Hugh Gash and Patricia Noonan Walsh (Eds.)
Chapter 11: Spanish and Irish Images of Special Needs: Perceptions of Inclusion, p. 26-34
Hugh Gash, Nuria Illan Romeu, Antonio Lopez Pina
© 2004 Wordwell Books. All rights reserved.
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Lives and Times: Practice, Policy and People with Disabilities Hugh Gash and Patricia Noonan Walsh (Eds.) Chapter 11: Spanish and Irish Images of Special Needs: Perceptions of Inclusion, p. 26-34 Hugh Gash, Nuria Illan Romeu, Antonio Lopez Pina |
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Excerpted with the permission of Wordwell Books granted by Nick Maxwell, Publisher © 2004 Wordwell Books. All rights reserved. |
Following on from the use of the present questionnaire in research in Ireland and Spain, a study on Down Syndrome was undertaken using an open rather than a closed approach. The purpose of the investigation was to further our understanding of two main dimensions in this questionnaire: (1) the ways in which children in each country think about socialising with Down Syndrome children, and (2) how children think about the inclusion of children with Down Syndrome in class at school. Eleven-year-old children were asked to write answers to questions about this in essay format. This age group was chosen as it corresponded to the highest age in Spanish primary schools. The first question was: 'Do you think children with Down Syndrome should attend ordinary schools?' A second question, asked only in Spain, was: 'What do you know about Down Syndrome children?' The third question was: 'If you know someone with Down Syndrome, how do you feel about relating with him or her?' In Spain one class in each of three schools participated; two schools (A and C) were integrated and one (B) was not. In Ireland one class in each of two unintegrated schools participated. There were approximately 25 pupils in each of the five classes sampled.
Generally there were three types of answers to the first question about integration: social reasons, principles and educational reasons. The social reasons included reference to the system of relations, together with positive and negative consequences. Principles and beliefs were either positive or negative valuations of the difference between Down Syndrome children and others. There were three types of educational reasons mentioned: limitations in regard to learning, reference to academic benefits in special educational opportunities, and reference to benefits in ordinary educational contexts.
There were five categories of answer to the question: 'What do you know about children with Down Syndrome?' There were the representations of a sick person, of someone less intelligent, of someone deformed physically, of someone kind-hearted or friendly, and of a clumsy person.
There were four major categories in response to the third question about how the pupils feel about social relations with Down Syndrome children. There were expressions of pity and sadness, the idea that feelings should not be different in relation to a child with Down Syndrome, feelings of satisfaction for helping a child with Down Syndrome together with feelings of personal growth in developing a relationship with a child with Down Syndrome, and finally the recognition of feelings of discomfort in oneself or in others.
| Positive consequences | Negative consequences |
|---|---|
| 'If they went to ordinary schools they could communicate with the other children' 7a4 | 'They should go to a special school because otherwise they would be teased' 9* |
| 'Because they could relate to all the others' 15a, 19a, 3c, 4c, 15c, 17c, 21*, 42*, 43* | 'They could not make friends in an ordinary school' 9b |
| 'Yes because they are great fun' 6* | 'If they went to a special school they would feel better and have friends like themselves' 2*, 5* |
| 'Yes because there is no need for them to be treated differently, or teased' 15*, 16*, 23*, 41*, 46* | |
| 'Yes they should go to ordinary schools, otherwise they would feel excluded' 29*, 38* |
The benefits seen for integrated education in ordinary schools for children with Down Syndrome were made by only certain pupils in the Spanish schools A and C and some Irish pupils (indicated thus *). Not one pupil in school B gave a response that could be classified in this subcategory. In the same way we notice that pupils from school B and some Irish pupils give the negative consequences. As you can see in the description given of the different schools in Spain, it is schools A and C that have the best reputation for the quality of teaching and educational practice. The essays of the Irish pupils (indicated*) in this category reflect their position against exclusion and show that they are very positive about inclusive education because this type of education will avoid children with Down Syndrome feeling different. The positive consequences cited by Spanish pupils from schools A and C were mainly about relations between children and about communication.
