way" (Flexer, Baer, Luft, & Simmons, 2005, p. 290).

Wolfe, Boone and Barrera (1997) suggest the following strategies to guide culturally relevant transition planning:

• an "awareness of culture-related issues that influence collaborative transition planning -knowing one's own attitudes, beliefs, values, and cultural preconceptions;
• identification of personal values regarding adult life- including autonomy, independence, interdependence;
• perception of family values related to cultural diversity and adulthood - finding out what the family values;
• congruence and incongruence among educator and family values - assessing congruence among all team members;
• communication with the family to verify perceptions and obtain additional information also regarding role family prefers that they and the team take during the transition process; and
• reflection on family meeting and future plans - identifying sources to help resolve disagreements and to promote mutually satisfying outcomes" (Luft, 2005, p.295).

With this 6 step strategy to guide professionals, families would certainly be more receptive to the collaborative process. Cultural competence training for ALL professionals would enhance the collaborative process for all families involved in special education. Parent training in the special education process and in this case specifically, the transition process would assist families in becoming culturally competent (Brame, 1995; Burnette, 1998). The focus on communication and feedback between families and school personnel assure trust in the special education and collaborative process.

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Harry (2001) has identified 4 steps in a cultural reciprocity process to aid collaboration with families. This is a two-way process which consists of a) information sharing and b) understanding. She reports that each step builds on the last. The steps are:

"1. Identify the cultural values that are embedded in your interpretatio of a student's difficulties or in the recommendation of services.

2. Find out whether the family being served recognizes and values your assumptions and if not, how their view differs from yours.

3. Acknowledge and give explicit respect to any cultural differences identified, and fully explain the cultural basis of your assumptions.

4. Through discussion and collaboration, set about determining the most effective way of adapting your professional interpretations or recommendations to the value system of this family."

http://www.ericdigests.org/2002-2/aids.htm

Information sharing may require a period of getting to know the family and being sensitive to cultural differences. What this does do to collaborative is extent the time and effort involved which contrasts with our society's focus on efficiency. However, it is well worth the effort and extra time when a discussion ensues about what the family wants for their child in adulthood. This then may lead the discussion into family beliefs and values. When we have obtained this information in a culturally supportive way, then trust and comfort level will become easier (Flexer, Baer, Luft, & Simmons, 2005).

Barriers to collaboration and ways to overcome them

Although there may be any number of challenges to collaboration in any single circumstance - the following is a list of barriers that can be typical across individuals and settings.

• low commitment to and respect for family participation
• lack of agreement on how collaboration is defined
• lack of agreement on how power is shared
• how to increase trust and decrease suspicion
• lack of training in collaboration
• how to reach a consensus
• resistance to family participation
• concerns about confidentiality
• existence of tokenism
• imbalance of power related to financial decisions

Simpson, Koroloff, Friesen, & Gac, J ( 1998).

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Conflict Resolution

In the collaborative process, some conflict will occur. Conflict is neither good or bad, the response to conflict determines whether it is a negative or positive experience. The negative or positive outcomes of conflict is dependent on the individual group. In the secondary transition planning process there is a mandated component of coordinated activities where collaboration should occur. For this to happen, transition plan members have to listen, plan and coordinate what they are doing. From this discussion conflict can arise. This may be because of different goals of team members (different outcome), different strategies for meeting the same goals between team members (same outcome, different process), or even a conflict (internal) in one individual team member (Maurer, 1991; Friend & Cook, 2000; Miller, Brownell, & Smith, 1999).

"Collaborative Problem Solving: Steps in the Process

A Model for Collaborative Problem Solving

1. Share Perspectives - Use our communication skills to understand the other's perception of the situation, their needs, and desires

2. Define the Issues - Clarify the topics for discussion

3. Identify the Interests - Go beyond the stated positions or solutions to figure out what the parties really need to have satisfied in order to reach agreement; Look for the common ground between all parties

4. Generate Options - Brainstorm and generate ideas, looking at the problem from all angles and considering as many different ideas as possible

5. Develop a Fair Standard or Objective Criteria for Deciding - Using an agreed upon criteria, combine and reduce options; Strive to "expand the pie" and create agreements for mutual gain.

6. Evaluate Options and Reach Agreement "

Windle & Warren, 2005

http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/section5.cfm#COLLABORATIVE%20PROBLEM%20SOLVING%20VS.%20BEING%20POSITIONAL

Although conflicts arise in collaboration and transition planning, parent and professional attitudes make the difference on whether it is a positive or negative experience. Here are some suggestions to assure a more positive experience.

