Peer Relationship of Students with/without Disabilities in Inclusive Educational Settings

• In Event: Poster Group 3
  In Poster Session: Peer Relationship of Students with/without Disabilities in Inclusive Educational Settings

Proposal

Experiences of initiating and maintaining relationships with peers are important for learners of all ages (Cooley, 1902). These experiences influence learners’ social and emotional development throughout their lifespan, encompassing aspects such as the formation of personality and self-concept (Boivin & Hymel, 1997; Orsmond et al., 2004). Unfortunately, students with disabilities may encounter greater challenges in initiating and sustaining positive relationships with peers without disabilities (Schoop‐Kasteler & Müller, 2020; Wiener, 2004). Although there has been an increase in physical integration of students with disabilities into inclusive educational settings in Korea, largely driven by the implementation of the Act on Special Education for Persons with Disabilities (Ministry of Education, 2008), researchers have reported that students with disabilities often face exclusion from social activities and struggle to establish positive peer relationships in inclusive classrooms (Webster & Carter, 2007; Hall & McGregor, 2000).
To our best knowledge, there is no comprehensive study synthesizing the effects of these instructions. Consequently, the extent to which peer relationship instruction has overall effects across different studies, as well as the variables that may be linked to these effect sizes, remains unclear. To address this research gap, this meta-analysis study aims to comprehensively examine and synthesize the effects of peer relationship instructions implemented in inclusive educational settings in Korea. The research questions that guided this study are as follows:
Research Question 1: What is the overall effect size of instructions implemented for improving peer relationship of students with/without disabilities in inclusive educational settings in Korea for students with and without disabilities?
Research Question 2: To what extent does each moderator variable moderate the overall effect of such instructions for improving peer relationship?
We conducted a meta-analysis using journal articles published over the last 20 years. To identify studies to be included in this meta-analysis, we conducted a comprehensive literature search following the process of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Specifically, we searched the studies written in Korean from 2000 using Korean major electronic databases.
In the current study, the overall effect size was 0.78 (Hedge’s g), indicating a high level of effect for instructions in improving peer relationships in Korea (SE = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.63 - 0.93). We used a total of 74 effect sizes in 33 studies, revealing substantial and significant heterogeneity among the effect sizes (p <.001), with an I-squared value of 93.9%. Regarding outcomes, we found higher effect sizes (g = 0.82) particularly on collaboration than self-directedness (g = 0.47). We also found that instructions were highly effective for both students with (g = 0.93) and without disabilities (g = 0.76).
Given that intentional support from educators can facilitate peer relationships between students with and without disabilities for both learner types, it implies the necessity of implementing inclusive education. The results would encourage educators to put consistent effort into implementing instructions that target to improve peer relationships and consider instruction variables such as the length of the program while balancing the quantitative and qualitative aspects of peer relationship.

Authors

• Jechun An, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Sung Soo Jung, Daegu National University of Education

• Kijyung Lee, Daegu National University of Education

• Hoonho Kim, Kongju National University

• Kyeongwon Kim, Florida State University