Abstract

1. A Study to Investigate the Relationship between Peer Opinions and Classroom Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities in the Mainstream Educational Setting. By Meera Mehtaji Abstract Procedure Research Question Results The researcher aims to investigate the relation between peer opinion and academic achievement of students’ with learning disabilities in the mainstream classroom. The researcher will use the survey method using a convenience sample for the research. The researcher will survey students’ with learning disability and their teachers. The students’ survey will be administered by the researcher and will have pictorial cues. Q1. Is there a relationship between peer opinions and classroom achievement of students with Learning Disabilities in the mainstream educational set up? Hypothesis • Negative peer opinion lead to negative classroom achievement of students with Learning Disabilities in the mainstream educational setup. Method Instrument Introduction • The researcher used the survey method to conduct this research. For the purpose of collecting data and having multiple checks on the reliability of the data, the researcher collected data from students, and teachers. • The researcher will draw up two survey scales: one for the students, one for teachers. • Only the student’s survey will have pictorial representation so as to help them understand the question better. • The rating scale will be divided into areas like classroom participation, group work, self concept and academic achievement. Mainstreaming has opened the doors of the general education classrooms to students with learning disabilities.Over the past years researchers have investigated various aspects of mainstreaming students with Learning Disabilities especially social competences. • The data did not indicate a great discrepancy between teachers’ and students’ average scores. • None of the students received an ‘F’ grade, and majority of the students received a ‘B’ grade. Thus, there is a positive relation between peer opinions and classroom achievement of students with learning disabilities. Setting Review of Literature The study took place in a public school in Virginia. The students were identified as students with learning disabilities and were educated in collaborative classroom. There were 21 students in the 3rd to 5th grade. All the students participated in the research. • Estell, Jones, Pearl & Van Acker (2009) noted that students with learning disabilities had a lesser number of friends to choose from, and that they were “often socially rejected by their typically achieving classmates” (p. 119). • The effect of peer status was studied by Véronneau, Vitaro, Brendgen, Dishion, & Tremblay, (2010) and the results indicated that “academic achievement is a good predictor of peer group status” (p. 773). • One of the components defining social competency is “peer group interaction” which is a “process of learning and acquiring social competence in schools” that effect academic achievement (Lihong, 2010, p 296). • Nowicki (2003) concluded “children with learning disabilities are at greater risk for social rejection and negative self-esteem issues than are average –to – high achieving children” (p. 171). Operational Definitions • Operational Definitions: - • Classroom Participation: - Classroom participation is defined by hand rising to volunteer in response to teacher questions. • Group Work:- Cooperative learning:- Approach to instruction in which students work with a small group of peers to achieve a common goal and help one another learn. • Self- Concept: - “Perceptions, beliefs, judgments, and feelings about oneself as a person.” • Academic Achievements: - A letter grade achieved by the student in Math and Language Arts. Participants Conclusion & Discussion • The results did not indicate a discrepancy between student and teacher median scores. • All students agreed that they were distracted by noise in the classroom, and are required by parents/ teachers to remind them about task at hand. This indicates that students had difficulty in classroom participation. • As the design was limited, the scope of the research needs to be expanded in order to obtain more reliable data. • For future research data can be collected from parents and other nondisabled peers in the same class. Design • The present investigation was exploratory in nature and was based on the descriptive design. • The researcher will use the survey method to conduct this research. For the purpose of collecting data and having multiple checks on the reliability of the data, the researcher will collect data from students and teachers. Limitation • One teacher will be filling surveys for multiple students. • The results cannot be generalized, because of the research design and the limited scope of the research.