Peer Interactions in Preschool Inclusive Classrooms: The Roles of Pragmatic Language and Self-Regulation

Abstract

Drawing from a social network perspective, we examined the extent to which children with and without disabilities play with each other in preschool inclusive classrooms and identified malleable child characteristics that would support children forming these cross-status play interactions. A total of 200 children with disabilities and 301 children without disabilities participated in this study (M_age = 52.39 months, SD_age = 6.13). Results showed that children with and without disabilities did not differ in the extent to which they formed cross-status play interactions after pragmatic language and self-regulation were taken into account. However, typically developing children were more likely to form same-status play interactions than children with disabilities. Children’s cross-status play interactions were predicted by self-regulation ability, which was fully mediated by their pragmatic language. The impact of pragmatic language on the formation of cross-status play interaction was greater for children with disabilities than their typically developing peers.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Asher

S. R.

Parker

J. G.

Walker

D. L.

(1996). Distinguishing friendship from acceptance: Implications for intervention and assessment. In Bukowski

W. M.

Newcomb

A. F.

Hartup

W. W.

(Eds.), The company they keep: Friendships in childhood and adolescence (pp. 366–405). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Barnett

W. S.

Jung

Yarosz

D. J.

Thomas

Hornbeck

Stechuk

Burns

(2008). Educational effects of the Tools of the Mind curriculum: A randomized trial. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23, 299–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2008.03.001

Bauminger

Solomon

Aviezer

Heung

Brown

Rogers

S. J.

(2008). Friendship in high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder: Mixed and non-mixed dyads. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 1211–1229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0501-2

Bohlmann

N. L.

Maier

M. F.

Palacios

(2015). Bidirectionality in self-regulation and expressive vocabulary: Comparisons between monolingual and dual language learners in preschool. Child Development, 86, 1094–1111. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12375

Bulotsky-Shearer

R. J.

Bell

E. R.

Romero

S. L.

Carter

T. M.

(2012). Preschool interactive peer play mediates problem behavior and learning for low-income children. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 33, 53–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2011.09.003

Buysse

(1993). Friendships of preschoolers with disabilities in community-based child care settings. Journal of Early Intervention, 17, 380–395. https://doi.org/10.1177/105381519301700404

Cabell

S. Q.

Justice

L. M.

Zucker

T. A.

Kilday

C. R.

(2009). Validity of teacher report for assessing the emergent literacy skills of at-risk preschoolers. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 40, 161–173. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461

Chen

Lin

T.-J.

Justice

Sawyer

(2017). The social networks of children with and without disabilities in early childhood special education classrooms. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3272-4

Coolahan

Fantuzzo

Mendez

McDermott

(2000). Preschool peer interactions and readiness to learn: Relationships between classroom peer play and learning behaviors and conduct. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 458–465. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.92.3.458

10.

Day

K. L.

Smith

C. L.

(2013). Understanding the role of private speech in children’s emotion regulation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28, 405–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2012.10.003

11.

De Boer

Pijl

S. J.

Post

Minnaert

. (2013). Peer acceptance and friendships of students with disabilities in general education: The role of child, peer, and classroom variables. Social Development, 22, 831–844. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00670.x

12.

Diamond

K. E.

(2001). Relationships among young children’s ideas, emotion understanding and social contact with classmates with disabilities. Topisc in Early Childhood Special Education, 21, 104–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/027112140102100204

13.

Dietrich

S. L.

(2005). A look at friendships between preschool-aged children with and without disabilities in two inclusive classrooms. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 3, 193–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X05053933

14.

Dionne

Tremblay

Boivin

Laplante

Perusse

(2003). Physical aggression and expressive vocabulary in 19-month-old twins. Developmental Psychology, 39, 261. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.39.2.261

15.

Duncan

G. J.

Dowsett

C. J.

Claessens

Magnuson

Huston

A. C.

Klebanov

. . . Japel

(2007). School readiness and later achievement. Developmental Psychology, 43, 1428–1446. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1428

16.

Eisenberg

Valiente

Eggum

N. D.

(2010). Self-regulation and school readiness. Early Education and Development, 21, 681–698. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2010.497451

17.

Farmer

T. W.

Farmer

(1996). Social relationships of students with exceptionalities in mainstream classrooms: Social networks and homophily. Exceptional Children, 62, 431–450. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440299606200504

18.

Gest

S. D.

(2006). Teacher reports of children’ s friendships and social groups: Agreement with peer reports and implications for studying peer Similarity. Social Development, 15, 248–259.

19.

Gottfried

M. A.

(2016). Peer sameness and peer diversity: The influence of breadth and depth of classmates with high academic needs in kindergarten. Early Education and Development, 27, 655–675. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2016.1127087

20.

Guralnick

M. J.

(1997). Peer social networks of young boys with developmental delays. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 101, 595–612. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9152475

21.

