Research on The Role of Parental Involvement in The Education of Special Needs Students

Special Needs Students and Parent Involvement

Although school administrators and teachers have the best intentions in regard to the education of special needs students, the fact is that we only have limited control over the outcomes of the educational process. Because we are only with students for a limited amount of time, and because we only have limited resources during that time, we can only affect specific areas. In order to fill those gaps, we need the support of parents to make sure that children continue to have a supportive learning environment outside of school hours. At the same time, parents need our help as well, in order to understand the educational needs of their children and to be able to do their best in supporting these needs. This essay discusses the roles of parents and their involvement in the education of special needs students, especially focusing on issues of stress, positive communication between parents and teachers, and achievement of successful educational results.

According to the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), family life is a fundamental and integral part of the learning process for children. This process begins in early childhood, with the socialization and early learning process of infants and toddlers, and continues throughout the educational process. At the earliest stages, parental involvement will be focused on identifying needs and development of ways that the family and community resources can best be used to meet the needs of the child. Basic family, play, socialization, and other routines can be used to encourage the learning process of young children. At this stage, it is likely that the parents are the primary educators of the child, as well as other family members, like siblings and grandparents, and other caregivers like babysitters (CEC, 2009). After the child enters school, communication between parent and school (including administration as well as communication with individual teachers and staff members involved in the educational process) comes to the fore in terms of importance of parental involvement. The construction of an individual education plan (IEP) that encourages collaboration between parents and teachers and spells out what sort of involvement will be required is a fundamental element in encouraging continuing involvement in the educational process of special needs children.

Communication is a fundamental part of the relationship between parents and educators. How can that communication be assured? Preparing an IEP for the child that encourages and emphasizes the role of parental involvement and education is one step in improving communications. However, this is only one step in a process that begins with identification of specific needs by parents and continues through involvement in formal education and finally through the transition to work. In order for communication to be effective, educators need to make sure that their communication can be understood by the child's parents (Rous, Hallam, Grove, Robinson, & Machara, 2003). Like children, parents will have different needs in terms of the level of communication desired and required, and using the wrong level of communication may reduce its effectiveness. Using a formal communication model, or a formal communication set of best practices as identified by the school, will help to ensure that the parent-educator communication can be effective.

There are a number of problems that can potentially emerge in the process of parental involvement. One such problem is differences in cultural expectations and norms that arise between the parent and the educator - parents may simply have a different idea about what level of involvement in education is appropriate for parents to have than educators would like them to hold. A basic problem of communication is also stress (Rous, Hallam, Grove, Robinson, & Machara, 2003). Parents of special needs children experience significant stressors related to the everyday needs of their children, which can eclipse the importance of communication with the educators and school. One way to reduce this difficulty is providing information about why the educational process and communication can reduce the level of stress in the home.

The needs of children and parental involvement change as the child becomes older, which introduces another difficulty in the process, as children's needs may change at different rates. At the early childhood level, socialization, family, and community skills are the focus. However, near the end of the formal educational process, there is an increased need for family involvement as the child begins to transition to the work environment. The level of involvement that parents and children will require varies depending on characteristics like the level of needs for the child, whether there will be a formal transition service, and other variables (Lankard, 2000). However, this is likely to be an area of significant difference. If these difficulties can be overcome, strong parental involvement is key to improving the educational outcomes of special needs children.

Parental involvement is key for the education of special needs children at all stages, from infancy an early childhood through to the transition to adulthood and the work environment. Using communication between parents and teachers is the most fundamental path to making sure parental involvement is strong and effective. There are specific difficulties that will be experienced, including stress, difficulties in communicating, and keeping up with the changing needs of the child. Overcoming these challenges by both parents and educators is key to effective educational outcomes for special needs children.

Bibliography

CEC. (2009). Improving family involvement in special education: Opportunities and solutions for improving family involvement.

Lankard, B. A. (2000, April 20). Parents and the school-to-work transition of special needs youth.

Rous, B., Hallam, R., Grove, J., Robinson, S., & Machara, M. (2003). Parent involvement in early care and education programs: A review of the literature. Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky.