Examining the Relationships Among Parents' Perceptions of Their Children's Special Education Needs, Their Beliefs about Parental Involvement, and Their Decision to Homeschool

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 170 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (115 download)

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Book Synopsis Examining the Relationships Among Parents' Perceptions of Their Children's Special Education Needs, Their Beliefs about Parental Involvement, and Their Decision to Homeschool by : Mary Lee Morse

Download or read book Examining the Relationships Among Parents' Perceptions of Their Children's Special Education Needs, Their Beliefs about Parental Involvement, and Their Decision to Homeschool written by Mary Lee Morse and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The school choice option of homeschooling has grown rapidly over the past two decades. An estimated 1.77 million K-12 students in the United States (3.4% of the total school-age population) were being homeschooled during the 2011-2012 school year. The purpose of this study was to gather data from homeschooling parents that would contribute to the understanding of parental involvement with school choice and of parental involvement with educational organizations. More specifically, this study determined the proportion of families in the sample (N = 333) who had children enrolled in public or private school before making the decision to homeschool and the proportion who reported homeschooling a child with special educational needs (SEN). Additionally, parents' perceptions about their participation in homeschool support groups and factors important to their decision to homeschool were explored. This quantitative study used descriptive and inferential methodologies. School choice history (whether or not the family had a child in public or private school before making the decision to homeschool) and special educational needs (SEN) status (whether or not the family reported homeschooling a child with SEN) were used as independent variables. Data analysis consisted of an examination of correlations between the independent variables and parents' perceptions of (a) homeschool support group participation, (b) opportunities for parental involvement with the homeschool support group, and (c) factors important to parents' decision to homeschool. The results of the study indicated that 50.8% of participating families had a child who attended public or private school before the family decided to homeschool. In the group of families who had a child who attended public or private before the family decided to homeschool, 60.6% of the families indicated they were currently homeschooling a child with SEN. Overall, the special educational needs of a child was rated as the least important factor in parents' decision to homeschool. However, for families who were currently homeschooling a child with SEN, this factor was significantly more important. The desire to be more involved with their children's education was rated as the most important factor in the decision to homeschool.

Redefining Virtual Teaching Learning Pedagogy

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Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1119867622
Total Pages : 468 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (198 download)

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Book Synopsis Redefining Virtual Teaching Learning Pedagogy by : Rohit Bansal

Download or read book Redefining Virtual Teaching Learning Pedagogy written by Rohit Bansal and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2023-02-09 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Redefining Virtual Teaching Learning Pedagogy Online education is now a growing and critical piece of modern-day infrastructure and this book details how virtual teaching and learning can continue to be transformed through leveraging digital platforms. In the current technology-driven era, education systems are undergoing major changes by adopting advanced digital education strategies. Schools, colleges, and universities around the world have swiftly switched to online delivery modes. Students are learning via new platforms and the use of narrated lectures, podcasts, online quizzes, and other e-learning materials has increased. Virtual learning improves the educational experience, transforms teaching and learning, and provides rich, diverse, and flexible learning opportunities for the digital generation. It also makes students able to gain, share and verify knowledge through different sources such as social media communities, blogging, web-based content writing, video-based learning, etc. The main focus of “Redefining Virtual Teaching Learning Pedagogy” is to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers, and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and results on all aspects of virtual learning and teaching. The chapters mainly focus on 6 critical areas of virtual teaching and learning: Curriculum and learning objectives Learning materials Pedagogic processes Classroom assessment frameworks Teacher support in the classrooms School leadership and management development. Audience Educators, researchers, academicians, entrepreneurs, and corporate professionals will gain knowledge and be updated about the role & future of virtual teaching and learning and the latest digital tools used for that purpose.

Choosing Home

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Publisher : Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1846421713
Total Pages : 113 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (464 download)

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Book Synopsis Choosing Home by : Stephen Shore

Download or read book Choosing Home written by Stephen Shore and published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. This book was released on 2003-11-15 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Martha Kennedy Hartnett is the mother of a child with Asperger's Syndrome who made the courageous choice to homeschool. Emerging from the author's personal experience, this book is a step by step account of successful home education. Choosing Home will take you into the homes of Asperger families as they journey from survival of the playground bully to making it work at home. Hartnett embraces those pertinent questions raised by parents: Will I be limiting my child's emotional and social development? How will I know if my teaching is good enough? What if I can't cope? These questions and many more are answered in this touching and insightful narrative. This is a book of hope and encouragement to all parents with an interest in homeschooling.

