Migrant Mothers of ASD Children With Language Deficits in Greek Kindergarten Classrooms

Abstract

Parental involvement especially in the early years of education significantly influences the academic and socioemotional development of children with disabilities. Nevertheless, findings suggest migrant parents with a lower socioeconomic positioning typically exhibit limited engagement with their children's schools. In Greece, research exploring parental involvement has largely focused on the dominant middle-class parent group within the general education context. Using an intersectional lens, this chapter shifts focus and explores the social interlocking barriers and facilitators of school involvement among low-income migrant mothers of ASD children with language deficits. Findings shed light to how these mothers' experiences are constructed at the intersections of their multiple marginalized identities within the highly-centralized Greek education system and the narrative of individual responsibilitization and have implications for educational policies and practices that will foster active engagement of mothers who lack cultural and economic privilege.