International trends in the education of students with special educational needs

22.1 The Story So Far

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  Educators should create collaborative relationships with students and their families, by recognising parents/family members as valuable partners in promoting academic progress and by working with them from a posture of cultural reciprocity (Chapter Fourteen).
  
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  The strong focus on disability, difference and deficit is upsetting for parents and has deleterious effects on inclusive culture and practice (Chapter Four).
  
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  Parents should be involved in the decision-making processes in Response to Intervention (Chapter Seven).
  
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  Many parents of SWSEN do not have the knowledge, skills and contacts to comprehend an increasingly deregulated system (Chapter Eight).
  
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  The coexistence of inclusive education provisions and special schools (which is the case in almost every country) suggests that choices must be exercised as to where SWSEN are ‘placed’. In this process, the relative weight given to the preferences of SWSEN and their parents and those who administer education systems constitutes a major point of tension (Chapters Thirteen and Seventeen).
  
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  Subsidiary issues centre on how parents negotiate any choices that are at least nominally available to them and how they can be assisted to make informed choices (Chapter Eight).
  
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  In countries where funds are tied to individual children, there is more evidence of strategic behaviour by parents and teachers to secure resources (Chapter Nine).
  
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  Voucher-based funding models provide a direct public payment to parents to cover their child’s public or private school costs. The payment can be made either directly to the parents or to a school on behalf of the parents. The aim of these models is to increase parental choice and to promote competition between schools in order to increase the quality of educational services (Chapter Nine)
  
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  A 1996 meta-analysis of the effects of behavioural parent training on anti-social behaviours of children yielded a significant effect size of 0.86 for behaviours in the home. There was also evidence that the effects generalised to classroom behaviour and to parents’ personal adjustment (Chapter Twelve).
  
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  In the UK, the SEN and Disability Act 2001 made it clear that where parents want a mainstream place for their child, everything possible should be done to provide it (Chapter Thirteen).
  
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  Countries with more segregated provision report parental pressure for inclusion and there is positive parental support in countries with inclusive education policies. However, parents whose children have more severe special needs are said to prefer segregated settings for their children (Chapter Seventeen).
  
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  Developing school support networks has been identified as an important facilitator of inclusive education, as has encouraging a strong sense of community with professionals and paraprofessionals working collaboratively with parents (Chapter Thirteen).
  
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  Parents play a critical role in bestowing social validity on inclusion and in facilitating its implementation (Chapter Thirteen).
  
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  Research indicates that parents of children with disabilities believe that inclusion promoted acceptance by non-disabled peers and helped their children’s social, emotional and academic development. Concerns include a loss of access to specialised personnel (Chapter Thirteen).
  
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  Parents of children without disabilities value their children’s greater awareness of others’ needs and their enhanced acceptance of human diversity through inclusion. Some, however, were concerned that their children would not receive sufficient assistance from their teachers and they might emulate inappropriate behaviours of children with disabilities (Chapter Thirteen).
  
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  Australian parents continue to want more special units in primary and secondary schools, not fewer and strongly support a continuum of services (Chapter Seventeen).
  
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  One of the roles of SENCOs in the UK is ‘Consulting, engaging and communicating with colleagues, parents and carers and pupils to enhance pupils’ learning and achievement’ (Chapter Nineteen).
  

22.2 Levels of Parental Involvement

Five different levels of parent involvement have been identified (Department of Education 1988):

Level I: Being informed. At this most basic level, the school informs parents about its programmes and, in turn, is asked for information.

Level 2: Taking part in activities. At this level, parents are involved in activities, but to a limited extent. For example, they may be invited to attend various functions.

Level 3: Participating in dialogue and exchange of views. Here, parents are invited to examine school or classroom goals and needs.

Level 4: Taking part in decision-making. At this level, parents are asked about their views when decisions affecting their child are being made. A clear case of this level of involvement is the IEP conference and when parents exercise choice as to their child’s placement.