Guralnick

M. J.

(2006). Peer relationships and the mental health of young children with intellectual delays. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 3, 49–56.

22.

Guralnick

M. J.

Bruder

M. B.

(2016). Early childhood inclusion in the United States: Goals, current status, and future directions. Infants & Young Children, 29, 166–177. https://doi.org/10.1097/IYC.0000000000000071

23.

Guralnick

M. J.

Gottman

J. M.

Hammond

M. A.

(1996). Effects of social setting on the friendship formation of young children differing in developmental status. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 17, 625–651. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(96)90019-2

24.

Handcock

Hunter

Butts

Goodreau

Krivitsky

Bender-deMoll

Morris

(2016). statnet: Software tools for the statistical analysis of network data. R packgage Version 2016, 9, CRAN.R-project.org/package=statnet. Retrieved from http://www.statnet.org

25.

Hestenes

L. L.

Carroll

D. E.

(2000). The play interactions of young children with and without disabilities: Individual and environmental influences. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15, 229–246. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(00)00052-1

26.

Howes

(1988). Peer interaction of young children. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 53, 1–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1166062

27.

Howes

(2011). Social play of children with adults and peers. In Nathan

Pellegrini

A. D.

(Eds.), The Oxford handbook of the development of play (pp. 231–244). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

28.

Howes

Rubin

Ross

French

(1988). Peer Interaction of Young Children. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 53, I-92. http://doi.org/10.2307/1166062

29.

Hunter

D. R.

(2007). Curved exponential family models for social networks. Social Networks, 29, 216–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2006.08.005

30.

Hunter

D. R.

Goodreau

S. M.

Handcock

M. S.

(2008). Goodness of fit of social network models. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 103, 248–258. https://doi.org/10.1198/016214507000000446

31.

Kwon

K.-A.

Elicker

Kontos

(2011). Social IEP objectives, teacher talk, and peer interaction in inclusive and segregated preschool settings. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39, 267–277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-011-0469-6

32.

Ladd

G. W.

Ettekal

Kochenderfer-Ladd

(2017). Peer victimization trajectories from kindergarten through high school: Differential pathways for children’s school engagement and achievement? Journal of Educational Psychology, 109, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000177

33.

Lillard

A. S.

Hopkins

E. J.

Dore

R. A.

Palmquist

C. M.

Lerner

M. D.

Smith

E. D.

(2013). Concepts and theories, methods and reasons: Why do the children (pretend) play? Reply to Weisberg, Hirsh-Pasek, and Golinkoff (2013); Bergen (2013); and Walker and Gopnik (2013). Psychological Bulletin, 139, 49–52. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030521

34.

Lin

T.-J.

Justice

L. M.

Paul

Mashburn

A. J.

(2016). Peer interaction in rural preschool classrooms: Contributions of children’s learning-related behaviors, language and literacy skills, and problem behaviors. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 37, 106–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2016.04.001

35.

Martin

C. L.

Kornienko

Schaefer

D. R.

Hanish

L. D.

Fabes

R. A.

Goble

(2013). The role of sex of peers and gender-typed activities in young children’s peer affiliative networks: A longitudinal analysis of selection and influence. Child Development, 84, 921–937. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12032

36.

McClelland

M. M.

Morrison

F. J.

(2003). The emergence of learning-related social skills in preschool children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 18, 206–224.

37.

McDermott

P. A.

Leigh

N. M.

Perry

M. A.

(2002). Development and validation of the Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale. Psychology in the Schools, 39, 353–365. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.10036

38.

Mcfarland

D. A.

Moody

Diehl

Smith

J. A.

Thomas

R. J.

(2014). Network ecology and adolescent social structure. American Sociological Review, 79, 1088–1121. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122414554001

39.

Mcpherson

Smith-lovin

Cook

J. M.

(2001). Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 415–444. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.415

40.

Meisels

S. J.

Liaw

Dorfman

Nelson

R. F.

(1995). The work sampling system: Reliability and validity of a performance assessment for young children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 10, 277–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/0885-2006(95)90008-X

41.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Digest of education statistics. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d16/tables/dt16_204.50.asp

42.

Neal

J. W.

Cappella

Wagner

Atkins

M. S.

(2011). Seeing eye to eye: Predicting teacher-student agreement on classroom social networks. Social Development, 20, 376–393. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-95072010.00582.x.

43.

Odom

S. L.

Klingerman

Jakowski

(2004). Investigating inclusion: A review of research methods for individuals with intellectual disability. In Emerson

Travis

C. H.

(Eds.), The international handbook of applied research in intellectual disabilities (pp. 281–295). Chichester, UK: Wiley.

44.

O’Neill

D. K.

(2007). The Language Use Inventory for young children: A parent-report measure of pragmatic language development for 18- to 47-month-old children. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 50, 214–228. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2007/017)

45.

