Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences 2016 (Volume4 - Issue 3 )

Teacher-Parent Collaboration for an [1] Institute of Educational

Leadership
Inclusive Classroom: Success for Every University of Malaya, Malaysia
[email protected]
Child [2] Institute of Educational
Leadership
University of Malaya, Malaysia
[email protected]

Donnie Adams [1] , Alma Harris [2], Michelle Suzette Jones [3] [3] Institute of Educational
Leadership
University of Malaya, Malaysia
[email protected]

ABSTRACT

This article outlines the findings from a contemporary study of teacher-parent

collaboration in inclusive education in primary and secondary schools in Malaysia.
Recent inclusive education policy developments within Malaysia have increased
teachers’ accountability to effectively meet the needs of all students. This article
draws upon recent empirical evidence on the impact of teacher-parent
collaboration on inclusive education practices. It highlights some of the
characteristics of an effective collaborative model and explores how far it
contributes to a more inclusive classroom environment. The article also provides
a contemporary insight into how teachers and parents view their collaborative
roles in securing better student outcomes for students with special needs.

Keywords: collaboration; inclusive education; communication; parents

INTRODUCTION

During the past two decades, special education programs have been monitored, regulated,
evaluated, and critiqued by public officials, parents, and researchers interested in educational policy
(Tiegerman-Farber & Radziewicz, 1998). Malaysia’s active planning in special education began with its signing
of the Salamanca Statement (UNESCOSS, 1994) which advocated inclusive education for all students. The
Malaysian Education Act 1996 (1998) saw the introduction of inclusive education in response to The
Salamanca Statement on Principles, Policy and Practice in Special Needs Education (UNESCOSS, 1994) in
which the need to address equal educational opportunity and access for all students including those with
special educational needs (SENs) was highlighted. This inclusive model is focused on the child’s right to equal
education without discrimination and the school’s responsibility to accept them, to provide appropriate
facilities and support to meet the needs of SEN students (Lee, 2010).

This article explores how far collaboration as a creative partnership can be used by teachers and
parents to achieve inclusion within a regular classroom by their (a) understanding about special educational
needs; (b) willingness to communicate in matters pertaining to special educational needs; (c) perceived roles
in implementing special educational needs; and (d) expectations of each other’s role in implementing special
educational needs. The article will be structured as follows. Initially, key findings from the research literature
on teacher-parent collaboration will be outlined, the research methods will then be explained, and
subsequently the findings from the data analysis will be presented and discussed.

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Currently, only 6% of students with special needs are in inclusive programs. Some 89% attend
integrated programs, and the remaining 5% attend special education schools (Ministry of Education, 2013).
In 2012, the “Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025” was introduced to generate major transformation
and improvement in Malaysia’s education system. Among the 11 Key Shifts for transformation and change,
within the Blueprint, inclusive education was advocated for students with SEN, based on current national
policy and international best practices. The Ministry of Education, Malaysia (2013) in its Malaysia Education
Blueprint states it is committed to an inclusive education model and moving more students with SEN toward
inclusion and that by 2021 to 2025, 75% of students with SEN will be enrolled in inclusive programs, all
teachers will be equipped with basic understanding and knowledge of SEN, and high quality education will
be provided to every child with special needs.

Inclusive education is seen as vital in assisting students with SEN in building friendship and gaining
acceptance from others as well as providing quality education. According to Allen and Cowdery (2005), the
benefits of inclusive education are as follows: firstly, it is the fundamental right of students no matter what
their abilities and disabilities are to equal education; secondly, the opportunity to develop students’ social
skills; and thirdly, the access to quality education. The Ministry of Education of Malaysia in view of making
such social unity possible, decided to integrate students with SEN into the national schools as part of a reform
initiative to educate the community, increase awareness on the educational rights of children and youth with
SEN (Ali, Mustapha, & Jelas, 2006; Jelas & Ali, 2012). Many educators, parents and individuals with special
needs welcome the fact that regardless of their special needs, pupils can attend school together with their
peers (Beacham & Rouse, 2012; Krahé & Altwasser, 2006).

