The evaluation of a peer preparation programme

Abstract

Research has shown that the mere placement, without support or preparation, of a child with a disability in an ordinary school will not necessarily lead to positive and reciprocal social interactions between peers with and without disabilities. This study, therefore, examined the effects of a specific Peer Preparation Programme (Nightingale, 1997) on the sociometric status of children with and without disability. The sample consisted of 238 primary school children in three year groups (Years 1, 3 and 6) at a local co-educational independent school. There were four classes per year with a child with a disability in one class in each year. The class that this child formed a part of was identified as the experimental class in each year. The other three classes per year were the control groups and in each of these a child with learning difficulties was identified so as to have twelve focus children. The intervention consisted of the Peer Preparation Programme which five teachers, following training, used systematically with their classes. Each student in the twelve classes was tested, before and after intervention, using sociometric techniques, based on Moreno (1934). The students' sociometric status was defined by the number of choices/refusals they received and the value of these choices. A series of related t-tests for repeated measures and matched pairs were carried out on the means of the sociometric tests. Post-intervention results revealed that the class means tended to change positively in the classes where the programme was used. The scores of the focus children also revealed positive changes in the classes which used the programme. Although there was no consistent significant change, the results indicate that this programme seems to have a positive effect on children's acceptance of each other and their peers with disability.