Parents&#146; views of and participation in the special education process are important in light of parents&#146; expanded membership in all decision making groups, specifically those that make eligibility and placement decisions guaranteed by The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 (IDEA &#146;97). The purpose of this study was to understand how parents view the special education process and their participation from their child&#146;s referral to eligibility determination. Furthermore, this study sought to determine how parents&#146; understanding and participation in the special education process could be enhanced.</P> Nine parents&#146; journeys through the special education referral and evaluation process were chronicled through pre-and post-eligibility parent interviews and observations of eligibility meetings. This data was contexualized through educator post-eligibility interviews to determine representativeness of parents&#146; participation and meeting characteristics. Individual and cross case analyses were used to analyze data. Findings indicate that little has changed in the past 25 years in the day-to-day implementation of the special education evaluation process. That is, parents know little of the process and participate minimally. Furthermore, parents express feelings about their child and the process that indicate that they care deeply and feel a vested interest in outcomes. However, parents express a need for greater understanding and participation in the process. A model for the effective implementation of the special education process is offered. / Ph. D.

Le paludisme compte parmi les plus lourds fardeaux qui pèsent sur l’Afrique subsaharienne en termes de maladie, dans un contexte international de grande mobilisation pour son contrôle. Le paradoxe est que les moyens thérapeutiques (préventifs et curatifs) adéquats pour son contrôle sont disponibles et largement diffusés. Plusieurs travaux ont montré qu’à la base de cet échec se trouvent de nombreux facteurs culturels, sociaux, économiques, environnementaux, etc. qui sont nécessaires en plus des moyens thérapeutiques traditionnels pour un contrôle efficace du paludisme. Les expériences menées dans le sens de la prise en compte de ces facteurs se sont souvent situées dans la logique des professionnels de la santé sans véritablement tenir compte de la logique des communautés. Au Bénin, le paludisme demeure la première cause de morbidité et de mortalité dans la population générale et surtout celle des enfants de moins de cinq ans. Sur les dix dernières années (1996-2005) et malgré les importants efforts engagés pour son contrôle, le paludisme est resté la première cause de consultation et d’hospitalisation dans la population des enfants de moins de cinq ans avec une tendance à la hausse. La présente étude a choisi de voir dans quelle mesure l’empowerment communautaire et la participation appropriative des parents dans l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre des projets de lutte contre le paludisme des enfants de moins de cinq ans contribue à la réduction de la morbidité et de la mortalité de ces derniers ainsi qu’à l’amélioration de la qualité de vie des populations. Pour ce faire, il a été mis en place un dispositif quasi-expérimental pré-post, pilote et témoin. L’intervention de promotion de la santé et d’éducation pour la santé a été un accompagnement du village pilote dans l’identification des priorités et la mise en œuvre des solutions propres à lutter contre le paludisme de l’enfant reconnu comme problème prioritaire de santé. Le projet a été mis en place suivant la logique de la communauté pilote qui a identifié sept différents micro-projets, suivant ses besoins prioritaires, pour efficacement lutter contre le paludisme de l’enfant. Parmi ces sept micro-projets, cinq ont été pleinement mis en œuvre, le sixième partiellement et, le dernier non encore entamé avant le terme provisoire du projet qui a été de 27 mois. L’ensemble de ces activités a impliqué environ 80% de la population de la communauté pilote. Au terme des 27 mois, la grande majorité des parents interrogés trouvent qu’il s’agit d’un projet qui leur a apporté d’éléments nouveaux dans l’appréciation de la situation de la fièvre et de sa prise en charge et, par conséquent, il devrait continuer. L’analyse des représentations, les entretiens de groupe, le dépistage actif, le dépouillement des registres dans les formations sanitaires fréquentées par les membres de la communauté pilote ainsi que le recensement des décès d’enfants pendant la période de l’intervention, comparés aux données d’avant intervention ont permis de noter un changement statistiquement significatif dans les pratiques de recours aux soins adéquats, une réduction de la morbidité et de la mortalité palustres (respectivement 42% et 87% des taux observés avant l’intervention) avec également une différence statistiquement significative comparativement au village témoin. Une confirmation de ces résultats est obtenue à partir des registres d’approvisionnement et de cession des médicaments anti-palustres utilisés dans le cadre du projet dans le village pilote ainsi que les données d’interviews individuelles approfondies. Les femmes, dont les fonctions traditionnelles dans ce milieu leur confèrent un statut de l’ombre, ont joué un rôle prépondérant dans l’initiation des micro-projets et la prise en charge adéquate des cas de fièvre des enfants. D’autres aspects du développement du village pilote ont vu le jour à partir de ce projet, tels que la mise en place d’une fontaine d’eau potable, l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre d’un nouveau modèle d’habitat permettant une meilleure protection contre les moustiques vecteurs du paludisme, etc. Il est à noter que le projet se poursuit sous la direction du comité villageois mis en place pour la circonstance et avec un contact régulier maintenu entre ce dernier et le chercheur principal.

