Parent participation in transition planning process for students With disabilities

Uvod: Odluke koje se donose tokom tranzicionog planiranja značajne su za uspešno uključivanje učenika sa smetnjama u razvoju u odraslo doba. Zbog toga, timski rad ima poseban značaj, a podrazumeva saradnju učenika, roditelja, predstavnika škole i službi za pružanje usluga tokom tranzicije. Participacija roditelja omogućava dobijanje informacija o sposobnostima, ograničenjima i potrebama deteta koje doprinose uspešnom ostvarivanju ciljeva postavljenih tokom tranzicionog planiranja. Ipak, roditelji se često suočavaju sa poteškoćama u ravnopravnom učešću u timskom donošenju odluka o budućnosti svog deteta. Cilj: Na osnovu pregleda literature identifikovati faktore koji otežavaju i olakšavaju participaciju roditelja u procesu tranzicionog planiranja. Metod: Prikupljanje literature izvršeno je pregledom elektronskih baza ERIC, JSTOR i Google Scholar. Obuhvaćen je period od 2010. do 2020. godine. Za pretraživanje je korišćeno nekoliko ključnih reči i njihovih kombinacija: roditelji, participacija, tranziciono planiranje, invaliditet, prepreke, facilitatori. Izdvojena su 22 rada koja se odnose na prepreke i facilitatore učešća roditelja u tranzicionom planiranju, a potom je analiziran njihov sadržaj. Rezultati: Najčešće prepreke sa kojima se suočavaju roditelji uključuju poteškoće psihičke prirode, demografske karakteristike, nedovoljnu komunikaciju i partnerski odnos sa predstavnicima škole i tranzicionih servisa, nedovoljno razumevanje procesa tranzicije i nedostatak znanja o obrazovanju nakon završetka srednje škole. Faktori koji olakšavaju participaciju roditelja su: znanja o procesu tranzicionog planiranja u školi, povećanje komunikacije i saradnje sa predstavnicima škole i tranzicionih servisa, izgradnja neformalne podrške u zajednici i smanjenje stresa. Zaključak: Dosadašnja istraživanja pružaju dokaze o značaju participacije roditelja u tranzicionom planiranju i faktorima koji otežavaju njihovo aktivno učešće. Podaci o facilitatorima participacije roditelja manje su zastupljeni, pa bi buduća istraživanja trebalo usmeriti na njihovo dalje otkrivanje, kao i na razvoj programa za aktivnu participaciju roditelja u timskom radu, kako bi se unapredili ishodi tranzicionog perioda učenika sa smetnjama u razvoju.Introduction: Decisions made during the transition planning period are important for the successful transition of students with disabilities into adulthood. Therefore, teamwork has a special significance, and implies the cooperation of students, parents, school representatives and transition services providers. Parental participation enables obtaining information about the child’s abilities, limitations and needs that will contribute to setting realistic goals during transitional planning. However, parents often face difficulties in equal participation in team decision-making about their child’s future. Aim: Based on the literature review, to identify factors that hinder and facilitate parent participation in the transition planning process. Method: The literature was collected using computer-based searches of electronic databases including ERIC, JSTOR and Google Scholar. The period from 2010 to 2020 was covered. Several key words and their combinations were used for the search: parents, participation, transition planning, disability, obstacles, facilitators and 22 papers dealing with obstacles and facilitators of parent participation in transition planning were singled out, and then their content was analysed. Results: The most common obstacles faced by parents are psychological difficulties, demographic characteristics, insufficient communication and partnership with school representatives and transition service providers, insufficient understanding of the transition process and lack of knowledge about post-secondary education. Parent participation facilitating factors include gaining knowledge of the school’s transition planning process, better communication and collaboration with school representatives and transition service providers, building informal community support, and reducing stress. Conclusion: Previous research evidence indicated the importance of parent participation in transition planning and the factors that hinder their active participation as well. Evidence of parent participation facilitators is less represented, so future research should be focused on their further identification and developing a program for promoting active parent participation in teamwork in order to improve the transition period outcomes of students with disabilities