Abstract
According to the literature, social participation (e.g., peer interactions) of students diagnosed with special educational needs (SEN) has to be focused upon as they are at a higher risk of being socially excluded compared to students without SEN. Research has pointed out that social participation of students with SEN is influenced by their own social behavior as well as the attitudes of peers with no SEN toward them. The present study assessed the impact of the social behavior of students diagnosed with SEN (n= 88; 48 boys and 40 girls) as well as that of the attitudes of their peers without SEN (n= 227; 139 boys and 153 girls) toward them on the social participation. Results indicated that students without SEN were less likely to interact with their classmates with SEN. Peer interactions of students with SEN were not significantly influenced by their own social behavior.
Highlights
According to the European policy, inclusive education refers to the enhancement of the developmental opportunities of all students and the removal of different types of barriers
In line with previous studies, this study shows that students with special educational needs (SEN) in inclusive educational settings are not automatically socially included
The results show that peers with no SEN interact less frequently with peers with SEN than they do with peers without SEN
Summary
According to the European policy (see Schwab, 2020 for an overview), inclusive education refers to the enhancement of the developmental opportunities of all students and the removal of different types of barriers. Students diagnosed with special education needs (SEN1) are focused on as a target group in research as there is a long history of educating them in special classes. The present paper refers to inclusive education in terms of physically and socially including students with SEN in mainstream classes. In Austria more than half of the students with SEN are nowadays educated in mainstream classes; their parents can decide whether they attend mainstream classes or special classes (for an overview of the Austrian inclusive educational system, see Schwab, 2014, 2018a). One reason why parents do not choose mainstream schools is the concern that their child could be socially excluded.
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