Title: Why is Parental Involvement an Ongoing Critical Issue in Special Education?
1Why is Parental Involvement an Ongoing Critical
Issue in Special Education?
- GVSU 670 Critical Issues in Special Education
- Elaine Martin and Linda Kevorkian
- 6/05/09
2Why should we be worrying about parental
involvement?
3It is mandatory
- Pre-referral RTI, functional behavior analysis
- Referral Initial consent for assessment and
identification - Program planning and implementation IEP, IFSP,
positive behavior support plans - Monitoring and compliance progress reporting,
manifest determination - Parental rights and due process procedures
- Parent advisory committees
- FERPA and student records
- parent counseling and education re childs
disability and parent rights
- IDEA
- Michigan Administrative Rules for Special
Education - FAPE
- No Child Left Behind
- School Improvement Plans and AYP
4Why should parent involvement in the special
education process be mandated?
- because research shows that parent involvement
has a direct impact on
- student academic success
- high school drop out rates
- quality of life after school
- San Diego County Office of Education (1997) and
the National Alliance for Secondary Education and
Transition (2005)
5Who are our parents?
17.9 of our population does not speak English US
2007!
12.8 Black
4.4 Asian
15.1 Hispanic
67.7 White
6Non-traditional families
- Single parent mother
- Single parent father
- Two working parents
- Grandparents raising their grandchildren
- Divorced
- Blended families
- Immigrants
7According to Families and Living Arrangements
2006, there were 12.9 million one-parent families
in 2006 10.4 million single-mother families and
2.5 million single-father families
Michigan Dept. of Education Demographic Report
for Grand Rapids Public Schools
8- School districts must become more pro-active
about planning for parent involvement.
9How do we start?
- By asking the questions
- How do our various families view and value
education and parental involvement? - What barriers exist that impact parent
involvement for our families and are these
barriers different for different types of
families/demographics?
10More questions.
- How and when are parents most likely to be
involved? - Do differing types of parental involvement have
different results for students? - What motivates our parents to become involved in
their childrens education?
11- Where do we focus our resources when attempting
to increase parental involvement?
12- We focused our questions around parental
involvement within two groups - Families with children in secondary education
- Families from the Hispanic and Latino cultures
13Research Question 1
- How Important is Family Involvement in Middle
School and High School Education?
14What the research tells us(Epstein, 2001)
- Schools play a key role in determining the levels
of parent involvement. - The older a student is and the higher the
concentration of low-income students in the
school, the more important parent involvement is,
however... - Parent involvement declines as students grow
older. - Parent involvement declines as income level
decreases.
15How can we get middle school and high school
parents more involved?
- Help families learn about school programs and
student needs on a regular basis. - Involve families as volunteers
- Demonstrate how families can be involved in the
learning process at home. - Include parents as decision-makers in important
matters at every level of decision-making. - Coordinate with business and agencies to provide
resources and services for families.
Epstein 2001
16National Alliance for Secondary Education and
Transitions Family Involvement (2005)
- Reviewed four standards for parental involvement
at the secondary level and provided supporting
research and discussion - Standard 4.1
- School staff members demonstrate a strong
commitment to family involvement and understand
its critical role in supporting high achievement,
access to postsecondary education, employment,
and other successful adult outcomes.
17The power of commitment
- Family involvement and support is linked to
decreased dropout rate, increased achievement
rate on test, improved student behavior, higher
grades and improved attitude towards school for
student with or without disabilities. - (Henderson Berla, 1994 Henderson Mapp2002
Hughes et. al., 1997 James Partee,2003 Keith
et. al., 1998 Koher,1996.).
18- Standard 4.2
- Communication among youth, families, and schools
is flexible, reciprocal, meaningful, and
individualized.
19communicating with families
- Outreach, communication and relationships with
families are keys to effective programs
(Henderson Mappp,2002 James Prate,, 2003
Keith, et al, 19198, Mapp, 1997 Rutherford
Billing, 1995 Sanders, et al. 1999Yap
Enoki,1994) - (Parent involvement is) essential for students
for culturally diverse backgrounds - There is a need to build trust and collaboration
between schools and parents (Guy, Goldberg,
McDonald, Flam, 1997).
20- Standard 4.3
- School staff actively cultivate, encourage, and
welcome youth and family involvement.
21cultivating parental involvement
- Develop a formal process for identifying the
strengths and needs then connecting families and
students to groups that offer support.
(Kohler, 1993 Rutherford Billing, 1995) - Schedule meetings that accommodate the timing and
transportation needs of families. - Offer family training on positive family-child
relationships. - (James Partee, 2003 National PTA,
1997 Simmons, Stevenson, Strand, 1993) - Train staff on how to work in a collaborative
fashion with families and students - (Boethel,2003 Espinosa,1995
Kessler-Sklar Baker, 2000 Krieger, 2002
National PTA,1997) - Support community diversity. (Boethel, 2003
Furney Salembier, 2000). - Provide parents with community resources.
