The Challenges of Teaching Exceptional Children in a Special Education Class when the Parents are Disengaged or not Supportive
Introduction
This literature review will discuss the challenges of teaching exceptional children in a special education classroom when the parents remain disengaged or supportive on issues concerning the education of their children. The review focuses on previous research on the issue of unsupportive parents with special children. The literature review focuses on researches carried out within the last five years to present the information.
Statistical Data on the Relationship between Student Academic Performance and Academic Performance
According to Lara & Saracostti (2019), the involvement of a parent in a child’s education has shown consistent correlations with a child’s performance. Special children with supportive and engaging parents perform better compared to those with unsupportive and disengaged parents (Lara & Saracostti, 2019). The effect of parental involvement on the academic success of a special child has captured not only the attention of researchers but also that of policymakers who have proposed and formulated policies that promote integration efforts targeting rising parental involvement on educational issues of their special children in classrooms. Moreover, various studies have reported that increased child-parent interactions like responsive parenting among special students remain very significant in that child’s academic performance. For this reason, understanding the importance of supportive and engaged parents on teaching special children could help in eliminating the challenges that teachers undergo in classrooms.
Bariroh (2018) reported that an increase in a parent’s involvement in school activities increased parent-teacher contacts that result in early detection of any problems affecting a student’s performance. Hence teachers have more time to formulate various strategies that help in mitigating the problem resulting in improved academic performance (Bariroh, 2018). Additionally, increased parental involvement on special child’s education enables the parent to pass attitudes concerning education to their special children when at home, and such attitudes remain reflected on the child’s behavior in class, teacher’s relationship with parent and child. In this case, supportive parenting ensures a smooth relationship in class and at home, enhancing the improved academic performance of the child.
Bariroh (2018) continues to argue that based on previous studies, parents with a willing attitude to support their special child’s education and teacher positively influence the academic performance by their engagement with the teacher and school to promote a better and stronger student-teacher relationship. Additionally, such a willing attitude helps in increasing a child’s self-perception on cognitive competence (Bariroh, 2018). Cognitive competence involves the level to which the child believes that he or she has the required cognitive skills to succeed academically and in life. Available evidence shows that support from parents on academic issues of special students contributes to an increased degree of competence. Therefore, developed attitudes due to parental involvement regulate emotions, persuade and promote the accomplishments of special children hence making it easier to teach special children in the class.
According to Alias & Salleh (2017), teachers deal with students with various disabilities that include mental, physical, and emotional disabilities. hence supportive parental involvement in such a child’s education gives such teachers a quiet time to comprehend the problems and requirements need to ensure the success of the child in academic performance (Alias & Salleh, 2017). The support from parents enables the teachers to assess the special child’s skills to formulate workable teaching plans and adapt lesson plans that meet students’ requirements.
Rodas, Zeedyk & Baker (2016) argue that supportive parents in a special education promote inclusion that brings together the three parties that include the teacher, student, and parent. The parties coordinate efforts and comprehend the requirements of a special child in a classroom to ensure the creation and adaption of effective lesson plans and skills (Rodas, Zeedyk & Baker, 2016). The available evidence shows such inclusion of parents and establishing the skills and lesson plans that promote improved academic performance of special children in the class. Moreover, other researchers have established that special children perform better in the classroom when their parents cooperate and support their children on academic issues because it helps the teachers adapt individual lesson plans based on one’s special needs. After all, each special child remains unique hence requires a different approach from one another. Therefore, parental involvement helps the teachers identify the personal needs of each special child hence fostering better academic performance in schools.
American Psychological Association (2014, September) argues that supportiveness from parents with special children promotes a student-teacher relationship that enhances closeness. Improved closeness promotes open communication among the parent, teacher, and student hence easier to establish challenges that hinder a child’s performance in academics (American Psychological Association, 2014, September). Additionally, open communication, closeness, and support from parents decrease conflict hence formulating a favorable environment for special children to learn effectively hence improved academic performance. Positive and close teacher, parent and student relationships fostered through engagement and support from parents remain associated with positive academic results in school. Additionally, close relationships serve as a key predictor of a special child’s performance academically.
