This portfolio documents an investigation of both parent and educator perspectives of managing a chronic illness at school with the aim of developing a framework to ensure that students with chronic illness have equitable access to the same educational outcomes as their healthy peers. This study provides an in-depth exploration of a number of facets of the impact of having a chronic illness, including social, emotional, cognitive and physical aspects. The use of both parent and teacher perspectives provides insights into the realities of having a child with chronic illness at school, and offers some understandings of the risks and challenges parents face as they relinquish care of their ill child into the hands of educators. It also examines the role of educators as they assume much of the responsibility for providing educational, social and emotional support for these students, as well as monitoring their medical needs and health status whilst at school. The evidence from research in the field of child chronic illness suggests that students with chronic illness are at risk academically, emotionally and socially. The effectiveness of any strategy that aims to achieve equity in participation and outcomes for this group of students will depend upon understanding the complex factors that impact on students with chronic illness at school such as absenteeism, relationships with peers and individual resilience. This study addresses the research questions: What are the concerns of parents, educators and students with chronic illness in the educational context? What strategies are consistently being identified as effective in supporting students with a chronic illness at school? And what are the barriers to chronically ill students accessing educational services? Two, two part questionnaires were used to elicit responses from parents and educators of students with chronic illness. The parent respondents consisted of 121 parents of students with chronic illness attending Department of Education schools across NSW, Australia. The teacher respondents consisted of 111 teachers of students with chronic illness in Department of Education schools across NSW. The insights that emerged from the research suggest that the needs of this group of students remain unrecognised and under-resourced. Major findings indicate that many students with chronic illness have high levels of absenteeism, are underachieving academically, have difficulties keeping up and catching up with missed school work, are challenged in their relationships with their peers, and their medical needs are not recognised nor resourced adequately. Teachers of students with chronic illness are inadequately trained, and lack the time and resources to meet the individual needs of these students. The results demonstrated that students with chronic illness are not accessing educational services in the same ways as their healthy peers. The findings of this study suggest schools can make a difference to how well a student and a family cope with chronic illness. The provision of appropriate support, resources and the demonstration of positive attitudes by school communities can foster an environment that facilitates the academic and social growth of the student. The study includes recommendations in the areas of: building communication between home, school and medical professionals; maintaining academic achievement; building peer relationships; managing student medical needs; supporting students returning to school; reducing absenteeism; and supporting emotional health of student and family. The findings of this study have raised an awareness of the needs of students with chronic illness at school, and identified strategies for their support and inclusion. The findings also provide a framework for the provision of educational services for students with chronic illness. Hence, this portfolio represents an exploration of the journey much traveled by parents and educators of students with a chronic illness, with the intent of raising awareness of their needs, and providing direction for policy makers in the field of education, to ensure that students with chronic illness have equitable access to the same educational outcomes as their healthy peers. / Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/182471 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Shiu, Shiona, University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, School of Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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