| Positive consequences | Negative consequences |
|---|---|
| 'One can give them more affection' 5a | 'The other children insult them all the time' 18b |
| 'They are treated better' 19a | 'They would be intimidated and alone' 19b |
| 'They have more friends' 11a, 16b | 'If they went to an ordinary class they would be teased' 19*, 28*, 32* |
| 'They can be helped to learn for life' 13*, 21*, 49* |
Again Spanish pupils from school B and some Irish pupils gave the negative consequences. No pupil from schools A and C gave negative comments. On the contrary, the Spanish pupils from schools A and C maintained a position respecting the inclusion of children with Down Syndrome in ordinary schools. On this basis one can say that they value positively the inclusion of Down Syndrome children in ordinary classes because they are treated better there, and because they can be cared for by the other children.
| Subcategory 2.1 Positive value placed on the difference | Subcategory 2.2 Negative value placed on the difference |
|---|---|
| 'They are our equals, they are like us' 14a, 22a, 12a, 15a, 16a, 17a, 20a, 10*, 12*, 13*, 15*, 17*, 18*, 23*, 26*, 30*, 40*, 44*, 45* | 'They are not like us and so they should go to schools specially for them' 21a, 2b, 7b, 12b, 21b |
| 'They are people, not extraterrestrials' 14c | 'It should be that the others should be sick like him. Since they are sick they can't relate to their friends' 15b |
| 'They are not sick' 12a | |
| 'They are like us, though they have this horrible sickness' 18a | |
| 'They are like us though they have this grave defect' 4a, 4*, 35* | |
| 'They are like us though some people might be afraid of them' 50* | |
| 'I think that they themselves ought to decide which school to go to' 14*, 31*, 36* |
Again we note that the positive comments come from the same schools (A and C). All the negative comments come from school B. It is interesting to note that no Irish pupil made a negative comment about the difference.
| Subcategory 3.1 Limitations in relation to learning |
Subcategory 3.2 Academic benefits in special education contexts |
Subcategory 3.3 Academic benefits in ordinary school contexts |
|---|---|---|
| 'They are not capable of the school work' 17b | 'They need a special school, if in an ordinary school there are not teachers who can teach them, it is better they go to a school specially for them' 13a, 22* | 'In an ordinary school one can teach them and they will learn more and better' 1a, 5a, 6a, 3c, 4c, 10c, 18c, 9*, 28* |
| 'They could not do the work, they would complain about being left behind because they need a great deal of attention' 14b, 8* | 'In a special school the teachers have more patience to teach them' 26b | 'Although they need more things explained they should go to ordinary schools' 17a, 7*, 37* |
| 'They do not understand anything' 11* | 'They need special schools with specialist teachers who know how to teach them. If they go to ordinary schools the teachers do not know how to treat them' 1b, 3b, 25b, 6c | |
| 'They should go to a special school because in the ordinary class the teacher can not give them enough attention' 1*, 33* | ||
| 'They could share their teaching between a special school and an ordinary classroom' 24b |
The limitations to learning are only mentioned by the pupils in school B and by some Irish pupils. No responses occur in this category from schools A and C. If we look at the ideas expressed in Subcategory 3.2 on the benefits of special schools for children with Down Syndrome, they are largely expressed by pupils from school B and some Irish pupils (*). There are only two pupils-one from school A and the other from school C-who mention the benefits of a special school. (There were 22 pupils sampled from school A and 18 from school B.)
