Parental involvement in the education of teenagers with special needs from a high school in Pinetown district
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Date
2015
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University of Zululand
Abstract
Parents play a crucial role in the support of learning. The study focused on the parental involvement in the education of teenagers with special needs in a High School in Pinetown district. The aim as to understand the role of parents in the education of their special need teenagers, thus, an in-depth literature study on different ways of parental involvement was undertaken. The comparison was made between how developed countries and developing countries perceive and engage parents in the education process. The laws and legislations that promote parental involvement were also looked at. Epstein (1995) theory of overlapping spheres of influence was discussed. It is emphasised that learners should be the focal point of all programmes to foster parental involvement and that learners succeed at a higher level when internal and external models of influence intersect and work together to promote learning. Furthermore, Epstein (2001) typology of parental involvement was discussed. Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecosystemic theory showed that a strong family and school linkage for the academic and socio-emotional development of a teenager with special needs is important and should be sustained. Qualitative research methodology was applied to gather data. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants which the researcher thought would provide with rich descriptions of their beliefs. Ten parents were interviewed, using the language they best understood. To better understand how they viewed parental involvement and what were the techniques they would like the school to employ to improve parental involvement. Tesch’s (1990) method of data analysis was used to assist the researcher in reducing the massive data into relevant themes and sub-themes. The results revealed that the beliefs that parents hold about the school, level of education, unwelcoming atmosphere in the school, limited time availability of parents, lack of support to equip parents with necessary skills to be effectively involved in the education of their teenager learners were identified as some of the barrier to parental involvement. The results also indicated that parents, school and community needed to be involved in teenagers’ education and development. For collaboration and partnership to take place there should be clear lines of communication and professional relationship guided by trust and respect. The study concluded with recommendations to develop strategies that could be used for effective parental involvement. The results may assist the school to fulfil its role as a community institution, assist parents to realise their role in the development of their teenagers, promote awareness of the factors that might influence the formulation of policies. However, further research on the topic was suggested.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology) in the Department of
Educational Psychology & Special Needs Education at the University of Zululand, 2015
Keywords
parental involvement --education --teenager --special needs --high school --parent