Evaluating technology services: perspectives of parents and teachers of individuals with disabilities through an importance-performance analysis.

Purpose: Parents and teachers of individuals with disabilities have a critical role in the effectiveness of students' assistive technology (AT) services. However, research on their perceptions of AT and satisfaction with it is limited. The current study fills this gap by exploring the importance and...

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Publicado en:Disability & Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology Vol. 21; no. 2; pp. 461 - 481
Autores principales: Wu, Weimin, Zheng, Jianhong
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Feb2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Feb2026
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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        10.1080/17483107.2025.2530669
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        atl: Evaluating technology services: perspectives of parents and teachers of individuals with disabilities through an importance-performance analysis.
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          Wu, Weimin
          Zheng, Jianhong
        affil: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Development and Education for Special Needs Children, Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang, China
      sug:
        subj:
          Assistive Technology Evaluation
          Persons with Disabilities Education
          Parents of Children with Disabilities Psychosocial Factors
          Teachers Psychosocial Factors
          Program Evaluation
          Parental Attitudes Evaluation
          Faculty Attitudes Evaluation
          China
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Adult
          Cross Sectional Studies
          Quantitative Studies
          Descriptive Statistics
          Random Sample
          Cluster Sample
          Questionnaires
          Data Analysis Software
          Paired T-Tests
          Unpaired T-Tests
          Interprofessional Relations
          Health Services Needs and Demand
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Purpose: Parents and teachers of individuals with disabilities have a critical role in the effectiveness of students' assistive technology (AT) services. However, research on their perceptions of AT and satisfaction with it is limited. The current study fills this gap by exploring the importance and performance of AT services as perceived by parents and teachers of individuals with disabilities, also examining the differences between their perceptions. Materials and Methods: Participants in this study included parents and teachers of children with disabilities. The data were collected using a quantitative research method and a questionnaire administered to 196 teachers and 204 parents. Descriptive statistics and importance of performance analysis were used to analyse the data. Results: (1) Among parents, the perceived performance of AT services generally exceeded their perceived importance on the overall scale, except for the "application procedures" dimension, where perceived importance outweighed perceived performance. The opposite trend was observed for teachers: perceived importance surpassed perceived performance on the overall scale, except for the "application procedures" dimension, where perceived performance exceeded perceived importance. (2) Both parents and teachers considered the "application procedures" dimension important. However, their satisfaction levels differed: Parents found this dimension unsatisfactory. Teachers, in contrast, found it satisfactory. (3) Five specific service items were identified as requiring prioritisation for improvement: "total hours of service received," "scheduled time slots," "designated locations," "AT device applicability," and "transition program services." Conclusion: The paper presents suggestions for enhancing AT services based on these findings. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: This study explores the perceived importance and performance of assistive technology (AT) services as evaluated by parents and teachers of children with disabilities, with a specific focus on identifying key areas requiring improvement. Our research adopts a quantitative approach using importance-performance analysis to highlight critical disparities in satisfaction levels between these two stakeholder groups. We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because we observed that: (1) Parents perceive AT service performance to exceed importance overall, except in the "application procedures" dimension, where importance outweighs performance. Conversely, teachers view importance as surpassing performance, except in the same dimension. (2) Both parents and teachers consider "application procedures" crucial, yet satisfaction levels diverge—parents rate it as unsatisfactory, while teachers rate it as satisfactory. (3) Five specific service items requiring prioritisation for improvement are identified, including "total hours of service received" and "transition program services." Further, we believe that this paper will be of interest to the readership of your journal because it advances discussions on inclusive education, disability studies, and assistive technology applications and offers practical implications to enhance AT service delivery, ensuring they better meet the needs of students with disabilities while fostering productive collaboration between parents and educators.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
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      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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