Teacher-parent Collaboration
Developed and developing nations are progressing at different rates in implementing inclusive
education (Helldin et al., 2011; Lee, 2010). There is relatively little evidence on inclusion in developing nations
such as Malaysia (Lee, 2010). The empirical evidence about teacher-parent collaboration, its impact, and
indeed any contemporary, independent evidence about inclusion in Malaysia remains limited. Consequently,
this article outlines emerging empirical evidence about teacher-parent collaboration in Malaysia.

In their work, Mislan, Kosnin, and Yeo (2009) define collaboration as a process of two or more parties
working together hand in hand to achieve a common objective and goal. Effective collaboration is based on
all parties’ efforts in pursuit of similar goals. Collaboration is important for a reflection of practices and
exchange of knowledge. It has been used as a main strategy to generate creativity and innovation for creating
effective educational programs (Adams, 2005). Teachers face great challenges and often find it difficult to
effectively meet the needs of all students (Narinasamy & Mamat, 2013). The creation of effective inclusive
schools requires a combination of teachers’ and parents’ knowledge and skills on instructional strategies and
assessment practices (Friend & Cook, 2007; Kampwirth, 2003). Many studies show that an inclusive school
can be identified through is its ability to work as a cohesive team (Ainscow & Sandill, 2010).

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA, 1975); the Education of the Handicapped
Act Amendments (EHAA, 1986), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments (IDEA, 1997),
recognize teacher-parent collaboration as an essential component in effective special educational practices.
The underlying assumption of such partnerships is that teachers and parents should work together to provide
the child with the best education possible. In reality, however, many different ideas and beliefs among
teachers and parents can arise that leads to a disconnection in relationships and communication among
them. In such situations, fluid partnerships between teachers and parents can be challenging and resulting
tensions can emerge which, in turn, can affect a child’s educational experience (Staples & Diliberto, 2010).

The collaborative team approach has emerged as a model for addressing the curricular needs of all
children in the same classroom (Tanner, Linscott, & Galis, 1996). A collaborative approach between teachers
and parents is based on its efficiency for decision making and its potential to produce high quality student

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outcomes. Teacher-parent collaboration will optimize students’ monitoring and learning which leads them
to achieve their full potential and achievement (Lee et al., 2008; Reed, Osborne, & Waddington, 2012).

Studies in other countries suggest that teacher-parent collaboration is essential for teachers and
parents to consult, undertake joint efforts and share information in providing efficient and meaningful
education for students with SEN (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001; Hendersen & Mapp, 2002). Teachers and
parents needs to collaborate to identify what areas of students’ development need attention and determine
together appropriate goals and objectives to achieve (Carlisle, Stanley, & Kemple, 2005; Epstein, 2001). Work
by Dettmer, Dyck, and Thurston (1999) further supports the need for a collaborative working team, stating
its importance in accomplishing the goals of inclusion. Hallahan and Kauffman (1991) refer to collaboration
as the formation of teams to aid the development of effective education and support for students with SEN.
They expressed the need to create these teams as there might be insufficient human resources in schools.

Friend and Cook (2007) identified several key concepts that determine the success of teacher-parent
collaboration. These concepts include realizing that collaboration should be voluntary, the need to share
resources, being responsible in decision-making, aim toward common goals, acknowledge each other’s roles,
the ability to work together intuitively to plan a formal program process, and finally trust and respect for
each other. It is very important that teachers and parents understand special educational needs and the
Individualized Education Programme (IEP) content, and the processes involved in order to work as a team
(Mislan, Kosnin, & Yeo, 2009).