När ett barn drabbas av cancer blir hela familjen drabbad. Barn som diagnostiserats med cancer har en lång vårdprocess framför sig med behandlingar som kan ge stora biverkningar. Vara förälder till ett barn med cancer, där framtiden är oviss, är psykiskt påfrestande. Syftet var att beskriva hur föräldrar påverkas av att ha ett barn med cancerbehandling. Metod för studien var allmän litteraturstudie där sökningar gjordes i två olika databaser med omvårdnadsfokus. Det resulterade i 9 vetenskapliga resultatartiklar som granskades och sammanställdes till ett resultat. Resultatet beskriver föräldrars upplevelser genom kategorierna: Att familjen och relationer påverkas, resan till och från sjukhus, att vara stark och finna hopp och att ansvara för barnet vid hemkomst. Det framkom att det är viktigt att föräldrarna är delaktiga i sitt barns omvårdnad eftersom det fick dem att känna sig viktiga och att de hade kontroll över situationen. Vid bristande delaktighet upplevde föräldrarna ökad oro och ångest. Slutsatsen av litteraturstudiens resultat belyser att det krävs ett gott samarbete mellan förälder och vårdpersonal för att föräldrarna ska känna trygghet. Fler möjligheter till stöd för föräldrarna behövs. De stödgrupper som finns anses inte tillräckliga. Därför rekommenderas fortsatt forskning med syfte att undersöka föräldrars upplevelser för att ge sjuksköterskan, men även övrig vårdpersonal, större kunskap i att främja föräldrarnas välbefinnande under denna påfrestande tid. / When a child develops cancer, the whole family is affected. Children that have been diagnosed with cancer, have a long health care process ahead of them with treatments that could result in major side effects. To be a parent with a child who suffers from cancer, is psychologically strenuous. The purpose was to describe how parents are affected by having a child undergoing cancer treatment. The methodology applied for the study was a literature review where searches were done in two different databases with a health care focus. The searches resulted in nine scientific articles, which were reviewed and then merged into a result. The result describes the parent’s experiences in the following categories: that the family and relations are affected, travel to and from the hospital, to be strong and find hope and to be responsible for the child when returning home. It was revealed that it is important that the parents participate in their child’s care because it made them feel important and in control of the situation. When participation was lacking, the parents experienced anxiety and apprehension. The conclusion on the results from the literature review highlights the need for good collaboration between parents and health care staff for the parents to feel secure. Multiple options for support to the parents are required. The support groups that exist today are not considered adequate. It is therefore recommended that research continues to examine parents experiences, with aim of giving the nurse as well as other health care staff, greater understanding on how to support the parents well-being during this demanding time period.

