This study addresses the convergent validity of a new teacher questionnaire to assess the social participation of students with special needs in regular primary schools. The Social Participation Questionnaire (SPQ) consists of four subscales representing four key themes of social participation: friendships/relationships, contacts/interactions, student’s social self-perception, and acceptance by classmates. The study took place in Grades 1 to 3 of regular Dutch primary schools that had at least one student with an official special-needs statement. A confirmatory factor analysis using the LISREL program provided evidence for the SPQ’s convergent validity. The outcomes support the model of social participation distinguishing four key themes. The fit indexes suggest that our model is theoretically viable for Grades 1 and 2 but only partly viable for Grade 3.
Bear, G.G., & Minke, K.M. ( 1996). Positive bias in maintenance of self-worth among children with LD. Learning Disability Quarterly, 19, 23-32.
2.
Berndt, T.J. ( 2004). Children’s friendships: Shifts of a half-century in perspective on their development and their effects. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 50, 206-223.
3.
Berndt, T.J., & Burgy, L. ( 1996). Social self-concept. In B. A. Bracken (Ed.), Handbook of self-concept (pp. 171-209). New York, NY: Wiley.
Bukowski, W.M., & Hoza, B. ( 1989). Popularity and friendship: Issues in theory, measurement, and outcome. In T. J. Berndt & G. W. Ladd (Eds.), Peer relationships in child development (pp. 15-45). New York, NY: Wiley.
6.
Byrne, B.M. ( 1989). Multigroup comparisons and the assumption of equivalent construct validity across groups: Methodological and substantive issues. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 24, 503-523.
7.
Denham, S.A. ( 2007). Dealing with feelings: How children negotiate the worlds of emotions and social relationships. Cognition, Brain, Behavior , 11, 1-48.
8.
Fantuzzo, J.W., McDermott, P.A., Holliday Manz, P., Hampton, V.R., & Alvarez Burdick, N. (1996). The pictorial scale of perceived competence and social acceptance: Does it work with low-income urban children?Child Development, 67, 1071-1084.
9.
Farrell, P. ( 2000). The impact of research on developments in inclusive education . International Journal of Inclusive Education, 4, 153-162.
10.
Ferguson, D.L. ( 2008). International trends in inclusive education: The continuing challenge to teach each one and everyone. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 23, 109-120.
11.
Festinger, L. ( 1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117-140.
12.
Frederickson, N., & Cline, T. ( 2002). Special educational needs, inclusion and diversity: A textbook. Buckingham, PA: Open University Press.
13.
Frederickson, N., Dunsmuir, S., Lang, J., & Monsen, J.J. ( 2004). Mainstream-special school inclusion partnerships: Pupil, parent and teacher perspectives. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 8, 37-57.
14.
Frederickson, N.L., & Furnham, A.F. ( 1998). Use of sociometric techniques to assess the social status of mainstreamed children with learning difficulties. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 124, 381-433.
15.
Freire, S., & César, M. (2002). Inclusive ideals/inclusive practices: How far is dream from reality? Five comparative case studies. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 18, 341-354.
16.
Frostad, P., & Pijl, S.J. ( 2007). Does being friendly help in making friends? The relation between the social position and social skills of pupils with special needs in mainstream education. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 22, 15-30.
17.
Gallagher, T.M. ( 1993). Language skill and the development of social competence in school-age children. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 24, 199-205.
18.
Gresham, F.M. ( 1982). Social interactions as predictors of children’s likeability and friendship patterns: A multiple regression analysis. Journal of Behavioral Assessment, 4, 39-54.
19.
Guralnick, M.J., Neville, B., Hammond, M.A., & Connor, R.T. ( 2007). The friendships of young children with developmental delays: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 28, 64-79.
20.
Harper, G.F., Maheady, L., Mallette, B., & Karnes, M. ( 1999). Peer tutoring and the minority child with disabilities . Preventing School Failure, 43, 47-52.
21.
Harter, S., & Pike, R. ( 1984). The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children. Child Development, 55, 1969-1982.
22.
Jöreskog, K.G., & Sörbom, D. (2007). Lisrel 8.80 for Windows [Computer software]Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.
23.
Koster, M., Nakken, H., Pijl, S.J., & Van Houten, E.J. (2009). Being part of the peer group: A literature study focusing on the social dimension of inclusion in education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 13, 117-140.
24.
Koster, M., Nakken, H., Pijl, S.J., Van Houten, E.J., & Lutje Spelberg, H.C. (2008). Assessing social participation of pupils with special needs in inclusive education: The construction of a teacher questionnaire. Educational Research and Evaluation , 14, 395-409.
25.
Koster, M., Timmerman, M.E., Nakken, H., Pijl, S.J., & Van Houten, E.J. (2009). Evaluating social participation of pupils with special needs in regular primary schools: Examination of a teacher questionnaire. European Journal of Psychological Assessment , 25, 213-222.
