PARENTAL ATTITUDE ON EARLY LEARNING OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS



PARENTAL ATTITUDE ON EARLY LEARNING OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title                                                                               Page
Title Page
Certification
Acknowledgement
Table of Contents
Abstract
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1            Background of the Study
1.2            Statement of the Problem
1.3            Objectives of the Study
1.4            Research Question
1.5            Research Hypothesis
1.6            Significance of the Study
1.7            Definitions of Terms
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1            Children with Special Need
2.2            Children with Special Education
2.3            Parent Attitude towards the Education of Children with Special Need.
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD
3.1     Introduction
3.2     Research Design
3.3     Population of the Study
3.4     Sample and Sampling Techniques
3.5     Method of Data Collection
3.6     Validity of the Instrument
3.7     Methods of Data Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF DATA AND RESULTS
4.1            Introduction
4.2            Presentation of Results
4.3            Discussion of Findings
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1            Introduction
5.2            Summary
5.3            Conclusion
5.4            Recommendation
5.5            References
5.6            Appendix 


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ABSTRACT
The study examined parental attitudes towards the early learning of children with special needs. Eighty (80) pupils were randomly selected from two special schools participated in the study.
Questionnaire was administered on the learners to obtain relevant information regarding their parents attitude towards their education. Finding revealed that the parents positive attitude towards the education of their children, although they still want them to be independent through trade. The believed that self employment should be the ultimate of their children’s education.
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1            Background to the Study
Children are the perfect extension and expression of a couple’s love and caring (Gibran, 1986). The emotional preparation for expectant parents is usually shaped by a glamorous image of the baby, a kind of ego ideal. The discrepancy between the perfect child of their fantasy and the real child may be the cause for negative attitudes and parenting stress, often a range of emotions, such as denial, guilt, blame, frustration, anger and despair, sweep through the parents as they are confronted by their children with disability (Bhan, 1995). Loss of hope for the ‘perfect child’ causes grief, and over time the feeling is heightened by loneliness, isolation, and exhaustion. Parent frequently over protect their child and feel guilty that they are responsible for the child’s disability.
The parents of children with disabilities develop chronic sorrow characterized by periodic recurrence of sadness, guilt, shock and pain (Wikler et al, 1981). They are played by feelings of pessimism, hostility and shame (Rangers Wamy, 1989)
Denial, projection of blame, guilt, grief, withdrawal, rejection and acceptance are some of the usual parental reactions. (Drew et al, 1984). Some parents also experience helplessness, feelings of inadequacy, anger, shock and guilt, whereas others go through periods of disbelief, depression and self blame. The siblings also experience feelings of guilt, shame, and embarrassment (Frude, 1992).
Of course, early childhood education is not just about giving children a better chance to succeed later on, it gives all children equal opportunities to begin to develop their literacy, numeracy and social skills, regardless of their family’s income. If conceived with some imagination, these programmes can make on enormous difference in the lives of disadvantaged families. For example, New Zeal and developed early education programmes are targeted to families with low levels of education, which include an adult education component. In regions where these programmes, are offered, enrolment of disadvantaged children who benefit the most from these kinds of activities has grown considerably.
Children with special needs are children with different disabilities, health and mental health condition that require special intervention, services or support, parenting a child with special need can be particularly challenging.
Special need is a broad term and includes health, mental health, development, and other kinds of conditions and diagnosis. Some example include: autism, serious emotional and behavioural disturbances, mental retardation, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, learning disability, speech impairment, visual impairment, epilepsy. Children with special needs also include those children who are at risk for disabilities such as those who have developmental delays.
What comes to mind when the term children with special needs is used, is that they are children with disabilities. The term children with special needs has a broader scope than disability. Special need children therefore means learners or children who require professional attention and assistance to attain set learning objectives. This term has come to replace some other labels like disabled, exceptional children or child or the handicapped.
Garuba (2002) explained children with special needs as those with physical, intellectual, social, emotional, cultural and linguistic characteristics or other conditions that make it difficult for them to be educated in the normal way without special intervention been put in place to assist them.
For parents of children with special needs, initially, acceptance becomes the main concern. They go through various emotional phases, which are coping strategies. Parents go through grief, frustration, denial and anger before the child’s condition is accepted. The other concern for parents is the education of the child with special needs.
Parents who favour attitudes believe that it would increase their child’s learning ability due to higher standards in a regular class, and would provide a stimulating environment for learning. A majority of parents show favourable attitude towards in terms of promoting positive role models, friendships, facilitating acquisition of pre-academic, social, language and motor skills. Parents who are not in favour attitude feel that teachers would be overburden with the child’s disability and that the classroom would not accept and welcome their child. On the other hand, parents of special children have revealed that their children’s experiences were position they preferred having their children in classes that included children with disabilities and there was an increase in personal development, and improved self-worth by helping others specific gains were in term of social cognition, lie, awareness of other children’s needs, prosocial and personal characteristics, and greater acceptance of human diversity.
The concern that parents of special children show are in the effectiveness of instructions; the fact that some children with special needs do not receive enough help from teachers, and that their children sometimes emulate the inappropriate behaviour of children with special needs. Other concerns stated by parents are that the demands of children with special needs became so great, that they interfere or compromise their own child’s growth and education.
1,2     Statement of the Problem
Various studies have focused on stressors associated with caring for children with special need and the deleterious effects on parent’s well-being. This study intends to explore parental attitude on early learning of children with special needs age 0 – 8.
1.3     Objectives of the Study
The study broadly examines the attitude of the parents on early learning of special children in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
The specific objectives are as under
1.                 To examine the attitudes of parents towards schooling and education of their children at the early age.
2.                 To examine whether there exists a significant gender difference in attitudes of parents towards children’s with special needs education
3.                 To examine the future planning and aspirations of the parents with regard to their child’s education

1.4     Research Question
In this study, there are some question that researcher has in mind, which would assist in doing justice to the topic.
1.                 What are the attitudes of parents towards the early learning of their children?
2.                 What are the attitudes of parents towards the outcome of their children education.
3.                 What are the parental attitude towards the self independent of their children in the future.
1.5     Research Hypothesis
Is there any difference in the parental gender of their attitude towards early learning of their children.
1.6     Significance of the Study
This research work is meant to examine the attitude of parents towards the early learning (i.e. education) of children with special needs.
Many children with special needs are faced with depressions and discrimination from parents and other related people. This study therefore intend to examine the attitude of parents towards the children that fall into the category of children with one or two disability.
1.7     Definitions of Terms
Parent: mother or father; somebody’s mother, father, or legal guardian origin of something else: something from which one or more similar and separate things have developed, or to which they are attached.
Attitude: Personal view of something; an opinion or general feeling about something a positive attitude to change.
Children with special needs – children with special needs are children with different disabilities, health and mental health condition, that require special intervention, services or support.

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