Social climate in inclusive
classrooms
The importance of social climate as part of the learning
environment
Unn Werner
The Department of Special Education Degree 15 HE credits
Special Education
Special educators’ program (90 credits) Spring term 2020
1
Social Climate in Inclusive
Classrooms
The importance of social climate as part of the learning
environment
Unn Werner
Abstract
To be able to make inclusion a reality, research has indicated that the learning environment
has to be improved through the social climate. In a classroom with many different needs and
abilities, the social climate should be positive and flexible, so the students feel comfortable
and willing and able to advocate for themselves.
The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the importance of social climate as part of the
learning environment for students with Special Educational Needs in inclusive classrooms in
a U.S. Secondary school. The study was conducted at a private High school in the U.S. The
data was collected through semi-structured interviews with Regular Education teachers and
Learning Support teachers. The data were analyzed with qualitative thematic analysis, to be
able to identify patterns and themes in the data.
The main themes that was found in the data was Social Climate, Relationships,
Differentiation and Implementation. All the respondents agreed that the social climate had an
impact on how well the inclusion and the use of accommodations were used which is in line
with previous research. The respondents felt that they themselves could influence the social
climate to a large extent. This work took place both through discussions but also by
differentiating and adapting activities and working groups. An important part of the work was
also through building relationships. between teachers and students. All respondents agreed
that a good social climate was important for students' ability to advocate for themselves and
use the accommodations they received in Learning Support.
Keywords
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Table of Contents
Preface ... 4
Introduction ... 5
Definition of concepts ... 6
Inclusive education and inclusive classrooms ... 6
Social climate ... 6
Students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) ... 6
Learning Environment ... 6
The school ... 7
Purpose and problem statements ... 8
Purpose ... 8
Problem statements ... 8
Literature Review ... 8
Implementing an inclusive education ... 8
Accessibility in the Learning environment ... 9
Accommodations and teaching strategies ... 9
Goals with education ... 11
Relationships in inclusive classrooms ... 11
Theoretical starting points ... 12
Ten categories of the social climate ... 13
Method ... 13
Study participants/sample ... 13
Research ethical aspects ... 14
Data collection ... 14
Data analysis ... 15
Credibility, dependability, trustworthiness, and member check. ... 16
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Relationships ... 25
Differentiation ... 26
Implementation ... 27
Summary of the result discussion ... 27
Method discussion ... 28
Future research ... 29
References ... 30
Appendix A: Letter to participants ... 33
Appendix B: Informed consent ... 34
Appendix C: Debriefing statement ... 36
Preface
First of all, I want to thank all the respondents and Head of Learning Support in Secondary school and Head of Equity and Inclusion at the school where this study was conducted. Without you, this thesis would have not been possible.
I also want to thank my supervisors in Sweden, Ph. D. Mina Sedem and Ph. D. Laura Ferrer Wreder for always being there, and never giving up even though there were quite a lot of bumps on the road. I also want to thank Ph.D. Denise Meister, who helped me complete the study in the U.S. It wasn’t easy but she helped me every step of the way.
I also want to thank my English-speaking friends who answered all my text messages about English spelling and grammar whatever time of the day or night it was.
Of course, I also want to thank my wonderful husband and adorable kids for their wonderful support and love.
Last but not least, I want to thank my previous students, who have given me the energy to write this thesis and the true belief that anyone can achieve almost everything, if you believe in it and dare to be who you are. For them, I want to finish this preface with Albert Einstein’s quote: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
Introduction
Inclusive education is an important means of achieving a school for all, where all students can learn together regardless of their differences (Haug, 2017). Using the inclusive approach, systems and schools will be created for all students regardless of their needs. To achieve a school for all, the schools must provide students with the educational, physical, and social learning environment they require and must be adapted to meet a diversity of students' interests and abilities. Everyone's needs will then be met through a purposeful curriculum and by an organization prepared to address
everybody’s differences through multiple strategies for learning (Peters, 2007). Inclusion is a crucial goal as it provides the students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) with important tools that help them adapt and thrive at school (Duarte Santos et al., 2016).
In order to understand the concept of inclusion, it is important to understand its historical
underpinnings. The term originates from the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights where a person with a disability is defined as a person who, due to deficiency, is unable to live a normal social life. The goal, therefore, became to integrate all people into the same life, and inclusion became the method to create a school for everyone. The Salamanca Declaration was created on this basis (Peters, 2007). The Declaration emphasizes that all students, regardless of their needs, should be educated in the same classrooms while given the education and the accommodations that are required for them to succeed. The Declaration states that inclusive schools are the most efficient while creating an inclusive society and the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, and achieving education for all (Swedish Unesco CouncilSwedish Unesco Council, 2006). The Declaration also states that educational systems that embrace learning differences are the most effective in creating a welcoming and inclusive society for all, which also continues outside the school’s walls (Peters, 2007).
Definition of concepts
Some of the key concepts in this thesis are possible to define in multiple ways. In this chapter, I am explaining the definitions that are being used in the purpose and problem statements but also in the thesis as a whole.
Inclusive education and inclusive classrooms
It is difficult to find one all-encompassing definition of inclusive education. Many researchers do agree that the concept of inclusion is difficult to define and that the concept goes beyond the spatial location of the student in a school or classroom (Nilholm & Göransson, 2013). However, while the integration of all students within the same building is a crucial cornerstone to the practice of educational inclusivity, this study focuses on the process of involving and engaging all students in learning based on their conditions and needs.
In this thesis, the concept of “inclusive classroom” is defined as a classroom where both students with and without Special Educational Needs (SEN) are taught together. Sometimes the concept “regular classroom” is used and referred to as the inclusive classroom where the students with SEN are being taught with their classmates with or without SEN. It is used as a contrast to the classes they have with the Learning Support team where they are usually taught alone or together with other students with SEN.
Social climate
The concept of “Social climate” is used as a description of the psychosocial environment in the educational setting. The educational setting in this thesis is viewed as the whole setting the students interact within during their time in school, i.e., both the climate in the classroom and the school as a whole.
