Barriers to positive parent-teacher partnerships: the views of parents and teachers in an inclusive education context

ABSTRACT

Productive parent-teacher partnerships are critical to positive student outcomes. This is especially so for students with disability in inclusive settings. Relationships between teachers and parents of students with disability, however, are often fraught, and improved parent engagement is thought to be one solution. Semi-structured interviews with 20 parents and 16 educators in four Australian schools discovered that teachers were less engaged in parent-teacher partnerships than parents. Teachers valued the partnership less, were less sensitive to other perspectives, and were less invested in the relationship. It was concluded that investment in teacher engagement is critical to more effective parent-teacher partnerships.

KEYWORDS:

• Teachers
• parents
• partnership
• inclusive education
• collaboration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Glenys Mann

Dr Glenys Mann is a lecturer in Inclusive Education. She is particularly interested in the inclusion of students with disability, and parents’ views and experiences regarding inclusive education. Her research interests include parent-teacher relationships when students have disability; intellectual impairment and inclusive education; inclusive teaching practices. Prior to her current position, Glenys taught in Queensland state schools, and worked as an education consultant supporting teachers and parents in the inclusion of students with Down syndrome. She has also worked in advocacy and community organisations, promoting and supporting inclusive lives for students with disabilities.

Linda Gilmore

Professor Linda Gilmore lectures in educational and developmental psychology. She has a Masters degree in educational psychology and a PhD in the field of special education. As a psychologist with expertise in developmental and educational assessment and family support, she has a particular interest in the development of children with rare chromosome disorders. Her research interests include areas of developmental and educational psychology (such as motivation, self-regulation, and parenting self-efficacy); and disability (particularly intellectual disability and rare chromosome disorders).