A Study of Teachers' Perceptions Regarding the Collaboration of Parents and Educators

in the Teaching-Learning Process of Disabled Children at the Primary Level in

Pakistan.  

1.1. Overview of chapter

The chapter contains the overview of all the areas, that research article has touch in general by providing
outlines for the background which devise the context, the rationale of the research, significance of the
research, research questions, research aims and objectives and limitations. Key findings are the result of
this research. The structure of this research article is articulated under the synopsis of succeeding
chapters heading.
1.2. Context for the Research Study
Teachers-parents collaboration creates a supportive and inclusive learning environment that meets the
unique needs of disabled children. In Pakistani schools, there are problems with disabled students who
may excluded from receiving an effective and relevant education (Morley, L. and Croft, A., 2011).
Inclusion can be interpreted as a solution. Bešić defined inclusion as "Inclusion involves creating a
supportive and accepting learning environment where all students feel valued, respected, and
understood, and where the diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and abilities is celebrated.( Bešić, E.,
2020). Inclusion is the practise of providing disabled children with equal access to all educational
opportunities in the classroom, regardless of their differences or impairments. The notion of inclusion
refers to the practise of values in such a manner that everyone respects and supports each other regardles
s of differences (Ainscow, M., 2005). It extends the concept of appreciation and celebrates these
distinctions rather than tolerating them.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics claims that, 2.65% of the population in Pakistan was disabled as of the
most recent Census (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2017). This equates to nearly 5 million disabled
persons in Pak0istan, but the UNDP estimates that 6.2% of Pakistanis have some sort of disability. (UN
DP, 2020) Children with disabilities make up 43.4% of the total people with disabilities (PWD)
population (Tribune, 2022). Human Rights Watch believes that there are between 3.3 million and 27
million PWDs in Pakistan. (Tribune, 2022). Yet, there are only 171 facilities that offer education to
children with disabilities (Omar and Kokab, 2019). This shows that there are insufficient
accommodations for handicapped children.
 Policies and initiatives are being implemented in Pakistan to provide equal access to education,
healthcare, employment, and other basics to disabled. (Shaukat, S., 2022) In 2002, Pakistan introduced
National Policy for People with Disabilities, which ensures the inclusion of disabled in all fields,
including education. This policy includes and promotes inclusive education throughout the
nation(Government of Pakistan, 2002). In 2009, the Inclusive Education Policy Framework was created
to implement the integration of disabled students into normal schools.( Government of Pakistan.
(2009).) The National Education Policy 2017-2025 was enacted to ensure that impaired students have
increased access to excellent education. (Government of Pakistan, 2017). This policy guarantees that
impaired children have access to adequate learning settings and support services in order to fully
explore educational possibilities.

The teachers’ perception about parent-teacher cooperation may have a substantial influence on the
success of inclusion initiatives (Miretzky, D., 2004). If teachers’ perception regarding parents’ involve
ment of disabled child in its educational activities is positive, they may involve and engage parents in tai
loring their teaching efforts according to special needs of the disabled child but in other way around,
teachers feels reluctant to invite parents in educational process which seriously effects the disabled child
educational development.

Ultimately, the successful educational development of disabled child is a common goal of teachers and
parents which is highly dependable on teacher-parents mutual cooperation.
1.3. Rationale of the research   

Inclusive education ensures the availability of equal opportunities in a regular class room environment
in a regular school to all children for high quality education.( Francisco, et al, 2020) United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) states that education is a fundamental
human right. (Article 24, CRPD 2006) This right must be available to all, including children with
disabilities. The CRPD emphasises that disabled children should not face discrimination by any means
and should have equal access to quality education. In order to guarantee that children with disabilities
have the same opportunity to learn, develop, and flourish as their peers without disabilities, inclusion is
a crucial policy solution. (Walker, Z. and Musti-Rao, S., 2016) Common practice includes that disable
children do not participate in social and educational activities as others which may leads to isolation,
demoralisation and development of feeling for inadequate opportunities. (Beckung, E. and Hagberg, G.,
2002). Hence, policy about inclusion plays a vital role to safeguard disabled children to face such
obstacles and provide relief.
Teacher-parent collaboration is vital for the effective learning process at primary-level to disabled
children for a number of reasons, including the fact that it provides a more thorough awareness of the
child's requirements that child needs, abilities the child currently possesses, and obstacles that child is
facing in its educational journey. This comprehensive picture enables to design a more personalised
learning approach that takes into account the child's individual circumstances. When parents and
teachers interact, they may exchange beneficial information for the child's educational development.
Overall, teacher-parent cooperation is essential to the learning process at primary-level for disabled
children to design and implement a thorough, focused, and consistent approach for teaching and
learning, that helps child's general growth, self-confidence and academic achievement.

