Singaporean Parents’ Curriculum Priorities for Their Children with Disabilities

Abstract

This study examined Singaporean parents’ perspectives on how much they valued major curriculum skill areas for their children with disabilities. Parents were also asked to indicate whether they expected priority skill items within the curriculum areas to be performed with assistance or independently. The results showed that the parents of children with moderate and severe disabilities indicated the highest priority for self-help functional life skills, followed by community-based functional life skills, social relationship skills, and functional academics. Parents of children with mild disabilities indicated the highest priority for self-help functional life skills, followed by community-based functional skills, functional academics, and social relationship skills. The results also showed that parents’ relative ratings of the other skill areas besides self-help skills were influenced by the level of disability of their children. The milder the disability, the higher the relative parental ratings and expectations for independent performance of social relationship skills, functional academics, and community-based life skills. Conversely, the more severe the disability, the lower the relative ratings of these skills and expectations for independent performance compared with self-help functional life skills.