Relation between the educational placement of students with special educational needs (SEN)
Dr. Aleksander Kocaj, Research associate IQB
The present dissertation examines the relation between the educational placement of students with special educational needs (SEN) in special education schools or regular schools and their school achievement and achievement motivation at the end of fourth grade.
In the first study, we investigated if the achievement tests in German and mathematics assess SEN students’ proficiencies reliably and validly. Overall, the interpretation of the test scores was comparable between students with SEN in special education schools and regular schools. Comparability of the achievement tests in mathematics, however, was constrained for SEN students in special education schools compared to students without SEN.
In the second study, we compared SEN students’ school achievement in German and mathematics between special education schools and regular schools. SEN students in regular schools had significantly higher test scores across both domains than comparable SEN students in special education schools. In particular, students with special needs in learning benefitted from an education in regular schools.
In the third study, we found a significant positive relationship between the average cognitive abilities at the class level and SEN students’ individual school achievement in German and mathematics after accounting for students’ achievement-related characteristics and educational placement in special education schools or regular schools.
The fourth study focused on the relation between SEN students’ educational placement and their achievement motivation. SEN students in special education schools reported higher academic self-concepts in German and mathematics as well as more enjoyment of learning than SEN students in regular schools. Placement differences could be explained by the lower class-average achievement in special education schools compared to regular schools.
Betreuerinnen: Prof. Dr. Poldi Kuhl➚, Prof. Dr. Petra Stanat➚