Examining Parental Engagement in Early Intervention, Part C Special Education, Through the Parents’ Perception

This study, employing a qualitative research approach within an interpretivist paradigm, aimed to explore the diverse experiences of parental engagement among 25 families with children receiving early intervention (i.e., Part C special education services) in a rural southeast MN educational district. While there has been a plethora of research on parental engagement, that research is often limited to how teachers perceive parental engagement or interactions in school activities or curriculum (Ansari & Markowitz, 2021; Gross et al., 2020; Hackworth et al., 2018). When parents actively, and intentionally, engage with their child outside of intervention services, it significantly enhances the child's opportunities for development in social-emotional, adaptive, physical, language, and cognitive skills. Thus, understanding how EI programs can support families with young children requires a deep comprehension of parental engagement from the family's perspective. Through interviews and questionnaires, three themes emerged as parental engagement: Purposeful Involvement, Communication, and Free-Play. Implications for EI programs need to focus on empowering parents to implement these three themes into their daily-naturally occurring routines.