Motivations for Involvement: A Preliminary Investigation of Parents of Students with Disabilities

Parents of students in special education have greater barriers to parental involvement than parents of students in general education. Little is known, however, about the factors that facilitate or impede involvement practices for this group. This preliminary study investigated the extent to which the motivational factors from Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s (2005) Model of Parent Involvement (i.e., Parent Role Activity Beliefs, Parent Efficacy, General School Invitations, Specific Teacher Invitation, Specific Child Invitations, Perceived Knowledge and Skills, and Perceived Time and Energy) predicted the Home-Based, School-Based, and Special Education Involvement of 137 parents of elementary school students in special education from two suburban school districts in upstate New York. Family structure, race/ethnicity, and family socioeconomic status (SES) were also examined. Parents in the current study reported being more involved in both home and school-based activities when children specifically requested their involvement. School-Based Involvement was also predicted by parents’ perceptions of their time and energy and their level of responsibility in supporting their child’s education, as well as their reported level of education (an indication of SES). An interesting and counterintuitive inverse relationship was found between general school invitations and parents’ Home-Based Involvement. Lastly, the only significant predictor for Special Education Involvement was specific teacher invitations. These findings are discussed and suggestions are made for how to increase involvement for this specific group of parents.