Staff-perceived social status and social skills of students with intellectual disabilities in special needs schools

Abstract

An individuals’ social status in the classroom is of major concern in students’ social and academic development. The present study attempted to examine the staff-perceived proportion of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) in special needs schools classified sociometrically as accepted, rejected, neglected, controversial, or average, and the ways in which students with ID in different sociometric status groups differ in terms of their social skills. School staff reported on the social skills and social status of 1,068 students with ID (M = 11.98 years, SD = 3.74; 31.5% female) in special needs schools. While some results mirrored those seen among typically developing students in studies using peer nominations, school staff reports suggest that there appear to be many students with ID in special needs schools who are considered neglected. Moreover, students classified as accepted and rejected had significantly higher and lower social skills, respectively, than average students. These results provide an initial exploration of the role of staff-perceived sociometric status groups and their association with social skills in special needs schools.