22- Standard 4.4
- Youth, families, and school staff are partners in
the development of policies and decisions
affecting youth and families
23Strategies for effective partnering
- Develop an accessible and understandable
decision-making and problem-solving process for
all parties involved (parents, school and
community). - (National PTA, 1997)
- Disseminate information about policies, goals,
and reforms to families and students - (Kohler, 2000 Lopez 2002 National Center for
- Dissemination of Disability Research, 1999)
- Institute policies that respect diversity.
- (Boethel, 2003 Harry 2002, Kalyanpur, Harry
Skrtic, 2000 Lamorey, 2002) - Provide training on policy, reform and related
issues. - ( James Partee, 2003, National PTA 1997)
- Include student and families on decisions,
governance, and other program and school
committees. - ( Furney Salembier, 2000 James 7 Partee 2003
National PTA Sanders et al , 1999)
24Best PracticeSchools and Families - Creating
Essential Connections for Learning
- The definition for the family has changed. Family
has been replaced with parent because of the
significant adults in the lives of children, and
the options beyond being volunteer, homework
helper, and fundraiser. - The school environment influences the students
academic achievement and school performance. - What a family does to support learning in the
home has a greater impact on achievement than who
the family is according to their financial
status. - Out of school time is powerful, which includes
community and friendships for school achievement. - Programs that are comprehensive and well-planned
provide options for family involvement and allow
schools to be responsive for family diversity.
This is critical for continued success in middle
and high school. - The more the home and school match in academic
context and importance, the more of a
contribution the family makes to the students
success in school.
25Best Practice Family Involvement in Middle and
High School Students Education
- The schools, teachers, and parents can monitor
the students growth and progress. This is a time
in a young persons life when they are trying to
gain independence from their parents while
maintaining connections to them. It respects
their autonomy while maintaining the relationship
with their child. - Finally, parents need to set up a climate of high
expectations in the home, school, and community
for their children. This is more important than
any other time in their life. They need to feel
competent and encouraged to complete tasks and
enroll in difficult coursework. - Parents can handle this hurdle by maintaining
high expectations and raising their students
self-confidence to help them internalize
educational values.
26Research Question 2
- What do we know about parental involvement of
Latino and Hispanic Families in their childrens
education?
27What a review of the research tells us.
- Three critical factors which determine parent
involvement - Parents role construct (their beliefs about
their need to be involved in the childs
education) - parents sense of self-efficacy (belief that they
have the knowledge and skills to be involved) - school invitations.
28Research shows
- cultural and socioeconomic factors strongly
influenced perceptions (of Latinos and Hispanics)
about parental involvement.
29Do Educational Programs Increase Parents
Practices at Home? Factors Influencing Latino
Parent Involvement (Chrispeels Gonz, 2004)
- These investigators studied the effects of a 9
week parent education program on the involvement
of 1,156 Latino parents in 20 California
elementary and secondary schools. - The Parent Institute for Quality Education, a
non-profit group, provided the education program.
- The purpose of the course was to help Latino and
other immigrant parents learn about the American
educational system, how to interact with schools
and teachers, and how to help their children at
home.
30Parents were surveyed before and after the 9
week course.
- Assessed seven areas related to parent
involvement - home learning activities (e.g., reading to
child), - parenting practices (e.g., praising child)
- home-school connections (e.g., PTA meetings),
- parents knowledge (e.g., knowing academic
standards) - sense of self-efficacy (e.g. able to help child
be successful in school) - parent role construction (parents believe they
have to be involved in childs education) - college expectations (e.g., expect child to go to
university)
31Results of the study
- Parent education program affected parents role
construct (their belief that they need to be
involved in their childs education) - A significant difference in parent knowledge,
beliefs, and practices was found after the 9 week
program. Parents reported dramatic changes in
their parenting behaviors such as using more
praise and less physical punishment, establishing
rules and limiting TV time. - Knowledge gained in the program is the strongest
predictor of Latino parent involvement with both
elementary and secondary-aged children. At the
secondary level, parental participation in school
activities affected parenting practices. The
knowledge gained through the program directly
influenced parents decisions to contact the
school.
32Additional findings
- Parents knowledge about the school system and
the importance of being involved are the easiest
in which to effect change. - Role construct can be changed with knowledge.
- Latino families will respond if the school
provides information about how to help in a
culturally sensitive way. - Parents need to understand that planning for
college must begin in elementary and junior high
school and this knowledge can help parents
reconstruct their role and parenting practices. - Home-school connections are the most difficult to
change and require more effort on the part of the
school and teachers to increase invitations and
opportunities for involvement.
