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Effects of social integration on preschool children with handicaps
Insights
Integrating children with handicaps into preschools alongside non-handicapped peers, with structured social interaction, significantly boosts social competence and language development in students with disabilities.
Area of Science:
- Early Childhood Education
- Special Education
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Inclusive preschool settings are increasingly common.
- Understanding the impact of social interaction on children with handicaps is crucial for effective educational strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of integrating handicapped and non-handicapped children in preschools.
- To determine the impact of a condition promoting social integration on children's development.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-six children with mild to moderate handicaps were randomly assigned to four conditions: integrated/social interaction, integrated/child-directed, segregated/social interaction, and segregated/child-directed.
- Observational data were collected to assess interactive play and social competence.
Main Results:
- Social interaction conditions led to a higher proportion of interactive play and improved language development.
- Children in the integrated/social interaction group showed significantly higher social competence ratings.
Conclusions:
- Structuring social interaction between children of varying abilities in integrated preschools benefits students with handicaps.
- Inclusive educational settings combined with targeted social strategies can enhance developmental outcomes for children with disabilities.
Abstract:
This study examined the effects of (a) integrating handicapped and nonhandicapped children in preschools and (b) a condition designed to promote social integration. Fifty-six children with mild and moderate handicaps were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions: integrated/social interaction, integrated/child-directed, segregated/social interaction, and segregated/child-directed. Observation revealed a higher proportion of interactive play, as well as higher language development, in the social interaction conditions; and children in the integrated/social interaction condition received significantly higher ratings of social competence. These data suggest that structuring social interaction between higher and lower performing children can result in benefits to the lower performing students.