A case study of beginning teachers’ lived experiences of engagement with parents, particularly parents of children with special educational needs

Abstract

The research study aimed to make a contribution to the knowledge-gap in the area of parent-teacher engagement. Specifically, it sought to explore the nature of eight beginning teachers’ lived experiences of engagement with parents, particu-larly parents of children with special educational needs (SEN). It also sought to discover what could be learned from beginning teachers that could inform initial teacher education (ITE).

A qualitative case study approach was adopted, underpinned by an ecological theoretical framework. Data were collected during participants first two years of teaching and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data. Interpretative phenomenological analysis allowed for in-depth analysis within and across cases, while still maintaining the idiographic or particular na-ture of each case.

Three themes emerged from the data analysis: beliefs, influences and realisations. Two beliefs emerged from the data analysis. Firstly, these beginning teachers be-lieved that children benefit when home and school engage with each other. Sec-ondly, they believed that this engagement is challenging, but becomes less chal-lenging over time. Five distinct influences emerged from the data analysis, name-ly school culture, SEN, personal educational philosophies, memories of their own parents’ engagement with school and ITE. In terms of realisations, there were three. These beginning teachers learned about teacher engagement on the job, they found engagement with parents to be an emotional experience and they iden-tified communication as central to successful engagement between home and school.

Findings also led to discussions on an ecological understanding of teacher agency and a ‘lifewide’ approach to professional learning to support beginning teachers to develop positive engagement with parents. This study suggests learning for ITE: when student teachers are provided with focussed input in their ITE pro-grammes, they feel prepared for parent-teacher engagement. They still find this engagement challenging but are not overwhelmed by it.

The study is significant as it allowed the voices of beginning teachers in Irish primary schools to be heard as they told stories about their lived experiences of engaging with parents, particularly parents of children with SEN. This helps us to better prepare student teachers in ITE for parent-teacher engagement, which, in turn, supports the development, learning and wellbeing of children.