Success Stories of Educators with Socially Neglected Students: Perceptions and Support Strategies
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| Title: | Success Stories of Educators with Socially Neglected Students: Perceptions and Support Strategies |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Korem, Anat |
| Source: | Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal. Jul 2019 22(3):687-700. |
| Availability: | Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 14 |
| Publication Date: | 2019 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Social Isolation, Peer Relationship, Social Support Groups, Self Esteem, Interpersonal Competence, Skill Development |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11218-019-09494-6 |
| ISSN: | 1381-2890 |
| Abstract: | Socially neglected students are those who are unnoticed by their peers. Over time, this neglect may have a negative impact on their socio-emotional development. Therefore, the present study aimed to focus on educators' perceptions and support strategies regarding these students. Ten case studies were analyzed, in which educators reported that they had succeeded in supporting a student who was unnoticed by the peers. It was found that prior to the support process, the educators described these students as lacking characteristics common to the peer group. Three objectives were identified in the educators' support strategies: (1) strengthening the student in himself, (2) teaching the student social skills and (3) increasing the student's involvement within the peer group. Success in the support process, however, was perceived by the educators as being primarily connected to achieving of the third objective. This indicates that educators attach great importance to the normative social involvement of socially neglected students. Alongside with these positive findings, some critical aspects regarding the essence of the educational support intervention and its objectives are raised. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2019 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1224979 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Url: https://content.ebscohost.com/cds/retrieve?content=AQICAHj0k_4E0hTGH8RJwT4gCJyBsGNe_WN95AvKlDbXJGqwxwFCr4BV8RhggFfGk4gXsxlXAAAA4zCB4AYJKoZIhvcNAQcGoIHSMIHPAgEAMIHJBgkqhkiG9w0BBwEwHgYJYIZIAWUDBAEuMBEEDNc3R2-8MNEtFs8GnAIBEICBm-VQYfmNvpN6VkFTwh9zrQ-Sjg4ZyPldCPfBfvdTU3XT-wlP9AonB5_gqPMYv6lFKbe5lwNt7264rO-CnfCds_IXEBqY5BAGYBUMgYRJ6mrmdiL-3QamaWnN0lQ0ObBQRu3jWJzHq2ys3ozWN3wH_LVaaVEloRq8n7lz-TwWAZLZc-Wv2iNdMa2ge-i8iXHbexTK2wYw_QHt4sw0 Text: Availability: 1 Value: <anid>AN0138110631;luo01jul.19;2019Aug19.07:58;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0138110631-1">Success stories of educators with socially neglected students: perceptions and support strategies </title> <p>Socially neglected students are those who are unnoticed by their peers. Over time, this neglect may have a negative impact on their socio-emotional development. Therefore, the present study aimed to focus on educators' perceptions and support strategies regarding these students. Ten case studies were analyzed, in which educators reported that they had succeeded in supporting a student who was unnoticed by the peers. It was found that prior to the support process, the educators described these students as lacking characteristics common to the peer group. Three objectives were identified in the educators' support strategies: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref1">1</reflink>) strengthening the student in himself, (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref2">2</reflink>) teaching the student social skills and (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref3">3</reflink>) increasing the student's involvement within the peer group. Success in the support process, however, was perceived by the educators as being primarily connected to achieving of the third objective. This indicates that educators attach great importance to the normative social involvement of socially neglected students. Alongside with these positive findings, some critical aspects regarding the essence of the educational support intervention and its objectives are raised.</p> <p>Keywords: Social status; Socially neglected students; Social withdrawal; Social competence; Social skills; Intervention</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-2">Introduction</hd> <p>Theoretical literature identifies a division into different social statuses, such as popular or rejected, in children's society. These statuses represent the level of social preference that the child has with other children and his/her standing in the social group. The social status known as "socially neglected" refers to individuals with low visibility in the group (Coie et al. [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref4">7</reflink>]). These are pupils whose impact on the group is limited; the others are not aware of their presence, find it hard to characterize them, and sometimes even forget them, partly or entirely. For example, when socially neglected adolescents attained high academic achievements, they were not perceived by their classmates as particularly good students (Wentzel and Asher [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref5">37</reflink>]). In everyday jargon there is a tendency to call them "transparent students".