Parental involvement in the individual educational program for Israeli students with disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to achieve an understanding of the perceptions and experiences of Israeli parents of students with severe disabilities about the involvement of parents in the IEP process. Data collection in this study involved two sequential stages. The first part of the process started with interviewing 20 parents whose children study in special education schools in the Tel Aviv area in Israel. In the second part of the process, nine special education teachers involved in the IEP processes participated in a focus group and shared their perceptions about the themes revealed in parents' responses. Through analysis of parents' responses, five main themes became apparent: a child-centered focus, parents' self-efficacy, parent-teacher communication, parent-teacher collaboration, and trust. The main conclusion of the research was that parental involvement and effective parent-teacher collaboration in the IEPs of students with severe disabilities is founded on relationships of trust and positive communication between families and schools.