Stability of social participation and loneliness among students with SEN at the start of mainstream secondary school.

Over the past decades, the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in regular schools has become a global trend (Pijl, Meijer, & Hegarty, 1997). Social participation of students with SEN has been considered a key issue in the inclusion debate (Symes & Humphrey, 2011). Nonetheless, researchers disagree about the actual social participation of students with SEN in mainstream schools. Whereas some researchers sketch a positive social situation for students with SEN (Avramidis, 2010), others point to the risks for students social development (e.g., Locke, Ishijima, Kasari, & London, 2010). Although the research interest in social participation and psychosocial development of student with SEN is increasing, still little is known about the stability of social participation and loneliness of students with SEN at the start of mainstream secondary education. By means of a large-scaled, longitudinal study, we would like to address the stability of the four key themes of social participation (i.e., social interactions, peer acceptance, reciprocal friendships, and social self-concept), the stability of friendship quality and the stability of loneliness of students with SEN in the first two years of mainstream secondary education.

Keywords:Inclusive education, students with special educational needs, secondary school, Social participation, Friendship quality, Loneliness

Disciplines:Orthopedagogics and special education