Abstract
Future orientation focuses on the image an individual constructs regarding their future; including future goals and courses of action they set for themselves in order to realize these goals. The present study discusses the consolidation of the orientation of parents in the Arabic society regarding the future of their children with developmental intellectual disability who learn in special education schools in northern Israel. In this study, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. 80 parents (mothers and fathers) between the ages 34 and 69 participated in the study. All parents were interviewed in order to examine the three components of future orientation for future life domains (education -acquiring a profession (employment); social contacts, marriage and family), in addition to their hopes and fears regarding their children’s future. The study drew upon original questionnaires which were adapted for the population of Arab parents. In addition to the demographic questionnaire, parents had to fill future orientation questionnaires: “Future Life Domains” questionnaire, “Hopes and Fears” questionnaire, “My Future” questionnaire, and “Future Perception” questionnaire. The results of the study showed that the future orientation of the parents regarding their children with developmental intellectual disabilities was obscured, pessimistic, and passive. The results also showed that parents’ orientation perpetuated the division of social role of the two genders. To conclude, the orientation of parents preserves the existing state of social rejection of people with disabilities. It also influences the future orientation of their children with developmental intellectual disability and increases their dependence on their parents.
Author Information
Maha Arslan, Sakhnin Academic College, Israel
Paper Information
Conference: ECE2019
Stream: Education & Difference: Gifted Education, Special Education, Learning Difficulties & Disability
This paper is part of the ECE2019 Conference Proceedings (View)
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