Parental involvement in special education: Do teachers support the intent of PL 94-142?

The purpose of this study was to obtain information from special education teachers (Behaviorally Disordered, Mentally Handicapped, Learning Disabled) in self-contained programs about their perceptions of the importance of parent involvement in the educational process and in the school setting. The study also sought to determine the type and frequency of parent-teacher interactions for a period of four weeks. Fifty-two teachers from a large, metropolitan school district completed the Teacher View of Parent Involvement Questionnaire and the Teacher Tally Sheet of teacher-parent interactions. Four types of contacts were included on the tally sheet: telephone contacts, face-to-face contacts, written note contacts, and parents volunteering in the classroom. Teachers were asked to indicate if the parent or teacher initiated the contact. The dependent variables were the questionnaire score and the tally sheet. The independent variables were: (1) present teaching assignment, (2) grade assignment, (3) teaching experience in special education, (4) teaching degree held by subject, and (5) the number of clock hours of instruction in strategies for parental involvement received in their teacher training program. Analysis of the data determined the following: (1) This sample of special education teachers viewed parent involvement in the educational setting in a positive manner. (2) The highest frequency of teacher-parent interactions were reported to be the telephone and by written note. (3) Only eight teachers in this sample reported using parents as volunteers on field trips and in the classroom. (4) As the amount of instructional strategies in parent involvement changed, the mean number of telephone and note contacts differed. Instruction in strategies for parent involvement was statistically significant (p $\u3e$.05) when compared to telephone contact and note contact. (5) Forty-two percent of the special education teachers did not receive instruction in strategies for parent involvement in their teacher training program