Teacher-parent collaboration is more difficult to promote and maintain if teachers and parents work
as separate units (Braley, 2012). Teachers and parents require active communication with each other for
shared decision-making and ideas, to plan the IEP program and to discuss ways of improving student
performance. Communication between teachers and parents therefore needs to be in a variety of forms and
should not only be one-dimensional (Taylor, Smiley, & Richards, 2009). Lee and Low (2013) note that
teachers’ communication with parents is important for them to collaborate and share information. Effective
communication between teachers and parents happens when both parties are honest and supportive of each
other’s responsibilities and roles (Unger, Jones, Park, & Tressel, 2001).

Research shows that teachers and parents need to collaborate to adjust more effectively to their
responsibilities, their roles and their actions to continuously improve students’ developmental outcomes
(Bateman & Herr, 2006). Welch and Sheridan (1995) add that parents and teachers in collaborative
relationships depend on one another equally and reciprocally. The process of “coming together” in education
requires a re-evaluation and recreation of roles, responsibilities, and relationships. Teachers and parents
need to recognize their shared interests and responsibilities for the student, and work collaboratively to
create better opportunities for the student (Epstein, 1995).

According to Christenson (2002), sound educational outcome in teacher-parent collaboration relies

on shared responsibilities. Cramer (2006) says teachers play a vital role by providing support to parents with
the resources available inside and outside the classrooms and as executors of the educational plans while
parents needs encouragement to carry out their roles effectively in their child’s development and academic
performance. Successful student outcomes can be more easily achieved if both teachers and parents know
each other’s roles in the collaboration process.

Factors such as unclear role definitions between parents and teachers can impede the teacher-parent
collaboration process effectiveness. The role of parents has always been an important topic in inclusive
education practices (Braley, 2012; McDermott-Fasy, 2009). Past research indicates the reasons for parental
involvement in the child’s education (Hoover-Dempsey, Walker & Sandler, 2005), and the different ways
parents can become involved (Driessen, Smit, & Sleegers, 2005; Lee & Bowen, 2006; Wanat, 2010) and how
parental involvement improves student’s outcomes (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005; Mislan et al., 2009;
Wanat, 2010). For an effective collaboration, teachers’ and parents’ preconceived ideas on each other’s role
have to be put aside; instead everyone should focus on what is important in meeting the needs of the SEN

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students. The American National Council on Disability (1996) underlines the importance of enhancing
parental collaboration with teachers in shared decision-making for students with SEN.

A major concern for an inclusive process is the readiness of the students with SEN. These students
need to undergo a transition from segregated special classrooms with low performance expectations to a
more challenging mainstream education classroom with high outcome expectations. Teachers must
understand the role of parents and collaborate with them as working partners to build reliable partnerships.
It is crucial that both parties know what is expected of each other for more effective collaboration. Effective
teacher-parent partnerships require a lot of patience, planning and structure in implementation (Couchenour
& Chrisman, 2004). Factors in engaging teachers and parents in a collaborative partnership should therefore
be clearly defined for successful SEN practices implementation. Various factors such as lack of role clarity
between teachers and parents may disrupt SEN educational practice (van Hover, Hicks, & Sayeski, 2012).

Past research has elaborated teachers’ and parents’ perspectives on involvement in special education
(Abidin, 2004; Alias & Salleh, 2004; Osman, 2003 Taib, 2008), studies on school-parent collaboration in special
education (Salleh, Mahmud, & Jelas, 2003), teacher-parent collaboration in vocational program for learning
disabilities (Sameon, 2004) and teacher-parent collaboration in the Individualized Education Program (Mislan
et al., 2009). However, studies examining teacher-parent collaboration and extent of parental involvement
in improving student’s outcome at Malaysian inclusive education schools are limited. Therefore this study
explores how far collaboration as a creative partnership can be used by teachers and parents to achieve
inclusion within a regular classroom and further highlights what is required for this goal to be practically
achieved. Inclusion is a continuous process of acceptance for individuals with special needs and the
realization of their individual potential Success for inclusive education in the future is not simply a matter of
sending students with special needs to regular classrooms and waiting for miracles to happen; it depends
largely on collaboration between teachers and parents who are both responsible for the quality and access
to meet the needs of these students.

