Dilemmas of Peer Assistance in a Bilingual Full Inclusion Classroom

In this ethnographic study of a second-grade full inclusion classroom, I examined spontaneous, unstructured peer assistance interactions between 22 general education and 11 special education students during small-group and independent work periods. Data sources included field notes from 9 months of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Elementary school journal 1999-01, Vol.99 (3), p.233-254
Main Author: Beaumont, Carol J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic learning
Bilingual education
Bilingual Students
Classroom environment
Classroom interaction
Cooperative Learning
Elementary school students
Elementary schools
Grade 2
Inclusive Schools
Language Impairments
Learning Disabilities
Learning Strategies
Peer relations
Peer Relationship
Peer Teaching
Primary Education
Reciprocal Teaching
Research Methodology
Social Behavior
Social interaction
Special Education
Special Needs Students
Student Attitudes
Teacher Attitudes
Teachers
Teaching Methods
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Summary:In this ethnographic study of a second-grade full inclusion classroom, I examined spontaneous, unstructured peer assistance interactions between 22 general education and 11 special education students during small-group and independent work periods. Data sources included field notes from 9 months of participant observation, transcripts of audio and video recordings, and interviews with teachers and students. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of helping interactions revealed that helping exchanges in academic contexts were complicated by students' social agendas, particularly their desire to achieve mastery, display competence, establish their place in the classroom social network, and save face. The complex peer social worlds of the classroom affected special education students' access to curricular content. Examples of classroom interaction involving 3 focal special education students are given. Implications for classroom practice include the need for more active teacher involvement in understanding and monitoring students' helping interactions, the creation of learning structures that allow all students to display competence regularly, and direct instruction in the social and linguistic skills necessary for fuller participation in peer assistance.
ISSN:0013-5984
1554-8279
DOI:10.1086/461925