Abstract
Based on peer sociometric reports, we examined how number of friendships, social acceptance, and characteristics of social networks vary as a function of disability profile. We also investigated teachers’ awareness of the sociometric status of young children with disabilities. Participants were 86 children with disabilities (63 boys) enrolled in inclusive preschool classrooms of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, Portugal ( Mage = 67.33 months, SD = 10.54). Findings suggest that children with severe or sociobehavioral disabilities may be at increased risk of social rejection and isolation, having fewer friends and lower social network centrality than children with mild disabilities. Low agreement between teachers’ classifications of the social status of children with disabilities and classifications based on peer nominations raises concerns about their awareness of processes of social rejection and neglect. Findings highlight the need for interventions to support positive social experiences at the dyadic and group levels in Portuguese inclusive preschool classrooms.
Highlights
Childhood inclusion aims to promote children’s positive social relationships, sense of belonging, and membership, ensuring that every child has opportunities to participate in a variety of activities and contexts, independently of their abilities (Division for Early Childhood/National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2009)
We examined teachers’ awareness of the sociometric status of young children with disabilities in the peer group by comparing teachers’ classification of children’s social status and their social status derived from standard sociometric data
Children with disabilities had a low degree of centrality and only three children with disabilities were involved in a clique
Summary
Childhood inclusion aims to promote children’s positive social relationships, sense of belonging, and membership, ensuring that every child has opportunities to participate in a variety of activities and contexts, independently of their abilities (Division for Early Childhood/National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2009). Abstract Based on peer sociometric reports, we examined how number of friendships, social acceptance, and characteristics of social networks vary as a function of disability profile.
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