“We didn’t want her to drown, throw her in the deep end and fight her way out”: an exploration of parental experience of choosing a special school placement for children with special educational needs and disability. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Hunt, Rachel (2020). “We didn’t want her to drown, throw her in the deep end and fight her way out”: an exploration of parental experience of choosing a special school placement for children with special educational needs and disability. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. University of Birmingham. Ap.Ed.&ChildPsy.D.

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Abstract

Within the education system in England parents are positioned as having a choice, in principle, to request any maintained school within their local authority (Code of Practice, Department for Education/Department of Health, 2015). Existing research has revealed this to be a complex and, at times, stressful experience (Bajwa-Patel and Devecchi, 2014; McNerney, Hill and Pellicano, 2015) characterised by a lack of guidance (Parsons, Lewis and Ellins, 2009) and authentic choice (Mann, Cuskelly, and Moni, 2015) for parents. The research aimed to explore the experience of parents choosing a special school placement for their pre-school children with special educational needs and disability (SEND). Five semi-structured interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to identify unique and shared experiences. This small-scale study identified six subordinate themes related to parental experience describing a complex emotional process. Participants reflected on a range of emotional and interpersonal experiences that supported and hindered their school choice process. The findings are discussed using an empowerment lens to further explore the participants’ experiences in relation to personal and professional relationships. Implications for professional practice are recommended based on the identified superordinate themes.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ap.Ed.&ChildPsy.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ap.Ed.&ChildPsy.D.

Supervisor(s):