PARENTS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON PARENT INVOLVEMENT AT SELECTED SPECIAL
EDUCATION CENTRE IN SOUTHERN THAILAND: A CASE STUDY
BY
Muranee Phadung
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Education
(Educational Psychology)
Institute of Education
International Islamic University Malaysia
NOVEMBER 2009
ii
ABSTRACT
This study is a case study to investigate the perception of parents and special education teachers at Yala Special Education Centre in southern Thailand. The research examined participation of the parents from their experiences of getting involved in special education consisting four dimensions; school involvement, home involvement, personal involvement and special education program involvement. The study focused on demographic profiles of parents and special education teachers of Special Education Centre in Yala, Thailand to assess significant differences in parents’ participation in children with special needs’ education experiences, and also to measure significant differences in special education teachers’ perception on parent involvement at this centre. Moreover, this study explored any barrier for parents to get involved in the program especially in Thailand. The study obtained through survey questionnaires and used interview to supplement the data. The samples comprised of 60 parents and 41 teachers of Yala Special Education Centre, Thailand. In terms of parents’ perception, the finding revealed that there was no significant difference in participation in special education program. Most parent participants got involved in highest level of participation in personal involvement. In contrast, special education program involvement still rated on lowest level of parents’ participation. In terms of special education teachers’ perception on parent involvement in special education, southern Thailand, there were significant differences among unlike gender, religion and education level of the special education teachers. However, most teachers agreed with parents’ participation in special education. Moreover, both parents and teachers faced few problems of communication. Most of the population here are Thai Muslim and understand Malay rather than Thai language; hence, some Muslim parents can not understand and communicate with Buddhist teachers at this centre. However, the data from interview session, one of special education teacher at Yala Special Education Centre, Thailand said that Muslim teachers at this centre help to cooperate between Buddhist teachers and Muslim parents. Finally, this study concludes with some recommendations for practical guidance and further research to improve the parental involvement in special education.
iii
ﺚﺤﺒﻟا ﺺﺨﻠﻣ
صﺎﺨﻟا ﻢﻴﻠﻌﺘﻟا ﺰآﺮﻣ ﻲﻓ ﻦﻴﻤﻠﻌﻤﻟاو رﻮﻣﻷا ءﺎﻴﻟوأ ءارﺁ ﻒﺸآ ﻰﻟإ ﺔﺳارﺪﻟا ﻩﺬه فﺪﻬﺗ تﻻﺎﺠﻤﻟا ﻲﻓ صﺎﺨﻟا ﻢﻴﻠﻌﺘﻟا ﻲﻓ رﻮﻣﻷا ءﺎﻴﻟوأ ﺔآرﺎﺸﻣ لﻮﺣ ،ﺪﻨﻠﻳﺎﺗ ،ﻻﺎﺟ ﺔﻳﻻو ﻲﻓ ﻲهو ﺔﻌﺑرﻷا :
ﺎﻳﺎﻀﻘﻟا ﻲﻓ ﻢﻬﺘآرﺎﺸﻣو ،ﺖﻴﺒﻟا ﻲﻓ ﻢﻬﺘآرﺎﺸﻣو ،ﺔﺳرﺪﻤﻟا ﻲﻓ ﻢﻬﺘآرﺎﺸﻣ
ﻢهدﻻوﻷ ﺔﻴﺼﺨﺸﻟا صﺎﺨﻟا ﻢﻴﻠﻌﺘﻟا ﺞﻣﺎﻧﺮﺑ ﻲﻓ ﻢﻬﺘآرﺎﺸﻣو ،
. ﺔﻨﻴﻋ ﺖﻠﻤﺘﺷا ﺪﻗو
ﻰﻠﻋ ﺔﺳارﺪﻟا 101
) ﻦﻴﺑ ﺎﻣ 60
و ،ﺮﻣأ َﻲﻟو 41
ًﺎًﻤّﻠﻌﻣ .(
تﺎﻧﺎﻴﺒﺘﺳﻹا ﺖﻣﺪﺨﺘﺳاو
تﻼﺑﺎﻘﻤﻟا ﻦﻣ تﺎﻣﻮﻠﻌﻤﻟﺎﺑ ﻚﻟذ ﺰﻳﺰﻌﺗ ﻊﻣ تﺎﻧﺎﻴﺒﻟا ﻊﻤﺠﻟ ﺔﻴﺳﺎﺳأ ﺔﻘﻳﺮﻄآ .
