Preparing Pre-Service Special Education Teachers to Facilitate Parent Involvement, Knowledge, and Advocacy: Considerations for Curriculum

Abstract

More than 40 years after passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), some special education teacher preparation programs offer limited coursework on parent involvement, advocacy, or home–school collaboration. For pre-service special education teachers and/or novice special education teachers working with students with disabilities and their parents in practice, prior parent involvement coursework often enhances knowledge and abilities to provide resources, advocacy support, and insight. Yet, for this to occur in practice, special education teacher preparation program faculty should continue to consider how curriculum that instructs and provides resources regarding home–school collaboration, advocacy, conflict resolution, and federal legislation and programmatic support can enhance parent involvement. Therefore, this article examines IDEA parent involvement provisions, IDEA-mandated and federally funded conflict resolution options, and Parent Training and Information Centers that provide parents resources and support. Also, this article offers suggestions for teacher preparation faculty developing or refining parent involvement curricula.

Tactical Thinking and its Relationship with Solving Mathematical Problems Among Mathematics Department Students

“…Future employment may primarily include analyzing the complex issues to make the most appropriate decisions, including scientific and strategical analysis and data analysis. Parents and academics also need to look for ways to improve and refine their children's skills to prepare them for the word [30][31].…”

Your Voice Matters: A Practitioner’s Guide for Engaging in Policy Through Advocacy

“…Researchers have begun to identify potential reasons for such perceptions. First, advocacy is not typically taught during teacher preparation and may not be perceived as part of the educator’s role (Hanhimaki & Tirri, 2009; Strassfeld, 2019). Second, educational professionals may lack access to necessary resources for engaging in advocacy (Burke et al, 2019; Strassfeld, 2019).…”

“…First, advocacy is not typically taught during teacher preparation and may not be perceived as part of the educator’s role (Hanhimaki & Tirri, 2009; Strassfeld, 2019). Second, educational professionals may lack access to necessary resources for engaging in advocacy (Burke et al, 2019; Strassfeld, 2019). Third, there are numerous resources identifying the social and political capital required to participate in advocacy efforts with individuals from marginalized communities and underrepresented groups often identifying difficulty in having their voices heard by policymakers due to many of the systemic and institutional biases built into our laws and political systems (e.g., Hehir, 2002; Skrtic & Knackstedt, 2018; Strassfeld, 2019).…”

Developing Special Education Advocates: What Changes during an Advocacy Training Program?

“…Among other uses, such targeted interventions have been previously employed when using parents as interventionists to other parents in mindfulness training (Dykens, Fisher, Lambert, & Miodrag, 2014) and in early language interventions (Heidlage et al, 2019). In a similar way, advocacy training programs might be customized to enable the development of advocacy skills by pre-service special education teachers (Strassfeld, 2018) or by doctoral students (Nagro, Shepherd, West, & Nagy, 2018), respectively.…”