Inclusion and Communities of Practice

the reification of the role(s)/identities of teachers and parents of students with learning disabilities

Abstract

This paper examines parent/teacher perception of their role-identities in the education of children with learning disabilities (LD) in Greek mainstream schools. The theory of Communities of Practice (CoP) is adopted as the most appropriate framework for the scope of the present study which aimed to explore four main issues: 1. parent/teacher perception of their role in student’s with LD education, 2. parent/teacher goal setting for the education of the student with LD, 3. parent/teacher understanding and description of student’s difficulties, and 4. parent/teacher engagement in shared practices. The above issues are examined and analyzed via semi-structured interviews of 40 parents’ (20 mothers and 20 fathers) and 40 teachers’ (20 regular and 20 special) perception of parent/teacher role-identity. The analyses revealed that the educational and affective support of the student with LD was the prevalent feature of parent/teacher identity. Additionally, most of the parents, as opposed to the teachers, distinguished between the regular/special education teacher roles. Parents/teachers set educational, personal or multiple goals for the child, while only teachers set social goals. Few parents/teachers perceived differently student’s learning difficulties: the teachers considered parent expectations, beliefs or low educational level as the source of their difference in understanding, while the parents highlighted teachers’ lack of special training. Finally, although both parents/teachers were engaged in in-school activities, there was no mutual engagement in other practices (i.e. IEP). The above findings are discussed in relation to their implications in promoting more inclusive and collaborative parent-teacher relations.