ﻰﻟإ ﺔﻓﺎﺿإو
ﻟا تﺎﻣﻮﻠﻌﻤﻟا ﺔﺳارﺪﻟا ﺖﻣﺪﺨﺘﺳا ﺪﻘﻓ ،ﻚﻟذ ﺬ
ﻦﻴآرﺎﺸﻤﻠﻟ ﺔﻴﺗا قوﺮﻓ ﻦﻋ ﻒﺸﻜﻠﻟ
ذ تا
ﻦﻣ صﺎﺨﻟا ﻢﻴﻠﻌﺘﻟا ﻲﻓ ﻢﻬﺘآرﺎﺸﻣ ﻲﻓ رﻮﻣﻷا ءﺎﻴﻟوأ تاﺮﺒﺧ ﻦﻴﺑ ﺔﻴﺋﺎﺼﺣإ تﻻﻻد ءﺎﻘﻟإ ّﻢﺗ ﺎﻤآ ،ىﺮﺧأ ﺔﻬﺟ ﻦﻣ رﻮﻣﻷا ءﺎﻴﻟوأ ﺔآرﺎﺸﻣ لﻮﺣ ﻦﻴﻤﻠﻌﻤﻟا ءارﺁ ﻦﻴﺑو ،ﺔﻬﺟ ﺞﻣﺎﻧﺮﺒﻟا اﺬه ﻲﻓ رﻮﻣﻷا ءﺎﻴﻟوأ ﺔآرﺎﺸﻣ نود لﻮﺤﺗ ﻲﺘﻟا تﺎﻗﻮﻌﻤﻟا ﻰﻠﻋ ءﻮﻀﻟا .
ﺪﻗو
ﻩﺬه ﺞﺋﺎﺘﻧ تﺮﻔﺳأ ﻦﻋ ﺔﺳارﺪﻟا
ﻗوﺮﻓ دﻮﺟو مﺪﻋ ﺎ
ءارﺁ ﻦﻴﺑ ﺔﻴﺋﺎﺼﺣإ تﻻﻻد تاذ
صﺎﺨﻟا ﻢﻴﻠﻌﺘﻟا ﻲﻓ ﻢﻬﺘآرﺎﺸﻣ ﻲﻓ رﻮﻣﻷا ءﺎﻴﻟوأ .
ىﻮﺘﺴﻣ ﻰﻠﻋ اﻮآرﺎﺷ ﻢﻬﻤﻈﻌﻣ نأ ﺎﻤآ
ﻻ صﺎﺨﻟا ﻢﻴﻠﻌﺘﻟا ﺞﻣﺎﻧﺮﺑ ﻲﻓ ﻢﻬﺘآرﺎﺸﻣ نأ ّﻻإ ،ﻢهدﻻوﻷ ﺔﻴﺼﺨﺸﻟا ﺎﻳﺎﻀﻘﻟا ﻲﻓ لﺎﻋ ﺔﻠﻴﻠﻗ لاﺰﺗ .
ﺔآرﺎﺸﻣ لﻮﺣ ﻦﻴﻤﻠﻌﻤﻟا ءارﺂﺑ ﻖﻠﻌﺘﻳ ﺎﻤﻴﻓو ﻢﻴﻠﻌﺘﻟا ﻲﻓ رﻮﻣﻷا ءﺎﻴﻟوأ
قوﺮﻓ كﺎﻨه نأ ﻦﻴﺒﺗ ﺪﻘﻓ ؛صﺎﺨﻟا ذ
ـﺑ ﻖﻠﻌﺘﻳ ﺎﻤﻴﻓ ﺔﻴﺋﺎﺼﺣإ تﻻﻻد تا :
،ﻦﻳﺪﻟاو ،ﺲﻨﺠﻟا
ﺰآﺮﻤﻟا ﻲﻓ ﻦﻴﻤﻠﻌﻤﻠﻟ ﻲﻤﻳدﺎآﻷا ىﻮﺘﺴﻤﻟاو .
ﺔآرﺎﺸﻣ ﻰﻠﻋ اﻮﻘﻓاو ﻢﻬﻤﻈﻌﻣ نأ ﺎﻤآ
صﺎﺨﻟا ﻢﻴﻠﻌﺘﻟا ﻲﻓ رﻮﻣﻷا ءﺎﻴﻟوأ .
