Page 176 - RUICHSS 2023 Proceeding

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

5.2. The Study Procedure

The survey was conducted online during the spring of 2021. After obtaining

the consent of the Ministries of Education in three counties, 43 schools from
these counties of BIH were contacted by e-mail or telephone and explained

the idea and purpose of this research. The criteria for choosing a school are
that it is a mainstream school in the mentioned counties and that it is attended

by students with disabilities. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic and the increased

workload in occasional distance teaching, communication with schools was
difficult. 28 schools agreed to participate. Professional associates contacted all

teachers in their school who have students with disabilities in their class and
gave them written information about the research. If the teacher agreed to

participate, written information about the study was sent to the parents of
students with disabilities in his class. If the parents agreed for the teacher to

evaluate their child with disabilities, the selection process for students without

disabilities began. For every student with disabilities, teachers find a couple,
i.e., a student of typical development who is of the same sex and age with the

student with disabilities and attend the same class. The selection of a child
without disabilities was carried out by taking the seventh student in

alphabetical order in the diary with a change of +/- 2 students if the seventh in

a row is not of the same sex as the child with disabilities, or if the parents did
not give their consent. Parents of students with and without disabilities

confirmed their consent by providing information about their child via the
survey link. To ensure anonymity, student names were coded. Parents and

teachers used the child/student code when providing information/assessment.

117