Arab Educational Information Network

This study was concerned with Lebanese parents of children with disabilities enrolled in private inclusive schools. It aimed at exploring the parents’ experience-based (a) attitudes towards inclusive education and (b) views regarding their ideal involvement in their own children’s inclusive education. Furthermore, the study utilized the qualitative methodology of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), to seek a profound examination and interpretation of parents’ ways of making sense of their inclusion-related experiences. In-depth semi-structured individual interview was employed for data collection, 4 parents of children with disabilities were recruited based on well-defined criteria, and a hybrid thematic analysis scheme was used for data analysis. The research problem was thought to stem from the lack of studies on inclusive education in Lebanon concerning parents of children with disabilities. Addressing this problem through a systematic study was deemed significant for two main reasons. First, the findings should expectedly contribute to the culturally-specific knowledge base about inclusive education and corresponding parents’ attitudes within the Lebanese context. Second, exploring and understanding parents’ experience-based attitudes towards inclusion and their views on their own involvement in their children’s inclusive education are needed for gaining substantive insights relevant to inclusive practices; such insights can enhance the design and implementation of inclusion and parents’ corresponding involvement. The findings revealed positive parental attitudes, at the cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels; the parents generally appreciated that effective inclusion can provide appropriate pedagogical alternatives for advancing the wellbeing and learning gains of children with disabilities. Additionally, the findings revealed that parents did not have specific mechanisms for ideal parental involvement, but they unanimously emphasized the criticality of regular school – parent interaction (e.g., communication, collaboration) for maintaining the efficacy of inclusive education. (Author's abstract)