Parental Involvement Into Educational Activities Empowering Education of Schoolchildren With Special Educational Needs

The study deals with the issue of parental involvement into education of children with special educational needs (SEN). Selecting parental involvement into educational activities empowering education of SEN children as a research object, the study aimed at investigating parental involvement into educational activities empowering education of SEN schoolchildren. The following research objectives were raised to achieve the aim of the research: 1. To analyse parents’ attitudes towards their involvement in the educational activities of school aiming at ensuring the educational needs of SEN schoolchildren. 2. To study the peculiarities of parental involvement into learning at home activities of SEN schoolchildren. 3. To assess the efficiency of parental involvement into the educational process empowering the education of SEN schoolchildren for schoolchildren’s self-esteem. Research hypotheses stated that (1) parents with the background of higher education were more involved in their SEN children’s education at home and at school, and (2) children of parents involved into their education would have higher self-esteem. Research revealed that more than half of parents who had SEN children were involved in their education, one tenth of such parents were not involved at all. The rest of the parents were involved in the education of their children only sometimes. It was established that parents with the background of higher education were more involved in their SEN children’s education at school. Parents of senior schoolchildren were less often involved in the education of their children. One third of parents felt equal partners while communicating with teachers. One third of parents had sufficient knowledge in educating their children. Parents who had sufficient knowledge in educating their children were more involved in their children’s education. It was established that parents and children had positive evaluations of the affection between each other. Affection was more valued by those children whose parents felt equal partners while communicating with teachers. Children of parents more involved in their education and having sufficient knowledge about the education of children more emphasized stronger affection to their parents. More than half of the parents communicated with their children two or more hours a day. Almost two thirds of children received help with their homework from their parents. Children of parents more involved in their education demonstrated higher levels of self-esteem in their home environment. Also the tendency was found that the children of these parents had higher self-esteem levels at school as well