ABSTRACT
The perspectives of mothers and fathers of children with disabilities inform this chapter and the authors believe in the need for and value of obtaining and understanding these perspectives to influence teacher training to support inclusive practices. This chapter highlights one piece from a multi-level project. The project’s overarching goal was to obtain the perspective of stakeholder groups on what they perceived to be the skills and knowledge that high quality, beginning special educators need when they start teaching. This data contributed to the renewal of a special education teacher preparation program situated within an Institute of Higher Education. This chapter focuses upon the unique perspectives that were generated from the mothers and fathers as these participants expressed views related to inclusion for their son or daughter. The following questions guide the discussion in this chapter:
What are the perspectives of mothers and fathers who have children with disabilities, how do these compare with those of special education teachers and how can this inform work in teacher education for inclusion?
How have we gathered insider perspectives?