Perceptions of Parent Involvement in Schools from Families of Children with and Without Special Needs

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 162 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (48 download)

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Book Synopsis Perceptions of Parent Involvement in Schools from Families of Children with and Without Special Needs by : Victoria W. Carr

Download or read book Perceptions of Parent Involvement in Schools from Families of Children with and Without Special Needs written by Victoria W. Carr and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions of parental involvement of families who have children with special needs and families who have children without special needs from preschool through grade three. A survey of families with regard to parent involvement was conducted in Ohio. Responses from a sub-sample of 781 families who did not have children with special needs and 145 families who had children with special needs was analyzed. In general, few significant differences were found between the perceptions of parents of children with and without special needs. The differences found were related to the importance of family support and learning at home. In addition, differences in how well schools initiated and implemented parent involvement were found in volunteering and decision making dimensions. Specifically, parents of children with special needs placed more importance on receiving information about community services and discussing hopes and future plans for their children than did parents of children without special needs felt the schools did a significantly better job of inviting parents into the classroom to help. In addition, although both groups of parents rated serving on decision making committees low, parents whose children did not have special needs rated this dimension more satisfactory. No other areas within the six dimensions for both the importance of parent involvement and how well schools initiated and implemented parent involvement were found significantly different between the two groups of parents. Overall, parents perceived the schools as being moderately receptive to parental involvement.

Parental Perception of Participation in Special Education

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (544 download)

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Book Synopsis Parental Perception of Participation in Special Education by : Shelley Kathleen Krach

Download or read book Parental Perception of Participation in Special Education written by Shelley Kathleen Krach and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study discussed past research, litigation, and legislation that pertained to the topics of parental involvement in special education. Past barriers were discussed that kept parents from interacting and suggestions were provided for future help in overcoming these barriers. In particular, parental perceptions of their roles as communicators and decision makers in the special education process were examined in terms of ethnicity and child's educational level. Very few items found differences between the perceptions of Hispanic parents when compared to the perceptions of white parents; and some items found as children advance academically, there is less agreement among parents that they were able to be good communicators and good decision makers. Still, this research study showed that, overall, parents in Texas perceive that schools are allowing them to at least adequately fulfill these roles. Thus, the results of this study are much more positive than past research, which indicated that parents felt left out of their children's education. This more positive perception could be a result of legislation passed to ensure parental roles in educational decision making; it could be a result of actions taken by the state of Texas to monitor the enactment of this legislation; or it could be because schools are taking a more active role in providing best practice services to students and parents in terms of communication and decision-making opportunities; or it could be because the parents who answered the survey were particularly compliant or complacent.

Resources in Education

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (3 download)

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Book Synopsis Resources in Education by :

Download or read book Resources in Education written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Home Schooling Children with Special Needs

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781414112763
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (127 download)

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Book Synopsis Home Schooling Children with Special Needs by : Sharon C. Hensley

Download or read book Home Schooling Children with Special Needs written by Sharon C. Hensley and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: [ Do you have a child with a learning problem, and you feel apprehensive about teaching him at home? [ Do you need help locating the best resources for home schooling your child with special needs? [ Do you find yourself confused and intimidated by the professional jargon related to special education? [ Do you struggle with discouragement related to your child's progress in learning? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, "Home Schooling Children with Special Needs ," will help you. [ You'll gain confidence to teach your child at home. [ You'll find resources and guidelines for planning an effective home school program. [ You'll learn to understand the vocabulary and ideas that you need to make good decisions for your child. [ You'll discover emotional strength and learn to identify the attitudes that support effective teaching.

An Examination of Perceived Special Education Parent Stress and the Use of Social Media Support

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 102 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (126 download)

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Book Synopsis An Examination of Perceived Special Education Parent Stress and the Use of Social Media Support by : Jennifer L. Bellissimo