أ ،ﺮﺧأ ﺐﻧﺎﺟ ﻦﻣو ﺔﺳارﺪﻟا تدﺎﻓ
ءﺎﻴﻟوأ ﻦﻣ ًّﻼآ نأ
ﻷا ﻦﻴﻤﻠﺴﻤﻟا رﻮﻣﻷا ءﺎﻴﻟوأ ﻦﻴﺑ ﻞﺻاﻮﺘﻟا ﻲﻓ ﺔﻠﻜﺸﻣ نﻮﻬﺟاﻮﻳ ﻦﻴﻤﻠﻌﻤﻟاو رﻮﻣ
ﻮﺒﻟا ﻦﻴﻤﻠﻌﻤﻟاو ذ
ﻦﻴﻳ . ﻦﻴﺑ ﻖﻴﺴﻨﺘﻟا ﻲﻓ ﻞﺻو ةﺰﻤه نﻮﻠﺜﻤﻳ نﻮﻤﻠﺴﻤﻟا نﻮﻤﻠﻌﻤﻟﺎﻓ ،اﺬﻟ
ﻦﻴﺒﻧﺎﺠﻟا .
ﺰآﺮﻤﻟا ﺔﻟﺎﺣ ﻦﻴﺴﺤﺘﻟ تادﺎﺷرﻹاو تﺎﻴﺻﻮﺘﻟا ﺾﻌﺑ ﻊﺿو ّﻢﺗ ﺪﻘﻓ ،اًﺮﻴﺧأو
لﺎﺠﻤﻟا ﺲﻔﻧ ﻲﻓ ثﻮﺤﺒﻟا ﻦﻣ ﺪﻳﺰﻣ ءاﺮﺟﻹو .
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APPROVAL PAGE
I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion, it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and qualify, as a dissertation for degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology).
………..
Mastura Badzis Supervisor
I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion, it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and qualify, as a dissertation for degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology).
………..
Joharry Othman Examiner
This dissertation was submitted to Institute of Education and is accepted as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology).
………..
Nik Ahmad Hisham Ismail Director, Institute of Education
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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.
Muranee Phadung
Signature……… Date………
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Copyright Page
INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH
Copyright © 2009 by Muranee Phadung. All rights reserved.
PARENTS’ AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION ON PARENT INVOLVEMENT AT SELECTED SPECIAL EDUCATION
CENTRE IN SOUTHERN THAILAND: A CASE STUDY
No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below.
1. Any material contained in or derive from this unpublished research may only be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.
2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.
3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieval system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries.
Affirmed by Muranee Phadung.
………. ………
Signature Date
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful, praise be to Allah, Lord of the Universe, and peace and prayer be upon His Final Prophet (S.A.W.) and Messenger. I am very much grateful to Allah (SWT) for giving me ability, strength, perseverance and guidance to complete this thesis.
I wish to express my appreciation to various persons whose guidance, cooperation, and assistance made it possible for me to complete this work.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my principal supervisor Asst Prof. Dr. Mastura Badzis, for her guidance and critical comments. Her knowledge and experience have given me deeper insight into this field. I would also like to thank Dr. Joharry Othman for help and assistance in this study.
I am grateful to all the academic staff at the Institute of Education, International Islamic University Malaysia for their cooperation, kindness and assistance during my studies of the M.Ed. program.
Thanks to all my friends in Thailand and Malaysia for supporting me spiritually and materially. I would also like to thank brother Sufian, Dulyawit, sister Ilham and Haveza for editing part of the thesis.
I am likewise indebted to all the participants; the teachers, parents for their participation in the study, and Kru Nong for cooperation. My thanks are also due to administrators of both special education centres in Pattani for allowing me to conduct pilot test and in Yala for doing a case study of this research.