In this thesis, Allodi’s (2010b) definition of social climate is being used. This definition says that the concept of social climate in a learning environment includes not only the relationships within the classroom but also other concepts, such as the teachers’ communication styles and group processes, that possibly could take place within the learning environment. Other processes Allodi (2010b) includes are the internal processes that could be ongoing within the students themselves but also within the group such as self-efficacy, trust, and cooperation:
“The concept of social climate is closely related to classroom climate, school climate and school ethos, and refers to characteristics of the psychosocial environment of educational settings. Interpersonal relationships, student–teacher relationship, peer relationships, teachers’ beliefs and behaviors, teachers’ communication style, classroom management and group processes are themes that can be considered to be included in the concept of the social climate of learning environments. Other concepts relevant for the study of social climate in learning environments are self-efficacy, self-concept, trust, goal structures and values, cooperation and competition, participation and exclusion, hierarchy and democracy.” (Allodi, 2010b, p. 89)
Students with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
In this thesis, the word Special Educational Needs, shortened SEN, will be used as the term for the students in need of Learning Support. It is important to be aware of the differences in the
conceptualization of terms like learning disabilities and emotional-behavioral disorders as learning disability in the United States (U.S.) generally refers to students who are performing academically significantly lower than their peers. The term SEN, therefore, refers to a broader spectrum of students referring to all students with a diagnosis that gives them the right and the need to have extra Learning Support in school (Krull et al., 2014).
Learning Environment
learning. If all three parts of the learning environment interact, students’ prerequisites for learning will increase and enhance their development (Figure 1). Persson (2014) emphasize the importance of inclusion of all students in these three areas of the learning environment. Help for those students in need should be provided both socially, physically, and didactically.
Figure 1
The interaction between different Learning Environments (The National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools, SPSM, 2019)
The school
The school where this study is conducted is a private, international 3K-12 school in a bigger city in the United States. The school’s core values embrace an inclusive community with respect and
Purpose and problem statements
Purpose
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the importance of social climate as part of the learning environment for students with Special Educational Needs in inclusive classrooms in a U.S. Secondary school.
Problem statements
• How can a social climate where students feel involved and with a sense of inclusion be created?
• How does the social climate affect the use of accommodations in the students' regular classrooms?
• How do the teachers think the social climate in the students' regular classrooms can be developed to increase the students' opportunities to learn?
Literature Review
Implementing an inclusive education
Even though the concept of inclusion is easy to understand, no country, to date, has designed a school that enacts the ideals of inclusive education as described in the Salamanca Declaration: “There are differences between nations, but none of them has succeeded in constructing a school system that lives up to the ideals and intentions of inclusion.” (Haug, 2017, p. 215). A possible reason for the
difficulties in implementation may be the numerous definitions of what inclusive education consists of. A school’s actions may look very different, depending on which perspectives the inclusion is considered and how it is defined (Haug, 2017). Despite what we know about inclusion, many schools use the placement as their common criterion for inclusion, and the learning process is given lower priority. When researching inclusive schools, Asp-Onsjö (2006) realized how the differences defining the concept affected the implementation and therefore, divided the concept into spatial, social, and didactic aspects. These aspects were meant to be tools for working together when analyzing and creating an inclusive environment. The spatial aspect pertains to the extent students are in the same classroom with their peers. The social aspect involves the extent to which students have social interactions with their peers and their teachers. The didactic aspect concerns how conditions will change and accommodations are made to give all the students possibility to learn. Depending on if the school focuses on spatial, didactic, or social inclusion, the results for the students vary. Physically inclusive education at the expense of the student’s cognitive and social development may result in social exclusion. For those students who find it difficult to fit in socially, the inclusive classroom can therefore lead to marginalization (Linikko, 2009).
Looking at inclusion as not only a matter of placement, the most important element of inclusive education is the students’ situation as a whole. This means students should be given access to both social opportunities and academic learning within the inclusive school (Nilholm and Göransson, 2013). Inclusion, by this definition, becomes a method of helping the students participate in their school life as full members of society. Inclusive schools should therefore be designed so that the students’ social, physical, and educational learning environments become meaningful (Sandall et al., 2016).
Another way of defining inclusion is made by Nilholm and Göransson (2013). They describe inclusion as either community-oriented, individual-oriented, or placement-oriented. In the community-oriented, the school system is responsible for all students regardless of their characteristics. In this system cooperation and problem-solving are central. Individual-oriented means that the level of inclusion is only measured by the situation for one individual student. If a student is happy, has social
relationships, and reaches their1 goals, this student would be seen as included in this definition. Placement-oriented means that the students with SEN are included if they are placed in the same classrooms as other students without SEN.
The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2014) describe the importance of finding ways to make education inclusive in all aspects and creating systems in which students achieve the same goals but with differentiated instruction and assessments. This agency posits that schools and communities know what they want to achieve but the problem lies in the implementation of these goals. “The current debate is no longer about what inclusion is and why it is needed; the key question is how it is to be achieved” (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2014, p. 5). The dilemma is therefore evolving in the gaps between the formulations and the realizations of inclusive education and demonstrates uncertainty in what needs to be accomplished to create an inclusive environment (Haug, 2017). This is also affected by the fact that it is difficult to find one way that works for everyone. A setting where the students with SEN must choose between being either fully included in a regular classroom or excluded from the regular classroom makes it difficult to achieve a good learning environment for all students. Björn et al. (2016) emphasize that preferably, the students should be in an inclusive environment where they are both able to have classes in the
inclusive classroom but also be able to spend time outside the classroom in an environment where they can get another kind of help, depending on their needs. To make inclusion work, Levin (1997) posits that inclusion must be integrated into all parts of the school and become part of the whole and the mission instead of viewed as an addition to the school. In a study by Blecker and Boakes (2010), it was shown that many special educators view special education as a separate entity within the school rather than an integrated part of the school. Blecker and Boakes pointed out that this goes against the overall opinion that students with SEN would gain most from inclusive environments where they can have social interaction with their peers without SEN.