Download or read book An Examination of Perceived Special Education Parent Stress and the Use of Social Media Support written by Jennifer L. Bellissimo and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research has shown the parenting responsibilities that come with a child with special needs differ from the responsibilities of parenting a normally developing child (Benn, Akiva, Arel, & Roeser, 2012). To provide adequate levels of care for children with special needs parents may endure challenging experiences, resulting in parents becoming overwhelmed and experiencing higher levels of stress than other parents (Bazzano et al., 2013). Support may be available through family members, schools, and other organizations, but often, parents seek the support of those who have had similar experiences (Baum, 2004). This study examined a special education parent’s perceived stress and how the parent utilizes social media support by using a correlational design within a normative adult population. Lessenberry & Rehfeldt (2004) examined the concept of stress among parents of children with developmental disabilities and broke the concept into four domains: stressor, strain, coping resources, and coping strategies. Additionally, when examining the theoretical makeup of stress, vulnerabilities must be considered to conceptualize how a person may handle their experiences and what may develop during those experiences (Ingram & Price, 2010). Statistical analysis found that there is no relationship between social media support and a special education parent’s perceived stress. The analysis did find that a special education parent’s perceived stress is related to the education setting of the child and the severity of the disability. -- From abstract.

School, Family, and Community Partnerships

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Publisher : Corwin Press
ISBN 13 : 1483320014
Total Pages : 508 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (833 download)

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Book Synopsis School, Family, and Community Partnerships by : Joyce L. Epstein

Download or read book School, Family, and Community Partnerships written by Joyce L. Epstein and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2018-07-19 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

Homeschooling in America

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Publisher : Corwin Press
ISBN 13 : 145220523X
Total Pages : 201 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (522 download)

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Book Synopsis Homeschooling in America by : Joseph Murphy

Download or read book Homeschooling in America written by Joseph Murphy and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2012-08-08 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite its expansion in recent years to two million students, homeschooling is the least understood component of American education. Preeminent educational scholar Joseph Murphy offers a revealing look at today's homeschooling movement. Policy makers, researchers, educators and homeschooling organizations will find answers to compelling Questions, including

Homeschool

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Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 0230613012
Total Pages : 277 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (36 download)

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Book Synopsis Homeschool by : M. Gaither

Download or read book Homeschool written by M. Gaither and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-04-30 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a lively account of one of the most important and overlooked themes in American education. Beginning in the colonial period and working to the present, Gaither describes in rich detail how the home has been used as the base for education of all kinds. The last five chapters focus especially on the modern homeschooling movement and offer the most comprehensive and authoritative account of it ever written. Readers will learn how and why homeschooling emerged when it did, where it has been, and where it may be going. Please visit Gaither's blog here: http://gaither.wordpress.com/homeschool-an-american-history/

Mplus Version 8 User's Guide

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780982998328
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (983 download)

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Book Synopsis Mplus Version 8 User's Guide by : Linda K. Muthen

Download or read book Mplus Version 8 User's Guide written by Linda K. Muthen and published by . This book was released on 2017-04-10 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Parenting Stress

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Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300133936
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis Parenting Stress by : Kirby Deater-Deckard

Download or read book Parenting Stress written by Kirby Deater-Deckard and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All parents experience stress as they attempt to meet the challenges of caring for their children. This comprehensive book examines the causes and consequences of parenting distress, drawing on a wide array of findings in current empirical research. Kirby Deater-Deckard explores normal and pathological parenting stress, the influences of parents on their children as well as children on their parents, and the effects of biological and environmental factors. Beginning with an overview of theories of stress and coping, Deater-Deckard goes on to describe how parenting stress is linked with problems in adult and child health (emotional problems, developmental disorders, illness); parental behaviors (warmth, harsh discipline); and factors outside the family (marital quality, work roles, cultural influences). The book concludes with a useful review of coping strategies and interventions that have been demonstrated to alleviate parenting stress.

The Well-adjusted Child

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 298 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Well-adjusted Child by : Rachel Gathercole

Download or read book The Well-adjusted Child written by Rachel Gathercole and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Socialization may well be the single most important aspect of education today. With high and rising rates of divorce, drug abuse, youth violence, alcoholism, teen promiscuity, and so forth, we cannot afford to let this issue go unexamined. To cling to the idea that what we, as a culture, are doing now is the right and best way for all children, simply because it is what we are used to, is to shut our eyes and minds to other possibilities--possibilities that may well afford greater happiness, success, peace, and safety to our own children. At a time when people feel more disconnected than ever before, we cannot afford to overlook an option which offers our youth great benefits--including the rich, fulfilling, and healthy social life they may well need for the future. Homeschooling offers great social benefits to kids and parents. When we understand them, our children are the ones who will win.

