Educational arrangements and social participation with peers amongst children with disabilities in regular schools |
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| Authors: | Christian Wendelborg Jan Tøssebro |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Social Work and Health Science , Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) , Trondheim, Norway christian.wendelborg@samfunn.ntnu.no;3. Department of Social Work and Health Science , Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) , Trondheim, Norway |
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| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between educational arrangements and social participation amongst children with disabilities in regular schools. The analysis is based on data drawn from surveys of parents of children with disabilities, aged 11–13, who attend regular schools in Norway (N = 262). We have explored the relationships between the variables of interest by means of structural equation modelling linear structural relations (LISREL). The results show that (1) the present educational arrangements may hinder social participation with peers and (2) the type of disability and the degree of impairment have no direct effect on the degree of social participation with peers, but only an indirect effect via educational support and classroom participation. These findings suggest that if children with disabilities are equally entitled to have the opportunity of gaining the same social benefits as their peers, then regular schools should be careful not to segregate them from their peers in mainstream school activities. |
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| Keywords: | inclusion educational arrangements social participation disabilities classroom participation |
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