Pupil-centred modern psychology states that raising the families’ awareness for their children’s education is essential for the little ones’ success in school. Especially in the case of SEN children, the degree of interest of the parents is proportional with their success.

In Romania these families and associations of such families contributed on a large extent, especially after 1990 to the adoption of radical measures in favour of the quality of disabled children’s education.

Donellan and Mirrenda propose a couple of standards for parents collaboration: the parents are not to blame for the disabilities of their children; an educational programme used by a parent is inefficient not because of its choice; an exhaustive explanation of the child’s disability to the parents; we are no t allowed to discourage parents; parents must have total access to such information and diagnosis.

In many developed countries parents of such children have more powerful rights than those existing nowadays in Romania.

An efficient communication and partnership is based on a few elements: reciprocal respect, impartial attitude, empathy towards the parents.

Some forms of reciprocal collaboration and assistance between school and family are: activities for providing information; activities for exchange of information (mainly meetings bases on the Individualized Educational Plan); collaborative assistance for the school curriculum (target and objective tracing); collaboration with the school community (family members as tutors, mini-instructors etc.); parents training.

Non-collaborative problems are nonetheless frequent. Bemporad, Ratey ºi O’Driscoll state that there are three such types of problems: problems concerning the parents’ physical and mental energy, the psychological tendency of denial as a consequence of pain; a lot of time and financial resources are required. There are problems who cannot surpass their problems and they have to be guided to the school psychologist.

We can mention some ways of parents involvement in kindergarten: invitation of parents to classroom activities, assistance groups made of parents of SEN children, especially if they have similar disabilities, keeping information confidential, parents involvement as decision makers, making an assistance team which includes parents also.

All in all, proper collaboration among teachers, families and specialists based on respect and empathy is a complex process, which requires time, energy, caution and common sense.
sursa imaginii : freeschoolclipart.com

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Tags: family, support, education

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Category: Education  - ( Education Archive)

Date Added: 18 January '08

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