| Category I Image of a sick person |
Category II Image of a less intelligent person |
Category III Image of physical deformity |
Category IV Image of an affectionate person |
Category V Image of clumsiness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'They are children who unfortunately suffer a disease which makes them different from others' 1b | 'They are less intelligent' 3b, 20b, 8c | 'They are sick, they have bad eyes, nostrils, and arms...' 15b | 'Although it is difficult to understand them, they never have bad intentions' 9a | 'At times they shout because they can't help it, for me they are good friends' 4c |
| 'They are sick in the head, they have not developed, they are missing something, bodily or mentally' 6b | 'They do not understand things or how to reason' 9b, 18c, 16c, 10c, 7a | 'They always have their mouths open' 16b | 'They are really friendly, they like a lot to be with people' 13a | 'They do things without thinking if what is going to happen is good or not' 6c |
| 'They are born with a particular difficulty' 2b | 'Those who are 20 years old have the intelligence of a 7 year old' 19b | 'They are a little deformed and should be in special schools' 18b | 'During the recreation they are good and bright, I like them a lot' 1c | 'Lots of times they do not know what they are doing' 16a, 18a |
| 'They are born with a problem, they say with a defect, the mother smoked or drank..., they needed air at birth' 7b, 12b, 13b, 25b | 'They are not children that one can teach easily' 26b | 'They do not have a well formed face' 20b | 'They seem really nice to me, they do not talk much, but when you are near them they are kind' 2c | |
| 'They are a little deficient, they have a handicap' 10b 23b | 'They are a little more retarded than we are' 17c | 'They find it hard to walk and talk easily' 21b | 'Although nearly no one understands well what they say, they are better than other children without Down Syndrome' 3c | |
| 'They do not know that they do, they do not manage their hands feet or head well...' 18b | 'These kids behave better than normal ones' 7c | |||
| 'Their behaviour is playful and friendly' 14c |
The pupils from school B make all the comments about children with Down Syndrome being sick or physically deformed. These data are consistent with the tendency we have noted of the negative representations of pupils in this school.
In the same way, the fourth category of comments reflecting the image of the child with Down Syndrome as a friendly or affectionate person all come from schools A and C; none of these positive comments are made by pupils from school B. Categories two and five contain comments from each of the three Spanish schools, though the numbers of responses from A and C are relatively low in each case.
| Category I. Emergence of feelings of sadness and pity |
|---|
| 'I feel a little sadness and pity' 2a, 8a, 14a, 16a, 20a, 21a, 22a, 2b, 12b, 17b, 22b, 24b, 4c,11c |
| 'You feel sadness for them and want to help, but most of the time you can't' 6a |
| 'Sadness, because these children are not like others but certain persons treat them badly and this should not be like this, because I think they should be treated the same as others' 12a, 17a |
| 'It makes me sad that in other ordinary schools they are not accepted as normal children, also because some people reject them' 7c |
| Category II. Non-emergence of different feelings in the context of a child with Down Syndrome |
|---|
| 'They can participate in all activities like others' 2*, 12*, 17* 16b, 23b |
| 'I like to be with them because they are not different' 5*, 15*, 33*, 37* |
| 'I do not mind playing with them, it is all the same to me' 6*, 11*, 17*, 38*, 24b, 13c, 14c |
| 'I do not feel tense, it is a person like any other, there is no reason to feel uncomfortable' 9*, 17c |
| 'They are normal, so I like to play with them' 10*, 18* |
| 'I would not mind, we can learn from each other' 13* |
| 'I would not mind, although I need to have a little more patience' 32* |
| 'I feel good, it is the same as if one was with another child' 7a, 11a, 16b, 23b |
| 'I feel the same as for any person, like any companion close to me. I play with them and talk...' 2c |
| 'I do not feel anything in particular if I am with him what I do is treat him well, you have to be happy, I also feel happy to be able to be with him' 3a |
| Category III. Emergence of feelings of satisfaction for help and self-development for building a relationship |
|---|
| 'I believe you have to play with them, otherwise one could not be friends' 19* |
| 'If a child with Down Syndrome asks you to play, you have to let him, it is good that they play with us' 21*, 34*, 35*, 36* |
| 'I have played a number of times with a child with Down Syndrome. If my friends tease me I do not care. It is good to know them' 22*, 30*, 44* |
| 'If we play with them we can know them more and tell our friends that there are not any problems. If we do this, these children can come to know more people' 23*, 46* |
| 'If when I play with a child with Down Syndrome others tease me, I feel bad and cross because they are very inconsiderate' 26*, 28*, 42*, 43* |
