05: Family Engagement
Presentation
One of the most effective means of promoting academic success is to engage families in their children's education. Family-school partnerships are critical for all students and in all school contexts, but especially important for students with disabilities. The laws require that family members are equal partners in all IEP decisions. For families of a child with a disability, the IEP meeting represents a critical focal point and opportunity for school staff to engage a parent about their child’s future and become active and equal participants in all decision-making.
Throughout the IEP process, educators are responsible for creating conditions that support active participation and full partnership by families. Effective communication, information sharing, purposeful questioning, and respectful listening are all essential. In this module, you will receive information and strategies on how to create a welcoming, inclusive environment, implement culturally responsive practices, and understand the federal requirements that promote strong family engagement. While you are viewing this module, think about:
- What kinds of interactions and relationships among families, students, and educators/providers support the learning of students with disabilities?
- What actions can you take as an educator/provider to build effective family-school partnerships?
- What has the law defined as important when engaging families about IEP development for their children?
- What are the roles and responsibilities of families, students, and educators/providers?
- What information, experiences, and/or resources do families, students and educators/providers bring to the IEP process?
In the following poll:
- Think about your experiences with family engagement during the IEP process.
- Rate your level of comfort with with including families in the IEP process on a scale of 1-5 (1 for not comfortable at all, and 5 for highly comfortable).
- Review your colleagues’ ratings.
- Reflect upon your rating in comparison to your colleagues, and how learning about increasing family engagement leads to positive outcomes for students with disabilities.
What Research Says...
Despite the emphasis on family-centered interactions for educational planning under IDEA 1997, education professionals still tend to dominate the decision-making process. (Dabkowski, 2004; Turnbull & Turnbull, 2011).
According to McAfee and Vergason (1979), the majority of educators perceive families as “junior” partners. Schools have traditionally failed to realize that parents serve as the strongest influence on students, that disenfranchised family members will not actively seek support from schools, and that simply giving families information does not guarantee that they will feel supported or be actively engaged in the process.
The following list describes key characteristics of a Family-Centered Approach by prominent researchers:
Creating a welcoming, collaborative environment
Turnbull, A., Turnbull, R., Erwin, E., Soodak, L., & Shogren, K. (2011). Families, Professionals and Exceptionality. Positive Outcomes through Partnership and Trust.
Engaging Families
Things to remember:
Students with involved parents are more likely to:
- Earn higher grades and test scores
- Attend school regularly
- Have better social skills
- Go on to post-secondary education