</p> <p>Academically, socially neglected pupils are perceived by their teachers as self-regulated learners, more independent and less impulsive than the pupils of average social status; they are characterized by school motivation (Wentzel and Asher [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref6">37</reflink>]). Nonetheless, there are also other findings that indicate learning difficulties (Hatzichristou and Hopf [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref7">15</reflink>]). It is important to note that the relationship between social skills and scholastic achievement runs both ways (Caemmerer and Keith [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref8">6</reflink>]), with social skills acting as academic enablers (Malecki and Elliott [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref9">17</reflink>]). The pupils who are involved in productive interactions in the classroom perceive themselves as full learners (Black [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref10">5</reflink>]) and gain access to shared understandings with the teacher; they are exposed to pedagogical values and to socio-cultural tools and can develop an identity of legitimate membership in the class practice (Wenger [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref11">36</reflink>]). In contrast, socially neglected pupils may find themselves marginalized from various practices in daily classroom life. This phenomenon has a strong affiliation with the aspect of marginalized identities in the classroom (as described in Black [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref12">5</reflink>]). Children whose contributions are almost never adopted by the group are liable to develop an identity based on lack of participation, and this is expected to increase their social marginalization (Wenger [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref13">36</reflink>]).</p> <p>Relative to other social statuses, little research has been devoted to socially neglected pupils (Franz and Gross [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref14">12</reflink>]). In light of this, the present research aspires to better understand how educators perceive these pupils and the educational strategies they consider to be supportive of these pupils. The study is essentially applicable, and therefore especially relevant to teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, and applied education researchers. The importance of the study lies in the fact that it will raise awareness of the phenomenon of socially neglected pupils and assist in the mapping of support intervention strategies for them within the school framework.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-3">Definition and characteristics of socially neglected students</hd> <p>The "neglected" social status, similar to other social statuses, is derived through a classification procedure based on socio-metric evaluations. In general, the pupils are asked to nominate the pupils in the group they like and those they do not. The pupils who are classified as socially neglected are those who are seldom mentioned by the peer group, either as liked or as disliked (Coie et al. [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref15">7</reflink>]; Franz and Gross [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref16">12</reflink>]).</p> <p>A number of distinctions should be noted. Firstly, there is sometimes a tendency to think that the socially neglected pupils are neglected children in terms of filling their needs. There is no strong empirical evidence of this assumption. That being said, it was found that parents of socially neglected children have less interaction with their children, as compared to parents of children with other social statuses (Franz and Gross [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref17">12</reflink>]).</p> <p>Secondly, the distinction between social neglect and social rejection must be clarified, as there is a tendency to interchange the two (Coie et al. [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref18">7</reflink>]). The first refers to a situation in which a child is left out of a group of children, and the second to the preference of the children not to be in the presence of a specific child. The "neglected" social status refers to the first phenomenon since, paradoxically, in order for a specific child to be rejected the children have to notice him. The difference can be illustrated by the example of an invitation to a party; the children will not want to invite the rejected pupil, whereas the neglected pupil they will forget to invite altogether.</p> <p>It is difficult to characterize socially neglected students in terms of unique emotional and cognitive characteristics, except that their behavioral indicators are lower than average (Becker [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref19">3</reflink>]). They are described as less active (Begin [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref20">4</reflink>]), lower in pro-social behavior (Hatzichristou and Hopf [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref21">15</reflink>]), and engage in less verbal interaction with their peers (Franz and Gross [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref22">12</reflink>]). They exhibit fewer behaviors that bother the surroundings, for instance, they are not characterized by high levels of aggressiveness (Newcomb et al. [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref23">23</reflink>]) and they have not been found to express themselves in a hostile manner (Dodge [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref24">10</reflink>]). As a result, their profiles remain enigmatic and not understood (Hatzichristou and Hopf [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref25">15</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-4">Why should educators support socially neglected pupils?</hd> <p>Socially neglected children are involved in few interactions with the peer group (Newcomb et al. [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref26">23</reflink>]). This may create (or exacerbate), over time, a lack of social skills (Becker [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref27">3</reflink>]). And indeed, the "neglected" social status is described in the theoretical literature as being tied to inappropriate behaviors that draw negative reactions from the peer group (Dodge [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref28">10</reflink>]). This lack of social skills may affect these pupils' present and future. For example, it was found that pupils' social passivity at school is associated with low perceived social competence (Paulsen et al. [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref29">24</reflink>]). Young people must be able to function in a variety of social contexts, and school should prepare them for this (see Pellegrino and Hilton [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref30">25</reflink>]; Ten Dam and Volman [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref31">33</reflink>]). Individuals who are unnoticed by their peer group might, over time, perceive themselves as irrelevant to the group and the community (Becker [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref32">3</reflink>]). This aspect relates to the association between educational processes, participation, group belonging, and effective citizenship (Saha [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref33">28</reflink>]).