Linking self-rated social inclusion to social behaviour. An empirical study of students with and without special education needs in secondary schools

Abstract

Successful inclusive education creates a learning environment that supports not only the cognitive abilities of all children but also their social and emotional development. The present study focuses on the development of social participation of students with and without special education needs (SEN). A longitudinal study with two measurement times was conducted. The first measurement (T1) took place at the end of 5 th grade, the second (T2) one year later. The sample consisted of 35 SEN students and108 Non-SEN students from mainstream classes in Graz, Austria. For assessing the self-perception of social inclusion, Items from the "dimensions of integration" questionnaire (FDI 4-6; Haeberlin, Moser, Bless and Klaghofer 1989) were used. Social participation does not seem to be a very stable phenomenon; its retest reliability was only .47 for SEN students and .54 for Non-SEN students. Results indicate that children with SEN experienced less social participation than children without SEN at T1 and T2. To identify the predictors for social participation, a multiple regression analysis was conducted. Next to social participation at T1, indirect aggressive behaviour (self-assessed) also appears to predict social participation at T2.

Relationship between the social participation and social skills of pupils with an intellectual disability: A study in inclusive classrooms

“…On the other hand, researchers hypothesize that the difficulties pupils with SEN experience with social participation may be due to their lack of social skills (e.g., Avramidis, 2013;Huber & Wilbert, 2012;Pijl et al, 2008;Schwab, Gebhardt, Krammer, & Gasteiger-Klicpera, 2015). However, the relationship between the social participation of pupils with SEN and their social skills has not been thoroughly studied, and the concepts of social participation and SEN vary from study to study.…”

“…The authors concluded that a low level of empathy (i.e., exhibiting concern and respect for the feelings and viewpoint of others) might be an explanation of social difficulties only for pupils with behavioural problems. Further, Schwab et al (2015) described a link between self-rated social participation and prosocial behaviour. Students with SEN (not specified) in secondary schools felt less socially included and reported lower levels of prosocial behaviour than their TD peers.…”

The influence of executive function challenges on the behavioural adaptation of one learner with autism spectrum disorder

“…Several studies and investigations have been conducted concerning creating a positive inclusive environment for learners with special needs (Ainscow 2005;Markussen 2004;Pijl & Frostad 2010;Schwab et al 2014). These studies were deemed necessary as it has been found that students with special needs have fewer interactions with peers, have more interaction with the teacher and are less accepted than their peers without special needs (Koster et al 2010).…”

Strengthening Social Skills in Students With an Intellectual Disability in Secondary Education

“…Also, the results of a study that was conducted among 35 students with SEN and 108 students without, in general educational classes in Graz Austria, showed that children with SEN had less social participation and felt less socially integrated in their peers' groups (Schwab et al, 2015). Furthermore, students without SEN showed less indirect aggressive behavior than students with SEN while the teachers who took part in the research evaluated the positive social behavior of students without SEN better than this of the students with SEN.…”