The following paper investigates the question “what are the experiences of four children with a rare developmental disability (DD) attending mainstream primary schools in the Southwest of England, UK?” A critical realist approach is adopted to help understand how the children navigate their experiences of having a disability within a school setting. Critical realism helps acknowledge the different levels of influence that includes physical, medical, social cultural and historical factors of influence (Bhaskar and Danermark, 2006). The research questions the concept of ‘inclusion’ whilst exploring how settings, staff and children negotiate support within the mainstream education system.

In the UK, school staff roles and responsibilities have shifted towards teaching assistants increasingly being used to work directly with children with disabilities (Ravalier et al., 2021). Literature indicates that working closely with a teaching assistant may prevent children from accessing direct teaching from a qualified teacher (Vincett, Cremin & Thomas, 2005). Furthermore, challenges exist in differences in status and training between teachers and teaching assistant roles.  

Children attending mainstream primary education have a range of different needs and backgrounds. Therefore, there are various opportunities for children to develop supportive peer roles and helpful attitudes towards children with differences. When there is a child with disabilities in the class, children may develop empathy and patience (Anderson et al., 2011), be more tolerant of differences, to celebrate differences, and most importantly, learn that all children are different, and therefore learn at different paces. Typically developing peers notice that their friendships with children with disabilities are different. Children with disabilities may have difficulties finding similar interests or similar social competence levels; they require a lot of patience, understanding and trust (Woodgate et al., 2020).  

Inclusion flourishes when there is a sense of belonging and participation, but social participation relies on relationships, interactions with others, staff and peer perceptions of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEN/D) and acceptance from peers (Bossaert et al., 2013). The increasingly difficult and undefinable inclusion agenda has resulted in children with disabilities attending primary schools with varying levels of success. School staff continue to conflate inclusion with integration, by focussing on the placement of children being inside the classroom or outside the classroom. Hodkinson (2012) refers to the ‘symbiotically intertwined’ absence and presence of inclusion where teachers have the power to decide who could be included and when.

Research has examined the absence of friendships and peer interactions for children with SEN/D in mainstream education (Lyons et al., 2016) and children with differences report feeling lonely and excluded (Woodgate et al., 2020). Opportunities to interact with others can sometimes be inhibited by a constant adult support, and work outside of the classroom which physically takes place away from the rest of the children (Radford et al., 2015). On the other hand, staff can play a significant part in facilitating interactions between peers.

This study examines the experiences of children with DD through the exploration of social involvement as a primary school pupil, as well as relational participation through connections with peers, teaching assistants (TAs) and teachers in different spaces, both inside and outside of the classroom.

The research uses a qualitative, interpretivist paradigm (Cohen et al, 2007). Limited research exists which includes the perspectives of children with developmental disabilities (DD) (Palikara, Ashworth & Van Herwegen, 2018). In this study, children with DD were the primary stakeholders, and so the Mosaic approach (Clark, 2017) was adapted to offer various opportunities for children with DD to share their own perceptions and experiences. The Mosaic approach was particularly appropriate for recognising that children with DD are ‘experts in their own lives’ (Clark, 2017, p.22) who hold different perspectives to others who perceive them. Four children with DD were invited to guide the researcher on a tour of their school, using photography to capture spaces, objects and people during a visit lasting one week in each school. Other methods included videos of children working with their teaching assistant, a photo-based creative discussion with children, and semi-structured interviews with staff. Informed consent was obtained by gatekeepers including children’s parents, head teacher and school staff. Children were continually monitored for assent using a reflective, ethically conscious total communication approach. Analysis took an active and iterative form throughout fieldwork, data immersion and reflecting. Photobooks were created to reiterate the research aims and enable children to share their research with others, using photographs they had taken. This helped children to make meaning from their experiences of school and the research process (Clarke, 2017). Seeing how the research was captured through photos, videos and words, the photobooks became part of the consent process of understanding how research can be shared with others. This output emphasised children’s ownership of the photographs and their participation in research about their own lives, which demonstrated their position as active citizens with a right to express their views and contribute to decisions made about them (DfE, 2014; Clark, 2017). Interviews with staff were transcribed through a transcription service, whilst all recordings of conversations with children were transcribed verbatim to help process the researcher’s reflections through note taking. Initial themes were generated before an analysis framework was created through a narration of each child’s experiences of being a primary school pupil. Reflexive thematic analysis emphasises the significance of the researcher in the process of telling stories (Braun and Clarke, 2019) and the researcher brought knowledge and experiences of having a sibling with a DD, and their deepening understanding of critical disability studies together to make sense of the data.