Level 5: Having responsibility to act. This is the highest level, with parents making decisions in partnership with the school and being involved in both planning and evaluating parts of the school programme. A good example of this would be involving the parents of children with special educational needs in formulating and evaluating school policies. Another example of involvement at this level is the role that parents may play as tutors for their own children.

As well, as we shall see in a later section of this chapter, many parents of SWSEN benefit from behavioural parent training, parent-child interaction therapy and the Triple P Positive Parenting programme.

22.3 Policies on Parent Involvement

Many countries have legislation and/or policies on parent involvement in the education of SWSEN, at a minimum their participation in decisions regarding their children’s placements and their IEPs. In this section, consideration will be given to just one country as an example: the UK.

In the UK, there are quite explicit prescribed statutory duties and guidance about various roles and responsibilities concerning parents’ involvement in the education of their children with special educational needs. The former are expressed in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and the Education Act 1996, and the latter in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice of 2001 (hereafter referred to as the Code).

One of the fundamental principles underpinning the Code is stated as ‘parents have a vital role to play in supporting their child’s education’ (p.8). Similarly, critical success factors include ‘special education professionals and parents work in partnership’ and ‘special education professionals take into account the views of individual parents in respect of their child’s particular needs’ (ibid., emphasis in original).

Key principles in communicating and working in partnership with parents included the following guidance for professionals:

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  acknowledge and draw on parental knowledge and expertise in relation to their child
  
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  focus on the children’s strengths as well as areas of additional need
  
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  recognise the personal and emotional investment of parents and be aware of their feelings
  
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  ensure that parents understand procedures, are aware of how to access support in preparing their contributions, and are given documents to be discussed well before meetings
  
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  respect the validity of differing perspectives and seek constructive ways of reconciling different viewpoints
  
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  respect the differing needs parents themselves may have, such as a disability, or communication and linguistic barriers
  
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  recognise the need for flexibility in the timing and structure of meetings.
  

The different roles and responsibilities of local education authorities (LEAs) and schools include the following, as outlined in Chapter 2 of the Code:

LEAs

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  have a statutory duty to provide parent partnership services;
  
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  should ensure that parents and schools receive clear information about services and providers (including where relevant the involvement of voluntary groups);
  
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  have responsibility for the provision of a wide range of information material for parents;
  
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  should inform all parents that all maintained schools are required to publish their SEN policy; and
  
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  have a statutory duty to provide disagreement resolution arrangements that can demonstrate independence and credibility in working towards early and informal dispute resolution.
  

Schools

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  should recognise that teachers, SENCOs, pastoral and other staff all have an important role in developing positive and constructive relationships with parents;
  
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  should accept and value the contribution of parents and encourage their participation;
  
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  make every effort to identify how parents prefer to work with schools, with the recognition that some families will require both practical help and emotional support if they are to play a key role in the education of their children;
  
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  should seek to develop partnerships with local parent support groups or voluntary organisations;
  
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  have a statutory duty to publish their SEN policy;
  
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  should have a clear and flexible strategy for working with and encouraging parents to play an active role in the education of their children; and
  
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  in publishing their SEN policy, should seek to ensure it is presented in parent friendly formats.
  

The Parent Partnership Service¹ should:

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  provide flexible services for parents, including access to other agencies and organisations, and, for all parents who want one, access to an Independent Parental Supporter;
  
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  provide accurate, neutral information on parents’ rights, roles and responsibilities within the SEN process, and on the wide range of options available, to enable them to make informed decisions;
  
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  provide training for parents, Independent Parental Supporters and school staff;
  
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  work with schools, LEA officers and other agencies to help them develop positive relationships with parents;
  
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  establish and maintain links with voluntary organisations; and
  
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  ensure that parents’ views inform and influence the development of local SEN policy and practice.
  

Despite these policies, a recent UK survey found that 72% of parents wanted more involvement in their children’s schooling (Department for Education & Skills, 2007).

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