Conference Agenda

The development of social relationships has been offered as an important justification for the inclusion of students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in regular schools. However, recent sociometric research has consistently reported that integrated students with SEND run a greater risk of being socially marginalized within their class (Bossaert, De Boer et al., 2015; Pijl & Frostad, 2010; Schwab, 2015) and have fewer stable friendships than their typically developing (TD) peers (Frostad, Mjaavatn, & Pijl, 2011; Schwab, 2019). The overwhelming evidence on the poor social standing of students with SEND in mainstream settings is often attributed to the insufficient sets of age-group appropriate social skills possessed by these students (Garrote, 2017; Schwab Gebhardt, Krammer & Gasteiger-Klicpera, 2015), which prevent them from interacting and forming relationships with classmates. Unsurprisingly then, a number of school-based intervention programs have been developed with a view to enhancing the socio-emotional development of students with SEND and, ultimately, foster their social participation (Garrote, Dessemontet & Opitz, 2017).

The increased utilisation of school-based programmes aiming at improving students’ social emotional wellbeing could be attributed to research showing social emotional learning (SEL) competencies influence all students’ academic engagement and achievement (e.g., DiPerna, Lei, Cheng, Hart, & Bellinger, 2017) and decrease some concurrent problem behaviors (e.g., DiPerna, Lei, Bellinger, & Cheng, 2015). Moreover, having well-developed social skills and engaging in prosocial behavior can assist traditionally marginalized groups of students, such as students with SEND, to become members of peer groups within their class and ultimately develop friendships.

The present study reports the outcomes of a recently developed such intervention, the XX program. This programme was developed within the scope of an ERASMUS+ funded project, which aimed at improving the social participation and inclusion of all students aged between 8 and 11 years. It consists of 12 sessions, each with an approximate duration of 45 to 60 minutes, conducted two times a week, over a period of 6 weeks. The program does not have a narrow focus on individual students with SEND or those who stand out as marginalized but, instead, it is implemented at the class level thus addressing the entirety of the student population. The programme was designed to strengthen students’ social-emotional skills (empathy, collaboration, self-control, assertiveness) with an emphasis on their prosocial behavior. Students learn to recognize their own feelings and those of their peers and develop the ability to deal with them. Furthermore, it is aimed to enhance students’ self-awareness (self-concept) and increase their understanding of inclusion and acceptance of diversity. Ultimately, peer inclusiveness and the development of new friendships while strengthening existing relationships are important outcomes.

To sum up, the XX intervention activities have been developed in a way that can be easily implemented into the school lessons to establish social routines in the class and sustainably foster all students’ social-emotional skills as a crucial requirement for social participation. More importantly, the programme’s experiential activities (e.g., artistic and reflective tasks, role-play activities etc) can be implemented by regular teachers in their classes without the supervision of a specialist (i.e. a psychologists). The present study represents the first systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of this newly developed programme.

For this session, researchers will discuss findings from two studies investigating academic and behavioral interventions for students with/at-risk for emotional-behavioural disorders (EBD) in inclusive settings. First, findings will be presented from an intervention study focusing on training elementary students with EBD to be cross-age tutors for younger students with mathematics difficulties. Outcomes related to mathematics performance, positive behaviour improvement, and change in risk-status for EBD will be reported. Components of effective peer tutoring models will also be discussed, as well as how students with EBD function as tutors and recieve possible positive benefits from the role. Second, researchers will present findings on the effects of an intervention package, called Engaged Leaners, on elementary students' engagement, inattention, and reading skills. Components of the intervention package include providing visual schedules, high levels of behavior specific praise, a token economy system, and self-regulation strategies. Both studies/intervention models were designed and evaluated within inclusive educational settings.

Study 1: Inclusive classrooms continue to demonstrate a need for effective instructional techniques and arrangements that meet the needs of students with varying disabilities, simultaneously within inclusive settings. Barriers to certain instructional models and interventions become compounded when cost(s) and/or feasibility become issues (e.g., personnel, materials, training; Bettini et al., 2015). Cross-age tutoring has shown promise of effectiveness and feasibility for practitioner implementation, and may be suitable for addressing intensive academic needs as well as providing tutors with EBD opportunities to practice and develop social and behavioural skills in an academic context (Watts et al., 2019).

