ERIC Number: EJ1464277
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 17
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1525-1810
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Parents' Knowledge and Understanding of the Special Education Process and Rights: A Systematic Review
Journal of Special Education Leadership, v38 n1 p14-30 2025
In order to effectively engage and be an advocate during the special education process, parents must be equipped with knowledge of the special education process as well as their rights. This article reports the results of a synthesis of published studies that explored, reported, or estimated parents' knowledge and understanding of the special education process and their rights. Findings from 15 studies revealed that the study types could be divided into the readability of special education documents or parents' reported knowledge and understanding. The readability studies revealed that essential special education documents are written at a level that could be challenging for many parents to comprehend. The studies examining parents' perception of their knowledge showed that the majority of parents reported being knowledgeable about their rights and the special education process. However, some discrepancies emerged when these perceptions were compared with other assessable data. The documents provided by schools are often too complicated for many parents to understand, and changes should be made to resolve this issue.
Descriptors: Special Education, Parent Rights, Knowledge Level, Readability, Parent Attitudes, Access to Information, Individualized Education Programs, Individual Characteristics, Elementary Secondary Education
Council of Administrators of Special Education. 1675 East Seminole Street Suite L1, Springfield, MO 65804. Tel: 417-427-7720; Fax: 417-427-6520; e-mail: office@casecec.org; Web site: https://www.casecec.org/journal
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A