Teacher contact with parents of children with special educational needs: a comparison over two decades

Abstract

The paper addresses aspects of teacher contacts with the parents of children with special educational needs in the broader context of parent–teacher relations. Data are presented from a large‐scale survey of teachers of Key Stage 2 children (7–11‐year‐olds) in England in 1998 and are compared with data from a similar survey in 1981. Levels of consultation with parents have increased across the two surveys and it is very unusual for a teacher not to have had a meeting with a parent of a child with SEN during the current school year. There is a tendency for levels of contact with the parents of ethnic minority pupils to be lower than that for other pupils. There is also a markedly higher level of non‐contact in schools serving areas of poverty compared with more affluent schools. A tension is identified between an agenda of home–school partnership and a set of attributions for the causes of children's difficulties which locates these in deficiencies in the home. However, teachers in the later survey were less likely to identify the home as the source of problems than were teachers in 1981. The paper suggests that considerable progress has been made towards fulfilling the conditions for home–school partnership, but that there remain areas of concern.

Perceptions of Communication Practices Among Stakeholders in Special Education

“…Others, however, felt that utilizing the home environment was relatively inconsequential, or had already been tapped to no avail. This attitude may be consistent with previous findings that some teachers hold stereotypical beliefs toward disabilities being "inherent in the child or induced by detrimental family circumstances," or by the home environment (Harry et al, 2005, p. 9), which may contribute to tension in parent-school collaboration (Croll, 2001;Spann et al, 2003). Indeed, two educators at the high school level mentioned about their struggles working with students who had never received necessary services because the parents decided to opt out of special education.…”

“…Furthermore, this interaction between type of disability and frequency of or satisfaction with home-school communication has been underinvestigated and might be a confounding factor in previous research. Prior evidence suggests that the most impaired children (including those with emotional and behavioral difficulties) have parents with the highest levels of school involvement (Benson, Karlof, & Siperstein, 2008; Croll, 2001), though these parents are more likely to be frustrated by teachers’ poor communication and aversion to considering alternative perspectives (A. P. Turnbull & Ruef, 1997).…”

“…A general disregard for the utility of discussing problems with families, such as the sentiment espoused by this teacher, may lead to more contention between families of students with disabilities and the school (e.g., Croll, 2001; Spann et al, 2013). Although reduced communication with families may be more common at the secondary level (e.g., Spann et al, 2003; Zablotsky et al, 2012), avoiding or downplaying the importance of parent input may be especially detrimental to students whose disabilities are uncommon, less understood, or have yet to be diagnosed.…”

Developing partnership with parents in special schools: parental perspectives from Northern Ireland

“…Desforges and Abouchaar (2003), in an extensive review, note that the greater involvement of parents in their children's education has been a global concern for developed countries. The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (Northern Ireland) (1998) signposted areas for partnership activity and, within these new arrangements, parents if they so wished could be involved within every stage of the planning and review of provision to meet their child's specific needs (Croll, 2001). Whilst clearly detailing where in the process of provision parents should be involved, the Code says little about how they should be involved (Quinn, 2001).…”