Special Education Teachers’ and Parents’ Perceptions of Parental Involvement in Special Education

Special Education Teachers ' and Parents ' Perceptions of Parent

Involvement in Special Education

by

Rebecca Burch Davis

A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Capella University

September 2007 (c ) Rebecca Burch Davis , 2007 Special Education Teachers ' and Parents ' Perception of Parent

Involvement in Special Education

by

Rebecca B . Davis

has been approved

September 2007

APPROVED

MENTOR NAME (LARRY REYNOLDS , Ph .D , Faculty Mentor and Chair

FACULTY EVALUATOR NAME (CHERYL BULLOCK , Ph .D , Committee Member

INDEPENDENT

REVIEWER NAME (MARSHA COVINGTON , Ed .D , Committee Member

ACCEPTED AND SIGNED

__________________________________________

LARRY REYNOLDS , Ph .D

__________________________________________

Harry McLenighan , Ed .D

Dean , School of Education

Abstract

The study focused on parents ' and special education teachers perceptions of parent involvement in special education . It assessed how parents currently perceive their role in the special education process satisfaction with their child 's special education program and how they would like to participate in school special education activities . The study similarly assessed special education teachers ' perceptions of parent involvement in various activities

Dedication

This dissertation is dedicated to my father , the late John Burch . You always said that I was a dream girl who dreamed of big things . Well this one is for you !Acknowledgments (Acknowledgments do appear in the Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments iv

List of Tables (if tables used

List of Figures (if figures used

CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION

Introduction to the Problem 1

Background of the Study 6

Statement of the Problem 8

Purpose of the Study 8

Research Questions 9

Nature of the Study 9

Significance of the Study 9

Definition of Terms 10

Assumptions and Limitations 11

Organization of the Remainder of the Study 13

CHAPTER II : REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Parental Involvement 14

Background and Foundation for Parental Involvement in Special Education 18 Benefits of Parental Involvement 20

Parents ' View on Parental Involvement in Education 22

Teachers ' View on Parental Involvement in Education 28

CHAPTER III : METHODOLOGY

Introduction 32

Setting 33

Participants 33

Questionnaire 34

Ethical Considerations 36

CHAPTER 4 . DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

CHAPTER 5 . RESULTS , CONCLUSIONS , AND RECOMMENDATIONS

REFERENCES 40

APPENDIX A Cover Letter for Teacher Survey Questionnaire 43

APPENDIX B . Parental Involvement Survey : Teacher Questionnaire 45

APPENDIX C . Cover Letter for Parent Survey Questionnaire 48

APPENDIX D . Parental Involvement Survey : Parent Questionnaire 50

APPENDIX E . Follow-up Letter for Participants 53

APPENDIX F . Second Follow-up Letter for Parents 54 List of Tables

Table 1 . Study Participants 37

Table 2 . Demographic Pro of Special Education Teachers 38

Table 3 . Demographic Pro of Parents 40

Table 4 . Frequency Distribution of Level of Parental Involvement in School

Setting (Parent 's View 42

Table 5 . Overall Rating of Parental Involvement in the Special Education

Process 45

List of Figures

Figure 1 Understanding of the Parental Involvement Program 44

Figure 2 . Significant Differences between Parents ' and Special Education

Teachers Current Level of Satisfaction of Involvement Activities 46

Figure 3 . Parents ' and Teachers ' Views on the Effectiveness of Parental Involvement 47

Figure 4 . Parents ' and Teachers ' Views if...