Finally, my special thanks go to my dear mother and father for their prayers and encouragement, all my beloved family members and my relatives for their encouragement and moral support, without which I could never have completed this study.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract (English) ... ii
Abstract (Arabic) ... iii
Approval page ... iv
Declaration ... v
Copyright Page ... vi
Acknowledgement ... vii
Table of Contents ... viii
List of Tables ... xi
CHAPTER ONE ... 1
Inroduction ... 1
Background of the Study ... 3
Statement of Problem ... 5
Purpose of the Study ... 6
Research Objectives and Research Questions ... 7
Significance of the Study ... 8
Definition of Terms ... 8
CHAPTER TWO ... 11
Introduction ... 11
Parent Involvement ... 11
Theoretical Framework ... 14
An Ecological Model ... 14
Al-Ghazali’s perspective ... 19
Issues on Parental Involvement in Special Education ... 22
The Importance of Parental Involvement ... 22
Barriers to Parent Involvement in Special Education ... 24
Parents’ View on Parent Involvement in Special Education ... 26
Teachers’ View on Parent Involvement in Special Education ... 29
Parent involvement in Thailand ... 31
Previous Researches Related to the Study ... 35
Conclusion ... 38
CHAPTER THREE ... 39
Introduction ... 39
Research Design ... 39
Population and Samples ... 40
Instrumentation ... 41
Primary Data: The Questionnaire ... 42
Parent Involvement Survey: Parent Questionnaire ... 42
Parent Involvement Survey: Teacher Questionnaire ... 43
ix
Secondary Data: The Interview ... 44
Validity and Reliability ... 44
Pilot Test ... 44
Data Collection Procedures ... 45
Data Analysis ... 47
Limitation of the Study ... 48
Conclusion ... 48
CHAPTER FOUR ... 50
Introduction ... 50
Respondent’s Demographic Background ... 51
Parent Participants ... 51
Age ... 53
Religion ... 53
Educational Background ... 53
Work Status and Income ... 54
Teacher Participants ... 56
Gender ... 56
Age ... 56
Education Qualification ... 56
Teaching Experience ... 57
Results of the Study ... 57
Differences between Parent Respondents’ Perception on Parent Involvement in Special Education ... 57
Parents’ Perception on Parent Involvement in Special Education ... 59
School Involvement ... 59
Home Involvement ... 61
Personal Involvement ... 63
Special Education Program Involvement ... 65
Differences between Special Education Teacher Respondents’ Perception on Parent Involvement in Special Education……….. 68
Special Education Teachers’ Perception on Parent Involvement in Special Education ... 71
Data from Interview Session ... 76
The Parents’ Perception ... 76
The Special Education Teacher’s Perception ... 778
The Perception of the Administrator of Yala Special Education Centre, Thailand ... 79
Conclusion ... 81
CHAPTER FIVE ... 82
Introduction ... 82
Discussion of the Main Findings ... 82
Parents’ Perception on Parent Involvement in Special Education ... 82
Special Education Teachers’ perception on parent involvement in special education ... 87
Suggestions and Recommendations ... 91
x
For Parents with Special Needs ... 92
For Special Education Teachers and Administrators……….92
Recommendations for Future Research ... 93
Conclusions ... 94
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 95
APPENDIX A: Questionnaires ... 101
APPENDIX B: Translation of Questionnaires ... 108
APPENDIX C: Interview Protocol ... 114
APPENDIX C: The Example of Interview Transcription ... 117
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Table No. Page No.
3.1
4.1 4.2 4.3
4.4
4.5 4.6
4.7
4.8 4.9
4.10
4.11
4.12
Distribution of the population surveyed and number of the questionnaires returned
Demographic Profile of Parents
Demographic Profile of Special Education Teachers Mean and Standard Deviation of parents’ relationship with children and frequency of participation in special education
Parents’ Perception on the Level of School Involvement
Parents’ Perception on the Level of Home Involvement Parents’ Perception on the Level of Personal
Involvement
Parents’ Perception on the Level of Special Education Program involvement
Descriptive Statistics of the Parents’ Perception
Mean and Standard Deviation and T- test of teachers’
gender, marital status, religion, education level and year of teaching regarding their perception on parent involvement in special education
Mean, Standard Deviation and One-way ANOVA test of teachers’ age regarding their perception on parent involvement in special education
Mean and Standard Deviation of disabilities and One- way ANOVA test of types of teachers’ students with special needs
Special Education Teachers’ Perception on Parent Involvement
46
52 55 58
60
62 64
65
67 68
69
70
72
1
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
INRODUCTION
Thailand is a Southeast Asian country bordering the Andaman Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and the northern tip of Malaysia. In early 2001, Thai Ministry of Education began to develop new National Curricula in an endeavor to re-model the system of education to focus on child centred learning method. This is to counter the nature of Asian culture, which typically does not value individualization and not designed to produce independent thinkers or support for student-centred learning. (Ministry of Education, Thailand (MOE), 1996; Office of the National Education Commission (ONEC), 1997a, 1998a).
