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Using Qualitative and Quantitative

Methods to Conduct Research in

Parent Education with Immigrant

Families of Children with Autism

Spectrum Disorders

Contributors: Elizabeth Ijalba

Pub. Date: 2014

Access Date: July 2, 2019

Academic Level: Intermediate Undergraduate, Advanced Undergraduate, Postgraduate

Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Ltd.

City: London

Online ISBN: 9781473950856

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/978144627305014533926

This PDF has been generated from SAGE Research Methods Cases.

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https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/978144627305014533926

Abstract

In 2010, I commenced research aimed at developing effective methodologies in parent education with

Hispanic immigrant families of children with language and communication impairments. I aimed to learn how

mothers' perceptions and cultural values influenced their experience in raising a child with autism, and I

wanted to determine the effectiveness of teaching mothers how to stimulate language with their children. I

explored the mothers' perceptions through phenomenological interviews and thematic analysis. I measured

the mothers' effectiveness as language facilitators by observing their interactions with their children and by

measuring the children's changes in their communication abilities. The first challenge I describe in this case

is that of building a culturally relevant theoretical framework to guide parent-education research. The second

challenge described is the design and how to integrate qualitative and quantitative data. Finally, I discuss

ethical considerations in the researcher–participant relationship, issues of participation, and conflicts of the

researcher as participant.

Learning Outcomes

This case describes research in parent education with immigrant families of children with autism. It is

meant to provide beginning researchers in this area with an understanding of the complexity, methodological

challenges, ethical considerations, and social benefits of working with immigrant families. After reading this

case, you will be able to

• Understand how current early childhood models of caregiver–child interaction may contrast with

cultural values in Latino families

• Avoid deficit perspectives by analyzing caregiver–child interactions within the greater social context

in which families are situated

• Incorporate transformative frameworks of dialogue and praxis, rooted in the caregivers' own

experiences

• Understand how to create culturally relevant intervention materials that are inclusive of family needs

• Understand the benefits of converging qualitative and quantitative data

• Understand ethical considerations

Context for the Research and Project Description

In 2010, I commenced research aimed at developing effective methodologies in parent education with

Hispanic immigrant families of children with language and communication impairments. I obtained institutional

and external funding for 3 consecutive years, which facilitated purchasing materials, obtaining basic recording

equipment, and enlisting research assistants. My parent-education project had four broad aims: (1) to learn

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how mothers' perceptions and cultural values influenced their experience in raising a child with autism, (2)

to determine the influence of the home and school contexts on children's communication skills, (3) to assess

changes in children's language skills, and (4) to determine the mothers' effectiveness in implementing the

intervention and their satisfaction with the parent education. These aims were explored through qualitative

and quantitative methods, which included group and individualized interviews, observations, questionnaires,

and direct assessment. In the following sections, I describe why I chose this line of research, the challenges

in finding theoretical constructs, the methodology, lessons learned, and ethical considerations.

Why I Chose to Conduct Research in Parent Education with Immigrant

Families

Through my years of working as a bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist, I frequently witnessed how

parents who spoke languages other than English were advised to not use their first language, or home

language, with their children and to focus on English. Maintaining and developing the home language

is essential in preserving cultural and family values and is particularly important when caregivers do not

have proficiency in English. However, when children experience difficulty in language acquisition, early

interventionists often opt for teaching only English to the child and advise caregivers to do similarly. Such

interventions can create linguistic separation between the child and the family. The consequences of this early

separation and sustained inability for caregivers to participate in their children's education can have broad

negative ramifications for children and their families.

The participants in my research were primarily low-income families, many with undocumented resident status,

who had children with difficulty communicating and acquiring language. These families resided in New York,

in a high poverty area of Bronx. Several families had children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.

I found very limited information about how first-generation Hispanic immigrant mothers perceived autism,

what were their language and literacy practices, and what particular challenges they faced in raising their

children. Understanding cultural differences is essential in providing effective interventions based on a family

approach to early language and literacy acquisition. In addition, most of the children with autism participating

in my research had been identified after the age of 36 months, when they were no longer eligible for early

intervention. Late identification of autism raised the question of whether or not caregivers were able to identify

developmental red flags. Finding out about parental perceptions on disability and developmental milestones

might help to explain parental roles in the identification of autism. In this case, describing my research, I will

concentrate on my work with families of children with autism spectrum disorders.

