Parental involvement in special education article review

The purpose of the study

The purpose of this study as expressed by Muller is to analyze the role and the importance of parents to their children education and how to handle gender disparities. This study is done so as to know how the parents involve themselves in the children education at the early age or when they are young and during their adolescence (Muller, 1998). It is also to find out whether the parents are the only ones who influence the children special education or teachers to play a crucial role. It is also to find out whether the parents meet the education requirement of a child; such as skills, knowledge, writing skills, simple arithmetics and reading skills (Muller, 1998).

Description of participants

Parents, teachers and the children are the three participants in the article. The parents are credited for playing a crucial role in imparting knowledge to the children at their early age. They teach them basic skills such as reading, writing and perform simple arithmetics. The teachers too assist the parents in school to identify and build the career of their child at the early ages. Both the parents and the teachers discipline and teach the children good manners and behaviors (Muller, 1998).

The research design/ data analysis

Research design examines the consistency and what hold the research together. It is a case study of children till the age of adolescence on the role of parents in the children education. Using the case study is appropriate because it provides detailed information on the disable children who are problematic in the learning process. The authors of this article have used the social research so as to know the actual role of the parents in children with special needs. The results from this design method are conclusive and detailed; hence recommendation can easily be made (Muller, 1998).

Method of data collection

The method used by Muller in this article to collect data was structured questionnaire. Relevant questions were set depending on the information required, then issued to the willing parents to fill. The questionnaires are then assessed and analyzed based on the questions answered. Some of the questions asked include: what are the major challenges facing children with disability and how it affects their education, at what age do the children know how to read, write and to comprehend? The children frequency visit to the library? The data is then analyzed and presented using tables and this will be easier when making a final conclusion (Muller, 1998).

Results

From the analysis of this article, it shows that the parents play a crucial role in the success of their children in education together with the teachers. The parents are the determinants of the children reading and writing skills and more so to the disabled children. They motive, inspire and encourage at their early age of education. It also shows that, when girls are at adolescence stage, most of them do not perform well in school and the parents have the responsibility of explaining to them what they are undergoing (Muller, 1998).

Opportunities for further research

There are opportunities which are not stated by Muller in the article. The children should be provided with an extra tuition and coaching during the holiday by the parents after the common school learning programs. The children can be taught the basics about education importance by employing some tutors who are qualified to explain further on what the child has not understood while in school (Muller, 1998).

Threats to validity or rival hypotheses

This article by Muller lack validity because it is not known whether what the parents teach the children are relevant or not; hence becoming a threat to its validity. The future usefulness of the content is guaranteed because curriculum can change. The validity can be comprised due to lack of consistency by the parents in the children’s education (Muller, 1998).

Original insight or criticism

The article lacks clear guideline and measurements required to ease comparison and conclusion. Some parents may not meet all the children education requirements due to disparities on methods of teaching. Some parents may take their children’s education with seriousness it deserves. Due to lack of standard curriculum, there is no consistency on different parent’s modes of teaching and what they teach (Muller, 1998).

Implications of the findings

The findings imply that, children can get the best education from their parents only if they are dedicated and committed. For children to learn and to comprehend many things, parents must teach or educate their children at the early age. The findings show that, the importance of the parents in shaping the behavior and character of their children (Muller, 1998).

Reference:

Muller, C. (1998). Gender Differences in Parental Involment and Adolescents’ Mathematics Achievement . New York: American Sociological Association.