Children, Families and Schools

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134467141
Total Pages : 148 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (344 download)

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Book Synopsis Children, Families and Schools by : Sally Beveridge

Download or read book Children, Families and Schools written by Sally Beveridge and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-04-15 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Effective communication between the home and school is crucial for any child's education, but where special needs are concerned, creating good partnerships is essential. This book is concerned with home-school relations from an 'inclusive' perspective. Throughout, it highlights issues that are common across all children and families, those that reflect individual diversity and those that are of particular significance when children have special educational needs. Sally Beveridge provides debates on issues such as: * the conceptual and policy frameworks that form the background to this subject; * the fundamental nature of the learning environment that families represent for children; * the potential role of home-school relations in supporting the educational achievements of children from diverse backgrounds and with differing needs; * strategies for the development of positive communication with parents. This book offers a manageable overview of a complex topic, ensuring its appeal to students and practitioners alike.

Parents' Satisfaction with Their Children's Schooling. Facts from OSEP's National Longitudinal Studies

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 7 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (16 download)

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Book Synopsis Parents' Satisfaction with Their Children's Schooling. Facts from OSEP's National Longitudinal Studies by : Lynn Newman

Download or read book Parents' Satisfaction with Their Children's Schooling. Facts from OSEP's National Longitudinal Studies written by Lynn Newman and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 7 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Background: The evidence is persuasive and consistent that families play a critical role in nurturing their children's educational growth. Family support for learning is important for all students, but it may be particularly important for children with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, amended in 2004, (IDEA) has a long history of supporting parents' collaboration with schools and active participation in decision-making related to their children's education. In addition, IDEA provides parents with special procedural safeguards, such as mediation and due process hearings, if they are not satisfied with their children's education or services. Parents' assessments of their children's schools inform parents' actions and have been associated with differences in levels of family involvement in their children's educational development. Purpose: This fact sheet examines the satisfaction of parents of students with disabilities with their children's education, services, teachers, and schools, as well as with the efforts by schools to keep them informed of their children's performance. Study Sample: Two national longitudinal studies of children with disabilities--the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS) and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) provide the first nationally representative information about satisfaction of parents of students with disabilities. SEELS has a nationally representative sample of more than 11,000 students who were in at least first grade and receiving special education services in the 1999-2000 school year and were ages 6 through 13 when data first were collected in 2000. The sample for the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) is similar to that of SEELS but consists of youth who were in at least seventh grade and receiving special education when selected for the study and were ages 13 through 17 when data first were collected in 2001. Information from SEELS and NLTS2 is weighted to represent youth with disabilities nationally as a group, as well as youth in each of the federal special education disability categories. Research Design: Descriptive; Correlational; Longitudinal; Other Quantitative; Data Collection and Analysis: Data are drawn from telephone interviews with parents conducted in 2000 for SEELS and in 2001 for NLTS2. Findings: When asked about their children's schools, most parents of students with disabilities report being at least somewhat satisfied. Parents tend to report higher levels of satisfaction with specific aspects of their children's schooling, such as services received or the schools' communication efforts, than with their children's education overall. Parents of elementary and middle school students consistently report higher levels of satisfaction with all aspects of their children's schooling than parents of secondary-school-age students. Although the majority of parents of students with disabilities are at least somewhat satisfied with all aspects of their children's schooling, the percentages who report being dissatisfied are not trivial. Parents of students with disabilities tend to be less satisfied with their children's schooling than their peers in the general population. The difference is most apparent for those who report being very satisfied with their children's schools. Parents' satisfaction with their children's schooling differs somewhat by student's disability category. Across disability categories, parents of students with emotional disturbances express the lowest levels of satisfaction with most aspects of their children's schooling. Conclusion: NLTS2 and SEELS offer an opportunity to examine parents' perceptions of their children's special education services and of the schools and teachers who provide those services. From this national perspective, a clear majority of parents offer positive reviews of their children's experiences while in school content which shows parents of students with disabilities as generally satisfied with the education and services their children receive. Citation: Newman, L. (2006). Parents' Satisfaction with Their Children's Schooling. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. (Contains 9 endnotes and 3 exhibits.).

