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We investigated the involvement in their children's education at home and at school of 170 parents (148 mothers, 22 fathers) of Lithuanian children with special educational needs. The children, aged 12-16 years, were receiving their schooling in an inclusive educational environment. Participants completed measures of their perceptions of parental involvement with their child's schoolwork and with teachers, and of teacher involvement with parents. We found that 68.8% of the parents were able to identify their child's specific learning problem, and that just over half were involved in the education process at home. Further, one-third of the parents perceived that they were equal partners when communicating with teachers, and more highly educated parents devoted more time to communicating with their children than did parents with a lower level of education.
Keywords: special educational needs, parental involvement, inclusive education, parents, children, teachers, parent-teacher interactions.
Inclusive education has been defined as a continuous process, with the main goals being ensuring quality education for all members of society, recognizing and respecting diversity, taking into account each individual's abilities and needs, and avoiding any kind of discrimination (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2009). Inclusive education of children with special educational needs (SEN) is becoming more popular, but the effectiveness of educating these children in this environment has not yet been proved, mainly because there has been a lack of empirical investigation (Hornby, 2011). Further, Vislie (2003) stated that, apparently, the implementation of efforts to include children with SEN in general education is difficult for teachers and is not always evident. In Lithuania, several models designed for the education of children with SEN have been implemented (Alisauskas, Gerulaitis, & Milteniene, 2011), and it has been found that Lithuanian teachers implementing inclusive education collaborate successfully with special educators and other teachers who do not work with children with SEN, in meeting the special educational needs of students (Milteniene & Venclovaite, 2012). Special educational needs (SEN) in a Lithuanian context are defined as support and service development process needs arising from exceptional personal talent, congenital or acquired disorders, or adverse environmental factors (Republic of Lithuania Ministry of Education and Science, 2011). It is very important for school professionals to work together with parents to help children with SEN reach their...