Abstract:

This study aimed to investigate how special education placement decisions are shaped by the relational gap between mothers’ needs and kindergarten teachers’ professional interpretations of the process. This was a comparative qualitative study. Participants included 41 kindergarten teachers and 40 mothers of children diagnosed by developmental neurologists as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual or developmental disability (IDD), or both. The two groups had no professional connections with each other.

A three-stage comparative content analysis revealed four main themes discussed by the groups of mothers and kindergarten teachers, aligned along the axes of being and doing:
(a) personal and professional self-efficacy;
(b) emotions;
(c) difficulties and desired changes; and
(d) professional role perceptions.

Across these themes, the findings pointed to an overarching pattern of relational misalignment in how the two groups understood the aims, challenges, and support needs involved in the placement process. First, the mothers regarded the main difficulties and challenges as stemming from bureaucratic circumstances and from inadequate professional functioning, manifesting mainly in the kindergarten teachers’ actions. By contrast, the kindergarten teachers saw the main sources of the challenges as stemming from the mothers themselves because of their denial of the child’s diverging from neurotypicals and lack of cooperation with the main figures in the placement process. Second, the mothers perceived the main professional role as practical and active, whereas the kindergarten teachers described the role as actively providing emotionally sensitive support.

Taken together, these differences suggest not merely contrasting perspectives, but a deeper mismatch between what mothers seek during the placement process and what kindergarten teachers understand their role to be. While mothers emphasized practical guidance, advocacy, and effective action within the system, kindergarten teachers highlighted emotional containment and maternal support. These differences may stem from the different perspectives of the partners regarding maternal needs throughout this process. Understanding this misalignment may help practitioners move beyond individual blame and design systemic interventions that foster clearer communication, shared expectations, and more collaborative partnerships between families and educational staff.

Keywords:

Maternal coping with placement in special education, kindergarten teachers, qualitative research methods.