Research on inclusion presents different results in primary and secondary education with many countries showing greater problems at the secondary school level. Some differences are explained by inadequate teacher training, teacher attitudes, a greater difference between students in need of Learning Support and their peers, more specialized subjects, and a school organization in which students have to take greater responsibility for their studies (Peters, 2007). The setup that is usually used in Primary School with one single teacher, smaller classes with fewer students, and consistency in student-teacher interactions, may also make it easier for primary school teachers to create closer relationships with their students (Duarte Santos et al., 2016).
Accessibility in the Learning environment
Accommodations and teaching strategies
To make inclusive education work it is important to define what skills are required for teachers to be able to include students with SEN in general education programs. Differentiated instructional
approaches, such as the teacher using altered means to convey information, as well as modifications in assessment, are important for a successful learning environment for students with SEN (Morningstar et al., 2015; Björn et al., 2016). This requires teachers’ knowledge about individual learning differences, learning environments, social interactions, and cooperative learning. Beyond those considerations, instructional skills, the adaptation of teaching materials, coordination of adult support for students, modification of curriculum, and instruction are also necessary (Blecker & Boakes, 2010). When creating a school with special educational efforts, schools must consider the students who benefit from it and look at the students as individuals in order to ascertain the support they need (Gerrbo, 2012). The teacher must consider the needs and behaviors of every student in a group and then plan instruction accordingly. Students with SEN may for example need a curriculum modification. Therefore, what is taught and assessed for that specific student will differ from peers, to allow the student to participate in the classroom activity (Sandall et al., 2016). To make the inclusive classroom benefit all students, teachers must examine their instructional methods and the changes they can make. For example, in addition to curricular and instructional accommodations, teachers must include differentiated and monitored instructional strategies (Morningstar et al., 2015). Some students with SEN may also need structural accommodations, like routines, to gain clarity in the school
environment. These accommodations make it easier for the student to participate in the same activities as their peers but with a change in timing, setting, or scheduling (Sandall et al., 2016).
While creating a learning environment, teachers must be aware of the effects of their teaching and behavior. What the students learn depends on how they interpret what is being taught. This individual interpretation is influenced by all students' differences, thoughts, and conditions (Nuthall, 2014). A teacher that demonstrates clarity and predictability will also help the students understand their tasks (Edfeldt, 2017). Morningstar et al. (2015) conducted a study on inclusive classrooms in which they found that a wide array of variations of strategies resulted in fewer specialized adaptations. In a classroom where differentiated instruction is offered, students would be less likely to require individualized support for learning. In many cases, the accommodations that work positively for students with disabilities often have a positive effect on the other students’ learning as well (Edfeldt, 2017). Even though some accommodations are easily made, it is, therefore, important to plan them and use them with a clear purpose in mind (Sandall et al., 2016).
The accommodations might be created differently depending on from which perspective the students are viewed. Gerrbo (2012) argues that there are mainly two perspectives about special education - one individualized and one relational. In the individualized perspective, the student is the main focus, and the student’s difficulties are addressed at an individual level. With this perspective, the school needs to make a minimal change and attributes the lack of goal attainment and school engagement to the student (e.g., biological excuses). The relational perspective focuses on the learning difficulties in the environment and how students’ difficulties evolve in different ways in different parts of their
environment. Thus, to help the student, the school has to change. This change could include not only making new tasks for the student but also altering other aspects that can affect the student. For
This creates a fundamental dilemma combined with the fact that all students are supposed to gain the same knowledge and experiences while in school.
Goals with education
For the school to be able to see and make changes for all students to be included, it is important to consider the goal with education and what is included in the concept. When considering schools and learning environments, discussions generally revolve around student achievement, and students’ grades are used as markers of achievement. It is common for many countries to have different criterions for what students must learn in order to receive passing or particular grades and to have achieved what is expected (Florian et al., 2017). The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2014) states that inclusion is an effective way to increase the school’s average level of achievement. While inclusion has been seen as increasing the academic achievement of students with SEN, it does not either imply decreasing the results for the other students. Another way of looking at academic achievement can be to describe if students have succeeded and developed from their starting levels, without achieving predetermined criterions for their age. Academic achievement can also be seen from multiple perspectives. Instead of focusing on academic markers of achievement, students’ success can be evaluated in a broader concept to include social, emotional, creative, or physical achievement. A meaningful learning environment will give students more possibilities to be able to achieve both academically as well as in other areas (Florian et al., 2017).
Relationships in inclusive classrooms
Several studies have shown that children with SEN achieve better in an inclusive classroom but that there is an increased risk of social exclusion in that setting (Krull et al., 2014). Cognitive, social, and emotional interactions among adults and children are critical components in creating beneficial and meaningful learning environments that provide support for students’ success (Tallberg Broman et al., 2015). Positive attitudes among teachers and viewing diversity as strengths is therefore key elements for a functioning inclusive classroom (The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2014).
The ability to develop positive and stable relationships with peers has been shown to have a major impact on children's development and school adjustment (Kiuru et al., 2012). Depending on external structures, such as class size and inclusion, there are different conditions for different students while creating paths for social exchange. It is important to remember that gaining peer acceptance and initiating friendships is difficult for some children. Research has shown that students who receive Learning Support in their ordinary classroom often feel more socially accepted than students who receive it in other places (Male, 2014). Krull et al. (2014) conducted a study on social relationships in inclusive classrooms and found that the social and emotional situation is significantly less favorable for students with SEN. The study demonstrated that students with SEN often were more socially rejected, felt more of social rejection from their teachers, and developed a more negative academic self-concept. Relationships between children with and without SEN are often based on unequal premises as what might happen is that students without SEN would see themselves as the other students’ helpers instead of friends (Male, 2014).
society which would help them regulate their emotions and thoughts (Kiuru et al., 2012). When students are surrounded by adults with a high emotional presence who create confidence, the student's conditions for increased self-confidence and higher self-esteem increase (Tallberg Broman et al., 2015).
Students’ needs differ between adaptations and modifications of the curricular content to interventions for students who have difficulties with behavior that interfere with their learning (Morningstar et al., 2015). It is important to work with the students’ social behavior and reduce behaviors that otherwise would be a problem for the student. For example, behavioral transgressions may appear if the students get angry because they don’t understand. Or students may start talking to their peers when they have a problem focusing. To improve academic achievement and motivation, research has shown that strengthening the social-emotional development is a powerful tool in preparing the student for different situations and feelings that might result. These skills should be introduced, modeled, practiced, and reinforced in the classroom setting. The skills that students learn have also shown to support their capacity to create positive learning environments (Diperna et al., 2016).
