Abstract:
The purposes of this research were 1) to study cooperation between teachers and parents in developing mentally retarded students mainstreamed in elementary schools, Bangkok Metropolis, on preparation and planning, implementation, follow up, and support of the program, and 2) to propose the model of cooperation between teachers and parents in developing mentally retarded students mainstreamed in elementary schools. The subjects were 25 teachers and 25 parents of the mentally retarded students. The data were collected by using interview and direct observation techniques, and were analyzed by means of frequency distribution, percentage and descriptive analysis. The research findings were as follows : 1. In studying cooperation between the teachers and parents of mentally retarded students, it was found that 1.1) concerning preparation and planning, most teachers did not prepare or plan for the cooperation because the mainstreamed school did not have a policy on this aspect ; 1.2) concerning implementation, most teachers personally cooperated with the parents in informal and non-systematical ways. The cooperation was so little that the teachers and parents misperceived each other's practices and thus their contributions did not consistent with the other ; 1.3) concerning follow up, the teachers and parents seldom consulted with each other on the child's development ; paying attention only when the student had a problem ; and 1.4) concerning support of the program, all the teachers were supported by the parents in joining the school activities in which their children participated. 2. The model of cooperation between teachers and parents mainstreament in elementary schools which the researcher had designed and proposed consisted of objectives, rational principles, external conditions, involved personnel, implementation and evaluation of the model implementation. Concerning the implementation of the model, the researcher had designed 6 ready-made projects to solve the problems found in the study : The Educating School Personnel on Mainstreaming Project, The Orientation for Mentally Retarded students Parents Project, The Referral and Cooperation with Involved Professionals Project, The Monthly Report Project, The Volunteer Parents Project, and the Behavioral Modification Project.