Fostering the Social Development of Children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) through Dialogue and Interaction: A Literature Review

Abstract

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 stresses the importance of offering all students an inclusive, quality education, so that they can develop necessary life skills, including academic and social skills. Students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) not only have greater difficulties in their academic development, but they also have some social development limitations. It is therefore necessary to identify which strategies are effective in helping these students develop social skills. Previous research has noted that dialogical learning environments can contribute to promoting inclusion. This paper provides a literature review of interventions, based on social interaction and their impact on the social skills of students with disabilities. A literature search was performed of scientific databases (Web of Science, SCOPUS, PsycINFO and ERIC) to identify research that used dialogue and interaction to promote the development of the social skills of these students. Twenty-nine studies were selected that yielded improved results in the increase and quality of interactions and the promotion of social behaviours, such as initiations, participation, collaboration, social connection, self-regulation and self-image. Based on these results, it can be concluded that interaction-based interventions with an inclusive approach nurture the social skills of students with disabilities, in line with previous research.

Beyond the School Walls: Keeping Interactive Learning Environments Alive in Confinement for Students in Special Education

“…Additionally, it is worth highlighting that the benefits reported have been observed after only 6 months implementing DLGs (either face-to-face or online). Taking into account the benefits interactive learning has proven to have on students with special needs (Molina Roldán, 2015;García-Carrión et al, 2018;Fernandez-Villardon et al, 2020), having the possibility to transfer DLGs to the online modality as a way to maintain these interactions even in lockdown is important, on the one hand because school closure due to COVID-19 continues today in some contexts and, on the other hand, because new confinements could be applied in other contexts while the sanitary emergency continues. Our results open new opportunities for other schools teaching students with special needs to keep this environment of interaction, learning, and group cohesion.…”

“…Difficulties to balance working from home while taking care of their children with disabilities have been pointed out (Hole and Stainton, 2020), as well as the loss of essential resources such as educators or structured learning environments (Masonbrink and Hurley, 2020). In addition, research done before the pandemic had shown the benefits interactive learning environments have on students with special needs, which improve the quality of the education these students are usually given (García-Carrión et al, 2018;Fernandez-Villardon et al, 2020). However, school closure and social distance may put in jeopardy these interactive environments that have been considered so important in special education.…”

“…Research has shown that educational interventions based on interaction and dialogue between children can have a positive impact on the social skills of students with SEN (Fernandez-Villardon et al, 2020). Besides, even if special schools' students have often received an education based on poor interaction and low expectations, the possibility of creating interactive learning environments in these schools has been evidenced (García-Carrión et al, 2018), contributing to new learning opportunities.…”

How Inclusive Interactive Learning Environments Benefit Students Without Special Needs

“…According to Bruner (1996) , group work in schools in the form of communities of mutual learners allows for an equilibrium between individuality and group effectiveness, ensuring that everyone progresses according to their ability and giving all children the opportunity “to enter the culture with awareness of what it is about and what one does to cope with it as a participant” (p. 82). Interactive learning spaces, especially when they are mediated by dialogue, permit collective thinking and learning, enhance academic achievement, social skills, and social cohesion, and are especially beneficial for vulnerable groups of students ( Fernández-Villardón et al, 2020 ; García-Carrión et al, 2020 ). Hence, the objectives of inclusive education would be better attained when such interactive and dialogic learning environments are promoted.…”

Creating Learning Environments Free of Violence in Special Education Through the Dialogic Model of Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts

“…Traditionally, there has been a tendency to approach the coexistence in special education schools or classrooms in a more disciplinary way and from a more behavioral perspective, rather than from a social or dialogic one ( Beam and Mueller, 2016 ). However, there is increasing evidence of the relevance of interactions in the learning of children with disabilities ( García-Carrión et al, 2018 ; Fernández-Villardon et al, 2020 ), which play a key role in the development of both cognitive abilities and positive feelings, such as solidarity and friendship. But more research is needed to understand how this interaction-based learning can affect the prevention of violence with students with disabilities.…”