Perspectives of Teachers of Students with Learning Disabilities on Parental Involvement in Jazan, Saudi Arabia: Experience, Obstacles, and Attitudes

Abstract

Parental involvement is an important component in education that is linked to positiveoutcomes in terms of academic performance and achievement. Much of the literature on parental involvement consists of studies located in the United States, while comparatively few studies pertain to parental involvement in the Gulf Nations, especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). To address the current gaps in the literature, the present study sought to investigate the current status of parental involvement, including obstacles to parental involvement and attitudes towards parental involvement and parental empowerment, from the perspectives of teachers in Jazan province, KSA. A comprehensive survey was distributed through the Department of Education in Jazan province to elementary school teachers who work with students with learning disabilities (LD) in the region, and 50 teachers completed the digital survey. Descriptive analysis and inferential statistics were conducted to answer the study research questions. Results suggested that digital communication through apps like WhatsApp represented the most common form of parental involvement experience reported by teachers in this study, whereas in-person and school-based forms of parental involvement represented the least common forms of parental involvement experience reported by these teachers. In addition, teachers rated parent-related obstacles (e.g., parents’ limited knowledge of their own parental rights) as being substantially greater impediments to parental involvement compared to school/teacher-related obstacles (e.g., teachers’ limited time). In terms of attitudes towards parental involvement and parental empowerment, teachers most strongly agreed with the belief that parental involvement is critical to the academic and behavioral development of children with LD, and parents should be included in the decision-making process. Implications of these findings, as well as suggestions for future research, are discussed at-length in this study.