Informative Parent Training on Parental Advocacy and Legal Rights for Families with Children with Special Educational Needs

Abstract

This study aims to illustrate the effectiveness of the programme of informative parent training which is about the rights of families of children with special educational needs (SEN), and which is presented via the direct instruction method. The research was designed in a semi-experimental model consisting of a single group pre-test and post-test design. The study group consists of 11 mothers and four fathers of children with SEN who continued to a private special education and rehabilitation centre in Ankara. Interview forms and the "Legal Rights Information Test" were used to collect data for this research. The pre-test and post-test scores obtained within the scope of the research were analysed in the SPSS software suite, and social validity data were subject to content analysis and descriptive analysis. The dependent variable of the study, which is the level of knowledge about the legal rights of families of children with SEN, was found to have increased following the informative parent training provided for families (t = -8.573, p < .001). The pre-test average score (17.73) of The Legal Rights Knowledge Test of families was lower than the post-tests averages (31.47), the difference being statistically significant. Most of the families participating in the research argued that the content, process, and materials of the training program were beneficial to them and suggested similar training for other families.