As soon as the school realise that a student has special needs, they must make an Individual educational plan (IEP). When the IEP is made both child and parents should participate according to Swedish educational law and United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This participation should, among other things, include the opportunity for the child to describe its own needs, plausible interventions and evaluate the support it has been given.    The purpose of this study has been to investigate more closely the perceived feeling of parents that they and their children were made involved in the creation of the IEP.  As a theoretical basis and starting point for analysis, Shier's and Hart's participation models have been used, supplemented with Lundy's participation model. Concepts from Foucault's theory of power and Bourdieu's theories of capital have been used as a complement. The design of the study was a qualitative interview study with a phenomenological focus where the focus was on the informants' own experience. Based on this, a thematic analysis was carried out. The themes that emerged were an experience of communication but not of participation, that the IEP is seen as a document that does not reflect reality, that the children´s participation is extremely deficient and that the parents are used as mouthpieces for the child. In the majority of the interviews, it emerged that the child was not asked at all about its opinion regarding its needs and the interventions it was offered.  This study was limited to the parents´ experience of their and their children´s participation in the establishment and evaluation of the IEP. Future studies could explore other perspectives on the phenomenon, such as the school´s or the child´s own perspective. However, after seeing how the results of the study reflect the shortcomings demonstrated by several years of studies in the field, future research should instead focus on how the school can practically increase participation and create a culture that values children´s participation highly and sets this as a priority. / Så snart skolan uppmärksammar behov av särskilt stöd ska ett åtgärdsprogram upprättas. I upprättandet av åtgärdsprogrammet ska barn och föräldrar göras delaktiga, både utifrån Skollagen och Barnkonventionen. Delaktigheten ska bestå i att barnet bland annat ges möjlighet att själv beskriva sina svårigheter, tänkbara åtgärder och får utvärdera insatser.  Syftet med denna studie har varit att närmare undersöka den upplevda känslan hos föräldrar av att de och deras barn gjorts delaktiga vid framställandet av åtgärdsprogrammet.  Som teoretisk grund och utgångspunkt för analys har använts Shiers och Harts delaktighetsmodeller som kompletterats med Lundys delaktighetsmodell. Begrepp från Foucaults maktteori och Bourdieus teorier om kapital har använts som ett komplement. Studiens design var en kvalitativ intervjustudie med fenomenologisk inriktning där fokus var på informanternas egen upplevelse. Utifrån detta genomfördes en tematisk analys. De teman som framkom var en upplevelse av kommunikation men inte av delaktighet, att åtgärdsprogrammet ses som ett dokument som inte speglar verkligheten, att barnens delaktighet är ytterst bristfällig och att föräldrarna används som språkrör för barnet. I majoriteten av intervjuerna framkom att barnet inte överhuvudtaget tillfrågats om sin åsikt kring sina behov och de insatser det erbjudits. Denna studie begränsades till föräldrarnas upplevelse av deras och deras barns delaktighet i upprättandet och utvärderingen av åtgärdsprogrammet. Framtida studier skulle kunna utforska andra perspektiv på fenomenet, som skolans eller barnets eget perspektiv. Efter att ha sett hur studiens resultat speglar de brister flera års studier inom området påvisat så bör dock framtida studier i stället fokusera på hur skolan praktiskt ska öka delaktigheten och skapa en kultur som värderar barns delaktighet högt och sätter detta som en prioritet.

Studien handlar om upplevelser av socialsekreterare som jobbar med barnavårdsutredningar med sin makt gentemot föräldrarna och deras strategier för attminska maktobalansen som finns i relationen. För att besvara studiens frågeställningar genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre socialsekreterare i en mellanstor kommun. Intervjumaterialet analyserades med tematisk analys. Studien visade att socialsekreterare upplever att föräldrarna kan känna rädsla eller ilska i deras kontakt med socialtjänsten och socialsekreterare. Socialsekreterare upplevde även att föräldrarnas känslor inför socialsekreterares makt i vissa fall leder till att föräldrarna tackar ja till föreslagna insatser trots de inte vill på grund av rädsla för konsekvenserna eller att inte framstå som dåliga föräldrar inför socialsekreterare. En annan viktig slutsats som kom fram var att socialsekreterare kan använda sin makt annorlundautifrån hur hög eller låg oro de har för barnets situation. Graden av oro som socialsekreterare har visade sig även påverka hur delaktiga föräldrarna tillåts vara i utredningar och i skriftliga rapporter. Det framkom också att socialsekreterare tyckte att tydlighet, att göra föräldrarna delaktiga i utredningar och vissa personliga egenskaper hjälpte till att minska maktobalansen mellan dem och föräldrarna.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

M.Ed. / According to the investigations conducted by the National Commission of Special Needs Education and Training (NCSNET) and the National Committee on Education Support Services (NCESS) in South African schools, the findings were that: Firstly, only the minority group benefited in both physical and human resources. The specialised education and support were predominantly provided on racial basis for whites only. Secondly, the government can no more fund these schools. Thirdly, learners with disability want to be out of the cocoon. The purpose of this research was to find out how people in the education system, namely parents, educators and learners in "special" and "mainstream/developed" schools in Soweto perceive inclusion. Since is qualitative research, the researcher interviewed, observed and recorded educators (heads, deputies or HODs) and 4 parents from three different types of special schools, namely Sizwile School for deaf and dumb children, Adelaide Tambo School for the physically disabled and Philip Khushlik School for Cerebral Palsied children. She then interviewed 2 learners, one from J.C. Merkin School for quadriplegic learners and one from Dominican Convent High School. The findings of this research effort suggest that disabled learners do not want to be kept in bedrooms because they feel isolated, excluded and discriminated against. They need to be part of the community. They need a step ahead, a brighter future so that they can plough back something into the community.

