Teacher´s Feedback and Social Integration: Is there Link between Social Referencing Processes and Social Integration in School

Author(s):

Christian Huber(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2012

Network:

04. Inclusive Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

04 SES 05 A, Barriers for (Promoting) Inclusion I

Parallel Paper Session

Time:

2012-09-19

11:00-12:30

Room:

FFL - Aula 16

Chair:

Lani Florian

Contribution

Due to the incipient development towards inclusive education, the German school system is facing severe changes. One of the core issues is the social integration of children with special educational needs. Several international studies suggest that the initial goal of social integration of children with special educational needs is less satisfactory put into practice than intended. In a meta-analysis across 152 studies Kavale & Forness (1996) showed significant differences in peer acceptance (ES = .815) between children with and without special educational needs. Up to now, one of the unresolved questions of the inclusion debate is how to facilitate the social integration of children with special educational needs in a comprehensive school system (Huber, 2011). This question is the focal point of the submitted presentation.
Based on the social-referencing theory (Feinman, 1992) the submitted lecture develops an alternative model of social integration into school emphasizing teachers’ relevance for integration processes. According to studies from Chang (2003), Ladd, Birch, & Buhs (1999), McAuliffe, Hubbard, & Romano (2009) and White & Jones (2000) the core assumption of the model is that teacher´s feedback behavior and peer acceptance of children with special educational needs are intimately connected. The model predicts that students receiving a positive feedback from their teacher also get a more positive feedback from their classmates and vice versa. This hypothesis is evaluated in an experimental study with 200 second graders. Results of a pilot study are presented. The discussion embraces the relevance of the results for the facilitation of social integration processes in every day school life.

Method

The results of an experimental pilot study administered with 100 second grade students are presented. In this study participants are introduced to three children students with different marks and working habits. Participants are instructed to choose one out of these three children as their seatmate. The study investigates the impact of a subtle teacher statement placed at the beginning of the experiment on the students’ social choice. Teachers´ statement (between subject factor) is operationalized as either teachers´ bias for children with high marks (study group 1) or children with good working habits (study group 2). Social choice is measured by students’ bias to choose one of the children as their seatmate. The whole experiment is conducted on a computer.

Expected Outcomes

The hypotheses predict an influence of varied teachers´ statement on students´ social choice. Students are expected to choose children with high marks for seatmate more often when the teacher prefers high marks as well. On the other hand students are expected to choose children with good working habits as their seatmate, when there was placed a subtle teacher statement for good working habits at the beginning of the experiment. Several mediator variables are analyzed as well.

References

Chang, L. (2003). Variable Effects of Children's Aggression, Social Withdrawal, and Prosocial Leadership as Functions of Teacher Beliefs and Behaviors. Child Development, 74(2), 535–548. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.7402014 Feinman, S. (1992). Social Referencing and Conformity. In S. Feinman (Ed.), Social referencing and the social construction of reality in infancy (pp. 229–268). New York: Plenum Press. Huber, C. (2008). Jenseits des Modellversuchs: Soziale Integration von Schülern mit sonderpädagogischem Förderbedarf im Gemeinsamen Unterricht - Eine Evaluationsstudie. Heilpädagogische Forschung, (1), 2–14. Huber, C. (2011). Soziale Referenzierungsprozesse und soziale Integration in der Schule. Empirische Sonderpädagogik, 3 (im Druck). Kavale, K. A., & Forness, S. R. (1996). Social skill deficits and learning disabilities: A meta-analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 29(3), 226–237. doi:10.1177/002221949602900301 Ladd, G. W., Birch, S. H., & Buhs, E. S. (1999). Children's social and scholastic lives in kindergarten: Related spheres of influence? Child Development, 70(6), 1373–1400. McAuliffe, M. D., Hubbard, J. A., & Romano, L. J. (2009). The role of teacher cognition and behavior in children's peer relations. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology: An official publication of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 37(5), 665–677. White, K. J., & Jones, K. (2000). Effects of Teacher Feedback on the Reputations and Peer Perceptions of Children with Behavior Problems. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 76(4), 302–326. doi:10.1006/jecp.1999.2552

Author Information

Christian Huber (presenting / submitting)

University of Cologne

Department for special education

Cologne

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