METHODOLOGY

Study design
This study employed a mixed-methods approach of sequential explanatory design (Creswell & Plano
Clark, 2011), which is a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative approach was
used as the core method followed by qualitative approach to support the data (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007,
p. 11). The rationale of this design is based on an assumption that the quantitative outcome of the study will
be further explained by the qualitative data in exploring the collaborative process by the teachers and parents
in the schools. Collins et al. (2006) reasoned that mixed-methods research may enrich the data and augment
the interpretation of isolated experiences. In the current study, the data collection process was divided into
two major phases. First, quantitative data were gathered using questionnaires; this was followed by
collection of qualitative data using interviews.

Population and sample

The study was conducted in 10 Malaysian, government funded inclusive education primary and
secondary schools located in Peninsular Malaysia. This selection was based on their active running and
implementation of inclusive education practices in the schools. A survey instrument was administered to 95
teachers and 104 parents. Out of these 104, 68 parents’ responses were selected for further data analysis.
This selection was based on their frequency of attending the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings
with the teachers.

Instrumentation
The instrument used for this study consists of four major constructs concerning the extent to which
teacher-parent collaboration contributes to (a) understanding about special educational needs; (b)
willingness to communicate in matters pertaining to special educational needs; (c) their perceived roles in
implementing special educational needs; (d) expectations of each other’s role in implementing special

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educational needs. The instrument consists of 34 items using a five Point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly
Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Based on the teachers’ and parents’ responses, semi-structured interview
sessions were carried out later with a sub sample of 6 teachers and 5 parents to explore further their
experiences, roles and responsibilities in the collaboration process.

Data collection and analysis

The questionnaires were distributed to all selected teachers and parents. The questionnaires consist
of a series of Likert-type questions that when combined measures a particular trait (Boone & Boone, 2012).
Descriptive statistics consisting of mean scores were used to analyze data relating to the constructs
concerning the extent to which teacher-parent collaboration contributes to their understanding, willingness
to communicate, their perceived roles, and expectations of each other’s role in implementing special
educational needs. The interpretation of the level of collaboration was based on the following set of
descriptors: 1.00–2.40 (low level of collaboration); 2.41–3.80 (moderate); and 3.81–5.00 (high). Data were
analyzed descriptively (i.e., ranked from the highest level to the lowest level) before proceeding with the
interview data.

Following the findings from the descriptive statistics, semi-structured interviews sessions were
carried out later with a sub sample of 6 teachers and 5 parents to explore further their experiences in carrying
out their roles and responsibilities in the collaboration process. The teacher interviewees were coded
Teacher 1 to Teacher 6 and the parent interviewees were coded Parent 1 to Parent 5 to ensure
confidentiality. Data obtained were analyzed using a constant comparative method, where data from the
interviews, documents collected and observations were compared.

Results from both the quantitative and qualitative study were integrated. Integration refers to the
stage or stages in the research process where the mixing or integration of the quantitative and qualitative
methods occurs (Creswell, 2003). Specific quotes from the qualitative study will be highlighted to reinforce
which are teachers’ and parents’ strongest collaboration constructs and which are not. This will allow better
understanding of the initial quantitative data, adding more depth and richness to the study. The combination
of these types of data provided a complementary and robust basis for analysis required for mixed methods
design (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004).

RESULTS

This section of the article outlines the extent to which teacher-parent collaboration contributes to
(a) understanding about special educational needs; (b) willingness to communicate in matters pertaining to
special educational needs; (c) their perceived roles in the implementation of special educational needs; (d)
expectations of each other’s role in the implementation of special educational needs. The descriptive
statistics are presented in Table 1 depicting responses from 95 teachers who completed the questionnaire.

As shown in Table 1, it is interesting to note from this table that just over half of the teachers were
aged 30 to 39 years, the majority had a Bachelor Degree academic qualification, and teachers in this study
were largely very experienced with 30.5% having 6 to 8 years of experience working in the special education
field.