Theoretical starting points
This thesis’ conceptualization of social climate is based on Allodi's model (2010a) (Figure 2). Both student’s well-being, school results, and gainful employment after school has shown been affected by the social climate at school. It is therefore crucial to be able to formulate a description of the
characteristics of a high-quality social climate. The identification of essential differences among educational settings is a useful tool to develop and sustain a positive social climate in learning environments. To define what can characterize a positive teaching environment, Allodi (2010a) developed a model of the social climate. The theory consists of ten categories that provide the opportunity for both self-assertion and altruism, as well as stability and change. In the model's ten categories, the first five - creativity, stimulation, achievement, efficacy and safety - represent the individual's need for self-assertion. The last five - control, helpfulness, participation, responsibility, and influence - represent the individuals' need to be part of a community. The purpose of the model is both to provide a practical tool in understanding differences between learning environments, and to represent a guideline when analyzing and improving the social climate of learning environments.
Figure 2
Ten categories of the social climate
The ten categories in Allodi’s (2010a) model of social climate are as follows: • Creativity is a tool to give students the opportunity to express themselves.
• Stimulation is achieved when students are given the opportunity to feel pleasure and joy over what they are experiencing in school.
• Achievement occurs when students feel they are learning and growing in school.
• Efficacy is when the students are gaining self-confidence and when the teachers support them in a way so that they do not give up when facing challenges
• Safety is what the student gain when school is a safe environment where teachers show that they care about the students
• Control is the teachers’ way of being aware and control what is happening in the classroom. • Helpfulness is achieved when the relationships between the teachers and the students are
supportive and friendly.
• Participation stands for the importance that everyone feels like a respected member of the group, given the opportunity to be heard.
• Responsibility is evolving when the students are encouraged to take responsibility for the group, the school, and the community.
• Influence is when all students are given the opportunity to express their own feelings and opinions.
Method
The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the importance of the social climate as part of the learning environment for students with Special Educational Needs in inclusive classrooms in an American Secondary school. To fulfill the purpose, I have chosen a qualitative approach. A qualitative approach is meant to gain a better understanding of a phenomenon through the unique perspectives of people who have experienced it. Unlike a quantitative method, the qualitative method tries to explore the values of and understand the relationship within the phenomenon and examines different perspectives and thoughts through the participants’ view. This perspective can be examined only within a particular study’s context. The value of the qualitative approach is to provide a deeper understanding of people's perceptions and actions instead of measuring and making comparisons between different samples as a quantitative study would do (Castleberry & Nolens, 2018)
This research utilized an inductive approach which means that is based on a study of a particular situation to ascertain if common themes can be found. When the interviews were conducted, an understanding of the respondents’ points of view was created (Fejes & Thornberg, 2015).
Study participants/sample
The study began with a meeting with the Head of Equity and Inclusion at the school to explore topics concerning the inclusive classrooms and the situation for students with SEN. I then met with the Head of Learning Support at the Secondary School. This meeting was an informal conversation to get a broader picture of what could be studied and was used as a basis for the formulation of purpose and the research questions of the continued research.
the teachers to conduct the interviews at that moment. Therefore, I waited a few weeks and then contacted nine teachers by email (Appendix A). The head of Learning Support at Secondary school had asked the teachers in advance for their willingness to participate. Because of COVID-19, I gave the participants the option to participate online or to write the answers in a document. One respondent chose a virtual interview, two did not answer, and six chose to answer the questions in a written form. The final participants were two teachers who worked on the school's Secondary School Learning Support team and five Regular Education teachers who work with the same students on the Learning Support team but within their inclusive classrooms.
Research ethical aspects
In order to protect the participants, the Swedish Research Council’s four main requirements for research have been followed throughout the research. These are the information requirement, the consent requirement, the confidentiality requirement, and the use requirement (Swedish Research Council, 2017). All the participants and the management were informed about the aim of the study and the implementation protocol. When contacted, the participants were informed that participation in the study was voluntary, and they were asked to sign a letter of consent (Appendix B) and given a debriefing statement (Appendix C). The consent forms and debriefing statements were written in English. Participants were also informed they could withdraw from the study at any time without giving any reason for it. Everything that made it possible to identify the school and the participants were deleted from the study. The participants were also told that the study was only made for research purposes to find interesting general perspectives and thoughts. Nothing would ever be used to point out a specific person or school (Swedish Research Council, 2017).
Before the study was conducted, an application was made to the IRB2 board. I asked the Head of Equity and Inclusion at School for a signed letter of permission to conduct research on the specific school, and I started the study when I had received clearance from the IRB board.
Data collection
The data was collected through interviews with seven secondary school teachers, five of them worked as Regular Education teachers in the inclusive classrooms, and two of them in the Learning Support team. Because of COVID-19, the respondents were given the choice to participate either through a virtual interview or through answering the questions in a document. The purpose of the interviews was to create better understandings of the situation through the respondents’ perspectives. Thus, the focus was on capturing what the respondent experienced as most important in the situation (Fejes & Thornberg, 2015). This seemed to be possible even in its written form. The interviews were semi-structured, which means that I created an interview guide (Appendix D) which was supplemented with probes and additional questions. This way, questions could be adjusted according to the answers from the respondents (Brinkmann, 2014). As there was only one virtual interview, this was also the only situation where additional probes occurred. When making the interviews in written form this was conducted by telling the respondents to reach out to me if there were things that needed more explanation. This only happened in one interview.
The lengths of the answers of the questions varied from some very short answers of only one line to long and more evolved answers of ten lines. The virtual interview took about 30 minutes and was recorded on the computer. I transcribed the interview verbatim directly after it was finished and then
2An institutional review board that functions as a research ethics board that review the methods proposed in a study to
deleted it. This was done to have the interview closer in my memory but also so that the recordings could be deleted as soon as possible. All names and identifiers (e.g. gender, age, and other identifiers) were deleted during transcription. On the written interviews, the answers were moved to another document as soon as they were received where all names, ages, genders, and other identifiers were replaced so that no names would be connected to the answers. All possible identifiers were replaced with nonidentifiable names, such as for example Respondent 1. Also, the answers from the virtual interview were moved to the same document as the written answers. The respondents were
confidential but not anonymous as I would still know which respondent responded to the questions.
