Promoting Social Acceptance With greater emphasis on inclusion, general education teachers are expected to make provisions for students who have difficulties with social interactions. Pearson Education, Inc. 6.1

Promoting Social Acceptance Attitudes and feelings of the peers, teachers, and parents of classmates…have tended to be unaccepting. Negative effects of not being accepted not only impacts self-concept but also school performance. (Act: Read assigned case on p Indicate one thing that can be done by the teacher to enhance social acceptance of the student.) Pearson Education, Inc. 6.1

Promoting Social Acceptance Students with special needs may be apparent to others (visual impairment, wheelchair bound, hearing aids) or not (learning disability, mild mental retardation, ADD). Such students perceptions and school failure - social and academic -may lead to withdrawal. “This withdrawal can contribute to their rejection and make it difficult for even the most effective and creative teacher to provide an appropriate learning situation.” Pearson Education, Inc. 6.1

POOR SOCIAL SKILLS Among Students with Special Needs Results from: Inability to initiate and sustain appropriate social relationships Fail to develop social skills due to fewer friends Difficulty with social cues Act: Read research excerpts on p Pearson Education, Inc. 6.2

GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHER ATTITUDES Labels may lower teacher expectation - at least, initially. Teachers make fewer praise statements, ask fewer questions, and provide less feedback - especially for boys. Teachers perceive these students as less desirable (NCLB issue). Some teachers feel they have a lack of training. Former special education practices focused on removal. Challenges come from ALL parents - some are overprotective. (…attitudes of the teacher have a significant effect on the attitudes of students in the class.) How might any of these attitudes be changed? Pearson Education, Inc. 6.3

ENHANCING SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE Information dissemination - videos, simulations, and peer tutoring ( See “Inclusion Tips, p. 145 ) Recognize similarities among all students “A difference is only a difference when it makes a difference.” Preparation of general education students for inclusion ( See p ) Preparation of special education students for inclusion - direct instruction of skills Prepare parents for inclusion Pearson Education, Inc. 6.4

DATA COLLECTION Teacher/parent interviews & rating scales Sociometric measures - Nomination, Rating Scale, and Paired-comparison techniques (Nominations method - See Table 6-1 & Read p. 147 ) “…it is important to note that although they provide an overall measure of the acceptance of students, they do not identify specific behaviors of skills that require intervention.” (p. 147) Self-concept, attitudes toward school, peer relationship measures ( See Figure 6-1 ) Pearson Education, Inc. 6.5

DATA COLLECTION Direct observation - Select a target behavior and count For example, “…frequency of positive statements made by teacher to the student with special needs or the number of social interactions between the student with disabilities and peer in general education” (p. 147) -or- “…a student may be observed participating in an instructional group and then rated on a number of classroom behaviors (e.g., The student attends to the teacher’s instructions? The student raises his or her hand before responding? The student maintains eye contact when talking to the teacher?) (p. 148). Social Environmental Checklist ( Read excerpts from figure 6-2 ) Pearson Education, Inc. 6.5

PROMOTION OF SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE - PROVIDING INFORMATION Inform students about disabilities directly or via research by students - see Have persons with disabilities visit class. Simulate a disability. Read a story (See inclusion tips on p ). Pearson Education, Inc. 6.6

PROMOTION OF SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE - COOPERATIVE LEARNING Provide for cooperative learning which “…is superior to to both competitive learning and individualistic learning” Not only is academic success increased but “…the social interactions involved promote the development of the social skills of the student with disabilities…and their acceptance by peers in general education” (p. 153). See Gottlieb & Leyser steps for teacher. Pearson Education, Inc. 6.6

PROMOTION OF SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE Some Cooperative Learning Approaches - p. 154 Aim is to reduce student isolation and perceived hostile climates that exist in highly competitive classrooms. Student Teams-Achievement Divisions(STAD) - Mixed groups, learn information, individually tested, greatest pretest-posttest gain receives recognition. Cooperative Integrated Reading Composition (CIRC) - Mixed pairs use basal readers and focus on reading and written expression. Teacher instructs groups whil pairs work on related tasks. Testing when students feels teammate is ready. Jigsaw - Individuals share information with 5-6-member teams, Individual performance on collected information is evaluated. Benefits of Cooperative Learning: Reduces one person doing all the work; Individual learning is evaluated; Even low achievers can improve/contribute; Public recognition is motivating. Pearson Education, Inc. 6.6

PROMOTION OF SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE - ECOURAGE FRIENDSHIPS & TUTORING Encouraging friendships outside of class can help build social skills. Teachers can arrange for these experiences or reinforce them when they naturally occur. Specifically trained general education students who serve as peer or cross-age tutors have produced academic and social gains. Pearson Education, Inc. 6.6

PROMOTION OF SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE “Social skills are best developed through direct instructional procedures, following the same principles academic instruction.” Teacher describes why skill is needed, how skill is performed, when it is to be used, and what its specific components are. Teacher uses prompts, praise, and corrective feedback during each step (pp ). Programs like Walker Social Skills Curriculum (ACCEPTS) have advantages because they have been field tested and require minimal amount of preparation by teachers. Cognitive training includes presenting “self-instruction” steps, anticipation of outcomes - “problem solving”, data collection - self-evaluation, and reinforcement for successful performance - “self-reinforcement.” Pearson Education, Inc. 6.6

PROMOTION OF SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE Goto Status Treatments for the Classroom If ever you become concerned about how parents might treat you, read “A parent of special students speaks to educators” (Figure 6-5). OYO: Upgrade the Teacher’s Information and Skills (p ) Pearson Education, Inc. 6.6