---
_id: '66480'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Background – This study draws on data from a larger international project
exploring parents' perceptions of the education of their children with special
educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Using responses from 1, 309 parents
in Australia, England, Germany, and Norway it examines parental satisfaction with
mainstream and special schools, and parents' school placement preferences, including
willingness to change schools. Parental satisfaction is assessed as an overall
evaluation of how well the child's school placement meets their needs, without
distinguishing between specific aspects of the school experience. The study also
explores whether the child's level of support is associated with these perceptions.
Based on a human rights perspective, we highlight parents’ perspectives and their
role in the development of more inclusive education systems, without promoting
one model of schooling over another. Methods – Responses from 1, 309 parents across
four countries were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Non-parametric
tests compared satisfaction across school types, chi-squared tests assessed associations
with willingness to change schools, and binary logistic regression examined whether
level of support was associated with parents' willingness to change school placement.
Results – Parents in England, Germany, and Norway reported higher satisfaction
with special schools than with mainstream schools. No statistically significant
difference was observed in Australia. Parents of children in special schools were
less likely to report considering changing schools, particularly in England and
Norway. Higher pupil support needs were significantly associated with parents’
willingness to change school across the combined sample. These findings suggest
that parental satisfaction with their child's education and their preferences
regarding school placement may be shaped by both school type and how well pupils'
support needs are perceived to be met. Discussion and conclusion – The role of
parents as key stakeholders in developing inclusive education systems, consistent
with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is emphasised.
While parents in special schools in three of the four countries reported higher
satisfaction, the reasons for this remain unclear. Understanding the factors shaping
parental satisfaction is essential for developing inclusive and responsive learning
environments. These findings offer a starting point for future research on how
education systems can better align policy commitments with families’ lived experiences.
article_number: '1710708'
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Veslemøy Maria Fossum
full_name: Johansson, Veslemøy Maria Fossum
last_name: Johansson
- first_name: Suanne
full_name: Gibson, Suanne
last_name: Gibson
- first_name: Stuart
full_name: Woodcock, Stuart
last_name: Woodcock
- first_name: Anders
full_name: Dechsling, Anders
last_name: Dechsling
- first_name: Harry
full_name: Kullmann, Harry
id: '77972'
last_name: Kullmann
orcid: 0000-0001-5488-5105
- first_name: Marte Karoline
full_name: Herrebrøden, Marte Karoline
last_name: Herrebrøden
- first_name: Line Britt
full_name: Ulriksen, Line Britt
last_name: Ulriksen
- first_name: Anders
full_name: Nordahl-Hansen, Anders
last_name: Nordahl-Hansen
citation:
ama: 'Johansson VMF, Gibson S, Woodcock S, et al. Parental (dis)satisfaction with
school placement to achieve inclusion: a cross-country comparison. Frontiers
in Education. 2026;11. doi:10.3389/feduc.2026.1710708'
apa: 'Johansson, V. M. F., Gibson, S., Woodcock, S., Dechsling, A., Kullmann, H.,
Herrebrøden, M. K., Ulriksen, L. B., & Nordahl-Hansen, A. (2026). Parental
(dis)satisfaction with school placement to achieve inclusion: a cross-country
comparison. Frontiers in Education, 11, Article 1710708. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1710708'
bibtex: '@article{Johansson_Gibson_Woodcock_Dechsling_Kullmann_Herrebrøden_Ulriksen_Nordahl-Hansen_2026,
title={Parental (dis)satisfaction with school placement to achieve inclusion:
a cross-country comparison}, volume={11}, DOI={10.3389/feduc.2026.1710708},
number={1710708}, journal={Frontiers in Education}, publisher={Frontiers Media
SA}, author={Johansson, Veslemøy Maria Fossum and Gibson, Suanne and Woodcock,
Stuart and Dechsling, Anders and Kullmann, Harry and Herrebrøden, Marte Karoline
and Ulriksen, Line Britt and Nordahl-Hansen, Anders}, year={2026} }'
chicago: 'Johansson, Veslemøy Maria Fossum, Suanne Gibson, Stuart Woodcock, Anders
Dechsling, Harry Kullmann, Marte Karoline Herrebrøden, Line Britt Ulriksen, and
Anders Nordahl-Hansen. “Parental (Dis)Satisfaction with School Placement to Achieve
Inclusion: A Cross-Country Comparison.” Frontiers in Education 11 (2026).
https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1710708.'
ieee: 'V. M. F. Johansson et al., “Parental (dis)satisfaction with school
placement to achieve inclusion: a cross-country comparison,” Frontiers in Education,
vol. 11, Art. no. 1710708, 2026, doi: 10.3389/feduc.2026.1710708.'
mla: 'Johansson, Veslemøy Maria Fossum, et al. “Parental (Dis)Satisfaction with
School Placement to Achieve Inclusion: A Cross-Country Comparison.” Frontiers
in Education, vol. 11, 1710708, Frontiers Media SA, 2026, doi:10.3389/feduc.2026.1710708.'
short: V.M.F. Johansson, S. Gibson, S. Woodcock, A. Dechsling, H. Kullmann, M.K.
Herrebrøden, L.B. Ulriksen, A. Nordahl-Hansen, Frontiers in Education 11 (2026).
date_created: 2026-07-14T08:14:19Z
date_updated: 2026-08-29T08:25:55Z
department:
- _id: '556'
doi: 10.3389/feduc.2026.1710708
intvolume: ' 11'
jel:
- I24
keyword:
- human rights
- inclusion
- inclusive education
- international study
- parents
- school development
- special educational needs
language:
- iso: eng
publication: Frontiers in Education
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 2504-284X
publication_status: published
publisher: Frontiers Media SA
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: 'Parental (dis)satisfaction with school placement to achieve inclusion: a cross-country
comparison'
type: journal_article
user_id: '105186'
volume: 11
year: '2026'
...