In this chapter, you will learn about the importance of maintaining the home-school partnership throughout the IEP process. Research will be presented, along with Anna's perception, and a video example of Sabrina's educational team finding ways to promote the home-school partnership.
Soodak & Erwin (1995) conducted a qualitative research study on parent's who sought inclusion for their child. This study explored nine parents' experiences and perceptions of schools. Parents in this study felt their status at IEP meetings was unequal to the professionals. Parents reported they did not feel their role as a collaborative partner was encouraged. Some parents claimed the school officials displayed outright opposition and resistance to the parents' requests. IEP meetings also outnumbered the parents dramatically. Parents reported that educators and administrators would use various acronyms and jargon that they did not know or understand.
Similarly, Harry, Allen, and Mclaughlin (1995) conducted a longitudinal 3-year study of African-American parent involvement in special education. The twenty-four families who participated in the study were interviewed and observed regarding their interactions with school personnel. The authors reported that twelve of the families participated for all three years, six participated for two years and six participated only in the first year. The authors investigated deterrents to parent advocacy, because there was an existing stereotype stating that African-American parents had a low level of parent involvement. The authors sought to investigate reasons for a parents' hesitation to advocate for their child. Five themes were identified by the researchers, these were: 1) late notices and inflexible scheduling, 2) limited time for conferences, 3) emphasis on documents rather then participation, 4) use of jargon, and 5) the structure of power.
These studies provide a good illustration of the feelings and experiences some parents often associate with the special education school system and IEPs in particular. Teachers should pay attention to any deterrents to parent advocacy and assess their own practices with families to assure that they are involving parents at the IEP meetings, maintaining a partnership throughout the year, and communicating openly about how to transfer student goals into the home.
Effective communication it the key to collaboration and the most important thing teachers can do to cultivate a positive home-school connection. Parent and teachers need to decide at the start of every school year whether to use a notebook, checklist, email, phone calls, or regular meetings to facilitate clear, informative communication. Most children with special needs are not able to articulate details of their school day and parents need to know what is going on. Notes that say, “Jeff had a good day” are meaningless. Parents and siblings need context so that they can support school learning and so that they can help their child with social and communication skills. They need to know who their child is sitting with at lunch, what they are learning in science, and what story the teacher read to the class that day. Parent also need to share what they are doing at home and what is working to give teachers more effective strategies. Parents and teachers need to treat each other as colleagues and communicate with respect and professional courtesy.
Hear what Anna has to say - select to hear an audio recording of Anna talking about the importance of communication between the home and school.
After hearing what Anna said about promoting the home-school partnership, develop an action plan of how you plan to maintain regular communication with the families of the students you work with. In this plan, identify what kind of information you will communicate regularly, how often, and in what form. Also, identify specific plans for discussing any potential problems (e.g., conflict) that may come up between you and your students' parents.
Please observe the following video example of Anna discussing strategies to promote the home-school connection for her daughter Sabrina.
Harry, B., Allen, N., & McLaughlin, M. (1995). Communication versus compliance: African American parents' involvement in special education. Exceptional Children, 61 (4), 364-377.
Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., & Sandler, M. H. (1997). Why do parents become involved in their children's education? Review of Educational Research, 67 (1).
Lake , J. F., & Billingsley, B. S. (2000). An analysis of factors that contribute to parent-school conflict in special education. Remedial and Special Education, 21 (4), 240-256.
Soodak, L., & Erwin, E. J. (1995). Parents, Professionals, and inclusive Education: A Call for Collaboration. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation., 6 (3), 257-276.
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