Thesis (M. Cur.) -- University of Limpopo, 2015. / Background:The experiences of families living with the mentally handicapped childrenwho attended the Bana Ba Thari School in the Polokwane Municipality of the Limpopo Province were never evaluated and, therefore, the experiences of families werenot known. Theaim:The aim of this study wasto describe the experiences of the families caring for the mentally handicapped children who attended theBana Ba Thari School in thePolokwane Municipality of theLimpopo Province, South Africa. Study methodology:A qualitative phenomenological research approach was used.Data was collected from 23 families who cared for their mentally handicapped children by conductingsemi-structured face-to-face interviews. Data wasaudio recorded and field notes were written down. Data was analysed using Tech’s open coding method forqualitative research.After the Medunsa Research and Ethics Committee had given ethic clearance for this study to be conducted, the Department of Education also gave permission for the study to be conducted.After the Medunsa Research and Ethics Committee had given ethic clearance for this study to be conducted, the Department of Education also gave permission for the study to be conducted.Ethical considerations and measures to ensure trustworthiness were observedand adhered to while conducting the study. The results:The results showed that the parents lackedadequateknowledge about mentally handicapped children which ledto poor interaction.The study also revealed a gap of knowledge from various professions likedoctors andeducators which ledto poor intervention and delay of therapy for the mentally handicapped children. The study also revealed the psychological impact on the parents and siblings.Parents worriedabout the future of their mentally handicapped children, which led to their denial andanxiety while the siblings became depressed. Parents also experienced a physiological impact, socio-economic problems, lack of resources at school like material for rehabilitation, and lack of transport to take their children to school every day. In addition,it was found that most of the parents and siblings didnot get continuing psychological support. vi Conclusion and recommendations:It is recommended that government and agencies should provide assessment and therapy facilities for mentally handicapped children and their parents. It is also recommended that professionals like doctors and educatorsstill need to undergoin-service training with regard to mentally handicapped learners to enable them to make proper decisions or to execute accurate interventions.

九年一貫課程的精神為創新教學，目的在透過創新的教學來讓學生養成創新的思維。然而，創新思維的養成不能單靠學校就能達成。學生在家庭的時間佔三分之二，因此家庭與學校必須合作，才能達成教育的目標—即每個學生的成功。 本研究首先分析家長參與的相關文獻，發現目前家長參與的論文是針對家長、學校、或教師做個別的研究，未從三者統合的觀點探討，因此本研究乃從Swap的「家庭—學校夥伴關係模式」（home-school partnership model）出發，期以整合的方式來研究家長參與。 「家庭—學校夥伴關係模式」（home-school partnership model）是指由家長與教育家組成聯盟，以促進優良的學校與學生。此「夥伴關係」（partnership）有特殊的意義，它是包含長期的約定、相互尊重、家庭與教育者廣泛參與各層次的活動，且共享規劃、決策的責任。在夥伴關係模式中，家長參與並非被視為附加物，而被視為學校改革不可或缺的部分。Swap指出發展夥伴關係的四個要素為創造雙向溝通、強調在校與在家的學習、提供支持與共同決策，因此本研究採取質性研究的方式，針對三所學校的家長、教師與行政人員進行深度訪談，並以家庭—學校夥伴關係模式的四要素來分析研究對象，以瞭解此三學校的家長參與情況是否符合家庭—學校夥伴關係模式，最後分別對三所學校的家長參與提出建議。 本文的研究發現，B國小家長參與最接近夥伴關係模式，其次依序為A國小、C國小。A、C國小家長參與的困境主要原因在於觀念未改變，家長視自己為學校的「協助者」，而非「夥伴」，教師則對家長參與仍有疑慮。因此，欲推動家庭—學校夥伴關係模式，則A、C國小應加強內部的溝通，以對家長參與形成共識，再與家長溝通、邀請家長成為教育的夥伴。

