Introduction:  Studies on South Asian families supporting children with disabilities in the UK have mainly been conducted from the viewpoint of health or a social justice (Hatton et al., 2004; Croot et al., 2008). However, they do suggest the poor experiences of services and provisions of these families are usually spread over other fields such as education and employment. South Asian parental involvement in their children’s special educational needs and their engagement with schools is perceived to be passive and disinterested. There is also a gap in parental and school expectations and understanding of what home-school relationships entail (Fazil et al., 2002).

           

The purpose of this research is to investigate the concerns and views of school staff and Bangladeshi parents on how home-school relations can be improved at Lincoln Special School. This topic was chosen by the school as an area of concern which they wanted to improve and benefit from the findings of this research. Despite an ‘Outstanding’ evaluation from Ofsted in 2010 in relation to the effectiveness of its collaboration with parents and the impact on children’s outcomes, the school wanted to increase participation of parents from the Bangladeshi community. Lincoln Special School suggested that Bangladeshi parents were often the least visible in school, and were genuinely interested in knowing how they could improve their relations with them.

 

Aims and Objectives

           

This research was unique in that it explored home-school relationships and how they could be improved in a multicultural multifaith context. The main objective of this research was to gain insight into how a particular special school could increase the participation of Bangladeshi parents in their children’s special education needs (SEN) by empowering them, thereby bringing about positive learning outcomes. Bearing mind the need to maintain confidentiality of the school being researched, the real name of the school has been changed. The main research question was:

 

“What are the opinions of staff and ethnic parents in how home-school relationships can be improved at Lincoln Special School?”

 

Methods

 

This research was an in depth case-study. It presented phenomena within real contexts (Robson, 2002), and supported the research by intermeshing the boundaries between the phenomena and context (Yin, 2009). Case-study is best utilised when examining the entirety of a particular phenomenon, and the interdependencies of its parts (Bassey, 1999). This research was conducted at Lincoln Special School; the research was then specific to Lincoln Special School and involved collecting and analysing information from that school. Therefore, the case-study method was most appropriate for this research, as it drew attention to issues embedded in reality, providing a value-based approach to situation analysis (Bogdan and Biklen, 1998).The overall findings were not meant to be extrapolated onto the wider Bangladeshi community, but simply relate to the opinions of a specific set of parents in a specific school setting.

 

Research Tools

 

Semi-structured interviews suited this research more than surveys or questionnaires, because semi-structured interviews have flexible formats, meaning the researcher can modify, add or remove questions according to the participant’s responses, allowing non-verbal cues to be considered and compared with actual responses (Robson, 2002). This case-study analysed the responses of eight Bangladeshi parents of children with severe or profound multiple learning difficulties and five members of the school staff, who had direct or indirect contact with Bangladeshi parents

 

Document analysis was an important triangulation technique with this case-study, as it helped in cross-validating the data collected from interviews. Triangulation was necessary as the design was qualitative, and it was a single case-study of a school. Document analysis was conducted on the children’s Individual Education Files, the Home-School Agreement, Family Questionnaires, the school’s written agenda for parental involvement, parent invitations letters, school brochures, and external reports such as the 2003-2009/10 Ofsted Reports.

 

Results

 

Following careful analysis of parent and staff interviews and exhaustive examination of pertinent school documentation, four dominant themes emerged; parental and staff perceptions of SEN provisions, parental and staff views on parental involvement and parent groups, parental involvement in the context of ethnicity and its comparison to other ethnic groups, and perceived barriers to participation.

 

Parental and staff perceptions of SEN provisions

Most parents interviewed in this research had firmly-held biomedical views of their child’s difficulty which affected their response to schools and other agencies. Overall, the interviews suggested the parents’ understanding of their child’s SEN centred on medical, and health and safety issues, unless there were other children in the home with disability. During interviews, most parents reported their child had difficulties in toileting, independent skills, and communication, expressing the importance of developing these areas with the school’s help. No parents highlighted the importance of academic skills, although one parent did say once her child could talk academic goals could be set. Low staff expectations regarding the pupil’s educational targets and perceived lack of interest from parents also emerged in staff interviews.

