Parental Advocacy in Education of Children with Special Needs: Strategies and Challenges

Author(s) : Johar Ali 1 & Tauqeer Abdullah 2*

Abstract:

Parental advocacy plays a pivotal role in ensuring educational rights of children with special needs, their inclusion as well as addressing the problems affecting their equitable learning opportunities. This study was conducted to identify the strategies parents can use to advocate for the educational rights of their children with special needs and the challenges they face along the way. The study was quantitative in approach, with a descriptive survey research design involving 300 parents of primary school children in four special education centres in District Bhakkar, Punjab, Pakistan. Data were collected using newly developed scales based on a 5-point rating scale. Data were analysed through independent-samples t-test to determine differences between male and female respondents, as well as between rural and urban respondents. The study revealed that most of the parents of children with special needs lacked awareness about the strategies and options available which they could use for advocacy. Male and urban parents were found to be more informed than female and rural parents respectively. Additionally, the study found that a significant number of parents faced multiple challenges in their struggle towards advocacy. Rural parents were more likely to face challenges than urban parents in advocating for the educational rights of their children with special needs.

Keywords: Special education, Disability, Disabled child, Gifted child, Scales.