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Table 1: Teachers’ demographic information

Total
Demographic Variables Percentage
Respondents
Male 16.8
Gender 95
Female 82.1
< 30 years old 25.3
95
Age 30 – 39 years old 53.7
40 – 49 years old 11.6
50 years and older 9.5
None 0
Highest academic 95
Diploma 9.5
qualification
Bachelor Degree 78.9
Master Degree 9.5
Doctorate Degree 0
Others 1.1
Area of specialization Special Educational
85.3
Needs 95
Others 14.7
Less than 3 years 21.1
Worked in the special
3 to 5 years 24.2
education field
6 to 8 years 30.5
95
9 to 11 years 10.5
More than 12 years 13.7
Non Applicable 0
Less than 3 years 23.2
3 to 5 years 27.4
Involved in special education practices 6 to 8 years 25.3
95
in this particular school 9 to 11 years 11.6
More than 12 years 10.5
Non Applicable 0

Table 2 shows the breakdown of parents’ demographic information, in percentage. It is interesting

to note from this table that the percentage of mothers (52.9%) and fathers (47.1%) that responded to the
study were almost equal, parents who have no qualification ranked 2nd highest at 33.8% and parents were
generally active attending their child’s IEP meeting / discussion in the school.

Table 2: Parents’ demographic information

Total
Demographic Variables Percentage
Respondents
Male 47.1
Gender 68
Female 52.9
Less than 30 years old 4.4
Age 30 to 39 years old 32.4
68
40 to 49 years old 47.1
50 years and older 16.2
Highest academic None 33.8 68
qualification Diploma 39.7
Bachelor Degree 8.8

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Total
Demographic Variables Percentage
Respondents
Master Degree 1.5
Doctorate Degree 0
Others 16.2
Less than 1 year 7.4
Child been studying in this
1 to 2 years 32.4
school 68
3 to 4 years 39.7
5 to 6 years 20.6
Less than 1 year 7.4
Child involved in a (SEN) 1 to 2 years 38.2
68
program 3 to 4 years 29.4
5 to 6 years 22.1
None 0
1 to 2 times 48.5
Attended the IEP meeting /
3 to 4 times 29.4 68
discussion in the school
5 to 6 times 7.3
More than 7 times 14.7
Less than 3 years 48.5
Involved in SEN Practice in this 3 to 5 years 32.4
68
school 6 to 8 years 8.8
9 to 11 years 4.4

Level of teacher-parent collaboration as perceived by teachers

The following Table 3 indicates which of the four teacher-parent collaboration constructs was the
most prevalent among teachers. Based on the overall mean, it can be observed that teachers (n = 95) rated
themselves highest on the “understanding about SEN” (M = 3.65), followed by their “expectations of parents’
role in the implementation of SEN” (M = 3.57), their “perceived roles in the implementation of SEN” (M =
3.56), and their “willingness to communicate in matters pertaining to SEN” (M = 3.43), respectively.

Table 3: Level of teacher-parent collaboration as perceived by teachers

Construct Teachers’ Mean

Understanding about SEN 3.65
Willingness to communicate in matters pertaining to SEN 3.43
Their perceived roles in implementing SEN 3.56
Expectations of each other’s role in implementing SEN 3.57

Six teachers were further interviewed in order to determine whether teachers perceived their
understanding about SEN as the most vital element in a collaboration process with parents. Based on the
interview, two teachers clearly showed special educational needs was a practice catered to the individual
needs of the students with specific strategies and methods that are suitable for them. Teachers 1 (T1) and 4
(T4) mentioned:

“I observe these kids need a lot of guidance and help. We need to guide
them in one to one learning. We need to use the strategies and methods that are
suitable for them.” (T1)

“These students are different from normal students. They need a different
learning style than mainstream education. SEN students need more attention from

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the teacher and every lesson needs to be repeated so they always remember and
master in an activity.” (T4)

Interestingly, one of the teachers (T1) emphasized the need to understand the child better and
suggested that this is done by meeting parents in school. She then elaborated:

“A special educational needs teacher needs a lot of patience and need a lot
of learning from the student, and the parents too.”

