Determinants of School Satisfaction in Times of Crisis According to Parents of Children with Special Educational Needs

Abstract

In the initial phase of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), schools were closed, forcing most students to stay home on school days. In this chaotic and stressful situation, facing a potential life-threatening disease, parents needed to handle their family life, their own work, in addition to being teachers of their children. This situation may have been especially stressful for parents of children in need of special education. In this study, we examined possible determinants of parental satisfaction with the school during the lockdown using a sample of parents (N = 476) with children in need of special education. By applying a multivariate regression model, we found that the strongest predictor of parental satisfaction with the school during the lockdown was good communication between the parents and the school (r = .38), followed by how often the teachers were in contact with the children (r = .18) and how well the teachers guided the parents regarding home-schooling (r = .17). Notably, the degree of the children’s difficulties, family climate or socioeconomic status was not related to parental satisfaction with the school during the lockdown.