</p> <p>In addition, as children grow older, they are better able to recognize the unique characteristics of others and they tend to be less fond of children who leave the group. Therefore, the status of a student who keeps to herself may change for the worse as the child gets older (Margolin [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref34">19</reflink>]; Rubin et al. [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref35">27</reflink>]; Siegler et al. [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref36">31</reflink>]). That is, what started as social neglect at a young age may turn into social rejection as time goes by.</p> <p>This does not mean that all the students should be socially preferred by peers to the same extent, but rather that they should all be given the opportunity to feel 'present' in group. Today non-cognitive skills are considered to be significant for success in life (Heckman and Rubinstein [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref37">16</reflink>]). The Twenty-first century is characterized by an emphasis on competencies such as teamwork, assertive communication, cooperation and collaboration (Pellegrino and Hilton [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref38">25</reflink>]). Therefore, social skills are an important adaptation resource (on the importance of social skills in the labor market see Deming [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref39">9</reflink>]).</p> <p>Researchers argue that children who are unnoticed by their peer group require support and guidance from the educational staff (e.g., Becker [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref40">3</reflink>]; Dawes [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref41">8</reflink>]; Middleton et al. [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref42">20</reflink>]). The learning process takes place in a social context. When attention and thought is devoted to developing social competence, pupils can be taught to develop this competence through every activity that takes place in school and outside of it; However, the system should devote more attention to this and allocate specific tasks for it (Ten Dam and Volman [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref43">33</reflink>]). <emph>The present study</emph> seeks to advance the approach that perceives "social competence as an educational goal" (Ten Dam and Volman [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref44">33</reflink>]) and to investigate considerations and strategies of educators for supporting socially neglected pupils in the school setting. In accordance, the goals of the study were to identify and examine perceptions and support strategies of educators towards socially neglected students.</p> <p>Three questions stood before the study:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> How do educators describe the characteristics of students who are unnoticed by their peers?</item> <p></p> <item> Which strategies do educators consider as being supportive of students who are unnoticed by their peers?</item> <p></p> <item> According to which criteria do educators consider their support of students who are unnoticed by their peers as being successful?</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0138110631-5">Method</hd> <p>The study is a qualitative study based on the "Learning from success" method. Success study is an approach that focuses on examining strategies perceived as successful in a professional field in order to reveal the processes that led to them. This method was chosen since it encourages educators to undertake reflective thinking about the support strategies which they are reporting, and thus allows for a reduction in their use of defenses when reporting on cases that are connected with their work (Schechter et al. [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref45">30</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-6">Data collection</hd> <p>The study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews, where the question posed by the researcher to the educators taking part in the study was: "Can you describe a case where you succeeded in assisting a student on a social level?" The interview was conducted so that the study participant led the conversation, while the researcher asked questions in order to clarify (e.g. "what do you mean?") or expand (e.g. "could you give me an example?"). The interviews were conducted in quiet, pleasant environments. Each interview lasted between one and two hours.</p> <p>Twenty-three educators with various roles (11 home room teachers, 6 school counselors, 3 specific-discipline teachers, and 3 educators in managerial positions) took part in the study. The aim was to find experienced educators, so that they would be able to describe cases with different characteristics (the range of years of experience among the participants was 10–43 years, with a mean of 29.17 years of experience). The initial study participants were recruited through prior acquaintance, and others through the "snowball" method, that is, they themselves referred other educators to take part in the study. In addition, some of the participants were recruited through an invitation to participate in a study, that was disseminated widely among teachers studying for a master's degree at a teacher training college.