Data analysis
When all the interviews were transcribed and moved into one document, I started the thematic analysis. I conducted the interviews, the transcription, the compiling, and the analysis myself. By completing the process, myself, I became closer to the material and got a better understanding of it. This also helped the confidentiality of the respondents as no one else than me would know who said what during the interviews (Castleberry & Nolens, 2018). I used qualitative thematic analysis, which is a method to identify, analyze, and categorize themes in an empirical material (Braun and Clarke, 2006). It is often used in qualitative research as a way to reduce a large amount of data in a written text or a transcribed interview (Castleberry & Nolens, 2018).
To familiarize me with the data, I read all the interviews several times. Braun and Clarke (2006) emphasize the importance of being familiar with all aspects of the data and to spend some time on this phase. To be able to see different aspects of the data, I removed every answer from the interviews from the specific respondent's document to a document where all the answers were sorted after the question they were responding to. The familiarization with the data from the virtual interview was a bit different as this material had to be transcribed first and therefore had a bit of advantage despite the other respondents’ material.
The interviews were divided between the Learning Support team and Regular Education teachers in the initial documents as the questions asked to the two groups were a bit different from each other. When familiarizing with the data, I realized that both groups of teachers had many thoughts about the same topics. Neither was the aim of the study to compare the groups, only to find out different views on the social climate. Thus, data were analyzed looking at the respondents as a whole group.
After the familiarization was made all the quotes or part of quotes, that showed what the respondents perceived as most important was pulled out and written down. They were then categorized and coded after what could be seen as their main topic or content. The codes were created and identified in an inductive way where the material itself was the ground for the themes, not the theoretical background (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The codes were then marked with different colors, to show which codes had similarities and common grounds with other codes.
When all data had been coded, I started the process of finding the themes of the data, by analyzing the codes. (Castleberry & Nolens, 2018). To sort the codes into themes, I created a mind map with all the different codes and themes. The themes were supposed to describe something important about the data and represented an overview of patterned response or derived meaning within the data. The
The defining of the themes was made by conducting and writing a thorough analysis. When my thematic map of the data was made, I started going through all the data again. This was mainly made by going through each theme and every code in each theme to see what the respondents had said about this specific topic. After rereading the respondents’ answers, I tried with my word reformulate the essence of the theme and the different points of view lifted by the respondents (Braun and Clarke, 2006)
In the last part of the data analysis, I tried to, with my own words, explain and describe what the data meant. According to Braun and Clarke (2006), the write-up should contain evidence of the themes within the data and capture the essence of the results. While writing an interpretation of the material was made. Braun and Clarke emphasize that the goal is that this interpretation is made without the researchers' preconceptions. Castleberry and Nolens (2018) therefore opine five qualities that should be taken into account in qualitative interpretation. First, readers should be able to understand how the interpretation is made. Second is that the interpretation should be fair, meaning that the same
interpretations should be made by other researchers. Third, the interpretations should be representative of the raw data. The fourth quality is that the study should add value to the understanding of the topic and the fifth that the interpretations should be credible to other researchers. These qualities then formed the basis for the continued work with the study.
Credibility, dependability, trustworthiness, and
member check.
Instead of using the word validity, many researchers substitute it with the concept of trustworthiness as the overarching evaluative standard for field research. Trustworthiness means that the reader should be able to trust and believe in the results and that it is worthy of the readers’ attention. The reader does not necessarily have to agree with the researcher but to be able to understand how the conclusion has been drawn (Bailey, 2007). Bailey states that for the reader to be able to follow the researcher’s thoughts the researcher has to be very clear when the steps he has taken in doing the interviews but also in analyzing the material are being described. To make sure this study is trustworthy, I wrote down all the steps that were taken thoroughly.
Generalizability
It is important to state that the aim of this study was never to be able to generalize for all schools or for one certain type of school. It is also important to remember that social phenomenon is variable and dependent on their environment (Fejes & Thornberg, 2015). Conclusions from qualitative studies are therefore usually not generalizable as the conditions where the study is conducted are often very difficult to replicate (Castleberry & Nolens, 2018). Nevertheless, the result of the study could be used as a base for new ideas and interpretations in their environment.
This study was conducted at a private school in the United States. That is, the students are not a population that describes the normal population in either the U.S. or Sweden. The annual fee for attending school limits who have the opportunity to apply to the school. Of the students who attend school, about 30% have foreign-born parents who are in the U.S. on a mission for a few years, about 30% have one or two foreign-born parents who have lived in the U.S. most of their lives, and about 30% are Americans. Even though the sample is not an ordinary socioeconomic sample, there can still be an ordinary sample of students who may have school difficulties because of other reasons than their socioeconomic background.
Results
The data were coded and categorized into the following themes: social climate, relationships, implementation and differentiation. The results are presented with the respondents as a whole, not divided into the Learning Support team and Regular Education teachers. When I viewed the
differences in opinion or view reflected the respondents’ different professions, I separated the results. In this case, this is clarified in that specific paragraph.
Social climate
The impact that the social climate had on the students' academic performance was mentioned by all the participants. They all thought a good social climate was needed to be able to relax, but also to be able to advocate for yourself. One respondent said that social drama affected the learning process and in an environment, with a tougher social climate it could be a big struggle for the students to feel confident enough to ask for the help they needed or to get the accommodations they were entitled to. Another respondent explained that this didn't only have to do with the social climate in the classroom but also of what happened at social media at the moment.