本研究目的在於瞭解幼兒就學準備度之內涵，並以實證方式進行幼兒學前教育經驗、幼兒園品質、家庭背景、家長參與的現況瞭解，以及與幼兒就學準備度之間的差異情形、相關情形、預測情形。依隨機抽樣方式，以問卷調查進行兩階段實施，第一階段，抽取632位文山及萬華區小ㄧ學童為研究對象，進行幼兒就學準備度的施測，可用率為75.5%，共477位學童；第二階段根據學童分布的141家公私立幼兒園(幼稚園或托兒所)，進行幼兒園品質調查，可用率為51.8%，共計73家幼兒園。本研究採用量化方法，以SPSS 14.0套裝軟體進行分析，包括獨立樣本t考驗、卡方分配、單因子變異數分析、Scheff’e事後比較、皮爾森基差相關、多元逐步回歸等方式做資料的處理。 研究結果顯示：1、幼兒園屬性及類型對就學準備度有顯著差異，就讀私立幼兒園者其就學準備度高於就讀公立幼兒園者；就讀不同幼兒園類型的孩子其就學準備度有顯著差異。2、幼兒就讀幼兒園年數與學準備度呈現正相關。3、幼兒園品質與就學準備度的無顯著相關。4、家庭背景中的「每月收入」、「父母教育程度」、「父母職業類型」、「父母社經地位」皆與幼兒就學準備度有顯著差異。5、幼兒園與小學時期家長參與呈正相關，兩時期的家長參與與就學準備度也呈現正相關。6、「家庭每月收入」、「幼兒園時期家長參與」、「就讀幼兒園年數」對就學準備度達顯著預測性。 另外其他研究發現部分：1、幼兒園及小學時期家長參與度中偏高。2、幼兒就讀幼兒園類型與家庭環境及區域分佈有關，且家庭背景會影響幼兒園類型選擇。3、幼兒進入小學後就學準備度「學業成績」方面表現不錯，「生活適應」方面表現中等。4、家長參與和家庭背景因素呈現正相關，父母教育程度、職業、社經地位、家庭每月收入月高的家庭，家長的參與程度會越高。5、各類型的幼兒園其幼兒園品質有顯著差異。 本研究並根據研究結果提出建議，以提供家長、學校、政府機關以及未來研究者之參考。 / The main purpose of this study is to understand the concept of school readiness, and examine the experience of early childhood education, the educational quality in ECE (early childhood education), the background of family, parents participate, and the relationships of these items. This study adopts literature analysis and questionnaire investigation to achieve the goal. This study are 2 steps, the first step, 632 first grade elementary school students in Wenshan district and Wanhua district of Taipei City, and 477 samples were received, making the return rate of 75.5%. The second step, basing on 141 early childhood education centers the children attended in last year, and 73 samples were received, making the return rate of 51.8%. The sample results were analyzed by means, standard deviations, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Person’s product-moment correlation and stepwise multiple regression analysis. Depending on the result, the conclusions are as fallows: 1. The children study in private center is better than in public. And the school readiness of children in different types childcare centers has obvious different. 2. The correlation analysis found that there is moderate positive relationship between “How long are children in childcare centers” and “early childhood school readiness”. 3. The correlation analysis found that there is no moderate relationship between “the educational quality in ECE” and “early childhood school readiness”. 4. There were significantly different perceptions towards school readiness to different background family. 5. The correlation analysis found that there is moderate positive relationship between parents participate in early childhood time and elementary school time. “The parents participate in two step” and early childhood school readiness” also show positive relationship. 6. The income of the family per month, the participation of parents in early childhood time and how long children in childcare centers are were appropriate indicators in predicting early childhood school readiness. Otherwise, there are other researches results are discovered as follows: 1. The participation of parents in early childhood time and elementary school time are obviously high. 2. Family backgrounds can affect the choice of the type of the early childhood centers, and the type of the early childhood centers are concerned with family backgrounds and which areas they are in. 3. After children enter the elementary school, their school readiness in” study achievements “are good, and in “live hood adaption” show average. 4. There were moderate positive relationship between “the participation of parents” and “the factors of family backgrounds”, the higher level of education of their parents, their occupations, their position of social and economics and the income per month, the participation of parents show higher. 5. There were significantly different perceptions between types of early childhood centers and their qualities. According to previous conclusions, the researcher proposes some suggestions for parents, school, administration and researchers in the future.