Marloes Koster

Being part of the peer group : a literature study focusing on the social dimension of inclusion in education

Maximizing the interaction between pupils with and without special needs is generally considered an important aspect of inclusion. However, it is frequently questioned whether pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in regular classrooms have interactions and friendships with their peers. In order to be able to evaluate these relationships, it is necessary to clarify concepts such as social participation, social integration and social inclusion. At the moment there is much ambiguity regarding these concepts. This article aims to elucidate on these concepts and reveal its characteristic themes. An analysis of literature was carried out to identify these concepts. In the final analysis, 62 articles were included. This analysis showed that the concept social integration and the related concepts of social inclusion and social participation are often described inaccurately, with only a few researchers providing explicit definitions or descriptions. In the majority of articles, implicit descriptions can be derived from instruments used to measure social integration, social inclusion or social participation: it is apparent there is much overlap among the use of concepts by researchers. Based on the analysis of the 62 articles, it can be concluded that the concepts social integration, social inclusion and social participation are used as synonyms. In our opinion, social participation is the most suitable concept. The analysis of literature reveals four key themes central to all three concepts: friendships/relationships, interactions/contacts, perception of the pupil with SEN and acceptance by classmates.

Social Participation of Students with Special Needs in Regular Primary Education in the Netherlands.

This study addresses the social participation of young students (Grades One to Three) with special needs in regular Dutch primary schools. More specifically, the focus lies on four key themes related to social participation: friendships/relationships, contacts/interactions, students’ social self‐perception, and acceptance by classmates. The outcomes of the study revealed that the majority of students with special needs have a satisfactory degree of social participation. However, compared with students without special needs, a relatively large portion of the students with special needs experience difficulties in their social participation. In general, students with special needs have a significantly lower number of friends and are members of a cohesive subgroup less often than their typical peers. In addition, students with special needs have fewer interactions with classmates, have more interactions with the teacher, and are less accepted than students without special needs. The social self‐perception of both groups of students does not differ. A comparison between students with different categories of disability regarding the four themes of social participation revealed no significant differences.

The social position and development of pupils with SEN in mainstream Dutch primary schools

Since August 2003, pupils with auditory, communicative, motor, mental or multiple disabilities, as well as severe behavioural/emotional problems, in The Netherlands have been entitled to receive a pupil‐bound budget when attending a mainstream school. The first experiences with this budget in regular Dutch primary schools are described in this paper. The focus is on the social position and development of 20 special educational needs (SEN) pupils who were placed in mainstream primary schools. The class teacher, parent(s) and peripatetic teacher of each of the pupils were interviewed; interviews focused on the cognitive, social and social‐emotional development of the SEN pupils. In addition, the class teacher, parent(s), peripatetic teacher and classmates assessed the social position of the SEN pupil via interviews and a sociometric questionnaire. The results showed that teachers and parents and, to a lesser extent, peripatetic teachers, had a more positive view of the social position of the SEN pupils than did classmates. The results of the sociometric questionnaire indicated that the social position of the SEN pupils and that of their non‐SEN classmates did not differ significantly, however. In addition, a panel of five independent assessors assessed the cognitive, social and social‐emotional development of the 20 SEN pupils by examining anonymous pupil dossiers, which comprised information derived from interviews with class teachers, parents and peripatetic teachers, together with results of the sociometric questionnaire and a copy of the individual education programme (IEP) of the SEN pupils. The assessments showed that the panel had concerns about the development of 35% of these pupils; it was (very) positive about a further 35% of the SEN pupils. An expected relation between the social position of the SEN pupils and satisfaction of the panel concerning the development of the SEN pupils, however, was not found.

Assessing social participation of pupils with special needs in inclusive education: the construction of a teacher questionnaire

This study addresses the development of a teacher questionnaire to assess the social participation of pupils with special needs in regular primary schools and is divided into 2 parts. In the 1st part, the construction of the questionnaire is described. The questionnaire consists of 30 statements related to 4 key themes of social participation: “friendships/relationships”, “contacts/interactions”, “perception of the pupil”, and “acceptance by classmates”, yielding 4 subscales.  The 2nd part of the study addresses an empirical study in which the questionnaires quality was examined. The outcomes of a confirmatory factor analysis largely supported the division of social participation into 4 key themes. The analysis revealed that 22 out of 30 statements correlated strongest with the subscale they were assigned to. The questionnaire as a whole turned out to be reliable, whereas the reliability of the subscales varied. The construct validity was found to be mainly acceptable.

Assessing Social Participation of Students With Special Needs in Inclusive Education: Validation of the Social Participation Questionnaire

This study addresses the convergent validity of a new teacher questionnaire to assess the social participation of students with special needs in regular primary schools. The Social Participation Questionnaire (SPQ) consists of four subscales representing four key themes of social participation: friendships/relationships, contacts/interactions, student’s social self-perception, and acceptance by classmates. The study took place in Grades 1 to 3 of regular Dutch primary schools that had at least one student with an official special-needs statement. A confirmatory factor analysis using the LISREL program provided evidence for the SPQ’s convergent validity. The outcomes support the model of social participation distinguishing four key themes. The fit indexes suggest that our model is theoretically viable for Grades 1 and 2 but only partly viable for Grade 3.

Alleen in de klas

Van scholen verwachten we dat ze kinderen leren lezen, spellen, schrijven en rekenen. Deze en veel andere vaardigheden en kennis zijn opgenomen in curricula, lesplannen en leerboeken en ze spelen een centrale rol in verschillende vormen van toetsing en examinering. Maar er zijn ook onderwijsresultaten die niet of nauwelijks beschreven zijn in curricula, lesplannen en leerboeken en die niet betrokken worden bij enigerlei toetsing. Dat betekent echter niet dat die resultaten niet belangrijk zijn voor de ontwikkeling van kinderen.