Parent Involvement in Inclusive Primary Schools in New Zealand: Implications for Improving Practice and for Teacher Education (Report‪)‬

Introduction New Zealand has one of the most inclusive school systems in the world, with less than 1% of children in schools or units for pupils with SEN. A critical factor in the success of inclusive schools is effective parental involvement (PI) in the education of their children, especially for those with SEN (Hornby, 1995). PI is defined as, "... parental participation in the educational processes and experiences of their children" (Jeynes, 2005, p. 245). The role of PI in improving educational outcomes for all children, including those with SEN, has recently been recognized by the New Zealand government through publication of the Schooling Strategy (MoE, 2005) in which improving PI is one of three priority areas.