Parents’ views of an optimal school life: using Social Role Valorization to explore differences in parental perspectives when children have intellectual disability

Abstract

Children with disability continue to experience disadvantage in their school lives; thus, the question of what makes up an optimal school life, and whether this is different for children with disability, becomes critical. This paper reports on research into parental views about an optimal school life and the usefulness of Social Role Valorization theory as a framework for exploring this issue. Six focus group interviews were used to collect data from 30 parents. Children of a variety of ages, with and without disability, were represented. All groups were similar in the aspects they regarded as optimal in a child’s school life. These fell into five categories: being connected, growth, personhood, basic needs, and happiness. Despite this similarity across groups, there were some notable differences in the detail; for example, parents of children with disability had a stronger focus on children being wanted, high expectations, and being seen as an individual.

Keywords:

• Disability
• school life
• Social Role Valorization
• parental views
• intellectual disability
• intellectual impairment

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Jane Sherwin (senior trainer in SRV) for helpful discussions about SRV and how it pertains to education for children with disability.