parents are parents our enemy … or friend? the law says … that teachers and schools need to...
TRANSCRIPT
PARENTSPARENTS
Are parents our Enemy …
Or Friend?
The Law says …
that teachers and schools need to increase parent participation in the educational decision making process for their child.But how?
Nowell & Salem, 2007
… through the IEP process.
Fish (2008) surveyed 51 parents involved in IEP’s:
63% agreed the overall IEP process was positive63% agreed services were realistic
71% agreed they had positive relationships with IEP team members
All of which is consistent with the research, according to his literature review
Great … so what .. Ever seen this parent before?
What happens when parents are mad?
Conflict often arises from …
Design of servicesDelivery of servicesRelationship issues
ConstraintsKnowledge
Which if not resolved may result in due process or mediation.
Mueller, Singer, & Draper, 2008
So how do we get from this …
To this …
So …
sometimes parents
get upset …
how do we fix that?
Maybe Mediation …
According to Nowell and Salem (2007), mediation will either increase or decrease
parent relationships with the schools (shocker there).
A parents “interpersonal relationships” and/or “sense of efficacy” will be effected through
mediation.
Mediation ... Still …
Let’s focus on the negative (much more fun!) findings:
Negative impact on Interpersonal relationships:Decrease trust and communicationIncreased adversarial relationships
Negative impact on sense of efficacy:Dashed expectations
Decreased optimism for the futureReinforced perception of powerlessness
Findings …
Mueller et al, 2008 found three themes to cause parent dissatisfaction with the school:
lack of leadership in the schoolSchool not keeping up with the law
parents excluded from the educational process
Do you see the emphasis?
The Parent NEEDS to be a part of the team!
“be honest and straight forward” “be available and address concerns respectfully”
“form an alliance with the parent”“include the parent as a member of the team”
Mueller et al., 2008, p. 216
A few common sense suggestions supported by the research …
Wait … not done .. more common sense research …
Korkmaz, 2007 found:
56% of teachers believe schools should have good communication with families. (n = 148)
One more suggestion …
School personnel should be trained in:
Team buildingConflict resolution
Problem solvingEffective communication skills
Fish, 2007
Ask yourself this …
How many teacher preparation classes have you taken that prepares you to ….
Team build with a parent?Handle conflict with a parent?Problem solve with a parent?
Effectively communicate with a parent?
Common sense right?Then why all the research? Why is it in the laws? Just asking.
Perception of Preserivce Teachers
Preservice teachers assumed:
1. Parents do not care about the educational process2. Parents do not understand the educational process3. Parents who care do what the teacher says
Murray et al., 2008
One semester later …
Those same preservice teachers collaborated with parents and found:
1. Parents often face personal barriers that prevent them from participating with the
school.2. Parents are knowledgeable about special
education and process.3. Parents want to be partners with the
school/teacher to help their childMurray et al., 2008
Change in perception
The Preservice teachers perceptions were changed, because they were trained to think
differently.Trained to:team build
resolve conflictproblem solving
and effectively communicateMurray et al., 2008
Apply what You have learned Padawan!
Case StudySplit into four groups
Read the letterDiscuss and present a solution for one of these categories to
de-escalate the parent. (Categories will be assigned)
1. Team Building2. Conflict Resolution3. Problem Solving4. Effective Communication
Apply what You have learned Padawan!
Case StudySplit into four groups
Read the letterDiscuss and present a solution for one of these categories to
de-escalate the parent. (Categories will be assigned)
1. Team Building2. Conflict Resolution3. Problem Solving4. Effective Communication
Closing Thought …
As future educational leaders, what is one thing we could do to train new teachers to bridge
the gap between schools and parents?
Finished
Done
No More
Go stretch – Yes that means you in the back!
I’m going to stop talking now
I’m walking away …
Stop looking at me …
Bad doggy …
I feel creeped out now ….
I said stop …
Go
Away
STOP
I have no more wisdom to share with you ….
BY CROM HELP ME!
ReferencesFish, W. (2008). The IEP meeting: Perceptions of parents of students who receive
special education services. Preventing School Failure, 53, 8-14.
Korkmaz, I. (2007). Teachers’ opinions about the responsibilities of parents, schools, and teachers in enhancing student learning. Education, 127, 389-399.
Mueller, T., Singer, G., & Draper, L. (2008). Reducing parental dissatisfaction with special education in two school districts: Implementing conflict prevention and alternative dispute resolution. Educational and Psychological Consultation, 18, 191-233.
Murray, M., Curran, E., & Zellers, D. (2008). Building parent/professional partnerships: An innovative approach for teacher education. The Teacher Educator, 43, 87-108.
Nowell, B., & Salem, D. (2007). The impact of special education mediation on parent-school relationships. Remedial and Special Education, 28(5), 304-315.
Yanok, J. & Derubertis, D. (1989). Comparative study of parental participation in regular and special education programs. Exceptional Children, 56, 195-199.