Peer perceptions of students receiving pull-out services in elementary school: A multi-age study

ABSTRACT

This study examined the peer nominations of 213 children in Kindergarten (90), 3rd grade (58), and 5th grade (65) to examine their perceptions of peers who received pull-out services for unique needs. Using Coie, Dodge, and Coppotelli’s[1982. “Dimensions and Types of Social Status: A Cross-age Perspective.” Developmental Psychology 18 (4): 557–570] protocol for assessing sociometric status in children, the results revealed that peer perceptions of most liked (ML) and least liked (LL) in the classroom were associated with pull-out status, with those students who did not receive pull-out services receiving more nominations as ML than their peers who did leave the classroom for pull-out services. Social impact scores for children who received pull-out services were not significantly different from those of children who did not receive pull-out services, but significant differences were revealed for social preference scores. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Peer perceptions
• sociometric status
• peer nominations
• special needs
• pull-out services

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Rene Paulson for valuable assistance with data management and analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Katherine Rose is an Associate Professor in Early Child Development and Education at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX, USA.

Denaye Barahona is a doctoral candidate at Texas Woman's University studying Early Child Development and Education.

Dr. Joel Muro is an Associate Professor in Counseling and Development at Texas Woman's University in Denton, TX, USA.