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Research Project
Enhancing peer relationships: Preschool teachers' ideas and practices
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Authors
Publications
Social experiences of children eith disabilities in inclusive portuguese preschool settings
Publication . Ferreira, Milene Alexandra Gregório; Aguiar, Cecília; Correia, Nadine; Fialho, Margarida; Pimentel, Júlia van Zeller de Serpa
Based on peer sociometric reports, we examined how number of friendships, social acceptance,
and characteristics of social networks vary as a function of disability profile. We also investigated
teachers’ awareness of the sociometric status of young children with disabilities. Participants
were 86 children with disabilities (63 boys) enrolled in inclusive preschool classrooms of the
Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, Portugal (Mage = 67.33 months, SD = 10.54). Findings suggest that
children with severe or sociobehavioral disabilities may be at increased risk of social rejection
and isolation, having fewer friends and lower social network centrality than children with mild
disabilities. Low agreement between teachers’ classifications of the social status of children with
disabilities and classifications based on peer nominations raises concerns about their awareness
of processes of social rejection and neglect. Findings highlight the need for interventions to
support positive social experiences at the dyadic and group levels in Portuguese inclusive
preschool classrooms.
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Description
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Contributors
Funders
Funding agency
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Funding programme
3599-PPCDT
Funding Award Number
PTDC/CPE-CED/117476/2010