CONFLICTS BETWEEN TEACHERS AND PARENTS IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN CASES OF GRADING PROBLEMS: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES, LEGAL SUPPORT AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze conflicts between teachers and parents in inclusive education that arise in connection with the grading of pupils, especially in cases where assessment concerns special educational needs, support measures, recommendations of a school counselling facility, and the fairness of pedagogical procedure. The article seeks to define the main causes of these conflicts, their consequences for the pupil, the parent, the teacher, and the school, and to formulate legally and pedagogically grounded possibilities for their prevention and resolution. The paper is prepared as a qualitative content analysis of documents using an analytical-synthetic procedure. It is based on relevant legal regulations, especially the Education Act and implementing decrees, methodological materials of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, documents and results of investigations by the Czech School Inspectorate, a report by the Public Defender of Rights, and scholarly literature relating to pupil assessment, inclusive education, support measures, and communication between school and family. Based on an analysis of these sources, typical conflict situations, their causes, manifestations, and possible ways of resolution are identified. The analysis shows that conflicts between teachers and parents do not arise only because of the grade itself, but above all in situations where assessment criteria are not clearly established and communicated, where parents’ and teachers’ expectations regarding the meaning of grading differ, where support measures are not sufficiently taken into account or documented, and where the school is unable to demonstrate under what conditions the pupil’s performance was assessed. Significant sources of conflict also include late informing of parents, inconsistent work with electronic grading, the difference between the pupil’s effort and his or her actually demonstrated performance, an inappropriately chosen form of knowledge verification, an unclear relationship between an individual approach and fairness toward other pupils, and disputes concerning the assessment of behavior. The consequence of these situations is often a loss of trust between the parent and the school, demotivation of the pupil, a defensive position on the part of the teacher, escalation of the conflict to school management, a counselling facility, the Czech School Inspectorate, or other institutions, and a weakening of the school’s ability to professionally defend its procedure. The conclusions of the article confirm that fair grading in inclusive education cannot be based only on subjective pedagogical judgment or on a general assertion that support was provided to the pupil. It must be professionally justified, clearly communicated, appropriate to the pupil’s educational needs, and documented by specific pedagogical records. A key prerequisite for conflict prevention is the clear definition of assessment criteria, ongoing communication with parents, respect for the recommendations of the school counselling facility, an appropriate choice of forms of knowledge verification, regular evaluation of support measures, and a unified school procedure. The resolution of conflicts therefore does not consist in an automatic change of the grade, but in a transparent assessment of what was evaluated, according to which criteria, under what conditions, and whether the pupil was actually provided with appropriate support.