Research Practicalities

I recruited families at a preschool for children with special needs. A majority of the children enrolled in this

preschool came from Hispanic families, where Spanish was the primary language spoken at home. At the

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preschool, the children were enrolled in classrooms where English was the only medium of instruction. I

recruited families by sending home letters in Spanish, with an invitation to participate in a parent-education

study. Most of the respondents were mothers. Few fathers were able to participate because of work

obligations. One of the constraints in my project was that parent-education meetings were held only during

weekdays in the mornings, when children were in school. Whereas this worked well for mothers, who did not

work every day of the week, it tended to leave fathers out of the picture. Therefore, I was only able to recruit

mothers who participated consistently.

I encountered several challenges in the beginning of this project. The first one was related to the theoretical

underpinnings of the parent education to be provided. I cannot stress enough the importance of having a

well-defined theoretical framework to guide questions and the type of analyses needed in the research. In

developing the methodology for this parent-education project, I first listed the relevant theories for aspects

that I contemplated studying. Subsequently, I sought to understand in practice how these theories were

interconnected.

A first issue was how to analyze the difficult conditions of immigrant families from a social–historical

perspective framing the caregiver–child dyad and family, and to avoid the deficit perspectives so often

featured in other research. Low-income families are constrained by social conditions that can impact parental

behaviors with their children. Bronfenbrenner (1979) situated proximal interactions between a caregiver

and child at the center of other spheres of influence, such as extended family, schools, parents' work

conditions, the law, and institutions that can leverage these interactions. His model was therefore central to

understanding how mothers related to their children under the influence of their social context and across

time.

I also had to explain why working in the home language, rather than English, could benefit the children

participating in this project. A theoretical framework of interdependence among a bilingual's language

systems supports cross-language benefits. Cummins (2001) posed that acquired proficiency in the first

language can facilitate proficiency in a second or additionally learned language. Such benefits depend on the

attained language proficiency levels and opportunities afforded to use each language. For young children with

protracted difficulty in acquiring language, the risk of losing the first language is combined with a slower pace

of language learning and a lower starting point for language acquisition in general (Kohnert, Yim, Nett, Kan, &

Duran, 2005). Therefore, children with difficulty in acquiring language require additional support in the home

language when compared with their typically developing peers. Using the home language and explaining to

caregivers the importance of an enriched linguistic environment at home were central to my parent-education

project.

In addition, I had to consider theories for the mothers' teaching styles. In the United States and Europe,

parental distancing strategies have been linked to children's learning of representational competence. The

theory is that when caregivers use more cognitively demanding questions and avoid directing the child's

behavior, children are more likely to infer information and extend their thinking beyond the contextual situation

(Sigel, Stinson, & Kim, 1993). However, there are great differences across cultures in how mothers interact

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with their children. For example, Wang, Bernas, and Eberhard (2005) showed that Chinese mothers' use

of low-level distancing strategies (i.e. labeling and direct teaching) was effective in building representational

thinking with their children. Among Latino parents, Reese and Gallimore (2000) showed a tendency to

use low-level distancing strategies and literacy practices built around homework and direct teaching. Other

researchers have shown that acculturation plays an important role in how Latino mothers adapt to new

teaching styles such as increased use of questions during shared reading (Rodriguez & Olswang, 2003).

Finally, I needed to include strategies and interventions known to be effective when working to improve

communication in children with autism.

The parent-instructional interventions included in my research were based on a transactional model of

language development proposed by Sameroff and Fiese (2000), where both the child and the environment

influence each other and play a role in development. In teaching mothers to use a transactional perspective,

I stressed the importance of reciprocity. That is, not only mothers influence their children, but children also

influence their mothers' behaviors. The specific methodologies I used in teaching caregivers included the use

of simple visual support systems, teaching children pivotal behaviors, building responsivity, and the use of

focused stimulation (Koegel et al., 1989; Weismer & Robertson, 2006). These intervention strategies were

taught to the participant mothers within meaningful situations through play-based activities and through the

use of interactive picture books that I developed for this research.

In addition, I taught caregivers to work within their child's zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978).

That is, mothers first learned to observe and to understand their child's communication and literacy behaviors.

Once mothers understood their child's developmental level, they introduced language targets slightly above

that level. I taught mothers how to model expanded language targets through a range of distancing strategies,

starting with direct teaching (i.e. labeling), and building up to indirect teaching (i.e. increased use of questions

and dialogue). By focusing on meaningful reciprocal interactions within their own home context and by using

materials that incorporated direct and indirect instructional strategies, caregivers were easily able to develop

their own teaching styles and to incorporate the new strategies. I supported the use of these language

and literacy stimulation strategies by providing mothers with interactive picture books that facilitated these

interactions with their children.

