Abstract
This study describes how parents experience their role in enhancing the well-being of their children and what this reveals about parental agency in the context of collaborations between home and school. In Finland, schools are among the most important environments for delivering services to children. The goal of this study is to bring into focus the parental dispositions in multi-agency interactions based on their experiences and to make sense of both their successes and the barriers they face. The Finnish education system aims to develop itself according to the inclusive principles. However, the inclusive school culture is still a work in progress. The parental agency and positions in collaboration with school personnel are ambivalent, and there are several assets and barriers that affect their ability to participate fully in discussions about the well-being of their children at school. In this article, the parental positions are connected to situations where they negotiate the process of collaborative planning of support for the learning and well-being of their children in the school environment. Participants are 13 mothers and one couple, mother and father. Their experiences are analyzed qualitatively via interviews and the concept of agency, a sociological concept that refers to the mutual relation between a culture or structure and the opportunities of human agents to interact within the given contexts. The results reveal qualitative differences in the experienced parental agency. The parental agency is connected to the given opportunities, and the key role in making the agency possible in the schools is given for the teachers. Behind everyday practices, there are deeper questions about the parental positions and their value in collaboration.
Highlights
This study explores parental agency in situations where parents negotiate and plan support with school personnel for their child
This study examines the parental agency in negotiations with schools concerning the support needs of their children within an inclusive education framework and gives a voice to parents
The aim of this study is to present the qualitative differences in parental agency during negotiations in school contexts in which a child has special educational needs
Summary
This study explores parental agency in situations where parents negotiate and plan support with school personnel for their child. The schools play a significant role in supporting the well-being of children. The parental voices should be heard when processing and planning support for their children at school. An example of the planning process is a negotiation concerning individual educational plans (IEPs) of students (Tucker and Schwartz, 2013). It is important for parents to play active roles in the learning of their children. Effective parental involvement improves the academic performance, well-being (Hartas, 2008), and school attendance of students (Michael et al, 2007). The parent–teacher relationship is important to the well-being of a child, especially when the child needs support for self-regulation and behavioral challenges (Rautamies et al, 2016)
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