33Best practice articleInvolving Migrant Families
in Education (Martinez Velazquez, 2000)
- Increasing parental involvement requires
understanding migrant families' strengths, their
family dynamics, the challenges their mobile
lifestyle creates, and recognition of the
positive contributions migrant parents make to
their children's education.
34Educators typically believe parent involvement is
about
- preparing children for school (i.e., teaching
children the alphabet, talking and reading to
children to promote language development),
attending school events (i.e., parent-teacher
conferences) and fulfilling any requests teachers
make of parents (i.e., to play word games with
their children at home)
35Migrant families believe
- education is about instruction in issues such as
development of morals, values, respect for self
and others, good manners, responsibility towards
self and the community vs. teaching reading,
writing, and academics
36Barriers to parental involvement
- lack of English
- lack of educational skills (especially for
children in higher grades) - long work hours and lack of time
37You can help if you
- Acknowledge parents for the way they support
their child with emotional (vs. environmental and
financial) resources - Sharing life stories that encourage being a good
citizen - Instilling a value for hard work
- Emphasizing how difficult life can be without an
education
38What else can you do
- Use bilingual community liaisons to train parents
and to help bridge language and cultural
differences between home and school -
- Provide child care, transportation, evening and
weekend activities, and refreshments. -
- Implement a curriculum that reflects the culture,
values, interests, experiences, and concerns of
the migrant family so parents can more easily
relate to "homework" and be more inclined to help
their child (also increasing their confidence and
self-esteem). - Provide flexible instructional programming that
allows students to drop out of school to work or
take care of family responsibilities and return
to pick up their academic work without penalties.
39- Develop opportunities for education and training
at work sites, community centers, churches, and
school sites for both students and families. - Provide access to on-line links to college and
ESL courses via distance learning options at
public computer centers - Partner with the agriculture industry to develop
collaborative opportunities that allow parents to
attend school activities during work hour and
utilize parents' knowledge, skills, and talents. - Give migrant parents an opportunity at
parent-teacher conferences to express ways they
believe they can contribute to their childs
education.
40- Coordinate social and health outreach efforts
with local school community involvement
activities, making them less threatening to
migrant parents who are hard to reach. - Incorporate more bilingual and Spanish language
books in schools and public libraries to promote
family reading at home. Juevos verdes y hamon,
Juan Ramon! - Transcribe oral family histories or experiences
for inclusion in library collections, providing
parents, grandparents, and other family members
with links to school and community. -
- Reach out to parents and secondary school
students by using bilingual community liaisons,
secondary school advisors, advocates, and peer
and cross-age tutors or mentors.
41Think "family" rather than just "parent" when
planning involvement activities.
- Develop parent programs that include workshops or
retreats at colleges and universities in order to
provide an early orientation to the postsecondary
education process. - Conduct parent workshops that include such
activities as "sharing secret talents" (e.g.,
singing, craftsmanship, crocheting, etc.) that
empower parents with the knowledge that they can
benefit students and schools. - Promote higher aspirations among students and
families through community based career education
and parent/child work-study positions.
42Ask an Expert - Welcoming Hispanic Children and
Families to Preschool (Cristina Sanchez-Lopez
January, 2006)
- Its ok (and good) for parents to speak to their
child in their native language at home. The
stronger the childs first language, the greater
likelihood of academic success. - Make certain that the books you choose to have
and use (for classroom or to take home) do not
depict a particular race of people in a
stereotypical manner. - Parents may be hesitant to ask questions except
about how their child is behaving. Remember that
this doesnt mean that those parents do not care
about their childrens education. They are the
parents who are expected to care for, nourish,
discipline, nurture, and love their children but
you are the teacher. Be sure to acknowledge their
contributions and how they will help their child
in school.
43Understand that children are not sent off to
school at such a young age in many countries.
- Show respect for the families culture by ensuring
that there non-stereotypical artifacts visible
throughout your classroom. - At the beginning of the year, ask the parents
their childs name, how to pronounce it
correctly, and then practice the name in front of
them until they smile and give you the OK. This
starts the year off letting the parents know how
much you care for their child and how much you
respect them, their language, and their culture,
and it puts them at ease - Give clear instructions on what things to work on
at home in their language while you work on other
things at school. They should be encouraged to
share what sorts of things they see while you
share your side.
44Let parents know about our unspoken cultural
norms and help them function more comfortably in
U.S. society.
- Help the children to connect to their parents,
their language, and their culture. Learn some of
their Spanish words. - Inform parents about what you are studying in
class for each unit. - Encourage children to read to their parents and
parents to read to their children.
45Conclusions
- Planning for parental involvement on a more
personal and individualized level will support,
encourage and motivate higher levels of
participation by our diverse families and
ultimately, have a greater impact on student
success both in school and in post-school life.