Arab Educational Information Network

This study intended to make a meaningful contribution to the literature on parental involvement in inclusive special education. The aim was achieved by exploring the subjective lived experiences of parents involved in special education collaborations with educators. The study used qualitative methods to collect rich context-specific data, the researcher sampled four teachers and four parents according to a pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews conducted online. The study findings showed that parental participation allowed parents to support teachers, help teachers to understand their children’s impairments, special learning needs, and strategies that the teacher may employ to help them learn more effectively. Participation also allows parents to influence the environment in which their children learn and develop the abilities to help their children directly. However, parents faced significant challenges that affected their ability to participate. Some of the challenges included an impaired understanding of their responsibilities during participation, a misalignment between school rules and procedures and parental engagement expectations. The study showed that parents can collaborate with teachers to help them understanding the children’s nature of disabilities and the accommodations needed to ensure the children’s learning needs are met. The findings also showed the influence of different challenges and the need for schools and teacher to exercise flexibility when dealing with parents and explicit strategies that can help the parents overcome the challenges to become more involved. (Published abstract)