Equity in Quality of Special Education Programming

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 188 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (128 download)

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Book Synopsis Equity in Quality of Special Education Programming by : Eileen Harmon Council

Download or read book Equity in Quality of Special Education Programming written by Eileen Harmon Council and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With over 6 million children receiving some form of special education in the United States, and federal legislation mandating that all disabled students be provided with a free and appropriate education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE), school districts are facing the daunting task of providing individualized services for a growing percentage of special education students. Unfortunately, it is well established in the research literature that special needs students who "belong" to racial and ethnic minority groups and/or are from low Socioeconomic Status classes have traditionally been over-represented in special education. Disturbingly, not only are minorities over-represented in special education classification, they are also under-funded. While research contends that the actual level and quality of service received by members of the above groups tend to be sub-standard to those of their white and/or higher income counterparts, parent perceptions regarding this may or may not align with this fact. This leaves the potential for a gap to exist between what objective measurements and observations uncover and what the parent holds to be true. This also raises the question of ethics in equity of information access for those with limited cultural or social capital. This qualitative study examines the perceptions parents from various demographic groups have regarding the special education services their children receive. Interviews with parents of special needs children who are from the Philadelphia and surrounding areas serve as the primary data source. Additionally, information gathered while assuming the role of observer participant in a local support group serve as a support source of data for my study. A variety of sources were used to gather data on parent perceptions for this study. The parents of twelve special needs children were interviewed for this study. Each parent was asked a series of questions regarding their experiences with their child(ren)'s special education including, but not limited to, identification of the disability; ease/difficulty of obtaining services; design of education program offering; initiation of services; IEP implementation; and goal attainment. Several characteristics of the participants were focused on to identify commonalities among participants that determine likenesses in perceptions of various aspects of interest relating to special education services. Participation/observation in a support group for parents of special needs children, in addition to the literature distributed at that session also served as data sources for this study and that led to the study findings. Survey quantitative data, and information from limited IEP review, were also contributors to the pool of data that ultimately led to the study findings and recommendations. The conduction of a focus group was planned and attempted on more than one occasion during the study period, however, the recruitment of an acceptable number of willing participants proved to be an insurmountable challenge. One major area of interest in the study included determining if the participants believed there were differences in the special education services received by different students and if so, why. Interestingly, all of the respondents answered yes and identified eleven "major contributors" to the differences. The four considered most significant by a majority of the participants include Parental Persistence, Time Availability of the parents, the Connectedness/Access to Information maintained by the parents, and belonging to a high SES. After studying the content of all of the interviews, noticeable likenesses in the characterizations of the mindset of the participants regarding special education emerged. This commonality was so strong that it led me to give this phenomenon or theoretical concept a name - Framing Mindset. Each participant, as a result of her experiences over an extended period of time with the "universe of special education" develops a certain "casting point" where the parent's attitude becomes "set" and future decisions regarding special education programming for that child follow similar thought patterns. Thus, the parent has adopted one of three "mindsets" that serve as the "framework" from which all of their educational choices are built. Finally the study looked at the question: "How does a special needs parent's current stage of grief (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance) relating to having a son or daughter with a long term, often lifelong disability, influence the perception of the variables (quality, appropriateness, timeliness, comprehensiveness) comprising his or her child's educational programming?" According to the responses given by the study participants, the majority of the respondents had a connection between the stage on the Kubler-Ross' Grief Cycle and their satisfaction level with special education services; a small number of respondents did not have a connection between the stage on the Kubler-Ross' Grief Cycle and their satisfaction level with special education services; and for less than one quarter of the respondents it was not possible to determine if there was a connection between the stage on the Kubler-Ross' Grief Cycle and their satisfaction level with special education services. The results of this study have implications for advocacy/parent education, professional support group/facilitator training, and education policy. First, the results of this study, tell us that a large majority of the participants believe that access to information is key to determining the composition of the special education program received by their child. Knowing this, the role of the advocate can become much more critical to both newly diagnosed parents and parents who are not well connected. Second, the literature, interview participants, and support group participants affirm that seeking out and attending support groups is often one of the first things the parent of a newly diagnosed disabled child does to both obtain information and relieve stress. Unfortunately, the participants also indicated their frustrations with the formats and content of the groups - enough so that most did not return. Therefore, it is recommended to be the most helpful to parents of special needs children through the support group venue, training for the potential facilitator and a quick survey to potential attendees to assess their interest, preferred format, and needs should occur first. Finally, the implications of information from the study for education policy relate to the both the implementation of special education law and the oversight of the implementation of special education law. All of the interviewees asserted that there are differences in special education services among special needs. As a result of this remarkable finding, I recommend that changes to education policy include a provision for local oversight or "watchdogging" of the process of special education service provision; tougher sanctions be developed for districts and private schools who fail to provide appropriate services to a disabled child or are found guilty of providing inequitable services; and that parent surveys about their home district be distributed annually with the district and private school's scorecard partially based on the survey scores.