Environmental adjustment needs of children with special educational needs in Austrian mainstream schools : the child and teacher perspective

Morgenthaler, Thomas; Kramer-Roy, Debbie; Schulze, Christina

doi:10.1080/19411243.2022.2027838

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-24197

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	Environmental adjustment needs of children with special educational needs in Austrian mainstream schools : the child and teacher perspective
Authors:	Morgenthaler, Thomas Kramer-Roy, Debbie Schulze, Christina
et. al:	No
DOI:	10.1080/19411243.2022.2027838 10.21256/zhaw-24197
Published in:	Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention
Volume(Issue):	16
Issue:	2
Page(s):	138
Pages to:	159
Issue Date:	2022
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	Taylor & Francis
ISSN:	1941-1243 1941-1251
Language:	English
Subjects:	Participation; Special educational need; Child perspective; Inclusion; Accommodation; Barrier
Subject (DDC):	371: Schools and their activities
Abstract:	Children with special educational needs included in Austrian main stream schools are provided with special educational support, which aim to create learning environments, that meet the children’s needs on an individual level. Little is known about what adjustments children with special educational needs in mainstream school classes require to promote participation in school occupations. This is the first study in Austria exploring the student-environment-fit from self-perceived chil dren’s perspective and comparing this to teachers’ perspective by using the School Setting Interview. In this cross-sectional matched pairs study twenty-five children (mean age 12.5 ± 1.4) with special educational needs and twenty-one teachers from six Austrian second ary schools were interviewed. Participants’ ratings were analyzed descriptively and statistically with Wilcoxon-Sign Rank Test. Reported adjustments from the child and teacher perspectives were analyzed with qualitative content analysis and presented using the occupa tional, social and physical environmental dimensions from the Model of Human Occupation. Results indicate perceived student environment-fit differs between school activities as well as between children and teachers. Three out of 16 school activities showed a statistically significant difference between children and teacher matched-pair analysis. Children perceive more unmet needs then teachers. Most adjustments are reported in the social environment dimension and inform practitioners what adjustments are perceived to be useful for children with Special Educational Needs and their tea chers. Both children’s and teacher’s perspectives provide valuable information. Significantly, children in this study were able to identify required needs and describe adjustments. To increase participation in school occupations, children can and need to be actively included in the decision-making process.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/24197
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	CC BY 4.0: Attribution 4.0 International
Departement:	School of Health Sciences
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Occupational Therapy (IER)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Gesundheit

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Morgenthaler, T., Kramer-Roy, D., & Schulze, C. (2022). Environmental adjustment needs of children with special educational needs in Austrian mainstream schools : the child and teacher perspective. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 16(2), 138–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/19411243.2022.2027838

Morgenthaler, T., Kramer-Roy, D. and Schulze, C. (2022) ‘Environmental adjustment needs of children with special educational needs in Austrian mainstream schools : the child and teacher perspective’, Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 16(2), pp. 138–159. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/19411243.2022.2027838.

T. Morgenthaler, D. Kramer-Roy, and C. Schulze, “Environmental adjustment needs of children with special educational needs in Austrian mainstream schools : the child and teacher perspective,” Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 138–159, 2022, doi: 10.1080/19411243.2022.2027838.

MORGENTHALER, Thomas, Debbie KRAMER-ROY und Christina SCHULZE, 2022. Environmental adjustment needs of children with special educational needs in Austrian mainstream schools : the child and teacher perspective. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention. 2022. Bd. 16, Nr. 2, S. 138–159. DOI 10.1080/19411243.2022.2027838

Morgenthaler, Thomas, Debbie Kramer-Roy, and Christina Schulze. 2022. “Environmental Adjustment Needs of Children with Special Educational Needs in Austrian Mainstream Schools : The Child and Teacher Perspective.” Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention 16 (2): 138–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/19411243.2022.2027838.

Morgenthaler, Thomas, et al. “Environmental Adjustment Needs of Children with Special Educational Needs in Austrian Mainstream Schools : The Child and Teacher Perspective.” Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, vol. 16, no. 2, 2022, pp. 138–59, https://doi.org/10.1080/19411243.2022.2027838.