Thai government provided mainly a free basic education of 12 years, and a minimum of 9 years' school attendance is mandatory. Formal education consists of at least 12 years of basic education, and higher education. Basic education is divided into 6 years of primary education and 6 years of secondary education, the latter being further divided into 3 years of lower- and upper-secondary levels.
Educational reform in Thailand has struggled to keep pace with rapidly that may sometimes require changing on cultural paradigms regarding perceptions of children with disabilities (Fullan, 1993; Hallinger, 1998a, 1998b). A movement toward the provision of educational right to individuals with disabilities was implemented in 1991 with The Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Act of Thailand.
This act stated that individuals with disabilities have the right to pursue the same opportunities as those without disabilities.
2
Special education programs for the deaf implemented for the first time in Thailand in 1951 by the Thai government and additional programs developed later in the 1960’s. Consequently, the Special Education Division created in 1952 in the Departmentof Elementary and Adult Education of the Ministry of Education, the Division has since acted as the coordinating centre of special education for disadvantaged handicapped children. It is recognized that education for persons with special education needs should be expanded increasingly to provide educational access to those with physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, social, communicating, and learning disabilities.
According to Asia-Pacific Development Centre on Disability (2009), in Thailand, there are three educational systems arranged for persons with disabilities, which are.
i. Special schools for persons with disabilities, using a similar curriculum to mainstream schools.
ii. Mainstream schools where persons with disabilities are entitled to participate at all levels of education.
iii. A non-formal education system with no age limitation on participants and basically initiated by volunteers.
In Thailand, the Special Education Centres are implementing systematically, with proper procedure in identifying children, assessments, Individualized Education Plan (IEP) development, service and material provision and on-going support of the child and the family. The Special Education Centres are also responsible for children with disabilities of pre-school. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security is engaged with an incentive payment of 50 Bath to the Special Education Centres from either the Rehabilitation or the
3
Education Funds for each child registered with a completed IEP. At times contact between the Education Area Offices and the Special Education Centres is limited, furthermore budgets given to the Special Education Centres may not make it to the children (UNESCO, 1995).
Among current efforts and initiatives of various agencies for the Special Education Programme has provided 12 years free basic education all over the country.According to Education in Thailand Programme (1999), 104 children have joined regular classes managed by Office of the National Education Commission (ONEC) in 3,157 primary schools through the Special Education Programme started in 1998. The Special Education Centres were established in southern of Thailand and provide teachers to service for special need children; however, based on a survey conducted by ONEC (1999), more than 600,000 disabled children in Thailand still have no chance of education in state. Among 678,103 disabled children nationwide, only 18,517 could enroll in public primary schools.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Parents are the most important role model for their children’s learning. According to Parker & Boak (1999), parents are children’s first and most influential teachers who teach them how to eat, sit up, talk and walk long before attending school.
Parents can become partners in the educational process by exchanging information, assisting at school, contributing in decision-making and collaborating in children’s learning. Most parents want honest and open communication from educators to build the positive partnership, which they believe will be beneficial to their children (Singh, 2003, cited as Blue-Banning et. al., 2004). Valuable home support need to be attained in order to achieve the child’s education success, these support
4
can be access through the clarification of parent satisfaction on the school programs and services, determination of the extent of parent understanding on programs and processes, parental education and family supports (Epstein et al., 2002, cited as Russell, 2003).
In schools, parents typically support their children by acting as volunteers in classroom, as tutors or teacher-aides, sharing interests and skills with other students, attending parent-teacher conferences, conferring their child’s progress with teachers, getting involved in events for fundraising, participating in the election of the school board, taking part in school projects, and attending school activities, performances and sport events. Also, they can take part in governance and decision making by contributing ideas in planning and developing academic standards for the students (Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1995).
At home, where parents can become more involved, parental involvement can mean (a) reading to one’s child, (b) supervising study time and homework, (c) helping students with their homework or projects, (d) tutoring children at home, (e) monitoring TV viewing, (f) asking your child “How was school today?” and (g) providing encouragement (Baker et al., 1999).
A National Capacity-Building Workshop on Early Childhood Care and Education by Ministry of Education (2004) reported that, Thailand has always emphasized the importance of parent education. Thailand’s National Policy reaffirms the role of parents as the primary caregivers of young children but at the same time, acknowledges the responsibility of the government to support parents to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities. The Education Law also emphasizes the responsibility of parents for ensuring their children’s access to educational
5
opportunities and reiterates the importance of parental involvement in children’s education.
