Exploring Children’s Perceptions of Two School-Based Social Inclusion Programs: A Pilot Study

Although social exclusion among typically developing school-aged children has been well explored, it is under-researched for
children with disabilities even though they are at a higher risk for being excluded. While there are a number of different
programs available to improve social inclusion at school, the appeal of these programs to children remains unknown.

The objective of this pilot study was to elicit children’s perceptions of the desirable components of two commonly used social
inclusion programs in Ontario, Canada.

An exploratory mixed methods design (group discussion, observation notes, and a brief questionnaire) was used to provide an
in-depth understanding of children’s perceptions of two social inclusion programs: A group-based game (n = 87) and a puppet show (n = 78).

Children in each program reported that several aspects of the content appealed to them including learning about (1) bullying;
(2) disability; (3) building friendships and encouraging social inclusion; (4) preventing social exclusion. The desirable
aspects related to the format of the game and puppet show included (1) the interactive components; (2) the relevant topics
and characters; (3) the length of the programs.

Children’s insights about social inclusion programs should be considered in development and improvements of future programs.