Needs of a Special Education Student
Kirk, Gallagher, Coleman & Anastasiow, (2011) suggests that all schools need to create a classroom with all the needs of a special child. Many of special students could obtain similar academic achievements like other normal students if provided with access to similar content in terms of instruments,ts, accommodation and support (Kirk, Gallagher, Coleman & Anastasiow, 2011). The schools should create enabling surroundings rather than making special children fit into a particular school setting for the first need of a special child in school involves adjusting the education settings to fit the needs of such students. Summary Review of Literature (n.d.) states that the setting of a school assists special students to obtain their set educational goals. Special education requires sufficient funding to enable the implementation of key programs like inclusive education that encourages parental involvement in educational issues of their children. Moreover, insufficient funding hinders the implementation of teacher’s training programs, materials, attitudes types of equipment of equipments. For this reason, such occurrences hinder inclusive education needed for teaching special students to obtain set academic achievements.
According to LaRocque, Kleiman & Darling, (2011), special education in the USA requires the development of common policies of accommodation that would enable equal participate students special student on issues of education. Consequently, the policies ought to promote parents t involvement in issue of education affecting their performance academically. The schools should ensure they design on computer-based tests applicable and appropriate for all special education learners as well as other students (LaRocque, Kleiman & Darling, 2011). Finally, special education needs a formative and interim assessment to promote inclusion of grade-level in grade level curriculum that concentrates on accelerated learning.
LaRocque, Kleiman & Darling (2011), continues to suggest that special needs education requires the provision of individualized education. In this case, schools must determine the need of each special student and provide the equipment skills, equipments, and support that would ensure achievement of the set academic goals for that particular special child (LaRocque, Kleiman & Darling, 2011). Special education needs the establishment of small classes with a specified number of students per class to ensure effective attendance for each special child. For this reason, schools need lower teacher-student ratios to promote effective learning and attendance to particular special cases. In this perspective, special education needs to have a ta easier to handle small number of special children to ensure effective learning as it enables a teacher to concentrate on a certain case hence promotes easier and effective learning.
Hornby, (2011) also suggests that schools need special trained teachers. Such teachers have enough experience to promote parent involvement and inclusion on issues that need attention to facilitate learniSpeciallyteaching. Special trained teachers have the knowledge that enables them to implement the formulated individualized lesson plans and programs hence ensure academic success of such students. Additionally, special education needs self-contained classrooms (Hornby, 2011). Such self-contained classrooms contain all the required types of equipment and support of each special child attending school. Such classrooms make it easier to handle and deal with special students without having to move from one place to another. Having everything needed by students promotes comfort, support d d encouragement for the special children-learning environment.
According to LaRocque, Kleiman ,& Darling, (2011) special education needs psychological and academic counseling programs. Such programs assist in the provision of guidance in case of challenges during the teaching and learning process to the special students, teachers, and parents (LaRocque, Kleiman & Darling, 2011). In this case, people the prstudentshelp such student to overcome various emotional and physical problems affecting their learning process hence promoting academic achievement. For instance, counseling enables teachers to adapt to the challenges that stress them during teaching process. Moreover, counseling also helps the special students to learn that their disability ability is never inability to succeed academically and in life. Lastly, the counseling programs enable l,earners, teachers and parents to present their problems for solutions hence promoting academic achievements.
Positive Effects of Parental Involvement and Student Performance
Sheldon, Steven & Bee, (2015) argues that parental involvement on special education issue has numerous positive effects on the academic achievement of students. Parents give critical input to a special child’s success academically because they know their children better than the teachers do (Sheldon, Steven & Bee, 2015). Presenting the information, they know of their children helps the teachers understand each student individually handling each case separately based on the actual need that would promote success in performance academically. Additionally, parental involvement fosters stronger and effective teacher-student relationships. Such a relationship promotes effective communication between the school and the parents on issues concerning the learning process of special children. For this reason, the relationship promotes easier learning of the student as they feel free around their teachers.