According to the National Education Act B.C. 2542, the evaluation of parental participation policies reported the role of parents in special education has changed significantly (Ministry of Education, Thailand, 1999). This is because special education is most successful when there is continuing partnership between parents and teachers to ensure the best possible education for students with disabilities.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS
The data related to the special education services in Thailand indicated that, marked differences existed in the number, quality, and diversity of available special services to meet the needs of children with special needs. Less than 0.5% of Thai people with significant disabilities such as blindness, deafness, mental retardation, and physical limitations received any kind of social or rehabilitative treatments or services (Office of the National Education Commission, 1988). The remaining children with special needs are either excluded from school or continue in regular classes. In the National Education Act B.C. 2542, there is a statement about encouraging parent’s involvement in education for students with disabilities.
However, the involvement of parents of children with disabilities in Thailand is less than the involvement of parents of non-disabled children (Ministry of Education, Thailand, 1999).
Wherry (2006) stated that while the advantages of parent involvement for their children’s education are known, levels of parent involvement in education are still lower than advocated. This problem seems to be even more frequent for parent
6
of special education students. A family’s location, level of education, and economic status are factors in services initiated for children with disabilities. Thai families who are poor or live in rural areas are less likely to be aware of existing programs and to have the means to access those services (Fulk et.al, 2002).
Moreover, another significant factor is facing insurance situation in southern of Thailand nowadays. Due to the burning of schools, classes had to be suspended.
Approximately 4,000 school teachers, who are also common targets of attack, demanded better protection and increased incentives to stay in their schools.
Around 1000 teachers have lodged requests with the Education Ministry for a transfer to a more secure region (Sabur, M. A., 2005). Therefore, insurance situation in southern of Thailand nowadays led to get problem for education.
THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This study focuses on views of the parents and special educators since the current movement is more towards parental involvement on the special education program.
For instance, family background variables affect both educational qualities and outcome (Card & Krueger, 1990). Parents are often victims of economic circumstances that prevent a more active role in education. Some parents have to contend with their own negative memories of school.
In terms of decentralization, education management should welcome the involvement of parents in the classroom on problem-solving teams and as equal partners in the educational process. Therefore, the study aims to examine how the parents perceive their role in the special education process in a Special Education Centre, Yala province, Thailand. Also, the study seeks to identify the level of participation by the parents in their children learning. Moreover, the study provides
7
grassroots’ perspectives on how special education teachers and administrators to realize the significance of parental concerns that is the reflection of parental involvement in special education from parents and special education teachers in a local area, southern of Thailand.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study aims to identify parents’ and special educations’ perception on parent involvement in special education. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are as follows:
i. To elicit the perceptions of parents of children with disabilities in southern of Thailand towards their involvement in special education.
ii. To examine parent involvement in special education program in southern of Thailand.
iii. To investigate special education teachers’ perceptions on parent involvement at Special Education Centre.
iv. To identify if there are barriers for parents to get involved in Special Education Program so that some recommendations will be suggested to improve parental involvement in special education.
In order to achieve the research objectives the following questions would be asked:
i. What are parents’ perceptions about parent involvement at the Special Education Centre in Yala province, Thailand?
ii. To what extent do parents of children at the Special Education Centre participate in the special education of their children?
iii. What are special education teachers’ perceptions on parent involvement at the centre?
8
iv. Is there any barrier for parents to get involved in the program?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
In Thai society, the significant factor that influence the attitude toward disability are level of education, socioeconomic status, and rural versus urban geographic location. Fulk et.al (2002) stated that attitudes toward children with disabilities may range from some Chinese-Thai considering a child with Down syndrome to be a sign of good luck to parents of a child with a disability considering them to be punished for their actions in a previous life. Hence, this study will raise people’s awareness of parental involvement in Thailand for future special education development.
This study hopes to add to educational research literature, especially because there is few related research in Thailand regarding parent involvement in special education. Some parents in the past have expressed concern that their children were excluded from educational experiences. Also, the study can be useful for schools in expanding and developing services they offer and for making improvements to existed services, since educators may increase awareness and understanding of parental role in the special education. As for the policy makers this study’s findings might be advantages to them regarding to parent-teacher relationships that will in turn benefit students in special education as well.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Special Education Centre – refers to a place that provides instruction and service for children with a specific handicap are grouped by grade level prior to their entrance into streaming primary school.