“The social climate often shapes the degree of diversity a community is supportive of. If the climate is super competitive, or very homogenous, or narrow in its understanding of difference, LS students will struggle to feel confident in their learning and in their journey.” (Respondent 4)
“But when we were in class, social media was a huge factor in the students' social climate. If it was going well, then they were doing well. If there was some bullying or something like that, then it definitely affects their learning. “(Respondent 3)
“Some students do not feel comfortable sharing or speaking out in front of others. I hope they all feel valuable, but participation can be quite a personal thing. Some students are by nature quiet and more focused on observations whereas others are more extroverted. I think that, using different methods of participation, helps support the participation of all students.” (Respondent 4)
secure and experience that people were helpful and cooperative. This could be done for example by differentiating the classes, creating specific working groups, and scaffolding. The differentiation could both be about the structure in the classroom as well as pedagogical. One respondent explained that it was important to accommodate the activities so that they were customized to enhance certain students’ strengths. In this way, the classroom itself would help the students to create an ability to believe in themselves. The respondents emphasized the importance of being able to differentiate and to scaffold until the students finally succeeded, whereas the success itself would help the students to believe in themselves.
“Doing different types of activities that play to their strengths. Like I have a student who loves group work and specifically being a leader in the group. So, I create activities in the class as well as groups for him to work in. That way he believes in himself. Sometimes I do different types of activities in one class. So sometimes they may feel uncomfortable in one activity, but then when they move to another, they feel like they are participating and learning. “ (Respondent 3)
“We try to break down tasks and give them as much assistance as we can in hopes of giving them some successes. This success helps them to believe in themselves and to stay interested. When things don’t go well, we may need to differentiate until they are turning things around.” (Respondent 5)
There were multiple ways that the respondents felt they could make the social climate allowing and positive. Such as through showing mutual respect, that no one is perfect and that we all need to learn from each other. Other ways that respondents found to improve the social climate were to teach students to believe in themselves and not give up. This was done, among other things, by giving the students several chances to redo and submit their work again.
“I give a lot of opportunities for resubmission or redrafting of work for example. I really encourage students to do this because I think it shows them, they don’t need to give up and that everyone’s journey is on a different schedule - and that that’s OK.” (Respondent 4)
“Probably not, however they certainly will feel that way (feeling valuable, author’s comment) if I am at all able to make that happen. I put a fair bit of effort into that and I definitely have some students who also are trying to be helpful.” (Respondent 5)
“I try to be as positive. There is no shame to be wrong. There is no dumb question, and my job as a teacher, we have to have those mutual respect for one another and in the same time I tell them I don’t know anything, I can learn from you guys. So, we have to have this mutual respect.” (Respondent 6) The social climate was explained both as something existing in the classroom as well as in the whole school, but also in the community as a whole with the parents as a part of it. Two respondents said that in a community with a big pressure on good grades and achievement the expectations are the same, regardless of what can be expected from the students.
“Students are very self-aware here. Lots of stigma for bad grades… students talk about their performance openly… …High expectations for all students who are here, regardless of what is reasonable for them.” (Respondent 1)
“Greatly - there is immense pressure at our school to achieve. Some LS students feel intimidated to advocate and miss instruction because of the pace.” (Respondent 2)
Two respondents emphasized how a positive social climate was very important to this specific school and explained that the school had a culture of understanding other students’ difficulties. An
explanation to this could be, according to the respondent, that many students came from different backgrounds and many of the students had other struggles in the past.
“I mean especially now, the school is becoming more and more inclusive now, and we come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and have different learning styles. So, if you teach at X expect to have at least one student with learning differences.” (Respondent 6)
Relationships
The impact the relationships had on creating a learning environment where all students had the chance to learn was mentioned by all the respondents. This could be done, for example, by showing interest in the students as persons and also by encouraging them to believe in themselves and to see what they had accomplished in other areas. By getting to know the students, one respondent emphasized the ability to use the students’ strengths in different areas in the teaching. Another one talked about strengthening the students’ self-esteem to make them feel that they are smart and can succeed. It was both the relationships between students and relationships between students and teachers that was mentioned to be important.
“I think relationship building is key here. Showing an interest in students that is not simply academic and shows that you are interested in them as a person. Allowing them to show what they can do in different ways (arts, music, sports etc.) and catering the curriculum to that encourages them to find themselves in our learning.” (Respondent 4)
“I tell them, you can do it, and you are as smart as anybody else. And actually, I read the literature that many geniuses, they were dyslexic. So, I tell them, you will be fine now. You learn in a different way, but in the end of the day, you guys are smart, they are smart. “ (Respondent 6)
The impact the respondents had on the students’ possibilities to create good relationships in the classroom was mentioned by half of the respondents. Sometimes this could be made quite easy by creating good learning groups. Other times, bigger interventions were needed, such as team building activities or having bigger class discussions about social climate and friendship. One respondent also emphasized the importance of taking this perspective into the ordinary classwork, where they would practice empathy skills, etc.
“I think also in general, creating an environment of trust in the classroom by doing a lot of team building and working sharing/supporting each other into our daily routines. Setting a tone of warmth in the classroom is super important. In literature, we do a lot of perspective-taking when looking at characters and practicing skills like empathy. I think this helps all students feel comfortable in class which is so valuable for them in terms of taking risks in the classroom.” (Respondent 4)
The relationships between the students and Learning Support was mentioned as a success factor for students with SEN. Two respondents said that the students liked Learning Support and felt safe there. One respondent also mentioned that it was extra important with good relationships between the Learning Support team and the students if they needed to help with the relationships between Regular Education teachers and students.
“It is all relational. We don’t do much intervention wise but lots on the softer skills - metacognition, growth mindset.” (Respondent 1)
“Students are often relieved to come to resource as they can relax, be honest and get help. “ (Respondent 2)
Two respondents talked about the importance of encouraging students to dare to make mistakes. They emphasized the fact that mistakes are something that we all do and if we learn from our mistakes, the mistakes will help us grow. One respondent explained how it was important to teach the students to continue trying even when they were struggling and to reinforce this behavior. The respondent
some time of encouraging and trying to support the students, there was often a change and a growth in the students’ mindsets.
“And I say if you make mistakes, I make mistakes. don’t worry about it. I talk to them about it in the beginning of the school year and throughout the school year. And I see growth. Some kids don’t want to speak, and, in the end, I can see the growth and they do it. “(Respondent 6)
“Listening - being open-minded and allowing students to make their own decisions, learn through their mistakes… “. (Respondent 2)
A good collaboration between the Learning Support team and Regular Education teacher was something that half the respondents mentioned as a success factor for creating a good social climate and to help students with SEN succeed both academically and socially. One respondent from the Learning Support team meant it was important for the student to feel that compliments and proof of success didn’t only come from Learning Support but from the faculty itself. Two respondents mentioned how important the help from Learning Support was as they could give both academic and non-academic advice on how to support the students.
