ERIC Number: EJ756372
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 12
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1540-7969
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Available Date: N/A
Parents' Perceptions of Advocacy Activities and Their Impact on Family Quality of Life
Wang, Mian; Mannan, Hasheem; Poston, Denise; Turnbull, Ann P.; Summers, Jean Ann
Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities (RPSD), v29 n2 p144-155 Sum 2004
The concept of family quality of life has emerged as an important outcome of service provision for children with disabilities and their families. In this article, we report families' perceptions of their advocacy efforts and the impact of these efforts on their family quality of life. A total of 104 family respondents participated in focus groups and individual interviews. Through qualitative analysis we identified two themes related to parents' perceptions about their advocacy actions: advocacy as an obligation and advocacy as a means to improve services. Three themes also emerged regarding parents' perceptions of the impact of their advocacy actions: advocacy enhances coping, advocacy involves struggle, and advocacy causes stress. We discuss issues related to these themes as well as two factors (the quality of their partnerships and of their child's education) that may mediate the impacts of parental advocacy. We also discuss the implications for practice and provide tips for educators to improve their practices to better support families in their advocacy efforts. (Contains 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Quality of Life, Focus Groups, Advocacy, Disabilities, Severe Disabilities, Family Environment, Family Relationship, Children, Attitude Measures, Interviews, Parent Attitudes, Coping, Stress Variables, Interpersonal Relationship, Educational Quality, Family School Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Author Affiliations: N/A