</p> <p>Each interview yielded an average of around two case studies (the range was from 0 to 4) and a total of 43 case studies were collected. Of these, in ten case studies reported by ten participants, students who were not paid attention to by their peer group were described. This description is consistent with the description that appears in the literature regarding socially neglected children: "These children are not especially liked or disliked by peers; they simply go unnoticed" (Siegler et al. [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref46">31</reflink>], p. 513). Below are some examples of how the educators described these students: "The children didn't pay attention to him" or "She didn't arouse any special attention from the other children" (this is in contrast to those case studies where the educators described children whose peer groups had rejected or harassed them, for example: "When he had homework, no one wanted to bring it to him" or "he was subjected to bullying."). It should be noted that all students described in this study were from regular education.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-7">Data analysis</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0138110631-8">Stage 1</hd> <p>The researcher read the ten case studies and examined whether they were suitable for analysis using the "Learning from Success" method. All ten were found to be suitable, for the following reasons: (a) they described results that were desired, from the educator's point of view, (b) the results were described as being related to the educator's actions (Schechter et al. [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref47">30</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-9">Stage 2</hd> <p>The ten case studies were analyzed according to three components of the 'learning from success' method (Sykes et al. [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref48">32</reflink>]): (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref49">1</reflink>) A description of the student's condition prior to the support intervention. This component relates to the first category, which deals with the way educators describe the characteristics of students who are unnoticed by their peers. (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref50">2</reflink>) Examination of the educator's acts which, according to him, led to success. This component relates to the second category, which deals with the educator's support strategies. (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref51">3</reflink>) A description of the student's condition following the intervention. This component relates to the third category, which deals with the criteria, according to which the educators consider the case study as being successful.</p> <p>The participants' statements concerning each component were collected. In order to enhance the understandings related to the research questions, certain categories were sorted into sub-categories according to the criterion that was salient in the words of the participants; i.e. topics which the educators emphasized and detailed (Saldana [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref52">29</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-10">Stage 3</hd> <p>An additional researcher, who works in the field of education and psychology, was asked to give his opinion of the analysis. The two researchers held a discussion about the mapping of the data and changes were made in mutual agreement. The cooperation of two researchers in the process was intended to contribute to the credibility of the analysis (Tracy [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref53">34</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-11">Safeguarding the rights of the participants</hd> <p>The study was approved by the academic institution in which it was carried out. The interviews were done after the participants had agreed to participate in the study. They were told that their statements would be presented anonymously and without mentioning identifying details.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-12">Results and discussion</hd> <p>The results and the discussion regarding them will be presented together, in order to enrich the understandings that can be derived from the data analysis. The sentences in quotation marks are direct quotations of the participants in the study.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-13">The first category: the educators' description of the characteristics of students who are unn...</hd> <p>Everything the accepted pupils bring with them—she didn't have</p> <p>In their description of the characteristics of socially neglected pupils prior to the support process, the participants in the study referred mainly to a lack of the characteristics common to the peer group. A reference was made to an outdated external appearance, for example: "She didn't dress according to the young people's fashions. She had somewhat old-fashioned ideas about clothes and equipment. She wasn't modern." Another characteristic was a field of interest that was not in line with what was accepted in the peer group, such as: "At his age the boys like sports-oriented activity. He didn't go near it." With regard to some of the children, expressions of worry regarding social interaction were described, for example: "a fearful expression all the time" or "she created a situation where she didn't let the other children get near her." One of the participants in the study summarized her words by saying: "Children who are forgotten are children who are impaired in some way or lack something. They even lack the ability to scream: "I'm here!'".</p> <p>Ties between socially neglected students and other students were mostly described as loose or superficial. For example: "She didn't have a lot of friends, and her ties didn't have roots. With her, if there were ties, they were new ones." There were descriptions of ties with pupils from unaccepted social circles, for example: "Girls from the margins of society bonded with her. She didn't get into the social centers of her grade."