Pattison

Wasserman

(1999). Logit models and logistic regressions for social networks: II. Multivariate relations. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 52, 169–193.

46.

Płatos

Wojaczek

(2018). Broadening the scope of peer-mediated intervention for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48, 747–750.

47.

Prutting

C. A.

Kittchner

D. M.

(1987). A clinical appraisal of the pragmatic aspects of language. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 52, 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1044/jshd.5202.105

48.

Rafferty

Piscitelli

Boettcher

(2003). The impact of inclusion on language development and social competerne among preschoolers with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 69, 467–479. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290306900405

49.

Reilly

Wake

Ukoumunne

O. C.

Bavin

Prior

Cini

. . . Bretherton

(2010). Predicting language outcomes at 4 years of age: Findings from Early Language in Victoria Study. Pediatrics, 126, e1530–e1537. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-0254

50.

Robins

Pattison

Wang

(2009). Closure, connectivity and degree distributions: Exponential random graph (p*) models for directed social networks. Social Networks, 31, 105–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2008.10.006

51.

Roth

F. P.

Spekman

N. J.

(1984a). Assessing the pragmatic abilities of children: Part 1. Organizational framework and assessment parameters. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 49, 2–11.

52.

Roth

F. P.

Spekman

N. J.

(1984b). Assessing the pragmatic abilities of children: Part 2. Guidelines, considerations, and specific evaluation procedures. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 49, 12–17.

53.

Rubin

K. H.

Bukowski

W. M.

Parker

J. G.

(2006). Peer interactions, relationships, and groups. In Eisenberg

(Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (pp. 571–645). New York, NY: Wiley.

54.

Schuler

A. L.

Fletcher

E. C.

(2002). Making communication meaningful: cracking the language interaction code. In Gabriels

R. L.

Hill

D. E.

(Eds.), Autism: From research to individualized practice (pp. 127–154). London, PA: Jessica Kingsley.

55.

Smith-Donald

Raver

C. C.

Hayes

Richardson

(2007). Preliminary construct and concurrent validity of the Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment (PSRA) for field-based research. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22, 173–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2007.01.002

56.

Snijders

T. A. B.

Van de Bunt

G. G.

Steglich

C. E. G.

(2010). Introduction to stochastic actor-based models for network dynamics. Social Networks, 32, 44–60.

57.

Son

Peterson

N. A.

Pottick

K. J.

Zippay

Parish

S. L.

Lohrmann

(2014). Peer victimization among young children with disabilities: Early risk and protective factors. Exceptional Children, 80, 368–384. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402914522422

58.

Staikova

Gomes

Tartter

McCabe

Halperin

J. M.

(2013). Pragmatic deficits and social impairment in children with ADHD. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54, 1275–1283. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12082

59.

Strain

P. S.

Odom

S. L.

(1986). Peer social initiations: Effective intervention for social skills development of exceptional children. Exceptional Children, 52, 543–551. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440298605200607

60.

UNESCO. (1994). The Salamanca statement and the framework for action on special needs education. Paris, France: Author.

61.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services & U.S. Department of Education (2015). Policy statement on inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs. Infants & Young Children, 29, 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1097/IYC.0000000000000054

62.

Valiente

Lemery-Chalfant

Swanson

Reiser

(2008). Prediction of children’s academic competence from their effortful control, relationships, and classroom participation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 67–77. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.100.1.67.Prediction

63.

Vallotton

Ayoub

(2011). Use your words: The role of language in the development of toddlers’ self-regulation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26, 169–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2010.09.002

64.

Vygotsky

L. S.

(1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological process. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

65.

Walker

Berthelsen

(2008). Children with autistic spectrum disorder in early childhood education programs: A social constructivist perspective on inclusion. International Journal of Early Childhood, 40, 33–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03168362

66.

Watkins

O’Reilly

Kuhn

Gevarter

Lancioni

G. E.

Sigafoos

Lang

(2015). A review of peer-mediated social interaction interventions for students with autism in inclusive settings. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 1070–1083. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2264-x

67.

Weiland

(2016). Impacts of the Boston Prekindergarten Program on the school readiness of young children with special needs. Developmental Psychology, 52, 1763–1776. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000168

68.

Wiig

E. H.

Secord

Semel

E. M.

(2004). CELF Preschool 2: Clinical evaluation of language fundamentals preschool. San Antonio, TX: Pearson/PsychCorp.

69.

Winsler

Diaz

R. M.

Montero

(1997). The role of private speech in the transition from collaborative to independent task performance in young children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12, 59–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(97)90043-0

70.

Ostrosky

M. M.

Fowler

S. A.

(2015). The relationship between preschoolers’ attitudes and play behaviors toward classmates with disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 35, 40–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121414554432

71.

Zhang

Wheeler

J. J.

(2011). A meta-analysis of peer-mediated interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorders. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 46, 62–77. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/23880031