Positive social relationships of students in school classes are an important basis for their social, emotional and performance-related development as well as their educational success. Students’ involvement in peer relationships in school contexts fulfils numerous tasks, such as satisfying their need for belonging and social inclusion (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Ryan & Deci, 2000). However, unfavourable relationship constellations and exclusion processes can also occur in school classes (McKeown, Stringer & Cairns, 2015).

Inclusive education of students with and without disabilities aims to enhance the social participation of learners with special educational needs (SEN) and support requirements. The heterogeneity of inclusive learning environments has been shown to create more favourable opportunity structures for the emergence of heterogeneous friendship relationships when students from a certain social group interact with students from another social group who differ from them in various characteristics (Scharenberg, Rollett & Bos, 2019). Also, intergroup processes (e.g. favouring one's own group, devaluing other groups), as formulated in group-related explanatory approaches (e.g. social identity theory; Tajfel & Turner, 1986), can lead to specific dynamics within and between groups. They have been demonstrated to, under certain conditions, promote positive intergroup attitudes (Pettigrew, 1998). However, the potential of existing diversity in inclusive school classes can be impaired if students who represent a minority in their school classes (e.g. those with a migration background or SEN) are disadvantaged in terms of their social participation.

Research findings on social participation in inclusive school classes indicate an increased marginalisation of students with SEN. This phenomenon can be observed in various aspects, including the quantity and quality of their friendships as well as students’ attitudes towards their peers with SEN (Pijl & Frostad, 2010). Also, children with SEN are more likely to occupy a less favourable position within the social hierarchy of their school class (e.g. Krull, Wilbert & Hennemann, 2014). This finding is supported by recent research (e.g. Schürer, van Ophuysen & Marticke, 2024). Furthermore, social relationships are often characterised by similarity attraction (homophily; McCormick, Cappella, Hughes & Gallagher, 2015) and processes of in-group biases are well documented in inclusive school classes - this also applies to students with SEN (Schwab, 2019). In addition to individual students, current research also addresses the cohesion of the whole school class. For instance, Schürer and van Ophuysen (2021) demonstrated that, in primary schools, increased cohesion is associated with enhanced overall participation. However, this study also noted that substantial cohesion in class does not mitigate the risk of social exclusion for children facing learning or behavioural difficulties, who are particularly vulnerable in this regard.

In summary, despite the existence of previous studies on social relationships in inclusive school classes, the findings have had little impact on educational practice to date. Teachers generally lack the requisite skills to diagnose social structures (Schwab, Wimberger & Mamas, 2019). Additionally, there is a lack of readily accessible, empirically validated methods for diagnosing social relationships in the school context, as well as a lack of empirically validated educational intervention programmes. Our study therefore examines the question of how the emergence of unfavourable social structures in school classes can be recognised by teachers at an early stage and addressed by suitable educational measures. The following research questions are addressed:

1. How do social relationship structures develop in inclusive school classes at the beginning of lower secondary school?

2. Can the social structures in inclusive school classes be positively influenced by an intervention with the class teachers?

3. How can schools and teachers be most effectively supported in their pedagogical work on the social structure of school classes?

In our intervention study, an experimental group (EG) and a waiting control group (CG) of 12 schools each will be realised. It is anticipated that schools will engage in the study by contributing a minimum of two school classes each, thereby providing a substantial sample size comprising N = 1,200 students and 48 class teachers. At the participating schools, students’ social network within their school classes is analysed over a two-year period, with five measurement points: midway and at the end of Grades 5 and 6 as well as in the middle of Grade 7). At the initial measurement point (T1), a set of students’ individual and socio-cultural characteristics is recorded, such as gender, socio-cultural background, basic cognitive ability, and SEN. Teachers are also asked about characteristics that can have an impact on social interactions in the classroom, including reference norm orientation, attitudes towards inclusion, as well as social forms and social climate in the classroom. Following the evaluation of the social networks in school classes collected at T1, the intervention starts with a professional training for the EG. Teachers receive training on the significance of social relationships in school classes, the collection and analysis of socio-structural and network-related data in their classes, and the implementation of suitable measures for the pedagogical design of social interactions. Subsequently, the teachers are provided with individual counselling based on the network data of their school classes, with the aim of identifying the need for action and supporting the educational intervention. This support is continued in quality circles, where several schools collaborate to discuss and analyse the effectiveness of educational measures and development activities. During the training sessions and quality circles, experts provide input on the diagnosis and promotion of social relationships. Teachers in the CG receive the same training and support programme, albeit with a six-month time delay. Their data is used as a reference point for the changes achieved in the EG as a result of the intervention. We combine sociometric and psychometric methods to record the social structure in school classes and derive indicators, such as homophily, reciprocal friendships, network density, centrality, closeness vs. social distance, dyads and cliques. These indicators, as well as measures of classroom climate, students’ well-being and academic ability self-concept, serve as dependent variables in the analysis of the effectiveness of our intervention by means of linear mixed models and multilevel regression analyses.

Our intervention study aims to enhance social relationships of students in inclusive classrooms. Within the intervention, teachers are provided with diagnostic information on social relationships within classrooms as well as with evidence-based strategies to foster them. We expect that the intervention will substantially improve the social network structure of the classrooms. This should result, among other things, in a higher network density, a more balanced centrality and a reduced tendency towards homophily. Moreover, we expect a reduction of the number of students that experience social marginalisation in class – particularly within students with special educational needs. These effects should lead to improvements with regard to overall classroom climate, students' sense of belonging and students' well-being. The findings will contribute to the discourse on inclusive schooling by offering insights into the social structure and the processes of promoting social participation in classrooms. Moreover, the study will provide practical recommendations and transferable intervention concepts for working effectively on the social structure within inclusive classrooms. With our project, we seek to contribute to closing existing research gaps on the development of social structures in the course of interventions and relating empirical evidence and pedagogical practice in inclusive classrooms.

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