WHAT DO PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, INMIGRANTS AND THE TRAVELLING COMMUNITY SAY ABOUT THE SCHOOLING OF THEIR CHILDREN?

Abstract

The necessary relationship between families and school has barely been researched in the case of families with children with special needs, immigrants and gypsies. This report intends to approximate to the knowledge that these parents have about the field of activities of the school, how they value it, their expectations according to the future of their children, their interests, their needs and their demands. Through personal interviews, the three family groups show us their perception. They all coincide in stating the importance of school as a medium of relation and instruction, and they agree with the methodology and the resources used there. Immigrant and gypsy families show interest in keeping their culture as well as getting others to know it, although the former have higher expectations about the future of their children. On the other hand, the families with children with special needs —with more restricted expectations— basically seek for their children to have self-government and to be treated as equals in the relations with others.