According to Wilder, (2013), parental involvement on issues of education for their children promotes consistent outcomes on academic performance. In this case, it enables the teachers educate the parents on how to create a favorable home learning environment that enable special children to learn effectively like they do in school environment (Wilder, 2013). Creation of an environment that supports effective learning positively ensures achievement of set academic roles. Consequently, parents and teachers relationship helps in earlier detection of problems among students hence enable earlier formulation of solutions that could enable mitigation of such issues hence improved academic performance.
Wanke (2008) argues that that involvement of parents on special education issues positively promote students to perform well as it promotes development of confidence as the student establish that they have the same value as other normal student despite their disability and special needs (Wanke, 2008). Moreover, parental involvement brings about easier adjustment of the learning environment to accommodate special students and not them fitting to particular learning settings. Various studies have also indicated that parental participation on issues concerning their study of their children help in achieving clear insightful for transition process. In this case, the parents help teachers to understand and make in enabling the transition of such special children from one stage to another. For instance, it makes it easier for those joining to adapt to the new learning environment different from the one at home as they witness parents relate with their new teachers.
A plan of Action to Address Lack of Parental Involvement
According to Hornby (2011), to promote parental involvement the education sector ought to formulate and implement policies that make it mandatory to create program that require parent and school participation on learning process of their children (Hornby, 2011). Such policies would require each parent to participate on any activity that needs the three parties to ensure better academic performances. Additionally, the schools need include parents’ participation on school curriculums to help in fostering stronger relationships that enhance effective learning.
Trainor, (2010) argues that rewarding of parents participation would also help in parental involvement on aspects concerning educational issues of their children. Rewarding would motivate parents to ensure they attend to issues regarding their children’s academic performance (Trainor, 2010). Research has shown that reward children whose parents participate on programs for their children’s learning ensures continues and effective participation hence improved academic performance. Lastly, Olmstead, (2013) argues that school should use various technologies available to promote parental involvement on school issues. In this case, school need to use technologies such as WhatsApp applications, Skype, Facebook and video conferencing to allow busy parents to attend meeting and activates involving the education programs concerning their children (Olmstead, 2013). Such technologies would assist in keeping out those parents far from home where they could not attend physically to such issues of education about their children.
References
American Psychological Association. (2014, September). Parent Engagment in Schools. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/programs/safe-supportive/parental-engagement/.
Hornby, G. (2011). Parental involvement in childhood education: Building effective school-family partnerships. Springer Science & Business Media.
https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/programs/safe-supportive/parental-engagement/.
Kirk, S., Gallagher, J. J., Coleman, M. R., & Anastasiow, N. J. (2011). Educating exceptional children. Cengage Learning.
LaRocque, M., Kleiman, I., & Darling, S. M. (2011). Parental involvement: The missing link in school achievement. Preventing School Failure, 55(3), 115-122.
Olmstead, C. (2013). Using technology to increase parent involvement in schools. TechTrends, 57(6), 28-37.
Rodas, N. V., Zeedyk, S. M., & Baker, B. L. (2016). Unsupportive parenting and internalising behaviour problems in children with or without intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 60(12), 1200-1211.
Sheldon, Steven & Bee, Sol. (2015). The Family Engagement Partnership Student Outcome Evaluation.
Summary Review of Literature. (n.d.). Chapter 3: The Development and Implementation of Parent and Community Involvement Programs. Retrieved July 10, 2020, from https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/SER/ParentComm/chap3.html
Trainor, A. A. (2010). Reexamining the promise of parent participation in special education: An analysis of cultural and social capital. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 41(3), 245-263.
Wanke, A. (2008, May 12). PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN CHILDREN’S EDUCATION. Retrieved July 10, 2020, from http://hdl.handle.net/1951/43062
Wilder, S. (2013). Effects of parental involvement on academic achievement: A meta-synthesis. Educational Review, 66(3), 377-397. doi:10.1080/00131911.2013.780009