School Practices in Supporting Learners with Special Educational Needs: A Parent Assessment of Prevention and Challenge-Overcoming Strategies

Abstract

This study examined parents’ assessments of school practices for preventing and overcoming challenges faced by learners with special educational needs (SEN), with the goal of informing efforts toward a safe living community. Using a descriptive-correlational and descriptive-comparative approach, the study surveyed 32 parent-respondents of learners from public elementary schools in the Schools Division of Cavite. A researcher-developed four-point questionnaire was used to describe the respondents’ profile and assess school practices in two domains: prevention of challenges in school environments and overcoming challenges in school environments. Frequency counts, percentages, weighted means, Spearman’s test, and the Kruskal–Wallis test were used. Most respondents were 30–34 years old (66%), female (81%), and parents rather than grandparents (88%). The overall assessment of school practices was 3.23, interpreted as Often True of the School of My Child. Overcoming challenges obtained the higher sub-mean of 3.40 (Always True), while prevention obtained 3.11 (Often True). The lowest-rated practice was collaboration with the learner’s doctors, nurses, and other specialists (M = 2.97). Age and family role were not significantly associated with assessments. Sex showed a weak positive relationship with overcoming challenges (ρ = .384) and a significant difference in prevention assessments (p = .005). The findings indicate strong perceived instructional and classroom support but a need to strengthen proactive planning, inter-professional collaboration, and equitable caregiver engagement.