Contrary to previous research, findings show close relationships with practitioners were essential for supporting inclusion. Outside the classroom there was space for open and supportive practitioners to recognize, respect and respond to children's needs. Teaching assistants (TA) play a significant role in supporting children and staff, by developing knowledge of both the child and the disability through relational, responsive working with children. On the other hand, TAs have contrasting work conditions to classroom teachers including lower pay and status which can impact how they are viewed and valued in the school (Mackenzie, 2011). Knowledge from responsive, observant experiences with children often stayed with the TA due to limited time to share lesson planning, resourcing, and communication. Implications for practice show the need for strategic school inclusion to enable all staff to share their knowledge-from-experience with class teachers. Furthermore, TAs must be recognised as pivotal to the successful inclusion and support for children with DD. Part of the children’s’ experiences of mainstream education involved managing the busy environment of the classroom, and the presence of peers. When peers in the class attempted to help children with disabilities, they noticed that support was needed but did not know how to provide that support. At times, this resulted in children doing things for their peers, which can prevent children with disabilities from practising problem-solving skills. In addition, these instances reflect a dilemma of difference from the child’s perspective, between requiring support from peers to complete a task, and wanting to be treated the same as their peers (Norwich, 2008). Using the experiences illuminated in this study, it is interesting to consider how staff and peers look to support and position children with DD, and the ways in which special needs education can be provided in mainstream settings.

Anderson, K., Balandin, S. & Clendon, S. (2011) '“He cares about me and I care about him.” Children's experiences of friendship with peers who use AAC'. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 27 (2), pp. 77-90. Bhaskar, R. & Danermark, B. (2006) 'Metatheory, interdisciplinarity and disability research: a critical realist perspective'. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 8 (4), pp. 278-297. Bossaert, G., Colpin, H., Pijl, S. J. & Petry, K. (2013) 'Truly included? A literature study focusing on the social dimension of inclusion in education'. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 17 (1), pp. 60-79. Clark, A. (2017) Listening to Young Children, Expanded Third Edition: A Guide to Understanding and Using the Mosaic approach. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Fisher, M. H., Josol, C. K. & Shivers, C. M. (2020) 'An Examination of Social Skills, Friendship Quality, and Loneliness for Adults with Williams Syndrome'. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 50 (10), pp. 3649-3660. Hodkinson, A. (2012) 'Illusionary inclusion–what went wrong with New Labour's landmark educational policy?'. British Journal of Special Education, 39 (1), pp. 4-11 Lyons, G. L., Huber, H. B., Carter, E. W., Chen, R. & Asmus, J. M. (2016) 'Assessing the social skills and problem behaviors of adolescents with severe disabilities enrolled in general education classes'. American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 121 (4), pp. 327-345. Mackenzie, S. (2011) '‘Yes, but...’: rhetoric, reality and resistance in teaching assistants' experiences of inclusive education'. Support for Learning, 26 (2), pp. 64-71. Woodgate, R. L., Gonzalez, M., Demczuk, L., Snow, W. M., Barriage, S. & Kirk, S. (2020) 'How do peers promote social inclusion of children with disabilities? A mixed-methods systematic review'. Disability and rehabilitation, 42 (18), pp. 2553-2579.