Happiness in Children with Special Needs

A COMPARISON OF GLOBAL AND SCHOOL-RELATED HAPPINESS BETWEEN SPECIAL CLASS AND MAINSTREAM CLASS STUDENTS

Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, ECP2015, Milan

FIVE KEY MESSAGES FOR INCLUSIVE

EDUCATIONEUROPEAN AGENCY FOR SPECIAL NEEDS AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

https://www.european-agency.org/

1) as early as possible: the positive impact of early detection and intervention as well as of proactive

measures.

2) inclusive education benefits all: the positive educational and social impact of inclusive education.

3) highly qualified professionals: the importance of having highly qualified professionals in general, and

teachers in particular.

4) support systems and funding mechanisms: the need for well-established support systems and related

funding mechanisms.

5) reliable data: the important role played by data, as well as benefits and limitations of its use.

HAPPINESS =SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING(DIENER, 1984, 1994)

Positive affect

Negative affect

Life Satisfaction

Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, University of Helsinki

CORRELATES OF HAPPINESS IN CHILDREN• Self-esteem• Self-efficacy• Strengths of character• Extroversion• Internal locus of control• Good family relationships• Friends• Teacher support• Daily routines rather than sudden incidents

Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, University of Helsinki

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. Is the subjective happiness of special education students comparable to that of their normally achieving peers?

2. Is the school-related happiness of special education students comparable to that of their normally achieving peers?

3. What factors would increase the (subjective) happiness of special education children and their normally achieving peers?

Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, University of Helsinki

PARTICIPANTS

• 75 special class students (learning disabilities and socio-emotional problems), 23 girls and 52 boys

• 77 mainstream students, 23 girls ja 54 boys

• age 11-16 years

• additionally, 10 special education children were interviewed

Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, University of Helsinki

THE SUBJECTIVE HAPPINESS SCALE (SHS) &THE SCHOOL CHILDREN’S HAPPINESS INVENTORY (SCHI)• SHS is a 4-item test aimed at measuring global happiness, scale 1-7 (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999).

In general, I consider myselfNot a happy person - - - - - - - a very happy

person

• SCHI is a context-related questionnaire on happiness (Ivens, 2007), 15 positive and 15 negative SWB items (e.g., “I felt relaxed”, or “I wanted to give up”), scale 1-4. In the Finnish version, 25 items.

Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015

SHS

SCHI

The Subjective Happiness Scale, SHS

Mainstream (n=77) Special ed. (n=75) Difference betweeneducational groups

____________________________________________________________________________

M SD M SD Mann-Whitney U p_____________________________________________________________________________ Subjective happiness 5.44 .88 5.01 .98 2170 < .01Girls 5.07 .90 4.84 .97Boys 5.60 .96 5.08 .99Differencebetween gendersMann-Whitney U 391.50 p=.01 515 p>.05_____________________________________________________________________________Subjective happiness, scale = 1–7 Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, University of Helsinki

The School Children’s Happiness Inventory (SCHI)

Difference between educational

Mainstream (n=77) Special ed. (n=75) groups____________

M SD M SD Mann-Whitney U p_____________________________________________________________________________ SCHI 3.26 .34 2.97 .41 1585

< .001Girls 3.28 .36 2.99 .43Boys 3.25 .34 2.96 .41

Difference between genders Mann-Whitney U 588.50 p>.05 560 p>.05__________________________________________________________________________SCHI = School Children’s Happiness Inventory, scale 1–4

Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, University of Helsinki

The 25 items in School Children’s Happiness Inventory (SCHI)

I was nervousI wanted to come to schoolI felt sad*I felt relaxed**I felt ill***I felt that school was a safe place**I concentratedI felt sick***I felt positiveI felt angry*I wanted to cry***I got on well with everyoneI was in a bad mood*I enjoyed myself**

I felt calm I was interested in workingI felt sorry for myself***I felt good *I was confused I was confident*I felt upset*I wanted to give up***I worked wellI was frightened**I liked being with other people**

Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, University of Helsinki

What would increase your happiness?Mainstream Special education

• peaceful family life 14 24• more friends 28 39• success in school 39 33• success in a hobby 31 13• a new hobby 15 10• more free time 36 36• better health 12 19• more money 44 37• a girl/boy friend 25 29• a pet 18 27• better looks 21 15• becoming a celebrity 9 9• Total 292 291

Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, University of Helsinki

Qualitative dataRelationships

Granny’s garden and the food she cooks, discussions with parents,talking with friends (live or online), playing with the dog.

RecreationCycling, playing floorball or computer games, holidays from school.

Material thingsA guitar, computer, a play station.

Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, Helsingin yliopisto

SUMMARY

• special education students were less happy than the mainstream students, globally and in school.

• qualitative differences did appear: special education students desired more friends, mainstream students materialistic things

DISCUSSION 1:SOCIAL BONDING• Well functioning social relationships and friends are crucial

for overall well-being and happiness• In segregated settings, the pool of potential friends is

diminished and class-mates may have specific problems in social behavior

• Segregated classrooms are usually not located in the neighbour school but further away, children with special needs are transported to school

DISCUSSION 2:HOWEVER

• Studies on persons with disabilities show that the closest friendships are often formed between other persons with disabilities (McVilly et al., 2006)

• Friends should be equal, rejection (or lack of resiprocity) was experienced by mainstream peers

• Classrooms should be true mixtures of different learners

DISCUSSION 3:LONELINESS IS DANGEROUS

Gilmore & Cuskelly, 2014:• Disabled persons are more vulnerable for loneliness

• Higher rates of mental health problems • Physical health is substantially worse• Quality of life is poorer• Difficulties with following a healthy lifestyle

DISCUSSION 4:PROMOTE INCLUSION

•Create learning environments with diverse students

•Home class is important but do not restrict to it, various combinations are needed

•Create settings where every student can flourish

•Make social bonding a primary task •Engage parents, too

Adapted from Fredrickson, 2013

Positive emotions

OxytocinVagus

PENTTI KURIKAN NIMIPÄIVÄTIN EUROVISION SONG CONTEST IN VIENNA 2015https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4Y0HOPL5GU

• Where could I find a man with disabilities, a man who could tolerate me and have a firm belief in God?

Interview of an adult woman with mild intellectual disabilities

http://blogs.helsinki.fi/lmuusita

Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara et al. (2012). Are Special Education Children Happy?Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 56(4), 419-437.