Previous studies have suggested that students with special educational needs (SEN) in regular school have fewer interactions and are less popular than their peers without SEN. However, new research putting the student’s perspective in center shows that social inclusion is actually far higher for SEN-children attending regular schools when compared to SEN-children at special schools.
Apples to apples
‘In the past, it was often argued that SEN children need to go to specialized schools to meet peers they can feel connected with. This conclusion would be based on counting how many social interactions children have over the course of the day, or children would be asked to list their five best friends. These metrics pit children with different needs against each other and fail to consider how each child experiences own social situation,’ explains Vyrastekova.
In this new paper, parents of SEN children attending a special or a regular school were asked how they rated the inclusion of their children at school. They also provided information about where their children make friends, and how lonely they seem, both at school and at home. Vyrastekova: ‘Where previous research was more akin to comparing apples to pears, children with and without SEN, we are now comparing apples to apples. It gives us a better perspective on the benefits that regulars schools have for SEN children.’
Less lonely
For parents with SEN-children at special schools, 53% perceived them to be less lonely at school than at home. For kids attending regular school, 69% perceived them to be less lonely at school rather than at home. Children at regular schools also often had significantly more friends at school: 45% of children had more than one friend at special schools, while 65% of SEN-children at regular schools had more than one friend.
Not unimportantly, these friends were also far more likely to live in the same neighborhood: in 45,7% of cases, rather than in 14,7% for kids attending special schools. Special schools are often further away from children’s neighborhoods, which might make it more difficult for these friendships to develop outside of school.
‘Wet passend onderwijs'
In 2014, the Netherlands introduced the ‘Wet passend onderwijs’, aimed at breaking down the divide between regular and special education. It was meant to ensure that children with special educational needs received support they need, and also regular schools had opportunities to organize such a support. However, according to research, the inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream education has not increased significantly.
‘Parents, schools and organizations might have doubts about moving towards inclusion, because research seemed to indicate it did not benefit children. However, this new publication and others indicate that the benefits of inclusion are far greater than is often assumed - both for SEN-children, and for regular kids,’ adds Vyrastekova.
For this study, Vyrastekova asked parents about their perceived inclusion of their children. The study accounted for parents who might be projecting their own hopes on their children. In future studies, Vyrastekova wants to put the same questions of inclusion to children, too. ‘It should allow us to get an even clearer picture, which in turn should help us to understand what strategies can be implemented so that all children experience social inclusion and attend a school in the neighborhood where they live.’