Children with Down syndrome in mainstream schools: peer interaction in activities

Abstract

The objective of this qualitative study was to explore peer interaction in the context of school activities in mainstream classes that included pupils with Down syndrome together with their peers without disabilities in order to identify enabling conditions. Six children with Down syndrome, each of whom was the only one with Down syndrome in a regular class, were observed and interviewed. Two main patterns of interaction were identified; equal and unequal interaction. Enabling conditions were found to be related to the pupils' shared understanding of the activities and the task demands in relation to the performance range of the participating pupils. When interaction was challenged by limited understanding of the activity or by too high task demands in relation to performance range, the findings revealed how peers applied diverse enabling strategies to include the pupil with Down syndrome. The results of this study highlight how activities form the basis for interaction and constitute an understudied and very important dimension for peer interaction. By looking more closely at this dimension, we can discover a fruitful approach with which to enable interaction between pupils with and without disability.

Keywords:

• activities
• participation
• regular class
• intellectual disabilities

Notes

1. 50–70 children with Down syndrome are born yearly in Norway.