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Published on: June 20, 2020
Experiences of parents of children with special needs at school entry: a mixed method approach
A Siddiqua1,2, M Janus1,2
1Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Insights
Parents reported lower satisfaction with services after their children with special needs transitioned to school. Improvements in service quality, communication, and parent advocacy are needed for a successful school entry.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Education
- Psychology
Background:
- The transition from preschool to kindergarten presents challenges for children with special needs.
- Understanding parents' experiences with service provision during this transition is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore parents' experiences with service provision during the transition of children with special needs from preschool to kindergarten.
- To identify factors influencing parental satisfaction with services.
Main Methods:
- Convergent mixed-method approach combining quantitative measures and qualitative interviews.
- 37 parents completed surveys on service perceptions and satisfaction.
- 10 parents participated in semi-structured interviews.
Main Results:
- Parents reported lower perceptions and decreased satisfaction with services post-transition compared to pre-transition.
- Key themes included service quality, communication, parent advocacy, and uncertainty.
- Qualitative data revealed both satisfaction and concern regarding post-transition services.
Conclusions:
- Quantitative data indicated a decline in parental satisfaction after school entry.
- Qualitative findings highlighted variability in experiences and areas needing improvement.
- Enhancing service provision is essential for successful school transitions for children with special needs.
Background:
The transition from pre-school to kindergarten can be complex for children who need special assistance due to mental or physical disabilities (children with 'special needs'). We used a convergent mixed method approach to explore parents' experiences with service provision as their children transitioned to school.
Methods:
Parents (including one grandparent) of 37 children aged 4 to 6 years completed measures assessing their perceptions of and satisfaction with services. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 10 parents to understand their experience with services.
Results:
Post transition, parents reported lower perceptions of services and decreased satisfaction than pre-transition. The following themes emerged from the qualitative data: qualities of services and service providers, communication and information transfer, parent advocacy, uncertainty about services, and contrasts and contradictions in satisfaction. The qualitative findings indicate that parents were both satisfied and concerned with aspects of the post-transition service provision.
Conclusions:
While the quantitative results suggested that parents' experience with services became less positive after their children entered school, the qualitative findings illustrated the variability in parents' experiences and components of service provision that require improvements to facilitate a successful school entry.
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