Educational Involvement of Parents of Mainstreamed Special Needs Children

Abstract

The study examined the level of involvement in school of parents of mainstreamed special needs children. Parents’ tendency to become involved in school is determined through integration of the elements of parental identification with educational goals and their awareness of what goes on in school. This tendency is influenced by the level of trust the parent feels he is awarded by the school staff, and its expression is passive or active parental involvement. A comparison was made between the involvement of parents of special needs children (SNC) and parents of typically developed children, examining the relationships between: parental stress, coping styles and parental background variables, and their school involvement. The study aspired to identify the variables which contribute to the lowering of parental stress and influence their school involvement. The study population consisted of 294 parents. The findings show that parents of SNC are more involved in school and experience higher feelings of stress than parents of typically developed children and they make more use of the social support coping style. Correlation was found between use of an active coping style and parental involvement. No correlation was found between use of an active coping style and lowering of parental stress.