To create literacy materials that were culturally pertinent and could be used to mediate the intervention

strategies, I conducted two focus groups prior to the intervention. A total of 20 mothers participated in

these focus groups. At these meetings, I asked caregivers what would constitute important contexts for

communication within their families. For example, I asked them to describe daily activities with their children,

significant family occasions, what was considered ‘fun’ with their child, the type of toys at home, how often

they read to their children, and what were their literacy needs. Mothers described a range of activities that

could generate communication with their children: shopping, mealtimes, bathing, birthday parties, playing with

toys, eating fresh fruits, and learning the alphabet. They reported having a similar set of toys at home: balls,

teddy bears, cars, blocks, bubbles, and books. Mothers also valued having fresh fruits for their children.

In terms of literacy, a majority of caregivers thought their children were too young to read and they should

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first learn the alphabet. Finally, all caregivers reported they lacked children's books in Spanish at home. They

also described their language proficiency in English as low, making it difficult to read books in English to their

children. Based on this information, I generated six interactive picture books in Spanish that integrated low- to

high-level distancing strategies. For example, one book focused on teaching action words with familiar toys;

another book focused on buying fruits at the supermarket. These materials provided a concrete framework

for mothers to use language–literacy strategies, such as modeling vocabulary and simplified sentences,

providing repetitions consistently, and encouraging print referencing (i.e. having the child point to printed

words). The children were also engaged by manipulating laminated pictures for the target concepts. More

importantly, these materials encouraged mothers to use their home language with their children.

Research Design: Mixed Methods

The philosophical stance for my work with immigrant families was a transformative one, whereby caregivers

would become empowered to educate their children with language and communication impairments

associated with autism spectrum disorders. To accomplish this goal, mothers had to learn about language

development in a bilingual context and the communication challenges faced by their children with autism.

They also had to learn to mediate specific language and communication strategies by embedding instruction

in everyday situations. In tandem, I aimed to learn about what mothers experienced in raising a child

with autism and how to best facilitate a parent-education framework by including their family needs and

perspectives.

A mixed-methods approach is useful when the research questions are complex and when we seek to

understand several levels of influence. My research involved understanding four comprehensive components

through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods: (1) parental perceptions and cultural beliefs,

(2) home and school contexts, (3) children's language and communication levels, and (4) the effectiveness of

the parent-education intervention. To study these components, I targeted specific aims and relied on a single

method or on the convergence of both methodologies.

Qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis can be combined to support each other. That is, qualitative

information on the phenomena of interest can provide the foundation for quantitative analyses and vice versa.

A qualitative approach relies on exploration and inductive analysis of the data. I found very limited information

on parent-education research with immigrant families of children with autism. Therefore, I first used group

and individual interviews to learn about the families and to formulate theories. In contrast, a quantitative

approach relies on deductive analysis and can be used to test prior hypotheses or theories. I predicted that

if mothers increased their verbal and literacy interactions in Spanish with their young children, the effect

would be improved language acquisition. The following section describes the methodological sequence that I

adhered to.

In the first phase of my research, I relied on focus groups to identify some of the challenges faced by families

and to determine themes that were culturally relevant in the research. I then explored these challenges

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through phenomenological interviews with mothers and through ethnographic observations of the children

at home and school. Subsequently, I taught a subgroup of mothers to use the interactive literacy materials

and language stimulation strategies. I then measured the effectiveness of this intervention by first obtaining

individual baseline data on the number of words used by each child, and by comparing these baselines with

intervention data obtained at different intervals. A quantitative method involving multiple baselines across

participants and visual analysis of the data allowed me to gather quantifiable data on the effectiveness of the

intervention. See Table 1 for a description of methods, research questions, and analysis.

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Table 1. Methods, research questions, and analysis using a mixed-methods approach.

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An important advantage in using mixed methods is triangulation. Data triangulation involves the collection

of data from different sources. When data converge to confirm results, there is added validity to a study.

For example, I measured language gains in children by using different sources: through mothers' reports

of the number of words their children used, via naming confrontation with pictures, and by analyzing the

words children used during video-recorded play and literacy interactions with their mothers. Results from

these different sources converged to support the conclusion that children exhibited language gains when their

mothers implemented the language and literacy strategies at home. In the following sections, I describe two

methodologies using qualitative and quantitative frameworks of analyses: phenomenological interviewing and

multiple baselines across participants.

A Qualitative Paradigm: In-Depth Phenomenological Interviewing

I used in-depth phenomenological interviews to gain an understanding of what mothers experienced in raising

a child with autism. By learning about parental perceptions on developmental milestones, bilingualism, and

disability, I hoped to shed light on how mothers interpreted their children's communication problems and

autism. I also expected that a personal process of analysis would assist mothers in understanding how to

best help their children and to become proactive in their parent-education efforts.

