An Outcome Measure for Social Goals of Inclusion

Abstract

Teachers in rural areas are finding that more and more special needs children are being included in their K-12 classrooms to comply with the mandate for a free and appropriate public education even in isolated small school systems. For students with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) this placement is meant to accomplish both the academic and the social goals in their individualized educational programs (IEP). Measuring progress in the achievement of social goals is less straightforward than measuring academic improvements. This study used a simple sociometric assessment technique to measure how much general education peers socially accepted the students with MID in the general education setting. At the time of this study, the students with MID were placed in general education classrooms using the old “mainstreaming” model for a minimal length of time in a limited number of nonacademic settings. The participants were 61 students with MID and their 286 general education peers. Preservice special education teachers were trained to use nominal sociometry to measure peer acceptance. The data were aggregated for statistical analysis. The procedure used was counting the number of students who were not named at least once as a friend by general education peers during two opportunities. The findings were that only 43% of the students with MID were named at least once by a nondisabled peer while 85% of general education students were chosen at least once. There were no differences by gender or educational level. These data can provide a baseline for school systems desiring to measure the effectiveness of inclusion programs in rural elementary, middle or secondary schools. The newer inclusion programs that increase the amount of time that students with MID spend in general education with appropriate supports should have better social outcomes when measured in a similar manner.