Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to clarify the relation between types of teachers' support and how support is perceived by mothers of children with special educational needs. A questionnaire asking about mothers' perception of teachers' support and the decision to work together was given to 199 mothers of children attending regular classes, and 63 mothers of children with learning disabilities. Factor analysis of the data resulted in classification of teachers' support into 3 types: instrumental, emotional, and instructive. For the mothers of children in the regular classes, instrumental and emotional support were considered to be more helpful than instructive support. The mothers of children with learning disabilities perceived instrumental support as most helpful, followed by emotional support, and, as with the other mothers, instructive support was least appreciated. The study suggests that teachers' support of mothers of children with learning disabilities would be more effective if it included not only emotional support, but also instrumental support of the teachers' working together with the mothers.