26.
Ladd, G.W. ( 2005). Defining and describing children’s peer relationships . In G. W. Ladd (Ed.), Children’s peer relations and social competence: A century of progress (pp. 66-88). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
27.
Landis, J.R., & Koch, G.G. ( 1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33, 159-174.
28.
Larrivee, B., & Horne, M.D. ( 1991). Social status: A comparison of mainstreamed students with peers of different ability levels. Journal of Special Education, 25, 90-101.
29.
Laursen, B., Bukowski, W.M., Aunda, K., & Nurmi, J.E. ( 2007). Friendship moderates prospective associations between social isolation and adjustment problems in young children. Child Development, 78, 1395-1404.
30.
Lee, S.H., Yoo, S.Y., & Bak, S.H. ( 2003). Characteristics of friendships between children with and without disabilities. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 38, 157-166.
31.
Montague, M., & Rinaldi, C. ( 2001). Classroom dynamics and children at risk: A follow-up . Learning Disability Quarterly, 24, 75-83.
32.
Moraal, J.M., Elzinga-Plomp, A., Jongmans, M.J., Van Roermund, P.M., Flikweert, P.E., Castelein, R.M., & Sinnema, G. ( 2009). Long-term psychosocial functioning after llizarov limb lengthening during childhood. Acta Orthopaedica, 80, 704-710.
33.
Nunnally, J.C. ( 1967). Psychometric theory. New York, NY : McGraw-Hill.
34.
Odom, S.L. ( 2000). Pre-school inclusion: What we know and where we go from here. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 20, 20-27.
35.
Parker, J.G., & Asher, S.R. ( 1993). Friendship and friendship quality in middle childhood: Links with peer group acceptance and feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction . Developmental Psychology, 29, 611-621.
36.
Pavri, S., & Luftig, R. ( 2000). The social face of inclusive education: Are students with learning disabilities really included in the classroom? Preventing School Failure, 45, 8-14.
37.
Rozendaal, J.S., Minnaert, A., & Boekaerts, M. ( 2003). Motivation and self-regulated learning in secondary vocational education: Information-processing type and gender differences. Learning and Individual Differences, 13, 273-289.
38.
Schmidt, M. ( 2000). Social integration of students with learning disabilities . Developmental Disabilities Bulletin, 28, 19-26.
39.
Schofield, W.J., & Whitley, B.E., Jr. (1983). Peer nominations vs. rating scale measurement of children’s peer preferences. Social Psychology Quarterly, 46, 242-251.
40.
Singleton, R.A., Straits, B.C., & Miller Straits, M. (1993). Approaches to social research (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
41.
Terry, R., & Coie, J.D. ( 1991). A comparison of methods for defining sociometric status among children. Developmental Psychology, 27, 867-880.
42.
Van Rossum, J.H.A., & Vermeer, A. ( 1992). Het meten van waargenomen competentie bij basisschoolkinderen door middel van een platentest [Measuring perceived competence in primary school children by means of a pictorial scale]. Bewegen & Hulpverlening, 9, 198-212.
43.
Veerman, J.W., Straathof, M.A.E., Treffers, P.D.A., Van den Bergh, B.R.H., & Ten Brink, L.T. (1997). Handleiding Competentie Belevingsschaal voor Kinderen [Manual Perceived Competence Scale for Children]Lisse, the Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger.
44.
Vellutino, F.R., Tunmer, W.E., Jaccard, J.J., & Chen, R. ( 2007). Component of reading ability: Multivariate evidence for a convergent skills model of reading development. Scientific Studies of Reading, 11, 3-32.
45.
Vermeer, A., Lijnse, M., & Lindhout, M. ( 2004). Measuring perceived competence and social acceptance in individuals with intellectual disabilities. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 19, 283-300.
46.
Waldrip, A.M., Malcom, K.T., & Jensen-Campbell, L.A. (2008). With a little help from your friends: The importance of high-quality friendships on early adolescent adjustment. Social Development, 17, 832-852.
47.
Weiserbs, B., & Gottlieb, J. ( 1992). Perceived risk as a factor influencing attitudes toward physically disabled children. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 4, 341-352.
48.
Wentzel, K.R., & Caldwell, K. ( 1997). Friendships, peer acceptance, and group membership: Relations to academic achievement in middle school. Child Development , 68, 1198-1209.
49.
Whitney, I., Smith, P.K., & Thompson, D. ( 1994). Bullying and children with special educational needs . In P. K Smith & S. Sharp (Eds.), School bullying: Insights and perspectives (pp. 213-240). New York, NY: Routledge.
50.
Yugar, J.M., & Shapiro, E.S. ( 2001). Elementary children’s school friendships: A comparison of peer assessment methodologies. School Psychology Review , 30, 568-585.
