Investigating parental involvement has moved to the foreground of research in the past two decades, and research results focusing on family engagement claim its positive impact on children’s academic and non-academic achievement. However, less is known about parental involvement in the case of families with children with special needs. In our systematic review, we collected studies focusing on parental involvement which emphasised the role of resilience. Using the EBSCO Discovery Service, a total of 467 abstracts from 85 databases were screened, of which 28 papers published between 1984 and 2021 met the research criteria. Papers vary according to methodology (interview, focus group conversation, survey, case study, intervention programme and good practice) and disability group (general or specific). Resilience is interpreted in two ways: as a personality trait or a consequence. Four types of papers could be detected which dealt with the target group, specifically papers focusing on children, parents, teachers and professionals, and intervention programmes with multiple focuses. In conclusion, resilience is an element of parental involvement, either as a personality trait or a result. It is indispensable for the successful development of children in terms of academic and non-academic achievement as well. Programmes providing a wider collaboration with actors involved in the development of children seem to be more effective. In general practice, whether the goal is to build upon resilience as a personality trait or target its development as a consequence, strong collaboration between the parents, teachers and professionals concerned in the process can significantly contribute to the child’s psychological, emotional and academic development.

Parents can have a significant impact on student progress, but it is unclear whether generally influential forms of parental involvement can be identified or if they have a differential impact. Our research focuses on the impact of different forms of parental involvement (at-home and in-school involvement) on primary and high school students’ academic performance, and we also examine the differences between low- and high-status families. Our quantitative research analyzed data from all students that were in Grade 6 and Grade 10 in Hungary in 2019, and we conducted analysis using the Hungarian National Competency Assessment database (n = 183.366). We examined how parental involvement affects children’s mathematics and reading achievements. The results of our research were as follows: (1) Parental involvement type impacts student achievement. Home-based PI has a negative effect, while teacher–parent conferences and discussing school events have a positive effect. (2) The link between parental involvement and student achievement is weaker for higher-status families compared to lower-status families. Based on our results, the generalizability of the positive impact of parental involvement can be questioned because not all forms of it have a favorable effect on student achievement.

Számos kutatás vizsgálta az inkluzív, heterogén tanulói környezet, valamint a szülői bevonódás pozitív hatását a tanulói eredményességre, azonban a sajátos nevelési igényű tanulók esetén a címkézés miatti exklúziós folyamat és a szülők bevonódásának támogatását övező problémakör gyakran megoldatlan marad. Kutatásunk ennek fényében arra keresi a választ, hogy a sajátos nevelési igényű gyermeket nevelő szülők bevonódásának milyen perspektívái figyelhetők meg a pedagógusok szemszögéből. Ennek feltárása érdekében félig strukturált személyes interjúkon keresztül kérdeztünk meg gyakorló pedagógusokat. 22 olyan interjút elemeztünk, amelyek esetében a pedagógus jelentős tapasztalattal rendelkezik a sajátos nevelési igényű tanulók oktatásában és a szüleikkel való kapcsolattartásban; az ő interjúikat vetettük alá szövegelemzésnek a megalapozott elmélet konstruktivista vonalát követve. Legfontosabb eredményeink között említhető, hogy a családi bevonódásra egyaránt jelentős hatással vannak az egyéni, szervezeti és társadalmi tényezők, s ebben kiemelt szereppel bír a tanárok integrációs szemlélete. Eredményeink segíthetnek a sajátos nevelési igényű szülők és az iskola kapcsolatának mélyebb megértésében és a pedagógusok erre való felkészítésének, támogatásának megalapozásában.

The research aims to investigate the status of special schools in Romania, with a focus on student-teacher relationships, attachment-based education, and the Hungarian minority. After a brief historical overview of special schools, the study covers two main directions. We start by outlining how special schools view the value of attachment-based education and sheltered workshop conditions. Then we will use quantitative methods to analyze the research findings of a pilot study with a sample of a total of 60. Our focus will be on children with special educational needs. We will emphasize the impact of segregated education processes and examine current practices and rights. Based on the findings of the study, educators who work in SEN schools have better knowledge of their students’ attachment patterns. These educators are responsible for teaching students with SEN and building safe attachments plays a crucial role in the educational process. Special education setting places great importance on fostering secure attachment in students.

This study explored the experiences of Hungarian minority parents of children with severe disabilities from Romania. Examining individual life paths and becoming a parent is difficult in all aspects, but the issue of parental responsibility for raising a child with a severe disability suggests a much more complex approach. Participants were parents (female = 8; male = 3) who were purposively sampled from an urban setting (Bihor area) and whose children attended SEN schools in the same area. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and were thematically analysed. It turned out from the interviews that the challenges parents of children with severe disabilities encounter at home, school, and in society are accumulated emotional stress and exhaustion; however, they also face material challenges. The analysis also revealed that the parents were unsure of what was expected of them in making educational or habilitation–rehabilitation decisions on behalf of their children. The parents’ difficulty with decision-making and their unpreparedness put them under serious stress, often characterized by depressive life stages. The findings reveal the need for ongoing professional development and the establishment of organizational–community networks. Parents of children with disabilities face serious, unresolved challenges that are difficult to overcome. In order to overcome these challenges, we need to develop policies that take the needs of parents into consideration.