Research Program

Chapter 5 presents the authors’ methods and discusses some challenges encountered. Data were collected from 103 educators of children (ages 6 to 12 years in first through sixth grades) at 43 public elementary schools in seven cities in four countries: Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and the U.S. The authors purposely selected research sites and participants to yield data on a range of cultural understandings and responses to disabilities. Semi-structured, audio-recorded individual interviews lasting 20 to 60 minutes were conducted in participants’ native languages in private spaces such as conference rooms, offices, and classrooms after school. Interviews were inductively coded within each cultural group, and then common issues and their cultural nuances were identified in cross cultural analyses.