Social participation and quality of best friendship of students with moderate learning difficulties in early adolescence: A longitudinal study
Social participation and quality of best friendship of students with moderate learning difficulties in early adolescence: A longitudinal study
Recent sociometric research has described students with special educational needs (SEN) as less accepted and experiencing more social difficulties than their classmates without SEN. This study addresses the social participation of students with moderate learning difficulties (MLD) in regular schools while also focusing on the quality of their best friendship. In this longitudinal study, 313 secondary students, including 46 with MLD, were first examined while at Grade 7 (T1) and 2 years later at Grade 9 (T2). In line with previous studies, the students with MLD held reduced peer acceptance, had fewer friendships, and engaged less often in social interactions with peers than their typically developing classmates on both administrations. However, students with MLD held positive perceptions of social self-concept and friendship quality, with the two measures being positively associated. At T2, students with MLD reported poorer socio-emotional skills, which were positively correlated with their perceptions of both social self-concept and friendship quality. The paper concludes by outlining the importance of supporting students’ socio-emotional development through implementing relevant school-based interventions.
Inclusive education, friendship quality, moderate learning difficulties, social participation, socio-emotional skills
74 - 87
Avramidis, Elias
4367d2f4-f97c-4247-b913-19f11ef703de
Aroni, Katerina
ba99953e-e218-4219-b770-3c2abd9a67e9
Strogilos, Vasilis
c3f5776e-d0b6-420f-9e65-730028e939b6
1 July 2022
Avramidis, Elias
4367d2f4-f97c-4247-b913-19f11ef703de
Aroni, Katerina
ba99953e-e218-4219-b770-3c2abd9a67e9
Strogilos, Vasilis
c3f5776e-d0b6-420f-9e65-730028e939b6
Avramidis, Elias, Aroni, Katerina and Strogilos, Vasilis
(2022)
Social participation and quality of best friendship of students with moderate learning difficulties in early adolescence: A longitudinal study.
Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education, 46 (1), .
(doi:10.1017/jsi.2022.3).
Abstract
Recent sociometric research has described students with special educational needs (SEN) as less accepted and experiencing more social difficulties than their classmates without SEN. This study addresses the social participation of students with moderate learning difficulties (MLD) in regular schools while also focusing on the quality of their best friendship. In this longitudinal study, 313 secondary students, including 46 with MLD, were first examined while at Grade 7 (T1) and 2 years later at Grade 9 (T2). In line with previous studies, the students with MLD held reduced peer acceptance, had fewer friendships, and engaged less often in social interactions with peers than their typically developing classmates on both administrations. However, students with MLD held positive perceptions of social self-concept and friendship quality, with the two measures being positively associated. At T2, students with MLD reported poorer socio-emotional skills, which were positively correlated with their perceptions of both social self-concept and friendship quality. The paper concludes by outlining the importance of supporting students’ socio-emotional development through implementing relevant school-based interventions.
Text
social_participation_and_quality_of_best_friendship_of_students_with_moderate_learning_difficulties_in_early_adolescence_a_longitudinal_study
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 7 November 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 28 April 2022
Published date: 1 July 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
Funding. This research is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund) through the operational program ‘Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning’ in the context of the project ‘Strengthening Human Resources Research Potential via Doctorate Research’, implemented by the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Keywords:
Inclusive education, friendship quality, moderate learning difficulties, social participation, socio-emotional skills
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 457437
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/457437
PURE UUID: a2c66640-c693-432d-b900-9aaaf3cc56c5
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Date deposited: 07 Jun 2022 17:01
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:51
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Contributors
Author:
Elias Avramidis
Author:
Katerina Aroni
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