Abstract:

Although parent’s involvement is growing in popularity all over the world, little systematic research has focused on parents’ expectation for involvement in education of learners with special educational needs (SENs) in inclusive education. Grounded in the parental involvement literature, and using the Ecological and Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler model (1995) as theoretical and conceptual frameworks, this study investigate why there were considerable variations in parents’ expectations for involvement in education of learners with (SENs) in Nigeria. The investigation is based on this research question: Do family structural characteristics, such as gender, marital status and education have significant influence on parental expectations for involvement in inclusive education in Nigeria? Employing a quantitative research method, this study gathered data from 372 parents of learners with SENs in 10 regular primary schools in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, and used a survey instrument on Parental Involvement in Inclusive Education (PII) for data collection. The study found that socio-cultural and economic values attached to marital status, education and gender, influenced the expectation for involvement among parents of learners with SENs in Nigeria. Finally the study recommended that government and educational administrators should embrace actions and programmes that promote parental expectations for involvement by establishing parents’ support groups, where parents of learners with SENs can share their knowledge and work together in order to promote their children’s learning in inclusive education.

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