School bells are ringing, but can parents attend? Responses from employed parents of children with SEND

ABSTRACT

This study’s purpose is to examine the work-family conflict of employed parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those parents’ engagement in the schooling of their children. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, 206 parents from the United Kingdom completed a questionnaire about their school engagement and their work-family strain. Response data were examined employing descriptive and correlation analyses, as well as hierarchical moderated regression. Findings reveal that the higher the parents’ work-family conflict, the lower their school engagement. Moreover, the age of children with SEND moderates the relationship between employed parents’ work-family conflict and engagement in their children’s schooling. Specifically, for parents with younger children, the negative impact of work-family conflict on parental school engagement is not as prevalent as it is for those with older-aged children. Drawing on Hobfoll's conservation of resources theory, we explore parents' dilemma when they determine where to expend their limited reservoir of resources. Because children with SEND benefit in multiple ways when their parents are engaged in their schooling, we provide recommendations regarding how schools and organizations can operate to promote parental school engagement.

KEYWORDS:

• Work-family conflict
• children with disabilities
• school engagement
• school involvement
• parental engagement
• parental involvement

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Vasilis Strogilos for his contribution to the selection of the school engagement scale.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Abraham Stefanidis

Abraham Stefanidis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management, Peter J. Tobin College of Business, at St. John’s University, New York NY USA. His research interests are in international human resource management, global business ethics, and disability. Abraham Stefanidis is the Editor-in-Chief of the academic journal International Studies of Management & Organization.

Margaret E. King-Sears

Margaret E. King-Sears is a Professor in the Division of Special Education and disAbility Research at George Mason University, Fairfax VA USA 22030, USA. She focuses on interventions that promote academic and social competence as well as independence for students with disabilities in naturalistic settings.

Niki Kyriakidou

Niki Kyriakidou is a Senior Lecturer of human resource management and organizational behavior in Leeds Business School, Leeds Beckett University, UK. Her research interests are in the areas of international strategic human resource management and development, workplace well-being, diversity, and employability.