Multicultural Education and Students with Special Needs: A Case Study from Greece

Abstract

ABSTRACT Students of different ethnic backgrounds (e.g. refugees, immigrants) who also have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are considered as a ‘high risk’ group within the school context, whereas teachers do not realise how deeply the teaching process is embedded within their students’ own cultures or the stigma or bullying they might face. The aim of the present study was to investigate the bullying experiences of SEND students with a diverse ethno-cultural background. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 students (N = 20) with special educational needs and/or disabilities from different ethnic backgrounds who attended Greek public schools. The results of the study revealed that these students experienced either mostly direct (i.e. physical, verbal) or indirect (i.e. social, cyber bullying) bullying, or the combination of these two, or other types of bullying. Despite the limitations of the qualitative research methodology, descriptive differences were found concerning the frequencies and the means of the different types of bullying mentioned by the students. Findings of this study in Greece shed light on an unexplored dimension of bullying through the lens of ‘student-victims’ from this ‘special group’, unravelling students’ thoughts and feelings for first time in the educational context.