| 'It does not bother me to interact with them, people should be treated equally. If I have a friend with Down Syndrome and if he is teased I would help him' 29*, 47* |
| 'I like to have relations with them and share their problems. If they are teased I would try to help' 31* |
| 'I would like to be their friend because there are others who are cruel' 40* |
| 'I feel a little more happiness, because I think that to help, is to make companionship' 3c |
| Category IV. Emergence of feelings of discomfort in them and others |
|---|
| 'I feel uncomfortable, although I could go to their birthday, or shopping, or to their house...' 1* |
| 'I feel uncomfortable, but that is all right' 3* |
| 'I feel quite uncomfortable' 7* |
| 'I do not mind, but others can feel uncomfortable' 25* |
| 'It is unjust that they should be treated differently, at times I feel uncomfortable, because if I am with them my friends might tease me' 51* |
| 'I do not mind playing with them or relating with them, but when I am beside them I feel uncomfortable' 16* 20* |
The responses to the question about sociability confirm some of the comments made in earlier studies using the questionnaire. In the series of articles using the questionnaire the first author has made comments in relation to the use of 'sensitive words', which is one of the major categories spontaneously used by the Spanish children in this study. The Irish children did not mention sadness in their spontaneous reactions to Down Syndrome children. This is entirely consistent with the nationality-grade interaction mentioned above in the quantitative analysis comparing Spanish and Irish children, where it was the older Spanish children who used the words 'sad, lonely and unhappy' with greater frequency than the older Irish children. While the Irish pupils did not feel sadness or pity, they did feel some discomfort while the Spanish pupils did not. So there is a curious balance here between the sadness and pity for the 'child with Down Syndrome' experienced by only the Spanish children and the 'personal' discomfort and embarrassment felt only by the Irish pupils in the presence of the child with Down Syndrome.
Curiously, too, the Irish children were far more likely to feel satisfaction and to experience self-affirmation for helping a child with Down Syndrome. Both Spanish and Irish children were concerned with equality and with coming to realise that a child with Down Syndrome is like other children in so many ways.
The second study attempted to overcome this difference and to compare Irish and Spanish children under circumstances in which they would be less likely to have different representations, namely by asking them about their attitudes towards a child with Down Syndrome. In these conditions the difference in sociability between the two national samples disappeared but other interesting differences remained. There were differences between the Irish and Spanish samples in terms of their views on the feasibility of integration arising from the very positive attitudes of the younger Irish children towards integration of children with Down Syndrome, in contrast to the more negative attitudes of their Spanish peers at the same age level.
It may be that experience/inexperience plays a role in explaining these differences, and greater numbers of Spanish children did report knowing a child with Down Syndrome. There was additional evidence for the apparent greater experience of the older Spanish pupils (in contrast to the older Irish pupils) in their greater use of the sensitive words 'sad, lonely and unhappy' to describe a child with Down Syndrome, a finding which was reversed in the case of describing a child with intellectual disability. It may take further studies to understand whether these differences between the Spanish and Irish children are based on culture or experience, but for the present these findings provide teachers with some insight into the ways their pupils think about children with intellectual disability and Down Syndrome. It is well known that reduction of hostility and stereotyping depends on long-term contact, institutional sanctions and the organisation of groups with equal status and shared goals (Minuchin and Shapiro 1983). We hope that this work on attitudes will allow helpful insights into the effects of school policies on how children are actually thinking.
The qualitative study of Spanish and Irish pupils indicated a number of dimensions not included on the questionnaire. These included awareness of the benefits of being educated in both ordinary and special schools, and additional images such as those of a sick person, an affectionate person and a clumsy person. There were also differences between the Spanish and Irish pupils in that sadness and pity for children with Down Syndrome were expressed only by Spanish pupils and embarrassment and discomfort were expressed mainly by the Irish pupils. The emergence of feelings of satisfaction for helping a child with Down Syndrome together with feelings of self-development for building a relationship were also expressed far more frequently by Irish pupils. These differences invite a qualitative understanding of differences in the classroom contexts where the data were collected.