Recommendations for Action
The findings of the research emphasize the significance of communication as a tool that increases the quality of the partnership between parents and teachers, thus improving the academic performances, developmental challenges, and the general wellbeing of the children with ASD. According to Mautone et al. (2015), the absence of meaningful and solid communication between parents and teachers resulted in the isolation of parents from important processes of their children’s academic lives, which is detrimental to the children’s growth and development. In this case, children with ASD undoubtedly require additional care and have face a range of challenges that would not be as severe in students without this condition. Accordingly, continuous and reliable communication between teachers and parents is instrumental for prompt and quality interventions both in school and at home whenever any health or academic-related issues arise.
One of the important recommendations arising from the research findings is the need for increased awareness regarding parent-school partnership and its significance in the proper management of the children with ASD. Accordingly, Azad et al. (2016) emphasized that the success of a school-family partnership, especially where students with ASD are involved, depends significantly on the communication quality between teachers and parents, which have demonstrated to have a substantive impact on the students’ general success within and outside school. Under these circumstances, communication is widely regarded as both an agent of collaboration and source of conflict in the parent-teacher partnership. In the end, the decision on an effective and prompt form of communication that facilitates a two-way exchange of information would be critical in promoting problem solving and improve the quality of education and learning environment for the target students.
Although alternative methods of communication such as phone calls, text messaging, and in-person meetings might be the most popular for parent-teacher partnership, the findings from the research study revealed the huge potential that e-mail communication might have if sufficiently exploited and utilized. As a result, there is a need for the school to facilitate a gradual adoption of this mode of communication with the aim of promoting its popularity and effective use by parents and teachers for both present and future benefits. The observations made by Azad and Mandell (2016) indicated that electronic communication provides a more positive and rewarding experience to the user because of the ease of sending and receiving messages, as well as the ability to handle bulky communication files and accommodate multiple communication lines simultaneously. Therefore, the school has the duty of creating awareness about the use of e-mail communication, as well as provide the necessary training and resources for the teachers and parents. For instance, acquisition of computers or installation of a functional computer library with sufficient internet connectivity would enhance the use of e-mail communication by the teachers because of the resource availability, convenience, and low cost of communication. Ultimately, e-mail communication fosters greater parent involvement in their children’s school progress because of the increased awareness of all important events, activities, and issues in school.
Because the findings of this study demonstrated the wide range of perceptions among the teachers in regard to the use of e-mail communication between the school and teachers, there is a need for the stakeholders in the education sector to try and harmonize the teachers’ collective perception before the full implementation of the practice. Despite the negative perceptions about e-mail communication only constituting a small percentage of the respondents, most of whom are older teachers who might soon retire from their teaching career, it would be improper to overrule or ignore the significance of these minorities’ interests if the implementation of the e-mail communication practice must succeed. Instead, the school management and teachers need to address the individual concerns raised by the dissenting voices, and this can be achieved through dialoguing with the respective teachers to understand and improve their areas of weakness, doubt, or any reservations that they might have concerning the communication method.
Limitations
Among the notable limitations of the study is the size and regional distribution of the sample selected to participate in the research. In this case, the researcher focused on the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia, which is a relatively small area, with the expectations that the outcomes of the research would be reflective of the whole country. In the end, the geographical differences in the country are likely to have unique social and cultural beliefs, as well as varying infrastructural installation, which inevitably affects the participants’ perception towards the use of e-mail communication. On the other hand, the quality and accuracy of the research findings might also be affected by the complexity of the mixed research design, given that only one researcher conducted the research. Admittedly, it may become challenging and confusing for the researcher to handle both the qualitative and quantitative research studies, especially in handling of the resultant data and resolving any discrepancies that arise from the data collected. In the end, the outcomes of the research could be prone to bias, especially after the researcher has already collected data using one method before proceeding to the other. One last limitation to the current study is the data analysis technique. When recoding the Likert-scale items into an “agree” and “disagree” category, there is potential for neutral responses to get recategorized. Therefore, the researcher will rerun the analyses in the future with a third category coded as “neutral” to determine if the results are consistent.
Implications
The findings of the research have an important influence on the future of school-parent collaboration, which is becoming increasingly popular because of the student-centered approach embraced by most learning institutions today. Considering the special attention that children with ASD require for their continued development and learning process, the revelations about the teachers’ perception of e-mail communication and the general use of internet communication could be instrumental in informing legislation of policies at school and national levels as a way of improving the level of education for these children in Saudi Arabia. Apart from influencing the national policymaking on important educational practices, such as the incorporation of information technology lessons in the teachers’ training, the findings would also impact decisions on revenue allocation and infrastructural development in Saudi Arabia because the government would prioritize installation of internet connection services for improved internet access and effective e-mail communication.
Recommendations for Further Study
In the future, researchers could improve the generalizability and quality of the research findings by increasing the sample size and incorporating a wider geographical area to ensure geographical, cultural, and socioeconomic representation of the teachers in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, it would be helpful if the services of data analysis experts or additional qualified researchers were sought, especially considering the bulky and complex quantitative data to avoid possible confusion and bias that may arise when a single researcher handles both qualitative and quantitative studies. The future study could also be improved by incorporating parents as respondents in the research to ensure that their perspectives and opinions about the viability of e-mail communication method are captured, given their primary role as partners in the school-parents relationship.
Chapter Summary
In general, this chapter provided a detailed insight into the research study, including the purpose of the study and the range of variables that the research sought to evaluate in relation to their impact on the teachers’ perception of e-mail communication method as a suitable tool for parent-teacher collaboration. Other areas addressed in this chapter were the context of the study, which in this case are the geographical, cultural, and social context of the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia, together with the demographics of the target population for the study. In addition, the section covered the research method used for the study, which in this case included both qualitative and quantitative methods conducted through semi-structured interview and surveys respectively. There was also a detailed account of the three main questions investigated by the researcher, two of which formed part of the quantitative survey while the third was answered through a qualitative technique. Next, the recommendations section of this chapter proposed some possible interventions, policies, and strategies that may enhance the quality and effectiveness of parent-teacher communication for the betterment of the ASD students’ education and general wellbeing. Amongst these was the increase in infrastructural and training support for parents and teachers. The section on the study’s limitations discussed how the validity, believability, and reliability of the research could be undermined, particularly the smaller sample size and the complexity of the mixed research method. Other key sections of this chapter were the research implications that covered the applicability and significance of the research findings, and the recommendations for future research.