Awkward Customers? Parents and Provision for Special Educational Needs

Abstract

\ud This article selectively reports on a small-scale qualitative exploration of the experiences of families who had undergone recent conflict with special educational needs (SEN) professionals. The data were collected over the spring and summer terms of 2001 from 10 families in two local education authorities (LEAs) in the English midlands. The research aimed to examine the parents' perspectives on points of conflict or dissatisfaction between themselves and education professionals. It was concerned with the parents' points of view regarding their pursuit of desired outcomes for their children and the factors that helped or hindered their endeavours. The project found that the parents' negotiation of the SEN system was held by them to be exceptionally difficult and stressful compared to other troubling issues in their lives. The research suggests that dissatisfactions with SEN provision have important implications for the management of LEA Parent partnership Schemes (PPS) in ameliorating the differences between parental aspirations and governmental ambition

In Transition: Experiences of Parents of Children with Special Needs at School Entry

“…In a large community sample, a third of parents of kindergartners with special needs were not satisfied with the transition of services, and close to half were not satisfied with the availability of school-level services for their child (Janus et al 2007). Few studies empirically investigate the issue of parental involvement and advocacy, however, most research related to transition of children with special needs strongly recommends that parents get involved in the process in order to ensure that their child receives adequate support (Fowler et al 1991;Duncan 2003).…”

Children with cognitive disabilities in a Swedish educational context: reflections from a case study

“…A study of parents involved in conflict with schools regarding special needs services (Duncan, 2003) criticized the marketplace model of school, noting that this model assumes that all customers are equal. In reality, some parents risk being considered awkward when they request costly services for their children.…”

“…Another possibility is to contact the Handicap Ombudsman, also a national agency. In the UK parents can obtain support from the Parent Partnership Services or can appeal to a Special Education Needs Tribunal if they wish to complain about the services offered (Duncan, 2003). In the USA mediation between parents and school staff is possible, with the participation of a professional but neutral third part (Rowley & Gersch, 2001).…”

Care-less spaces and identity construction: transition to secondary school for disabled children

“…Other research also described that parents had to constantly 'fight' with the school to acquire the support that their children needed (Duncan 2003;Russell 2003), a process which led to anger and frustration. Parents of children with SEN-D are generally dissatisfied with the support their children receive (Parsons et al 2009) and the battle between parents and schools was also recognised by policy discourse as a problem to be addressed by the proposed education reforms of 2014 (DfE 2015).…”