Page 172 - RUICHSS 2023 Proceeding

University of Ruhuna ISSN: 2706-0063
Matara, Sri Lanka

4.2 Social Inclusion

Although students with disabilities are present in schools today, their presence
does not imply their social inclusion. Social participation in the school context

implies the involvement of students in the life of the peer group, which means,
for example, interaction with peers, acceptance by peers, being part of a dyad

and/or friendship network within the class and a sense of belonging to that
peer group (Schwab et al., 2021). More recent reviews of the literature indicate

a lower level of social participation of students with disabilities, as well as a

lack of friendships (Hassani et al., 2020). Students with disabilities achieve
social interactions significantly lesser than students without disabilities, are

less accepted by others and form fewer social relationships, which increases
the risk of their social marginalization within the class (Hassani et al., 2020).

Two recent studies of inclusive education (Alnahdi et al., 2022; Pozas et al.,

2021) showed significant differences in social inclusion between students with
special educational needs and their peers without SEN and found that a higher

level of inclusive teaching practice is associated with more positive social
inclusion of students.

4.3. Academic Self-Concept

In a general sense, academic self-concept can be defined as one’s academic

self-perceptions or one’s perception of one’s general ability in school

(Shavelson et al., 1976). It can vary across academic disciplines and can be
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