The experience of clinician-litigators at impartial hearings: An exploratory phenomenological study with social policy implications
Item
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Title
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The experience of clinician-litigators at impartial hearings: An exploratory phenomenological study with social policy implications
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:8f9a1f66dba9:11412
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identifier
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11720
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Creator
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Quiros, Augusto C.,
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Contributor
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Harriet Goodman
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Date
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2012
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Social work | Education policy | due process | educational policy | ethical advocacy | social policy | special education
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Abstract
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This exploratory study investigated the experiences of social workers, psychologists, and educators serving as clinician-litigators representing the local education agency at impartial hearings. The role of the clinician-litigator provides a window into the conflict between the principles of ethical advocacy that informs the work of the helping professions and the principles of traditional adversary advocacy that guides the work of the legal profession, because it requires bridging these two advocacy traditions. The fifteen clinician-litigators interviewed for this study acquired and applied legal skills in their work as district representatives at impartial hearings but also retained their traditional professional orientations toward understanding and serving the needs of students. A phenomenological, grounded-theory approach to studying the experiences of the clinician-litigators facilitated reflection on their experiences and observations of the hearing process, which illuminated the ethical contradictions they encountered.;Exploring the experiences of the clinician-litigators yielded rich data on their individual performance of a heretofore uninvestigated role. It also highlighted several societal issues concerning the provision of services to special education students. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was intended to promote the integration of disabled students into the educational mainstream. It specified the use of impartial hearings as a mechanism of dispute resolution between parents and the local education agency with the two parties on an equal footing. Over the past two decades, impartial hearings have been increasingly used by parents to seek private school tuition, fostering a form of segregation directly opposed to the intent of the Act. The observations and experiences of the clinician-litigators revealed how this mechanism of dispute resolution increased conflict between parents and the local education agency. It undermined the efforts of educational professionals to serve the best interests of students. Further, highlighted the tension between the forces in society that would utilize the principles of distributive justice to promote integration and create equality of opportunity and those that would promote privatization of public services and institutionalize segregation based on socioeconomic status.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Social Welfare
