Ambiguous belonging and the challenge of inclusion: parent perspectives on school membership

Abstract

Boundary ambiguity occurs when members of a family are confused or uncertain regarding roles, responsibilities and subsystem configurations within the family. Research suggests that perception of boundary ambiguity is associated with family stress despite internal and external resource availability. It has been suggested that research on family boundary ambiguity be broadened beyond the family unit to the interface between family and community. This study utilised boundary ambiguity, and paradoxical dilemma as sensitising concepts to guide a secondary analysis of narrative data from interviews conducted with 28 parents of children with a range of disabilities pertaining to the interface between home and school. Findings confirmed evidence of boundary ambiguity and boundary intrusion in parents' perception of whether the child and family were considered valued members of the school community, and in ambiguous parental role assignments, such as information gatherer, child advocate and teacher. In addition, ambiguous situations often triggered paradoxical dilemmas that affected home-school relationships.

Accommodating Learners With Dyslexia in English Language Teaching in Sri Lanka: Teachers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Challenges

“…As in many other contexts where inclusive practices were introduced (e.g., Bhatnagar & Das, ; Scorgie, ), another main challenge that appeared in the data analysis is negative sociocultural ideology. Forty‐nine percent of the teacher trainers and teachers mentioned that their colleagues’ attitudes may affect the application of inclusive practices at the institutional level.…”

“…In addition, parents’ lack of awareness of inclusion (Scorgie, ), large classes with a low teacher–student ratio (Bhatnagar & Das, ; Hettiarachchi & Das, ; Yada & Savolainen, ), lack of specific materials or tools (Alur & Timmons, ; Bhatnagar & Das, ; Yada & Savolainen, ), lack of technology (Bhatnagar & Das, ), lack of administrative support (Singal & Jeffery, ), and rigid examination systems (Tiwari et al., ) have been identified as factors that influence the implementation of inclusive practices. These findings come from a range of geographical contexts across Asia and Europe and comprise various teacher groups including primary teachers and secondary teachers.…”

Inclusion of Students With Special Needs in Private Schools in Kuwait: Challenges That Face School Administrators

“…Parents also have important roles in the implementation of the inclusion; however, many parents felt that they were unwelcome in their children' schools which impacted the inclusion negatively (Scorgie, 2015). In Singapore, parents attempted to include their children with disabilities in inclusive schools although they faced many challenges such as lack of resources, services and supports from their schools and the low expectation of schools' teachers toward their children (Wong et al, 2015).…”

Creating Collaborative Schools in the United States: A Review of Best Practices

“…Many parents feel unwelcome and uncomfortable participating in their children's education (Fish, 2006). While some schools have made efforts to comply with federal and state policies to meet the needs of students who receive special education services, this is not always the case (Larios & Zetlin, 2006;Scorgie, 2015).…”

“…Research surrounding family-educator collaboration is plentiful, and includes several common themes related to best practices. These are: (a) communication, (b) equity, (c) trust, and (d) respect (Blue-Banning, Summers, Frankland, Lord Nelson, & Beegle, 2004;Scorgie, 2015;Staples & Diliberto, 2010;Sucuoğlu & Bakkaloğlu, 2018;Trainor, 2010;Valle, 2011;Zaretsky, 2004). Blue-Banning et al (2004) described best practices for family-educator collaboration as "common sense and ordinary human decency" (p. 181).…”