</p> <p>Together with this, the attitude of the peer group towards socially neglected pupils was described by the study's participants as quite positive or indifferent ("When the children divide up independently, no one chooses him"), but not negative. Accordingly, previous studies found that other children tend to perceive socially neglected pupils as nice and pleasant, or to ignore them, but not to actively mock them or treat them with contempt (Margolin [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref54">19</reflink>]; Newcomb et al. [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref55">23</reflink>]). Moreover, the participants in the study even noted that if these children were to make an effort to be accepted into the children's society, they would probably succeed. We can conclude by saying that the educators tended to focus on these pupils' lack of characteristics common to the peer group, while simultaneously seeing the possibility of a positive change in their social status.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-14">The second category: strategies that the educators considered to be supportive of students wh...</hd> <p>Three goals were identified in the educators' support strategies: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref56">1</reflink>) strengthening the pupil in himself, (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref57">2</reflink>) teaching the pupil social skills, and (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref58">3</reflink>) increasing the pupil's involvement within the peer group.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-15">First sub-category: strengthening the pupil on intra-personal plane</hd> <p>What the girl learned is how to help herself; that the change begins within her.</p> <p>In the first sub-category the participants in the study dealt with strengthening of the pupil in himself. This intra-personal plane is indeed described in the literature as a component of social competence (Ten Dam and Volman [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref59">33</reflink>]). To this end, three methods were identified: (a) creating conditions that allow the pupil socio-emotional growth and development (b) empowering the pupil and (c) giving the pupil emotional support:</p> <p>The first method that emerged was creating conditions that allow the pupil socio-emotional growth and development. Strategies were reported that are targeted at improving the mood and the self-acceptance of the students who are unnoticed by their peers. One of the study's participants described it as follows:</p> <p>I worked with her on herself. Not on making friends but on positive thinking, sports, walking, and grooming. That was the direction...she started exercising. The moment she's not helpless towards herself, and she gets stronger within herself and not from external things, it radiates to the surroundings.</p> <p>The second method that emerged was empowerment. Strategies were reported which are aimed at empowering the students who are unnoticed by their peers. For example, one of the participants in the study described how she empowered the pupil by asking for his assistance and praising him as someone who is capable of helping her and pleasant to be with:</p> <p>I asked him to help me straighten up. I told him it had been a hard day for me and I didn't feel so well. We worked and he helped me put the crayons and the paper away in my closet. While we did this, I told him: "It's very pleasant to work with you. You're a very good helper.</p> <p>The third method that emerged was providing emotional support. Strategies that reflected the inner worlds of the students who are unnoticed by their peers were reported. For example, one of the study's participants described how she talked with the student about his social past and the protective role of books for him:</p> <p>We talked about his past in elementary school, which hadn't been easy. I explained to him that behind a book a barrier was created, which grants a sort of security, where no one can reach him and no one can hurt him.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-16">Second sub-category: teaching the student social skills</hd> <p>It was truly at the level of 'do' and 'don't do'</p> <p>Included in this sub-category are strategies that are focused on teaching students who are unnoticed by their peers, social skills. This process is described in the theoretical literature as instruction, training, and practice, accompanied by feedback and reinforcement (Margolin [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref60">19</reflink>]). Despite the fact that other students were sometimes mentioned as being involved in the situation, the educators described the objectives of the activities as focusing on teaching the student social skills (and not as a means of organizing social interactions for him).</p> <p>The first social skill that emerged was group entry behavior. In the following example, one can see that the educator guides the pupil as to how to behave, both physically and verbally, in a way that will assist him in joining the conversation that is going on:</p> <p>I explained to him how to start a conversation with someone. He wasn't familiar with this skill. I gave him practical tips. For example, if you see two or three children talking, you can't pull them in the direction you want, but rather to move in gently. For instance, you say something that's close to the subject; you don't stand too close, you don't stick to them.</p> <p>This skill is especially important for students of low social status, since it is a prerequisite for their participation in existing groups (Putallaz and Wasserman [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref61">26</reflink>]).</p> <p>The second social skill that emerged was pro-social behavior. One of the participants in the study described how she asked other teachers not to let the pupil read a book after finishing an assignment in class, but rather to ask him to use the time to help other pupils: "just so the children wouldn't see him reading books all the time, cut off from them." As the children get older, atypical behavior becomes more obvious in the eyes of the peer group, and children who tend towards social disengagement are liable to arouse antagonism in the peer group (Rubin et al. [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref62">27</reflink>]; Siegler et al. [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref63">31</reflink>]). The teacher's action demonstrates how she assisted the pupil reduce such behavior and even replace it with alternative behavior which is likely to merit a more positive response from the peer group.