Primary school teachers´ social-emotional competencies and strategies in fostering the social participation of students with SEBD

Abstract

Although social participation is considered a major facet of inclusion it proves to be particularly challenging for students with social, emotional or behavioural difficulties (SEBD). To avoid the latter’s exclusion it is crucial to focus on possible ways of improving the school setting for such learners. Teachers are seen as key actors in facilitating students´ social involvement. This study thus focuses on teachers´ own social-emotional competencies (SEC) and their efforts to foster their students´ social participation and presents the results of an online survey with Austrian primary school teachers working in mainstream schools (N = 155). The study shows what teachers do in their daily practice to promote the social participation of students with SEBD and how it is linked to teachers´ own SEC. We find that Austrian primary school teachers in our sample apply direct and indirect strategies in equal measure when fostering the social participation of students with SEBD and that they rated themselves as being rather effective. Our results stress the importance of teachers’ interpersonal competencies in using strategies to promote social participation among such students. The higher teachers rated their own interpersonal skills, the more direct and indirect social participation strategies they applied.