Date of Award

8-1960

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Education (MSEd)

Degree Discipline

Education

Abstract

In recent years various studies have been made in regard to a program designed to stimulate the growth of educable mentally retarded children. However, this stucfy- was done with the idea that an effective educational program for these children requires close cooperation between the parents and the teacher. Today the home and the school share the responsibility of child guidance. The understanding, interest, and development of all children can best be served by cooperation between the home and the school. This is especially important when the children are mentally retarded. It is important that the teacher knows the needs and problems of the children, and that the parents know the needs and problems of the school. This can best be done if the teacher is acquainted with the background from which the children come, and if the parents are well acquainted with the operations of the school program. Hastings brings this point out very clearly when he says, "The two professions, parenthood, and teaching, are bound together in unity of purpose...the education of children. If they can learn to cooperate more closely, even more toward the greatest human goal, what miracles of achievement the future holds. As equal partners, parents and teachers have the supreme opportunity of shaping tomorrow through today's children.

Statement of the Problem

It -was the purpose of this study to seek answers to the following questions:

1. What are the changes which the parents of the retarded children of the intermediate level of the Washington Elementary School, Bryan, Texas expect the school to effect in their offsprings over the course of a year?

2. What do these parents expect their children to accomplish over the course of a year?

3. Can these parental expectations be used effectively to formulate realistic instructional objectives and teaching-learning units?

4. Will asking the parents to evaluate the progress made by their retarded children over the course of a year improve home-school relations? Will it help the teacher determine her effectiveness?

5. What effect will it have on the children in knowing that their parents have contributed to the planning of their learning experiences?

Importance of the Study

The writer feels that this study will give her an opportunity to learn from the parents what they expect the program of special education to do for their children; and whether these expectations can be utilized effectively in preparing a realistic program for these children. It is believed that the evaluation by the parents will help her to know whether the instructional program is measuring up to their expectations. This study will also help the writer in understanding these children and their problems and deciding on the most fruitful approaches in guiding their educational experiences. The writer believes that it will give other educators an interested individuals, who read this manuscript a richer insight into what parents of retarded children expect their children to be taught and what part they expect the teacher and the school to play in the education of their children.

Committee Chair/Advisor

R. J. Rousseve

Committee Member

J. W. Echols

Committee Member

W. L. Cash

Committee Member

N. T. Miller

Committee Member

K. S. Gibson

Publisher

Prairie View Agricultural And Mechanical College

Rights

© 2021 Prairie View A & M University

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Date of Digitization

4/7/2022

Contributing Institution

John B Coleman Library

City of Publication

Prairie View

MIME Type

Application/PDF

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