</p> <p>The third social skill was expressing an opinion. The following educator described how she chose a story for her group of pupils that dealt with the unnoticed pupil's field of interest or involvement in order to encourage him to express his opinion in a group situation: <emph>"I found a story that deals with soccer games. We studied the story and he expressed an opinion about it. Because I knew it was a subject that bothers him, I wanted him to express his opinion on the subject."</emph> The literature demonstrates that socially neglected pupils do not provide enough verbal feedback to others to promote interactions with the peer group (Franz and Gross [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref64">12</reflink>]). Expressing an opinion is a skill that promotes social interaction.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-17">Third subcategory: increasing the pupil's social involvement within the peer group</hd> <p>The important thing is for her not to be alone all the time.</p> <p>This subcategory refers to the educators' attempts to increase the socially neglected pupils' involvement within the peer group. This is accomplished by means of various initiatives on the part of the educators. For instance, the educator suggested that the pupil bring some attractive item from home: "something he could show the children and which they could play with." In a similar approach, participants in the study related how they encouraged the pupil to participate in after-school clubs that include dynamics between the children. The following are some strategies described by the participants in the study:</p> <p>In the first strategy, other pupils are given the role of an agent of change. One of the study participants described it as follows: "We seated her in class next to a sympathetic pupil who could guide her. We had explained to her a little about the girl's difficulties and asked her to be her friend in class." In this strategy, certain pupils receive instruction as to how to work with the unpopular child as an advisor, as a special friend, or as the leader of a small group (Margolin [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref65">19</reflink>]; Middleton et al. [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref66">20</reflink>]). Its advantages are that children are more familiar than adults with the accepted norms inherent in social situations, and therefore their suggestions can be helpful (Greco and Morris [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref67">13</reflink>]). There are indeed documented successes in the literature in implementing this strategy with socially neglected students (Morris et al. [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref68">21</reflink>]).</p> <p>In the second strategy, pupils are given a process-based assignment with the objective of encouraging the continuity of social interactions: One of the participants in the study explained: "I created a situation in which the work was in pairs, for example, work for which it was necessary to meet after school. This was done unbeknownst to the other child".</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-18">The third category: criteria according to which the educators consider their support of socia...</hd> <p>She participates in school activities</p> <p>This category refers to the criteria according to which educators consider the case study a success. The expressions of success were mostly described in terms of social involvement. For example: "at the end-of-the-year party she didn't close herself off or sit by herself" or "he doesn't sit by himself reading a book during break time anymore". In contrast, cognitive and emotional changes and social skills acquisition were hardly reported. The educators' aspirations to socially integrate students who are unnoticed by their peers into the peer-group accord with the approach that addresses responses from the environment in order to assess the social behavior of the pupil (Warnes et al. [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref69">35</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-19">Summary</hd> <p>This study aims to investigate perceptions and support strategies of educators regarding socially neglected students. First, the findings in relation to the research questions will be summarized, and then the significance of the educators' support intervention, the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research will be discussed.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-20">Educators' descriptions of socially neglected students</hd> <p>When considering how educators describe these pupils prior to the support process, they are described as lacking characteristics common to the peer group. Apparently, the low level of social activity and interaction among these students (Begin [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref70">4</reflink>]; Franz and Gross [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref71">12</reflink>]) makes it difficult for educators to notice their unique and subtle characteristics. The educators' description raises some concern because the focus is mainly on characteristics which are lacking in the unnoticed children, but no attention is given to identifying or relating to the subjects' unique characteristics.</p> <p>Therefore, thought should be given to identifying the socially neglected students' strengths. Building on student's strengths is an important principle in any support intervention, but it is even more important in the context of these pupils since their strengths will likely not find expression without initiatives on the part of their surrounding environment.