The mothers in this research faced several obstacles in committing to a parent-education study. They had

to manage multiple therapies, medical appointments, and social service routines for their children. They

often had to work and take care of other children. In addition, they lived below the poverty level; most

had undocumented legal status and many were separated from immediate family members. These stressful

conditions contributed to feelings of depression reported by mothers on several occasions. Participating in

the parent-education intervention required time and commitment, such as meeting every week and carrying

out instructions at home. Mothers therefore needed assurance that they could learn to help their children and

their involvement would be beneficial. An initial step in this process was to have mothers reflect on their lives

as a parent of a child with autism. In doing this, they had to come to an understanding of their children's

language needs and family dynamics. They had to trace their own experiences and their current family and

social context. They had to analyze challenging situations and reassess what could be changed to improve

their own circumstances. The format of phenomenological interviews proposed by Seidman (2006) facilitated

the theoretical framework for this inductive process of analysis and transformation. Seidman identifies four

phenomenological arguments that underlie the structure in interviews:

• human experience is transitory and temporal.

• our understanding of another person's view is subjective.

• we can only understand lived experience through reflection.

• meaning of the experience is best understood in context.

In addition, a primary element in phenomenological interviewing is the posing of open-ended questions to

reconstruct the respondent's experiences in a narrative format. In keeping with this structure, but in order to

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have a similar format across interviews, I used Kvale (1996) sequence in questioning:

• introduce open-ended questions (Can you tell me about …)

• follow-up prompts (nodding, repeating words, encouraging the interviewee to continue talking)

• probing questions (Could you tell me more about that …)

• direct questions (Did you …)

• indirect questions (How do you think others …)

• redirect responses (break off irrelevant responses: We need to go back to …)

• respecting silences (allow frequent pauses for reflection)

• interpreting questions (rephrase or seek clarification: Do you mean that …)

In terms of structure, Seidman stresses the importance of three separate interviews with each participant. In

the first interview, I aimed to understand how mothers learned about their child having autism. The second

interview was conducted within 3–7 days after the first interview. My aim was to obtain details about the

participants' experiences with their children, the family context, and their daily routines. The third interview

was also spaced within 1 week. This last interview invited reflection. It served as a way to revisit the topics

discussed and to explore challenges and solutions.

The qualitative analysis of data from these interviews was extensive and very time consuming. To briefly

describe the scope of analysis, it involved verbatim transcriptions of each interview, familiarization with the

data through repeated reading of the transcriptions, the identification of key words and concepts to establish

initial codes in the data, sorting and categorization of these codes into broader themes, and recontextualizing

the themes within the overall narrative for each set of interviews. Once this process was completed, the

thematic analysis and narrative were shared with each mother to check for their accuracy and interpretation.

Through this inductive process of analysis, several main themes defined the experience of the participant

mothers:

1. they had a broad perception of developmental milestones.

2. they believed bilingualism might be too difficult for their children.

3. they lacked knowledge about autism.

4. their perceptions about autism were influenced by beliefs in their countries of origin.

By learning about these parental perceptions, I was able to determine that I had to teach mothers about

developmental milestones and measure their ability to identify developmental red flags. I also needed to

reassure mothers that communicating with their children in Spanish was an appropriate practice. I measured

their use of target vocabulary and verbal interactions during video-recorded observations. Finally, I measured

mothers' ability to identify characteristics of autism by using clinical rating scales for the purpose. With these

elements in place, 10 out of the 30 mothers were randomly selected to participate in an intervention following

a multiple baselines across participants design.

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A Quantitative Paradigm: Concurrent Multiple Baselines across

Participants

The method of multiple baselines across participants rests on comparing the effects of a treatment against

a participant's initial performance, and then replicating this comparison with other participants. The method

involves a single transition from the established baseline (A) to the treatment (B). This transition is described

in the literature as an AB design. However, the strength of the multiple baselines across participants

design is that a new baseline and treatment are replicated with more than one participant, thus adding

internal validity to a study. By using this method, I sought to replicate the effects of the parent intervention

using interactive literacy (independent variable) on the language gains evinced by the children (dependent

variable). I measured these language gains as the number of words observed during communicative

interactions.

