In my master's thesis I am researching experiences and impressions of mainstream students and those of special education programme on spending time in the same environment.
In order to understand the institution of school as a living environment, I begin by explaining the importance and influence of school environment and interpersonal relations for children's mental health. Furthermore, I present the characteristics of special needs children's groups and explain the concepts of integration and inclusion. My research includes relationships between two groups of students, how they experience their time in school and their experiences of co-existing with other students in the same environment. Research problem of my master's thesis exposes experiences of co-existing between mainstream students and those who attend special education programme and supports students' opinion when it comes to forming future cooperation of all who are a part of school environment. In association with one of Ljubljana's elementary school I will include 12 students, who attend first triad of regular grammar school and 6 students who attend special education programme. The data needed for this research will be gained through combination of a method of creative expression through drawing and partly through structured interview.
The results have shown that all students show positive attitude towards school and their general well-being associated with school is good. Peer relations represent the heart of school community. Students report that otherness at their school isn't accepted well and that they believe that various activities could contribute to better feeling of all who are a part of the school environment. Students’ knowledge of children with special needs is superficial and general; it has been shown that there is a lack of information from the field of specific knowledge, such as characteristics of behaviour and feeling of special needs children that share school environment with other students daily. Students are aware of children who attend special education programme and they regard it as common, something as usual as interpersonal contact they have in their classes. However, the contacts they have among themselves are superficial. They are most often established through informal forms of social interaction. As some of past experiences of cooperation between these two groups of students, they expose common sports and fine art activities and free play. They desire to keep these forms of cooperation in the future which shows a need for forming activities that will be organised but at the same time informal and with an emphasis on building social skills of all involved.
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