It is well established that educational outcomes and schooling experiences can be enhanced when parents are involved in and engaged in their child’s education (Wilder, 2014; Yotyodying & Wild, 2019). Communicating and working with parents is an important part of a teacher’s role, yet there is little published that shares parents’ experiences of these interactions (Ellis et al., 2015), especially the experiences of parents of children with specific educational needs (Paccaud et al., 2021). It has been reported that parents of children with disability can find it more difficult to communicate with teachers than parents of children without disability (Leenders et al., 2019); therefore, this is an important area for further research in the field of inclusive education. This aim of this qualitative study was to learn about the experiences of parents of primary school aged children with disability specifically relating to their communication, consultation and collaboration with teachers on relating to teaching and learning. The decision was made to compare the experiences of parents of children with disability in Australia and Ireland given the similar disability legislation and teacher professional standards in each country. In both countries, teachers are legally required to consult and collaborate with parents of children with disability in the educative process (Commonwealth of Australia, 1992, 2005; Houses of the Oireachtas, 2005). Furthermore, teachers in both countries are also expected to work with and communicate sensitively and effectively with parents in the educative process as part of meeting teacher professional standards (AITSL, 2017; Teaching Council, 2016). However, little information or elaboration is provided for teachers and schools about consultation or what effective communication with parents should look like. Therefore, it is understandable that communication and consultation between teachers and parents is variable given the lack of clarity and information for teachers about this important aspect of their role. While legislation and professional standards place an emphasis on teachers consulting and communicating with parents in the educative process, reviews of legislation in Australia have reported that parents often feel frustrated and excluded from decisions about their child’s education as well as feeling that their knowledge about their child and their disability is not valued by teachers or school leaders (DESE, 2021).

In this study, the decision was made to focus on the experiences of parents of children with the most common neurodevelopmental disorders (specifically autism spectrum disorder, attention hyperactivity disorder and specific learning disorders), as children with these disabilities have specific educational needs. The focus on parents of primary school aged children was chosen as it has been identified that parental involvement is especially important at this stage of schooling (Leenders et al., 2019). This study draws on literature from the fields of inclusive education, family-school partnerships, teacher professional standards, and parent voice to learn more about the experiences of parents of children with disability in both Australia and Ireland to inform teacher preparation and policy relating to this aspect of inclusive education.

A qualitative research approach was adopted for this study as the aim was to learn about the different lived experiences of parents of children with disability and their interactions with their child’s teachers and school leaders. A qualitative interpretivist approach was taken in an attempt to make sense of the parents’ experiences and present a rich and descriptive account of this phenomena for the purpose of informing researcher knowledge and teacher practices relating to parent-teacher communication, consultation and collaboration in the field of inclusive education. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of children with disability in Australia and Ireland to learn about their experiences relating to communication, consultation and collaboration with their child’s teachers. Interview questions were informed by relevant literature and developed based on the requirements of disability legislation and teacher professional standards. Institutional ethics was approved and participation in the study was voluntary. Purposive sampling was employed in each context and parents were invited to participate through parent support networks and parent advocacy groups. Interviews were audio recorded for transcription purposes and reflexive thematic analysis was the approach used for data analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022) given the interpretative nature of the study and the researcher's recognition of the reflexive nature of data analysis. Braun and Clarke’s (2022) six phases of analysis were followed, and both inductive and deductive analysis were used during coding, theme development and the finalisation of themes.

The findings of this study support and enhance the literature published on family-school partnerships and inclusive education and addresses the complex and varied nature of consultation, collaboration and communication between teachers and parents of children with disability. Factors that impact consultation, collaboration and communication will be identified and discussed drawing on teacher professional standards, disability legislation and the research field of inclusive education. One of the findings of the study relates to the tension between what parents of children with disability want and expect for their child relating to learning, and what teachers say, do and are required to do. This tension will be a point for discussion in the presentation. The findings of this study will be of interest and relevance to teachers, parents, school leaders, teacher educators and researchers interested in inclusive education and family-family partnerships.

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