For the first participant, I elicited four baselines until stability was obtained. Subsequent participants had

longer baselines. That is, once the intervention was introduced for the first participant, six baselines were

established for the second participant. When the intervention was introduced for the second participant, eight

baselines were established for the third participant. Because the intervention is delivered at multiple points

in time, this is also referred to as a staggered approach. Across cases, I looked for changes in behavior

(children's use of words) as a result of the intervention, by comparing each participant's performance in

relation to his or her own baseline. Once the intervention was completed, I needed to measure whether

there was generalization of language gains. Therefore, I obtained one observation and parent report of the

children's use of words after 2 weeks, and measured maintenance by an additional observation after another

2 weeks. The results were positive: all the children participating in the intervention showed language gains

(increased use of words) even after the parents had completed the parent education. Because in a multiple

baselines treatment the number of participants is small, the best way to analyze results is through visual

representation of the data. See Figure 1 showing changes in the number of words produced for three of the

children.

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Figure 1. Increase in the use of words for three children, comparing their performance at baseline,

during the intervention, generalization, and maintenance.

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Practical Lessons Learned and Ethical Considerations

Parent education requires the building of trust in the relationship between the education facilitator (myself)

and the parent. Immigrant families face many challenges in their lives. Even though parent education can

assist families in building language and communication abilities with their children, parents may need to

understand such benefits in order to be proactive with their children. Such understanding is a process,

largely built on the trusting relationship between the facilitator and the parent. It is also a process that comes

to parents through a realization that change is possible in their lives and that they can be the agents of

change. When parents understand their own effectiveness in helping their children and in improving their own

circumstances, they are more likely to implement the intervention strategies and to continue through to the

completion of a study. Conversely, when parents fail to establish a trusting relationship with the facilitator, or

when they fail to recognize they can be agents of change within their own lives, they are more likely to be less

effective in implementing the intervention. The latter are also more likely to drop out of a parent-education

study. In fact, participant attrition can be discouraging in parent-education programs.

It is therefore essential for new researchers contemplating work in this area to have the time and the

commitment required to actively become involved with the numerous families that participate in the research.

This point brings up ethical considerations. At issue is the nature of power and authority in a relationship

where the researcher can be cast as the ‘professional with knowledge’ and the parent as the ‘recipient of

knowledge’. Freire (1993) argued against the ‘banking’ model in education, which defines such roles as the

professional and the student as recipient. Under the banking model, students are to remain silent and learn

what they are taught. In contrast, learning that involves dialogue and reflection rooted in action is empowering

and can lead to change. One of the first things I state during my initial meetings with parents, and I repeat

in subsequent meetings, is that parents are the ones who know their children best. As such, I let parents

know that I will seek to learn from them at every meeting. This position automatically casts me as the one

who listens and poses questions, while parents must actively describe, analyze their problems, find answers,

reflect, and support each other through dialogue. Being a good listener is therefore an important skill for

facilitators in parent education.

Another source of ethical conflict involves having children wait to receive an intervention in order to obtain

baselines. I have reduced this conflict by maintaining contact with mothers, offering a different type of

intervention, and by learning more about their children through extended observations. Such observations

can be a source of important additional data on behaviors of interest. Further conflicts can arise when a parent

has particular concerns that require immediate assistance (i.e. a medical condition). In such situations, it is

crucial to make appropriate referrals and to ensure that caregivers follow through.

Conclusion

In this case, I provide a glimpse into the complexities of parent-education research. I describe a method of

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inquiry with Hispanic mothers of young children with autism spectrum disorders. The aim in my research

has been to find effective methodologies that can enable parents to improve communication and to stimulate

language and literacy with their children. Working with Hispanic immigrant families presents the challenge

of limited research and an overreliance on European–American cultural models of child development and

parenting. The first challenge I described was that of building a culturally relevant theoretical framework

to guide the parent-education research. The next challenge was determining the research design and

how to integrate qualitative and quantitative data. Finally, I described ethical considerations in the

researcher–participant relationship, issues of participation, and conflicts of the researcher as participant.

Exercises and Discussion Questions

1. In my research, I use the broad term of parent education. What does this mean within the

context of what I have described?

2. I stress use of the home language in my research with immigrant families. Can you describe

why?

3. I describe the distancing model in parent–child interactions. Can you indicate how I adapted

this model to work with families in my research? Can you find any criticisms on how I adapted

this model?

4. Families from low-income backgrounds are often depicted in the literature as not very involved

in their children's education. What are some ways to get around this deficit perspective?

5. I describe phenomenological interviews in my research. Can you indicate how these interviews

might be ‘transformative’? What other benefits are evident from using these interviews?

6. What are some of the ethical conflicts I describe in this research? Can you think of additional

ways to minimize these ethical conflicts?

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360%282003/091%29

http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511529320.009

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1476718X05056525

Using Qualitative and Quantitative Methods to Conduct Research in Parent Education with Immigrant Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract