Postawy rodziców wobec dzieci z orzeczeniem o potrzebie kształcenia specjalnego

Abstract

The paper presents the considerations on parents’ attitudes towards children with disabilities. The authors examine the classifications of parental attitudes which appear in the scholarly literature. Then the research results are presented. The research was carried out among parents of children with a statement of special educational needs by using a diagnostic survey with a Parental Attitudes Scale by Mieczyslaw Plopa. The main problem of the research project was what the attitudes of parents towards children with a statement of special educational needs are. It was found that the parents are more often characterized by desirable than inadequate parenting attitudes in the following scales: acceptance – rejection inconsistency, excessive requirement and autonomy but in the scale of over-protection relatively more parents are characterized by undesirable than the right attitude. It was also proved that parental attitudes vary depending on the type of disability and age of the child, as well as gender, parent’s education, place of living, and the type of school where the child attends. The results also indicate that the sex of the child, the number of offspring, and family structure do not affect parental attitudes presented. The analysis shows the presence of a relatively high intensity of parental attitudes towards desirable among parents of children with a statement of special educational needs. It also points to the large differences in the attitudes presented in the study group. Taking the variables into account might allow a better understanding of the situation of families with children with disabilities and ultimately the choice of adequate support to fulfill their needs.