Student voices on social exclusion in general primary schools

Abstract

Advocates of inclusive education argue that the social inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) increases when they are educated with typically developing peers. However, research indicates that this is not apparent for all students with SEN. Students with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) are often socially excluded. To understand the situation of these students, their voices should be heard. The aim of the current explorative study was to gain insight into: (1) the experiences of students with SEBD regarding victimisation and social exclusion, and (2) the approaches they applied and preferred resolving social problems. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 28 socially excluded students from grades 5 and 6, attending general (N = 6) and segregated special (N = 21) primary education. The participants were prompted to talk about their own experiences using hypothetical scenarios. The interviews were analysed using a multi-grounded theory approach. The results show that students preferred different approaches to resolving these social problems than the applied approaches. They would have liked to have seen their peers and teachers to show more initiative. In line with these results, the need to listen to the students' voices are emphasised.

Young children’s perspectives on resolving social exclusion within inclusive classrooms

“…The differences in the profiles within and between the situations highlight the importance of examining the preferences of each child and situation. This point is in line with the recommendations of de Leeuw et al (2018). These authors, who conducted an interview-based study with children with SEBD in grade 5 and 6, found that it was not possible to formulate a one-size-fits-all approach for resolving either social exclusion or situations of victimisation due to bullying.…”

“…The needs and preferred approaches of individual children and situations are likely to vary significantly. Children could prefer different approaches, but due to circumstances apply approaches that they like less (de Leeuw et al, 2018). Future research, including longitudinal studies of preferences and applied strategies are expected to reveal differences attributed to the situational context of the social problem and to the child-related context (Green et al, 2008).…”

Victim no more: a temporal-causal analysis of how a mediator can help out a bullying victim

“…The cognitive attributions like 'People hate me' make the victims to resolve bullying situation by changing school, but they still remain at high risk of new victimization experiences (Smokowski & Evans, 2019). Moreover, students applied externalizing approaches in order to resolve these situation, which usually included approaching the stressor (De Leeuw et al, 2018). Usually, the victims lack emotion regulation skills and therefore, reactive aggression is an expected outcome, which is negatively correlated with sadness (Giménez Gualdo, Hunter, Durkin, Arnaiz, & Maquilón, 2015).…”

“…For example 'There were two boys who would call me names and say that I looked like a girl. That hurt me so much that I would see a red haze and I would punch and kick them' (De Leeuw et al, 2018) The victim is victimized as he is noticed by his/her bully, for example, being in a playground or being online on social media. Therefore, the input states of the model are activated already (ws s and es b = 1), which activates the preparation state of the approach action (ps app : purple with asterisks) after the sensory (ss s,b ) and representation states (srs s,b ).…”

“…It can cause poor mental or physical health (Kowalski, Giumetti, Schroeder, & Lattanner, 2014;Vaillancourt et al, 2008), due to depression, or anxiety (Ortega et al, 2012). A victim might face social rejection, loneliness, embarrassment and even few cases of peer victimization end up with suicide ideation (De Leeuw, de Boer, & Minnaert, 2018;Kashdan et al, 2014;Klomek, Sourander, & Gould, 2010). Mediators like teachers, parents or friends can play an important role by intervening into such situations (Craig, Henderson, & Murphy, 2000).…”