“Pointing out the victories and being as strength-based as possible is also important. Using good differentiation practice already going on in school is helpful as the message is the coming from faculty and not just Learning Support.” (Respondent 1)
“Strengths come in the form of the expertise of LS specialists and their knowledge which vastly exceeds ours. They also give us great non-academic advice about how to work with and deal with students who are struggling because of learning differences.” (Respondent 4)
“I am a secondary school X teacher and I find that Learning Support underpins every lesson that I teach. For me, it means planning and delivering lessons where each student can achieve. For this to happen, I need to consider what methods I will use to deliver the content. I also need to know which students will benefit from extra guidance, support, and scaffolding.” (Respondent 7)
Differentiation
One topic that all of the respondents talked about was differentiation, emphasizing the necessity of it to be able to accommodate all students. One respondent said it was little differentiation in the classrooms, which made it harder for the students to be comfortable with the curriculum. Two respondents meant that one of the difficulties was to differentiate when not all students wanted to be differentiated as they didn’t want to feel different from the rest of the class. One challenge with the differentiation that some respondents addressed was the increase of workload that came with the differentiation. At the same time, one respondent explained, that usually, more than one student did benefit from the differentiation which made it easier to accept and to put any effort in. One respondent also explained that differentiation wasn’t only to have the students doing the tasks in different ways it was also letting some students take breaks when they needed to. Another one explained that
differentiation could also be realizing that someone needed help even when it wasn’t asked for, or to sit beside someone during one whole task to make that student work at all.
“Learning Support results in me having to differentiate for different needs in my class. It is a bit more work than just a regular lesson, but all students usually benefit from the differentiation, so you can do a lot of the strategies for the entire class. “(Respondent 3)
“The biggest challenge is that every student is different. There are some students that do not ask for help when they need it, so even if I have given them additional guidance, provided a scaffold etc., they still might not have a go at the work unless I am next to them.” (Respondent 7)
down the activities or to do. Like for example sometimes I have kids who have ADHD and I can't expect them to stay concentrated for the whole class so I let them know, I tell them, you know if you guys need to walk out, to stand up, to get some activity you need to go the bathroom or whatever, you do it. So, I don’t anticipate, I try to differentiate. I now some kids they can’t sit still 50 minutes”. (Respondent 6) Almost half of the respondents named one success factor that seemed extra important for the students to achieve what they wanted academically, as the students desire to be inclusive. To achieve this the teachers had to differentiate the classrooms. But the respondents also pointed out that a challenge for this was that the students didn’t want to feel different from their peers. A positive social climate was pointed out as part of the solution to make the students willing and able to advocate for themselves and to use their accommodations even though this would make them do things a little bit differently from their peers.
“Weaknesses (with Learning Support, author's comment) include that students may not want to feel like they are doing something different then the class.” (Respondent 3)
“My students who are part of the LS department seem confident in class and are able to have good relationships with me where they can advocate for themselves. I think we have a lot of different learning styles in school, so kids are used to seeing differentiated assignments.” (Respondent 4)
“All students are aware. However, certain are very cognizant it takes them more time and at times, they don’t understand even with extensions. They want to be more independent, but they realize the need for support.” (Respondent 2)
Implementation
All the respondents agreed there were several ways students could receive help to achieve the
curriculum goals. All the respondents from the group of Regular Education teachers said that they did get a lot of help from the teachers in the Learning Support team. The Learning Support team told them which students needed help, what kind of support the students needed, and ways to use to reach the students in the class. Two respondents addressed the importance of getting more education for teachers about students with SEN and strategies to use etcetera. They mentioned there would be at least one student with SEN in each class and to be able to meet all students’ needs and to understand their learning requirements they felt it was important to be educated in a variety of learning
differences. This way they would gain more knowledge about how different diagnoses could affect different students, skills and struggles etcetera, but also more concrete things such as how testing tools work and different ways to do the assessments.
“LS can advise me on best approaches with students both by supplying me with a report and they are always happy to discuss individuals when they also teach them. They also document student’s requirements like extended time or use of a computer. They occasionally offer opportunities for learning about issues like, for example, what it is like to have dyslexia. Sometimes they are able to help give assessments so that students have the best possible testing situation. “(Respondent 3)
“And we need to be educated. For now, all of the teachers at X have kids who has learning differences and learn in a different way. So, we need to be educated. “(Respondent 6)
One important topic that the respondents from the Learning Support team talked about was the students’ own willingness to be part of the Learning Support and the commitment from both teachers and students. One kind of help that the students were given and that was emphasized by the
“We do a lot of this sort of work in resource. Lots of 1-1 check-ins (coaching), lots of unpicking of emotions that inhibit learning. This part of resource class is hugely important and probably the biggest factor in the success of kids.” (Respondent 1)
“I push them to develop a growth, detective mindset. I don’t accept negative thinking, self-deprecation, or excuses. I also recognize and name their challenges and have them understand how this impacts their performance.” (Respondent 2)
Accommodations that several respondents thought were important were structural accommodations such as study plans, visualization, time management, and technological aid. These were
accommodations that the students would be given from Learning Support and then learned to use in their ordinary classrooms.
“Organizational strategies: maintaining an effective system to record assignments. Homework tracker/Google Keep. Listing out assignments and prioritizing. Makes study schedules/plans. Time management/Self-Monitoring: Pomodoro Reading Strategies: Visualization and verbalizing - making pictures of what they read. Assistive Technology: Text to speech, audiobooks. Writing: Rewriting task sheets and using visuals to provoke ideas.” (Respondent 2).
“We don’t get to go into classes often… if at all, so transference is hard. Using technology is helpful - syncing all the school’s platforms onto one place (google calendar), movement breaks, self-awareness strategies.” (Respondent 1)
Half of the respondents mentioned the importance of making the student independent. One respondent explained this with the example that the students sometimes spent their time in resource class doing their homework. This way the students wouldn’t learn how to learn which would be something they could use in more subjects and also later on in life.