 

Parental and staff views on parental involvement and parent groups

Most staff and parents in this research agreed that parental involvement included attending annual reviews, utilising home-school diaries, and responding appropriately to inquiries. Disagreements emerged when parents stated that their overall levels of involvement were satisfactory. Staff, however, wanted parents to be proactive in understanding their children’s SEN and educational targets, and to visit the school regularly without invitation to discuss their children’s development. Bangladeshi parents did not deem school visits necessary unless a problem arose. Communication, though not ideal, was functioning between parents and the school. The pastoral manager and transport guide were central to maintaining these vital links; however, home-school diaries were under-utilized. This research also solicited participants’ views on parent groups. The school had previously formed parent groups and wanted to find causes for their failure and possible solutions. Most parents were positive about parent groups but they had other pressing family needs. Most families in this case-study wanted support for primary needs (e.g. housing, food) or safety needs (e.g. health). They had not progressed to advocating for social needs (e.g. group membership) or self-esteem needs (e.g. being praised) (Margolis, 1991; Park et al., 2002).

 

Parental involvement in the context of ethnicity & its comparison to other ethnic groups

Although equal opportunity ensures every parent has identical access to resources, this is not always equitable opportunity, where some parents require extra help just to attain parity. This was paradoxical as the school wanted to engage with Bangladeshi parents, but would only consider this, if they integrated. This suggests integration may not be appropriate for establishing home-school relations with culturally-diverse families. Falsely based cultural assumptions held by staff emerged regarding extended family networks preventing parents (especially mothers) from participating effectively in school. All participants, with one exception, lived away from extended families having no informal support or barriers.

 

Perceived barriers to participation

Language was identified as the most common barrier to home-school relationships by parents and staff. Although this research does not account for all Bangladeshi parents in the school, it was clear most parents interviewed were struggling to strike a balance between raising their child with disability and managing other relationships in the home. Mills (2003) suggests BME carers’ needs for housing, transportation, and short breaks were very high, especially for those without English-proficiency.

 

Although these needs were not different from White carers, language barriers put BME carers at greater risk of social exclusion (Mills, 2003). After housing needs, most parents identified the need for short breaks, indicating this would help them recover physically and emotionally. In fact, many suggested they would also welcome drop-in childcare centres, allowing some recuperation or managing other household demands.

 

Conclusion

 

As with most relationships, home-school relations experience good and bad times. The key, as Lake and Billingsley (2000) suggest, is agreeing to disagree respectfully in conflicts, giving some personal space, and maintaining a positive attitude to start afresh. Parents and staff were both able to recall conflicts that evoked negative memories, which indicates the first signs of trust being broken. At the same time, both the school and parents need to realise that not all conflicts end in successful outcomes; some will remain disputed with decisions favouring one party over another. The point to bear in mind is that both parents and the school need to realise the usefulness and value of such relationships, which can result in the greater wellbeing and better learning outcomes of children with SEN.

 

References 

 

Bassey, M. (1999) Case Study Research In Educational Settings: Doing Qualitative Research In Educational Setting. Berkshire: Open University Press

Bodgan, R. C. And Biklen, S. K. (1998) Qualitative Research For Education: An Introduction To Theory And Methods. (Third Edition) Boston: Allyn and Bacon

Croot, E.J., Grant, G., Cooper, C.L. & Mathers, N. (2008). Perceptions of the causes of childhood disability among Pakistani families living in the UK, Health and Social Care in the Community, 16(6), 606-613

Fazil, Q., Bywaters, P., Ali, Z., Wallace, L. And Singh, G. (2002) Disadvantage And Discrimination Compounded: The Experience Of Pakistani And Bangladeshi Parents Of Disabled Parents In The UK. Disability & Society 17 (3): 237–253

Hatton, C., Akram, Y., Shah, R., Robertson, J. & Emerson, E. (2004). Supporting South Asian Families With A Child With Severe Disabilities. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Lake, J. And Billingsley, B. (2000) An Analysis Of Factors That Contribute To Parent-School Conflict In Special Education, Remedial And Special Education, 21(4): 240-25

Margolis, H. (1991) Listening: The Key To Problem Solving With Angry Parents, School Psychology International, 12: 329-347

Mills, H. (2003) Meeting The Needs Of Black And Minority Ethnic Young Carers: A Literature Review And Research Study For The Willow Young Carer Service, Accessed From The Internet At: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/meeting_needs_of_bme_young_carers_willow__040108.pdf

Park, J., Turnbull, A.P. And Turnbull III, H.R. (2002) Impacts Of Poverty On Quality Of Life In Families Of Children With Disabilities, Council For Exceptional Children, 68(2): 151-170

Robson, C. (2002). Real World Research. (Second Edition) Oxford: Blackwell

Yin, R.K. (2009). Case Study Research: Design And Methods. (Fourth Edition) London: Sage Ltd.

 

Contact:

 

Sana Rizvi

MPhil student at the University of Cambridge

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