A Conceptual Model for Parent Involvement in Secondary Special Education

Abstract

Parent educational involvement has been demonstrated to be a predictor of in-school and post-school success for all students, including students with disabilities. However, traditional models of parent involvement tend to focus on academic-oriented indicators of success whereas transition models tend to focus on post-school outcomes with limited parent roles. The purpose of this article is to propose a model of parent involvement that addresses the limitations of current approaches by (a) integrating transition and traditional academic-focused models of parent involvement, (b) incorporating predictors of post-school success, and (c) accounting for the continued role parents play in the lives of their adult children.