Parent engagement in middle school has the potential to yield positive effects on the academic success of students and contribute to a growth in a feeling of self-worth. Parents want the best for their children and based on their own experiences, they do what they can to support their children in school and beyond. This study examined the stories…

Countries increasingly out-contract public education to private providers to inspire competition and development, but there is limited research on the consequences. This article compares the parents' room for active citizenship in public and nonprofit compulsory schools in Norway. It analyses a large-scale parental survey by multi-level…

Although family-centeredness is a tenet of early intervention, families often report struggling to meaningfully participate in decision-making. To increase family involvement, in the United States Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) and service coordinators are charged with educating and empowering families to advocate for their…

Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities engage in higher rates of challenging behavior (CB) than their typically developing peers. Effective and sustainable intervention and supports designed to reduce CB, as well as promote the development of positive, prosocial behavior, are urgently needed. One approach to targeting CB is…

Parents of children with both cortical visual impairment (CVI) and complex communication needs offer unique perspectives on their children's journeys to receiving proper diagnoses, supports, and interventions, such as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). This study explored the lived experiences, supports, and barriers identified by…

Embracing parental advocacy is pivotal in navigating the challenges associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Such challenges include stress, stigmas, educational challenges, and access to support and services. This study's purpose was to examine parents' and adult primary caregivers' perspectives when advocating for an individual with ASD.…

Race-based over-representation in special education, or disproportionality, is a pervasive equity issue correlated with poorer educational outcomes. While racial disproportionality is described widely in literature as a persistent and significant problem, few studies suggest ways to positively disrupt this pattern. This study aimed to test whether…

With a rapidly increasing number of Latinx students in a special education system that requires parent advocacy, it is imperative to study the perspectives Latinx families have on how to improve family-school partnerships. In this research, semi-structured interviews with 10 Latinx mothers who have children with disabilities led to insights about…

Despite increased diagnostic prevalence, Black parents raising autistic youth still experience additional and unique barriers to accessing and using autism-related services compared to their non-Black peers. Increasing parent advocacy capacity may be one way to reduce these disparities. This efficacy study examined the effects of the FACES…

Early support should help autistic children lead flourishing lives. We sought to understand parents' experiences of their children's involvement in early intervention and associated research, through focus groups with 23 parents (of 22 children) enrolled in a university-affiliated service. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed four themes. Parents…

The primary focus in this study was to capture the experiences of parents who have participated in the IEP process. Specifically, the research expounded on how parental experiences during the IEP process impacted or informed education plans for their children and informed education leaders seeking to improve the IEP process experience. This study…

Educational attainment is closely associated with health. The objective is to explore the extent to which children and adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD) are afforded the same educational and socialization opportunities as their healthy peers. We used a qualitative phenomenological design with convenience sampling. Data gathered 27…

Aim: This meta-ethnography views social capital as a resource to be generated, within contexts of parental participation with schools, offering possibilities for a positive change in power relations, and the addressing of social justice concerns. Rationale: Increased parental participation with children's learning has a positive impact on…

There is general consensus that parents are invaluable partners in education of their children but, getting South African rural parents involved in education has remained difficult. This paper draws from parents' voices to explore the question, what do parents in a rural South African school context see as the school's role in enhancing…

Students with special learning needs (SSLN) have many issues when attempting to access quality education that would prepare them for post-secondary pursuits. Upon investigation, two themes stand out (1) persistent devaluing of the potential of the SSLN, and (2) the absence of the caregiver's voice in their son or daughter's educational plan. To…