Study 2: Identifying effective mechanisms to support student engagement during reading instruction for students with co-occurring reading difficulties and inattention (RD+Inattention) is a critical issue in education. Therefore, Engaged Learners was developed over a series of studies be an intervention that can be easily integrated into an evidence-based reading curriculums to support student engagement to instruction, and delivered by novice interventionists. The purpose of the study was to test the impact of Engaged Leaners on student engagement as well as its social validity, usability, and feasibility when integrated into an evidence-based reading intervention for Grade 3-5 students with RD+inattention. Engaged Learners includes the following components: (a) visual schedule, (b) high levels of behavior specific praise, (c) token economy, and (d) self-regulation. Through integrating Engaged Learners into an evidence-based reading curriculum, we aimed to address the following research questions: (1) What are the effects of integrating Engaged Learners into an evidence-based reading intervention on student engagement for students with RD+Inattention?, (2) To what extent do students find Engaged Learners to be a socially valid and effective program, and (3) To what extend do interventionists find Engaged Learners to be socially valid, feasible, usable, and effective program?

Relevance to Learners, Families, and/or Educators of Diverse Groups:
Students with challenging behaviors are frequently found to have both behavioural and academic deficits (Kern, 2015). Additionally, teachers, both general and special education, have been found to be ill equipped to meet the intensive needs of this population (Allday et al., 2012). These needs, if left unaddressed, frequently lead to detrimental outcomes during adult years (Wynne et al., 2013). Focusing on these deficit areas, this presentation will provide researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers with findings related to effective academic and behavioural interventions for students with challenging and/or off-task behaviours in inclusive education settings. By providing evidence and strategies for effective practices, we aim to improve both academic and behavioral outcomes for this population of students and their families.

Bullying is a model of social behaviour that develops and escalates if not limited in time. Bullying can be verbal, physical, or cyberbullying. The causes of bullying and violence in schools are peers' physical deficiencies, gender, social inequality, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity, gender identity (UNESCO, 2019). When analysing bullying situations in schools, the social context must be taken into account. Attention should be shifted from perceiving bullying as a relationship between two persons (perpetrator and victim) to perceiving bullying as a process involving and affecting bystanders - students who are present in bullying situations (Monks et al., 2009; Salimi et al., 2020; Padgett&Notar, 2013). The actions, behaviour and attitudes of bystanders can both increase and decrease the level of bullying. Research suggests that empowering bystanders, developing the necessary tools and encouraging them to step in and become upstanders - students who engage in bullying situations in order to reduce or prevent them – should become an integral part of bullying prevention programs (Cornu et al., 2022).

The current study aims to analyse how to enable and encourage bystanders to become upstanders. The research question would be: How upstanders' behavior is promoted to prevent bullying at school? In the literature we can find several theorethical approaches or models that explain what actions should be taken for bystanders to become upstanders. The bystanders’ intervention model (BIM) created by Latané and Darley (1970), which has been applied mostly to situations of safety and health issues, generally focuses on the bystanders' capability to interpret the situation, select a strategy, and take action accordingly (Nickerson et al., 2014). The model proposed by Dunn (2010) stresses more pedagogical aspects of intervention and highlights an essential component of intervention—empathy, which should be raised along with the necessary skills for intervention and assistance to victims (Barnett et al., 2019). Several programs focusing on the promotion of positive group dynamics and students' wellbeing have been successfully implemented in Latvia, for example "Promotion of Positive Behaviour in Children with Institutional Care Experience" and "Social Emotional Development," both created by the University of Latvia (Daniela, Nimante, Martinsone, 2018). However, there is still a need to emphasize more individual responsibility of each student for creating an inclusive environment and acting as an upstander in cases where there are signals of aggressive peer behaviors that could easily transform into bullying, and research analyzing the transformation from bystanders to upstanders could be very helpful in filling gaps in awareness toward bullying and the roles that students take in bullying situations.