</p> <p>An optimistic approach was also raised, in which educators see a possibility of a positive change in the social status of socially neglected pupils. This educators' positive view is realistic and in line with the theoretical literature regarding the versatility that characterizes the socially neglected pupils over time and in various social contexts (e.g., Malik and Furman [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref72">18</reflink>]; Newcomb and Bukowski [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref73">22</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-21">Mapping of educators' support strategies</hd> <p>Regarding the support strategies that educators consider to be effective in supporting these students, three objectives were identified: first, strengthening the student in himself; second, teaching the student social skills; third, increasing the student's involvement within the peer group. Mapping and naming the goals makes it possible to reveal, in the context of socially neglected students, what Farmer et al. ([<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref74">11</reflink>]) have dubbed "the invisible hand of the teacher" in influencing social aspects within the classroom.</p> <p>One of the central advantages in identifying and naming the objectives of the support strategies of socially neglected students is that more strategies can be suggested for each objective. For example, for the second objective of <emph>teaching the student social skills</emph>, the unnoticed pupils should be taught to behave assertively, because this is often not included naturally as one of their repertoire of reactions. Assertiveness is a communication skill that contributes to the environment's paying attention to the individual and taking him/her into consideration. For the third objective of <emph>increasing the student's involvement within the peer group</emph>, activities can take place in the classroom in which each student has a defined role, thus increasing the possibility for the socially neglected students' to be involved in the activity. In addition, rhetorical strategies can be developed in the classroom, by which the pupils will address the socially neglected pupils and invite them to take part in the classroom discourse (as described in Anderson et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref75">1</reflink>]). Furthermore, considerations for classroom seating arrangement should be taken into account as well (Gremmen et al. [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref76">14</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-22">Criteria according to which educators consider the case study to be a success</hd> <p>Concerning the criteria according to which educators consider the case study to be a success, prominent reference was given to achieving the third support objective—increasing student's involvement within the peer group. There was no reference to achieving the objective of strengthening the student in himself (e.g., looking for changes in the student's self-perception), or the objective of teaching the student social skills (e.g., looking for changes in the student's ability to express an idea in a group situation). It seems that, for educators, the achieving of the third support objective is the heart of the intervention. This is in line with the contextual approach to intervention- the approach according to which social competence is gauged by the ability to behave in a manner that is acceptable to the surroundings (Warnes et al. [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref77">35</reflink>]).</p> <p>In addition, in the educators' description of peer involvement, no distinction was made between social status and an existence of a close friendship. Both constructs refer to social adaptation, but the lens of observation for each is different. Social status is a one-directional construct that examines the way in which other children perceive the student, while the context of friendship is dyadic and therefore also mutual. This distinction is accepted in the established literature in the field (see Asher et al. [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref78">2</reflink>]), but is even more important in the age of Facebook, when there is a mistaken tendency to refer to both constructs in terms of "friends." Therefore, the distinction between the two constructs and their significance should be made clearer to educators.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-23">Limitations and suggestions for future research</hd> <p>It must be taken into account that the study is based on educators' reports regarding students who are unnoticed by their peers, and these involve subjective perspectives. That being said, the dependence on educators' points of view is also an advantage. It allows us to learn directly about their thoughts regarding these pupils and about strategies they consider to be supportive, thus benefiting from "processed" knowledge that exists in the educational field (bottom-up knowledge). In future studies, the implementation of the support strategies must be examined in practice, the outcomes of the support process should be examined using empirical tools and the perspective of the socially neglected students themselves should be included. In addition, in future studies the observations of the educators should be examined in relation to the age of the pupils. Finally, in the case studies, most of the support strategies appeared independently; an examination of how they can be combined intelligently to create an intervention process is required.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-24">Epilogue</hd> <p>Three major findings emerged from this study. It was found that educators describe socially neglected students as lacking characteristics common to the peer group. Three objectives were identified in the educators' support strategies: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref79">1</reflink>) strengthening the student in himself, (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref80">2</reflink>) teaching the student social skills and (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref81">3</reflink>) increasing the student's involvement within the peer group. However, educators perceive success in the support intervention mainly in relation to the achievement of the third goal. These findings are positive in the sense that they point to practical directions for supporting these pupils within the school framework. Together with this, they raise some concerns that should be addressed in subsequent studies: <emph>Does the education system promote conformity and assimilation among socially neglected students? What about giving legitimization for diversity of social behavior among the students?