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Parent – refers to any biological parent, stepparent, foster parent, guardian or any person in the home who has an impact on child’s development. It is used to refer to family as well.
Parents’ perception – refer to the parents’ awareness, sense and recognition in the attendance of special education process.
Special education children – refers to the teaching of students with academic, behavioral, health, or physical disorder and children’s age range during preschooler until before adolescence.
Special education teachers – refer to one who teaches children with special needs in special education centre.
Parental involvement – refers to purposeful involvement in the child’s educational life both at-home and at-school.
School involvement – refers to assisting teachers and students with lessons, class trips; assisting administrators, teachers, and staff in cafeteria, library, computer labs; assisting organized parent groups in fund-raising, community relations, program development; attending student assemblies, sports events; attending workshops, discussion groups, training sessions.
Home involvement – refers to contributing to development of child's basic academic skills, and advanced skills by aiding with schoolwork, providing enrichment opportunities, and monitoring progress and problems when their child in home.
Personal involvement – refers to parents’ interest in social and personal skills of their child.
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Special Education Program involvement – refers to parents’ participation in specific activities of special education such as Individual Education Program (IEP) Conference.
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CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
Ever since special education programs have been created, a delicate dance has been ongoing with regards to the type and amount of parental involvement on their special education students. Some parents may feel left out of the special education process and have a desire to interact more; whereas, others appear to expect the special education teacher to make decisions and implement them with little feedback.
This chapter discusses the theoretical framework, which is relating to theories from Western and Islamic perspectives and issues in relation to parental involvement in special education particularly in Thailand. Reviews of the researches on parental involvement that related with this study are also highlighted.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT
The term “parent” has changed, currently it may refers to any adult biological parent, stepparent, grandparent, relative, legal guardian, caregiver or other significant adult with whom the child lives or interacts with on a regular basis (Mapp, 2003). In terms of parental involvement, it denotes a different meaning to professionals and parents. Jowett and Baginsky (1988) succinctly defined parental involvement as a “phrase used to encompass a broad spectrum of activities, one common theme is that they all seek to bring together in some ways the separate domains of home and school” (p.37). Parental involvement in a child’s education takes different forms of participation. It actively engages parents in varied activities
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that permit them to participate in every facet of their children’s education at home and at school (Cotton & Wikelund, 2001 as cited in Davis, 2008). Such involvement affirms the parent’s role as the child’s first and foremost teacher and the home as the child’s first classroom (Parker & Boak, 1999).
In 1995, Joyce Epstein of Johns Hopkins University came up with a framework that described the six different types of parental involvement that assists educators with building partnership with families to help students succeed in school and in their later lives. The following are Epstein’s six types of parent involvement and sample practices of each. The first three types take place in the home setting, while the rest take place in school settings (Cotton & Wikelund, 2001 as cited in Davis, 2008, p.18-19)
i. Parenting: This refers to the school efforts in helping families increase their involvement by teaching them to provide a positive home environment, and better parenting and child-rearing skills. Activities to realize the goals include parent education and training, family support programs, and home visits.
ii. Communicating: This is the basic obligation of the school to the parents, which refers to the different forms of school-to-home and home-to-school communications regarding the child’s progress and school programs. Practices include conferences, use of notices, e-mail, newsletters, phone calls, interviews and other communications.
iii. Learning at Home: This refers to activities wherein parents assist their children at home with homework and other curriculum-related class works. Schools provide information to parents on how to complement schoolwork by supporting their children at home in reading and time
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management. Although homework is supposedly designed to de done by the student alone, it is through this activity that parents become actively involved. It also includes reading to a child at home and creating a positive atmosphere for learning just by providing a wealth of books and other resources.
iv. Volunteering: This is a type of parent involvement at school. The goal is to increase parental involvement in school activities by including parents in volunteering their services during the day, after school, or during the weekends. Also parents are asked to serve as classroom aides and as members of committees to help support the school and student learning.
v. Decision Making: This is parent involvement in school governance and advocacy that help parents develop a higher degree of ownership.
Parents take decision-making roles in councils or committees that monitor the school toward improvement. In order to promote parent leaders, schools provide training to enhance leadership qualities of parents.
vi. Collaborating with Community: This refers to integrating resources and services from the community and actively participating in community activities to foster and strengthen school programs, family practices and student learning and development. This includes dissemination of information about community activities that has a connection to learning skills such as summer programs for students.