1. Respect families and their perspective.

2. Respect professionals and their perspective.

3. Listen to all opinions.

4. Look for commonalities.

5. Keep the outcome in mind (not am I winning or losing).

6. When in a conflict, do not fight, avoid, or acquience -

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Suggested Activities

1. Interview a family who has an adolescent with a disability. Ask about their positive and negative experiences when working with schools and related disability professionals. Write a 2-3 page essay about their advice on how to maintain positive collaborative relationships with families and what to do to avoid negative experiences.

2. If you are working on a collaborative project/team, complete the collaboration rubric on each team member. You can ask the other members of the team to do the same thing as a point of discussion for evaluation of the collaborative process (Link to collaboration rubric word document to print for your use) .

Collaboration Rubric

Name: ____________________________

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Contribution
Gather information	Does not collect any information – comes unprepared	Collects very little information- some relates to topic	Collects some basic information – most relates to topic	Collects a great deal of information – all relates to topic
Share Information	Does not relay any information.	Relays very little information--some appropriate	Relays some basic information--most appropriate	Relays a great deal of appropriate information
Group Work	Contributes to group goals only when prompted	Contributes to group goals with occasional prompting	Works towards group goals without prompting	Consistently and actively works toward group goals
Responsibility
Fulfill Team Role's Duties	Does not perform any duties of team role.	Performs very little duties.	Performs nearly all duties.	Performs all duties of team role.
Participation	Does not speak	Either gives too little information or information which is irrelevant to topic.	Offers some information--most is relevant.	Offers a fair amount of important information--all is relevant.
Share Equally	Always relies on others to do the work.	Rarely does the assigned work--often needs reminding.	Usually does the assigned work--rarely needs reminding.	Always does the assigned work without having to be reminded.
Value Others' Viewpoints
Listen to Others	Is always talking--never allows anyone else to speak.	Usually doing most of the talking--rarely allows others to speak.	Listens, but sometimes talks too much.	Listens and speaks a fair amount.
Cooperates with Others	Usually argues.	Sometimes argues.	Rarely argues.	Never argues
Make Fair Decisions	Usually wants to have things their way.	Rarely considers all views.	Usually considers all views.	Always helps to reach a fair decision.
				Total

Revised rubric from: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/triton/tidepoolunit/Rubrics/collrubric.html

3. What is your conflict response style? To assist you in managing conflict situations - take the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument to assess your preferred style. This link provides the instrument, scoring sheet, & interpretation.

Interesting Internet Links

PACER website on Transition and Collaboration http://www.pacer.org/tatra/inter.htm

Conflict 101 http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/section2.cfm#THE%20THREE%20MOST%20COMMON%20RESPONSES%20TO%20CONFLICT

Cultural Reiprocity Aids Collaboration with Families http://www.ericdigests.org/2002-2/aids.htm

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Reading Resources about Collaboration

Collaborative Strategies (special section) (2000) Teaching Exceptional Children, 33 (2) p.4-

73.

Mauer, R. E. (1991). Managing conflict: Tactics for school administrators. Boston:Allyn & Bacon.

Melamed, J., & Reunabm J. (no date). Collaboration and conflict resolution in Education.

Mediate.com ( retrieved June 1, 2005). http://www.mediate.com/articles/edu.cfm

Miller, M.D., Brownell, M. T. & Smith, S. W. (1999). Factors that predict teachers staying in , leaving,

or transferring from the special education classroom. Exceptional Children, 65, 201-218.

Spencer, S. (2005). An interview with Lynn Cook and June Downing: The Practicalities of

Collaboration in Special Education Service Delivery. Intervention in School and

Clinic, 40 (5), p. 296-300.

Warger, C. (2001) Cultural reciprocity aids collaboration with families. ERIC Clearing

House on Disabilities and Gifted Education. ERIC/OSEP Digest #E614.

Collaboration Quiz

1. What are three ethical points that are easily abused in collaboration? Why?

2. There are six characteristics of collaboration. Explain why each are important to families and collaboration.

3. Discuss why families from different cultures might feel more trust if professionals used the 6 strategies proposed by Wolfe, Boone & Barrera (1997)?

4. In your own words, what might be done to overcome the barriers to collaboration?

5. Why would problem solving methods be critical in the collaborative process?

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