</emph></p> <p>To conclude, socially neglected pupils are described in the literature as a group with low visibility (Coie et al. [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref82">7</reflink>]). Supporting these students within the school framework is an important factor in promoting them as individuals who are involved in productive interactions in the classroom, and therefore perceive themselves to be full learners. In teacher-training programs, it is important to raise awareness of these students and their needs. In addition, there is a need to build on the support objectives and strategies which were identified in the study, to question the premises behind them and to develop and improve them. These steps are expected to allow all pupils to participate in the school practices and to develop an identity based on contribution to society and involvement in the community.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-25">Acknowledgements</hd> <p>This study was supported by the Research Authority in Levinsky College of Education.</p> <hd id="AN0138110631-26">Publisher's Note</hd> <p>Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.</p> <ref id="AN0138110631-27"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref1" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Anderson RC, Nguyen-Jahiel K, McNurlen B, Archodidou A, Kim S, Reznitskaya A, Tillmanns M, Gilbert L. 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The academic lives of neglected, rejected, popular, and controversial children. Child Development. 1995; 66: 754-763</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Anat Korem</p> <p>Reported by Author</p> <p></p> <p>Anat Korem, Ph.D. is Head of the Mahut Research Center for Parent-Teacher Relationships. She is a senior lecturer at the Levinsky College of Education and a faculty member of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. 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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Success Stories of Educators with Socially Neglected Students: Perceptions and Support Strategies – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Korem%2C+Anat%22">Korem, Anat</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Social+Psychology+of+Education%3A+An+International+Journal%22"><i>Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal</i></searchLink>. Jul 2019 22(3):687-700. – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/ – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: Y – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 14 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2019 – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Isolation%22">Social Isolation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Peer+Relationship%22">Peer Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Support+Groups%22">Social Support Groups</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self+Esteem%22">Self Esteem</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interpersonal+Competence%22">Interpersonal Competence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Skill+Development%22">Skill Development</searchLink> – Name: DOI Label: DOI Group: ID Data: 10.1007/s11218-019-09494-6 – Name: ISSN Label: ISSN Group: ISSN Data: 1381-2890 – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Socially neglected students are those who are unnoticed by their peers. Over time, this neglect may have a negative impact on their socio-emotional development. Therefore, the present study aimed to focus on educators' perceptions and support strategies regarding these students. Ten case studies were analyzed, in which educators reported that they had succeeded in supporting a student who was unnoticed by the peers. It was found that prior to the support process, the educators described these students as lacking characteristics common to the peer group. Three objectives were identified in the educators' support strategies: (1) strengthening the student in himself, (2) teaching the student social skills and (3) increasing the student's involvement within the peer group. Success in the support process, however, was perceived by the educators as being primarily connected to achieving of the third objective. This indicates that educators attach great importance to the normative social involvement of socially neglected students. Alongside with these positive findings, some critical aspects regarding the essence of the educational support intervention and its objectives are raised. – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: As Provided – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2019 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: EJ1224979 |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s11218-019-09494-6 Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 14 StartPage: 687 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Social Isolation Type: general – SubjectFull: Peer Relationship Type: general – SubjectFull: Social Support Groups Type: general – SubjectFull: Self Esteem Type: general – SubjectFull: Interpersonal Competence Type: general – SubjectFull: Skill Development Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Success Stories of Educators with Socially Neglected Students: Perceptions and Support Strategies Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Korem, Anat IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 07 Type: published Y: 2019 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 1381-2890 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 22 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal Type: main |
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