Teachers (T2, T5 and T6) also emphasized the need for interaction between the SEN students and
mainstream students so that SEN students may increase in self-confidence. They mentioned:

“SEN student has low self-esteem and needs help from the mainstream
students, normal people around them so they are able to increase their self-
confidence.” (T2)

“We want in this school as much as possible they’re accepted. If they don’t
play together, how are they going to know each other?”(T5)

“The best SEN intervention is through interaction. Interaction within their

peers, the SEN friends or together with the mainstream students encourages self
confidence among the SEN students.”(T6)

To summarize, the interviews with these teachers revealed teachers involved believed in equipping
themselves with the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out special educational practices.

Level of teacher-parent collaboration as perceived by parents

Based on the perceptions and responses provided by parents, the level of teacher-parent
collaboration are presented in Table 4. Parents (n = 68) rated themselves highest on the “expectations of
teachers’ role in the implementation of SEN” (M = 3.86), followed by their “willingness to communicate in
matters pertaining to SEN” (M = 3.77), “their perceived roles in the implementation of SEN” (M = 3.73), and
their “understanding about SEN” (M = 3.69), respectively.

Table 4: Level of teacher-parent collaboration as perceived by parents

Construct Parents’ Mean

Understanding about SEN 3.69
Willingness to communicate in matters pertaining to SEN 3.77
Their perceived roles in the implementation of SEN 3.73
Expectations of each other’s role in the implementation of SEN 3.86

Five parents were further interviewed in order to determine whether parents perceived their
expectations of the teachers’ role in the implementation of SEN as the most vital element in a collaboration
process with teachers. Based on the interview, three parents expressed that teachers had explained all the
necessary information that they needed to know on their child. Parents appreciated teachers’ efforts and
thus would be more considerate in their expectations of teachers. Parents seemed to be rather contented
with the service that teachers gave and showed in SEN implementation. Parent 3 (P3), Parent 4 (P4) and
Parent 5 (P5) mentioned:

“The teacher categorize them you know. This kid, in this class. That kid, in
that class. Like they do camping. They mix together. Mix with the normal kids. Like

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sports also mix with the normal kids. From that aspect, the interaction has no
problem. Teacher gives a lot of cooperation.” (P3)

“Teachers will sometime inform they will teach something different like do
some cakes, do some biscuits, something else students have to learn.” (P4)

“At the special educational needs school here there is no problem.” (P5)

In addition, all five parents voiced their satisfaction in the frequent attempts by teachers to
communicate with parents through face to face meetings, WhatsApp and letters rather than just limit the
communication attempt to just a phone call. They mentioned:

“When teachers see me when I’m sending my child to school, they will come
to talk to me. What they need, what they want.” (P1)

“You feel safe and secure when the teacher come and talk to you. Teachers
here will attempt to come and talk to me even the negative side of my child.” (P2)

“Teachers will inform the parents the school program, any activity via
WhatsApp.”(P3)

“Teachers usually will write a letter and pass to my child for me to attend
meetings. Every meeting it’s like this.” (P4)
“Teachers give a letter for events or anything, they will invite. If there is
anything, the teacher will call.” (P5)

Parents in the study also acknowledged teachers’ effort in guiding and educating their children by
their confidence in allowing teachers to prepare their child’s IEP learning objectives. Parent 2 (P2) and Parent
3 (P3) commented:

“They’ll give me better suggestion to improve what I’ve done. They also tell
me what they do in school so that I’ll implement it at home with my child. So it has
the same balance with the school activity.” (P2)

“Regarding teaching styles also we ask for teachers’ opinion. We would like
it that way.” (P3)

To conclude, parents have high expectations of teachers regarding their children’s education. They
suggest that parents’ positive expectations have direct relation with the participation of SEN students in
school activities.

