Program

Special Education M.A.

Number of Pages

96

Year Approved

2024

First Advisor

Silmser, Lisa

Second Reader

Katelin Held

Abstract

Parental involvement in the education of students has long been a topic of interest. Numerous federal mandates have been established to push parental inclusion in education. Numerous studies have also been conducted on the benefits of parental involvement. However, little research has focused on how parental involvement is beneficial to children with special needs. Although parental involvement is often lacking in special education, it is unclear what barriers prevent parents of special needs students from becoming involved. It is critical to understand how to address these barriers. This literature review examines the barriers presented in research that may be preventing parental involvement in school for parents of special needs students. The barriers included in the research are as follows: laws and systematic barriers, lack of knowledge and support, unequal partners, and cultural barriers. A fifth barrier, societal factors, is also addressed but limited research was found. Thus, it is mentioned in the limitations section of this thesis. Each of these barriers is discussed along with several sub-themes to highlight the research that has been conducted on each of the four main barrier themes. Results of the literature review indicate that the barriers are often related to systematic problems of the special education system, including lack of training and funding for federal laws that push for parental involvement, barriers in the nuanced jargon that is used to attempt to communicate with parents about their parental rights and the IEP process in special education. As a result, unequal partnerships are being formed due to a lack of trust, diverse views of parents’ and teachers’ roles, and minimal collaboration. Lastly, barriers are impacted by the stigma of disabilities, racism, and language barriers in schools.

Degree Name

Special Education M.A.

Document Type

Masterʼs thesis

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