This Study focused on parental knowledge, belief and its effect on the educational participation of theirrnmentally retarded children with the objective of finding the belief and knowledge of parents towardsrnthe educational participation of their Children's with mental retardation. In Ethiopia, where disabilityrnis Considered to be a shameful belief people with disabilities are marginalized and excluded from thernsociety. Similarly children with mental retardation are often stigmatized, secluded and neglected in their families in particular and in the community in generalrnThey are simply kept away from schools. The major reason for their educational participation wouldrnbe the wrong beliefs of parents and the community towards these mentally retarded children .rnSimilarly lack OF knowledge about the cause of mental retardation and lack of understanding about thernpotential of children with mental retardation could be other possible reason of the wrong belief ofrnparents. This being the case, the major objective of this study was to investigate the belief andrnknowledge of parents towards the education of their mentally retarded children in Mekelle town. Thernmethod used was a qualitative research approach using interview and semi- participant observationrnmethod. Six parents of children with mental retardation were included from the missionaries of charityrnill Mekelle.rnThe finding of the study showed that the parents have several wrong beliefs and misconceptions aboutrnthe cause, treatment, nature and condition of mental retardation. The parents have given their ownrnexplanation about mental retardation based on their religions and cultural beliefs most of them havernexplained mental retardation as a kind of mental illness or disease. They further mentioned religious,rncultural and supernatural attribution to the cause of mental retardation. Specifically, the parentsrnexplained that mental retardation is a work of the evil spirits, a curse from the ancestors, a punishmentrnfrom God or bad luck and a will of god. Further more, what the parents have hoped as a "'cure" forrntheir children's retardation seemed to be a reflection of their religious, cultural and traditional beliefs,rnThe parents also reported that they have tried different ways as a means of treatment for their children"s retardation.rnmore specifically they indicated "tsebel" (holy water) as a best means of treatment. The findings furtherrnshowed that parents have no hope and expectations to their mentally children regarding theirrneducation. In regard to their feelings about having mentally retarded children they expressed feelingsrnof shame and hopelessness.rnThe study has recommended that focus should be given to awareness raising programmes. So thatrnparents in particular and the society in general will become aware about training or education of thernchildren. The primary and major step in any awareness raising program would be to change the wrongrnbelief of the society in general and those of parents in particular. This awareness raising program isrnvery important for the reason parents need information about the cause of mental retardation which will help them to raise their awareness and help their children to participate in training or education so that they can b elf supporting members of the society.