Parents’ Perspectives of Children’s Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties
Abstract
There has been widespread concern about children’s emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) within mainstream schools in Libya. Parents’ accounts of children experiencing EBD are underrepresented in the literature, effectively giving prominence to the views and interpretations of professionals. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with 30 parents representing two different Libyan educational authority; this was with the intention of exploring children’s EBD and the contributing factors. Although the results echoed the generally accepted tropes, parents were not often ready to accept that their children have EBD, nor willing to attribute children’s EBD to solely individual or psychological inner conflicts. Instead, they referred children’s difficulties to a wider context in which schools and teachers contribute significantly. They maintained that mainstream schools in Libya failed to address children’s specific learning needs, reflecting deficiencies within the school system. In addition, traditional factors were found to obstruct parents from making practical contributions to children’s education, thus creating more tension and conflicts between home and school rather than solving those which already exist. The implications of this study on the attributions of EBD underline the role and responsibility of teachers leading to EBD and consequently preparing the ground for exclusion.
Downloads
References
Abuforwa, A. and El-Twokally, A. (1994) Cooperation between school and home in educating the Libyan child. Educational Journal, Vol. 20 No. 68-68. Al-Fateh University
Al-Shapani, O. (2001) The History of Education in Libya. Libya: Al-Fateh University Press.
Al-Tabib (1995) An investigation to the impact of family socio-economic factors on pupils’ overall academic achievement. Unpublished Msc. Al-Fateh University. Tripoli
Armstrong, D. (2011) Power and partnership in education: parents, children and special education. London: Routledge.
Armstrong, D. and Galloway, D. (1992) On being a client: conflicting perspectives on assessment, in T. Booth, W. Swann, M. Masterton and P. Potts. Policies for Diversity in Education, London: Routledge.
Bennett, P. L. (2000) Children with emotional and behaviour difficulties and their parents. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, Vol. 5, No.3, 12-17.
Boreham, N., Peers, I., Farrell, P., & Craven, D. (1995). Different perspectives of parents and educational psychologists when a child is referred for EBD assessment (pp. 16-32), in Farrell, P. Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, Lewes: Falmer Press.
Cooper, P (1999) Understanding and Supporting Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Crime Act (1999) The Annual Report. Libya.
Croll, P. and Moses, D (1985) One in Five. The assessment Incidence of Special Educational Needs. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Department of Education and Since (1978) Special Educational Needs (The Warnock Report), London: HMSO.
D.E.S. (1989a) Circular 23/89: Special Schools for Pupils with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. H.M.S.O.: London.
DfEE (1999c) Meet the challenge: Education Action Zones London: DfEE
DfEE (1994a) Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Needs. London: Department for Education.
DfEE (1997b) Excellent in Schools London: TSO
Department for Education (1993) The Education Act, 1993. London: Department for Education
Farrell, P (1995) Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties: Strategies for Assessment and Intervention. London: Falmer Press.
Furtwengler, W. (1990) Improving School Discipline through Student- Teacher Involvement, in Moles O (ed) (1990), Student Discipline Strategies, New York: U.N.Y. Press.
Galloway, D, Armstrong, D and Tomlinson, S (1994) The Assessment of Special Educational Needs: Whose Problem? New York: Longman.
Hamilton, D (1987) ‘Working with parents: The Key to Learning’, Support for Learning, 2,3:37-42.
Hallgarten, J. (2000) Parents Exist, Ok!?: Issues and visions for parent-school relationships. London. Biddles Ltd.
Jones, K., and Charlton, T. (Eds.). (1996). Overcoming Learning and Behaviour Difficulties: partnership with pupils. London: Routledge.
Moses, D., and Croll, P. (1987) Parents as Partners or Problems? Disability, Handicap and Society, 2,1: 75-84.
Pugh, G. (1989). Parents and Professionals in Pre-school Services. Is Partnership Possible. In Wolfendale, S. (Eds) Parental Involvement. Developing Networks Between Home, School and Community, London: Cassell.
Royer, E (1999) Understanding Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties: A Canadian perspective. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. Vol. 4 No. 1 Spring P. 28-35.Pep
The People’s Committee for Education and Scientific Research (2004) Annual Report by the Legislative Congress. Tripoli.
The National Report for Development of Education (2008) Libya.
Tomlinson, S. (1981a). Educational Subnormality: A Study in Decision-Making. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul
UNICEF Annual Educational Report (2010) Libya.
UNESCO. (2008b) International Conference on Education: Inclusive education: the way of the future. (pp. 13–19) Geneva, Switzerland: UNESCO 48/3.
Copyright (c) 2023 Konfrontasi: Jurnal Kultural, Ekonomi dan Perubahan Sosial

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.Penulis.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (Refer to The Effect of Open Access).