My younger brother has "Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC)," which causes him to have personalised
requirements. I have a deep insight of the challenges he has had in his family life and academic career.
His innocent responses to pain have highly inspired me to opt education as career after earning my
Master of Science in Chemistry, so that I might use the knowledge I have obtained through my
education studies to improve the lives of children like him.  

Educational perspective of inclusion can foster students’ (including disable one) learning and they can
take advantage of inclusive and wide-ranging learning environment. Inclusive education may increase
the academic achievements of autistic students. The academic results (in terms of grade points and test
scores) of students struggling with autism under the inclusive settings are found better than the students
struggling in isolations. (Van der Auwera et al., 2021). Inclusive education for disabled students may
lead to enhanced results such as greater social involvement and improved social interactions (Hendrickx
et al., 2020). Teachers-parents collaboration is connected with improved academic performance for
students with impairments. The students whose instructors worked with their parents had better grades
and test scores (DiGennaro Reed et al., 2021). Effective parent-teacher cooperation in special education
settings was related with increased academic performance, conduct, and social outcomes, (Talay-Ongan
& Wood, 2020). Inclusion can provide children opportunities for mutual learning, acquire social skills,
and gain empathy and awareness for the diversity of others because to inclusion.

Overall, these studies offer more confirmation that inclusion and parent-teacher collaboration are crucial
research topics for enhancing the education and outcomes of children with disabilities. Consequently, t
he focus of this research is to understand the teachers' perceptions regarding the collaboration o
f parents and educators in the teaching-learning process of disabled children at the primary leve
l in Pakistan.
1.4. Significance of the Study

The purpose of the study are to examine teachers' perceptions of how parents and teachers might
work together to support impaired children at the primary school level in Pakistan. The research
will be useful in analysing the perceptions of the teachers about the collaboration of parents and
educators in the teaching-learning process of disabled children at the primary level in Pakistan. It will
help in identifying the important factors involved in the teaching-learning process of disabled children,
one of the factors being parent-teacher collaboration. The research will be of much significance in
analysing the role of parents working together with teachers in the teaching-learning procedure for
disabled children. The findings of the study would highlight this issue in the Pakistani education system,
and practitioners would take this aspect into consideration. Moreover, this might be included in the
education policy as an integral part of the education system for disabled children at the primary level in
Pakistan.

1.5. Research Objectives:

The following goals are attained with the research:   

 To comprehend the teachers' perspectives on parent and educator involvement in the teaching-
learning process. 
 To determine the advantages of parent-teacher cooperation in the primary teaching-learning
process for students with disabilities.  

1.6. Limitations

There are certain limitations to this study. The first limitation was selecting only one method; semi-
structured interviews were conducted to collect the data. Due to this, a limited amount of data was
gathered, and thus the issue could not be studied in breadth. Another limitation of the study was the
small sample size, as only five teachers from a Pakistani primary school were selected to be
interviewed. Moreover, the findings of the study were generalized. Finally, the scope of the study was
limited due to limited time and space.( Kallio et al, 2016.) Despite these limitations, the study was
conducted as well as possible by adhering to strict research rules.
Despite these drawbacks, the findings offer insightful information about the situation that needs critical
attention. To transform disabled children of Pakistan's primary schools into a useful resource for the
society, extensive further research is required to examine the full potential of parent and educator
engagement in this process. 

1.7. Synopsis of Succeeding Chapters

This chapter provided an overview of this research by explaining the context, justification, rationale,
and significance of the study. Moreover, the research objectives were also outlined that needs to achieve
through this study. The next chapter will give a detailed review of the academic literature related to this
issue. We will examine different scholarly work and contribution already made by experts around the
world. The chapter after that will explain the whole research design in detail by providing details of the
research approaches available and their suitability, chosen methods and their appropriateness, different
tools that can support to carry out this study, and processes applied in conducting this study. The fourth
chapter will present the analysis and key findings of the study. Finally, the last chapter will conclude the
whole study by giving some recommendations for future studies.

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