“I also value the LS specialists I have worked with because they encourage students to be independent and accountable. Those types of strategies definitely travel with the students as they go through their day. “ (Respondent 4)
“sometimes students just work on their homework in resource, and I don’t think that is effective. They should be working on learning how they learn, rather than just the homework.“ (Respondent 3) “Another challenge is finding the right balance between support and independence so that the students have the necessary tools but that they are also taking a growth mindset approach to their work.” (Respondent 6)
One important part of the implementation that the respondents mentioned was the students’ ability to advocate for themselves. To be able to do this one respondent explained that a good relationship with the teacher was important where the teacher and the student together could try to find where the student felt his biggest struggles were.
“Advocacy is a great success - most of the time! Lots of roll playing and dissecting the problem so we know what we want to solve and what we need.” (Respondent 1)
“Helping teachers to understand things from the student’s perspective is really important so they can better appreciate what the students need and what learning is like for them. If they get this, they will become more empathetic. Small group meetings are good for this as they create an open-door policy from our department to general teachers. Also, it allows teachers to be honest about their struggles - which is hard for them! “(Respondent 1)
“It’s very helpful. LS specialists give us insight into students’ learning needs and have access to things such as specific testing tools that help us identify specific gaps in the students’ skill sets. They also provide us with strategies that help us support students’ work such as how to chunk instructions or using more literal vocabulary in task sheets.” (Respondent 4)
Some of the respondents from the group of Regular Education teachers mentioned they felt that the expectations from the Learning Support team were a lot higher than the teachers could handle due to external circumstances. This could for example be physical issues such as too small classrooms, or not enough classrooms for separate testing. The teachers also said that the recommendations they got from Learning Support not always worked in their specific subject or in the setting they worked. Some respondents also mentioned that it could be hard when advices from Learning Support were general as the different subject were different and therefore the students had different needs in those classes. There could also be changes that were not possible to make due to circumstances that could be hard for the Learning Support team to understand and better collaboration between the two groups was requested.
“Another difficulty is that LS specialists don’t necessarily know the needs of different classrooms and subjects. So, for example, the ways in which my English class operates and the work we do might be significantly different from the art class that has a very different logistical element to it. So, working with general strategies is not always effective because they might not necessarily fit out classes.” (Respondent 4)
“Or, another example, if all are supposed to sit in the front and away from each other. As LS classes are small, they may not realize how it is for Regular Education teachers. Similarly, the test
accommodations can become impossible for example if they are to be in a separate space, but I have nowhere or fewer places than students. To be fair though, LS teachers will do all they can to help with these sorts of complexities.” (Respondent 5)
Two respondents mentioned that a big challenge was time and resources, which made it hard for the Learning Support team to be sufficient for all the students in need, and for the students and teachers to feel that they were getting all the help they needed.
“I think time is always a struggle. LS departments are often underfunded and understaffed so there’s a lot of pressure on LS specialists. Additionally, teachers struggle with the time that it takes to
differentiate appropriately for all their different students.” (Respondent 4)
Another challenge that was mentioned was that all strategies didn’t have an immediate response. Even when the students were using the right strategy, the skill or the task itself might have taken a lot of time to learn and to accomplish. This could feel very unrewarding for the students and would impact their motivation as they might feel they rather quit than to continue the struggle.
“Challenges include things such as reading and writing because they are skills that take a long time to show progress. If students are reluctant readers and writers, even helpful strategies may not result in many successes for them because there are no immediate rewards. “(Respondent 4)
long as you understand what the student wants to say, it is ok”. But the respondent meant it wasn’t possible to think this way in the Diploma Program as this is the last two years of the International Baccalaureate and there wasn’t enough flexibility there.
“You know we are inclusive which is great. But the demand from the DP and what they can do is a gap. The IB program is very demanding, and to assess them we have some rubrics … we have some rubrics about spelling and grammar and kids who have dyslexia they already have a disadvantage for learning another language. The rubrics don’t take into account that the kids are dyslexic.” (Respondent 6)
Discussion
The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the importance of social climate as part of the learning environment for students with SEN in inclusive classrooms. The results show that the respondents found the social climate to be important when including students with SEN in their classrooms, and for them to be able, and to want, to use the accommodations they were provided by the Learning Support team. The social climate in each classroom was something that the teachers felt that they could help the students to create. The respondents said that the social climate was important for the wellbeing of the students but also for the students to be able to implement any accommodations that might be needed to take part in the curriculum.
Social climate
Allodi (2010a) and Duarte Santos et al. (2016) argued that a good social climate is needed to make inclusion a success, which is consistent with what the respondents stated during the interviews. All the respondents in the study agreed that the social climate had an impact on how well the inclusion and the use of accommodations were used. The respondents acknowledged that if it was not a positive social climate it was harder for the students to show their needs due to the desire to be like their peers. The respondents also said that, in a classroom where the social climate was not positive, they had to help the students create it. This was done by discussions, change of assignments and tasks, and by getting topics like inclusion and relationships involved in the subjects that were being taught.
Allodi's model (2010a) of a social climate includes ten categories: creativity, stimulation,
achievement, efficacy, safety, control, helpfulness, participation, responsibility, and influence. All categories describe parts of a positive social climate that creates self-assertion and altruism, as well as stability and change. The respondents described that they had to manage the students' self-confidence, both in Learning Support and in inclusive classrooms. Allodi (2010 a) defined this part of the social climate efficacy when the students gain self-confidence by the teachers' support. The respondents explained that part of this work was done one on one with the students in Learning Support by talking to them or through a roleplay. Part of the work was done in the classroom where the teachers broke down tasks and changed the activities due to different students' strengths. The breaking down activities also made the students feel some kind of success in their tasks, which would be part of the category that Allodi (2010 a) named achievment. Something that many of the respondents talked about, both regarding social climate as well as the academic achievement was the way their relationships with the students was a way to gain trust and through that show the students their willingness to help. These parts of the social climate resemble the categories safety and helpfulness in Allodi's model.
