An investigation of strategies that promote parent involvement in special education

Although many researchers have studied the effects of parent involvement on the education of their children, this study focused on strategies that intervention specialists used in special education as well as their perceptions of parent involvement when administering intervention protocols. The qualitative design chosen for this study was phenomenology, which allowed me to delve more deeply into the topic and gain details about the lived experiences of the participants who implemented parent involvement in their classrooms. The study was conducted through interviews with one kindergarten, 2 elementary, 1 middle school, and 3 high school intervention specialists; it focused on the perceptions of parent involvement as observed in their special education classrooms. Responses were analyzed and coded based on emergent themes. Dominant themes that emerged centered on the importance the education specialists getting to know parents and making them feel comfortable in the educational setting, providing consistent contact through a variety of avenues, and empowering parents and providing them with positive frequent feedback. An implication of the dominant themes is that of improving the practice of parent involvement in the classroom setting.