DISCUSSION

This study has explored how far collaboration as a creative partnership can be used by teachers and
parents to achieve inclusion within a regular classroom. It also examined teachers and parents’: (a)
understanding about special educational needs; (b) willingness to communicate in matters pertaining to
special educational needs; (c) their perceived roles in implementing special educational needs; (d)
expectations of each other’s role in implementing special educational needs. The study further highlights
what is required for this goal to be practically achieved.

The empirical analysis data showed that teachers believed that SEN activities needed to be custom
made to meet the objectives determined for each student. This finding from this study is consistent with
Huefner (2000) showing that as IEP is a program for individualized learning, this means it should also be

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developed based on students’ individual needs. Teachers needed to establish measurable goals that allow
them to recognize students’ performance achievement (Bateman & Herr, 2006).

In this study, teachers showed their willingness to learn from parents on the best practices and
strategies to guide the SEN students. As Shea and Bauer (2003) and Yell (1998) suggest, teachers need to
develop appropriate activities after gathering information about the child from their parents. This
modification in instruction to best guide the SEN students is also a thrust in the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 2004 (IDEA, 2004) highlighting similar views as this study.

An inclusive approach toward SEN provided students with and without disabilities major social
interaction benefits. Hwang and Evans (2011) similarly revealed that teachers demonstrated an
understanding of the social function of inclusion by indicating that students without disabilities learned to
accept and understand people who were different. Teachers in this study also understand the difference
between integrating and truly including students with disability as they would want students with SEN to be
accepted among their peers as much as possible. Desforges, Abouchaar, and Britain (2003) also asserted that
pupils’ social development is influenced by parents, family, and their peer groups.

Parents in this study expressed that teachers had explained all the necessary information they
needed to know on their child. Parents appreciated teachers’ efforts and thus would be more considerate in
their expectations toward teachers. Parents seemed to be rather contented with the service teachers gave
in SEN implementation. Parents in the study also acknowledged teachers’ effort in guiding and educating
their children by their confidence in allowing teachers to prepare their child’s IEP learning objectives.
Research confirms this finding by showing that where understanding and good relations have been
established, sharing of ideas and problems would be more possible, thus avoiding any disagreement (Salend,
2005). Collaborative work enables knowledge exchange and reflection on practice. Collaboration has proven
to be the main contemporary strategy to feed innovation and creativity for effective educational programs
(Guerrero, Mejías, Collazos, Pino, & Ochoa, 2003).

CONCLUSION

The underlying assumption of teacher-parent collaboration in special educational practices is that

everyone who has a stake in a child’s life, including the parents and teachers, should work together to give
that child the best education possible. In reality, however, key stakeholders in a child’s life may have many
different ideas and beliefs, and, as a result, disconnection in communication and relationships among them
can arise. In such situations, fluid partnerships between these stakeholders can be challenging and resulting
tensions can emerge which can affect a child’s educational experience (Staples & Diliberto, 2010).

While the sample in this study is clearly not representative, the evidence it provides is indicative and
serves as a point of reference for educators and policy-makers interested in enhancing the inclusive
classroom. This study on teacher-parent collaboration attempts to fill a gap in the literature, regarding
parent-teacher collaboration in inclusive education in Malaysia. Various sources of evidence were gathered
to explore this topic namely interviewing teachers and parents and giving out questionnaires. The views of
teachers and parents provide interesting insights into how real collaboration had taken place at the schools.

The successful inclusive classroom requires collaborative interaction between teachers and parents.
Perhaps, the process of collaboration itself reflects what inclusion is all about. Differences can be a strength
in the creative process when they are collectively focused to accomplish a singular mission or goal. The
diversity and difference of each individual in a collaborative team results in a creative synergy that could not
be achieved by members individually. Teacher-parent collaboration provides the pathway to successful
achievement of inclusive classrooms; however, an education system consisting of inclusive classrooms
remains the final step in an educational journey.

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