Two different stories? Parents’ and teachers’ views on children’s special support in school

Abstract

Home-school collaboration supports students’ achievements, learning, and development, according to prior research. This article aims to explore parents’ and teachers’ views on children's special education needs and special support, focusing on the degree of agreement between the two parties. It also aims to explore the extent to which parents' views on special support for their children match their experiences of contact with teachers. The present study is based on questionnaires to teachers and parents of 476 children, aged 8-10 years, who were identified as needing extra adaptations or special support. The results show that teachers consider about twice as many students to be in need of special support than parents do, and that both teachers and parents consider more boys than girls to be in need of special support. There is also a correlation between parents' satisfaction with their child's support and their level of satisfaction with communication with the child's teacher. Finally, good contact between teachers and parents is associated with a consensus about the children's need for support.