Supporting the Social Participation of Students With Disabilities in General Education Settings

• In Event: Social Participation: A Multiple-Perspective Approach

Abstract

Social participation examines the presence of positive social interactions between students with disabilities (defined as having Individualized Education Plans - IEPs) and their classmates (Koster et al., 2009; 2010). More specifically, it examines how individuals with disabilities are accepted by their classmates, and how social relationships are formed. Using a social network perspective (Scott, 2017), this study examined: 1) the social participation of 316 elementary and middle school students (37 with IEPs) across 11 classrooms in Southern California; and 2) Co-developed classroom lessons that support the social participation of all students. We utilized social capital theory to examine how social relationships are leveraged to facilitate social participation in classrooms (Moolenaar, et. al., 2012). European and U.S. policies have long supported the inclusion of children with disabilities into general education settings (Florian, 2008; IDEA, 2004; UNESCO, 1994). Yet, research has shown that students with disabilities struggle to make meaningful social relationships resulting in increased social isolation compared to their peers (Bossaert, et al., 2013; Author, 2013; Author, 2019; Pijl, et al., 2008).
We used an action based research design to co-construct class lessons and activities to support the social participation of all students, particularly those with disabilities. Educators implemented the lessons and activities in their classrooms. To assess the effectiveness of the social skills lessons and activities, the research team utilized a longitudinal social network analysis approach. We asked four classroom-based relational questions to 10 to 15 year-old students in six elementary school and five middle school classrooms in local high need schools to capture the social relationships of students over one school year. Questions included: Who are your friends? Who do you play/hang out with during recess? Who do you ask for help? Who do you talk to if you are having a bad day? A baseline survey was administered at the beginning of the school year and two subsequent surveys were distributed to participating students in January and May. To assess individual-level social participation, in-degree centrality (Borgatti, et al., 2018) was calculated. To assess the effectiveness of the inclusive pedagogical practices the sum of relational ties across the four networks was calculated.
Preliminary results showed that students’ social participation increased, in comparison to the baseline data, for both students with disabilities and their peers. There were substantial gains in relational ties across all four networks in January and those gains remained stable or improved in May (Table 1). Normalized in-degree scores for both students with disabilities and their peers also increased (Table 2). The co-developed lessons may only partially explain the increase in social participation, yet these results are encouraging.
Contrary to standardized interventions created by researchers and implemented by teachers (Irvin, et al., 2014; Owen-DeSchryver, et al., 2008), our approach incorporated teachers’ expertise and knowledge about curriculum development, content standards, and their expertise related to how their students learn to co-construct and implement whole-classroom lessons and activities. This organic research-practice partnership enabled teachers to tailor their approach to enhancing social participation among all of their students.

Authors

• Christoforos Mamas, University of California - San Diego

• Shana R. Cohen, University of California - San Diego

• Caren Holtzman, University of California - San Diego

• Janka Goldan, Bergische Universität Wuppertal