The influence of school placement on students' emotional school well‐being, social inclusion and academic self‐concept of students with and without learning disability

Abstract This longitudinal study aims to examine Austrian lower secondary grade students' ( N = 415) emotional school well‐being, social inclusion and academic self‐concept regarding school placement over time (beginning of 5th till end of 6th grade). Using the Perception of Inclusion Questionnaire (PIQ), students with and without learning disability (LD) from lower secondary schools attending regular, inclusive and special class settings were surveyed. Results show that about 20 per cent of sixth‐grade students indicated low emotional school well‐being. Students without LD exhibited higher academic self‐concept, social inclusion and emotional well‐being in regular classes compared to inclusive classes. For students with LD, emotional school well‐being was generally higher in inclusive classes at the beginning of 5th grade compared to special educational classes. At the end of 5th grade and the beginning of 6th grade, students with LD in special classes showed slightly higher values for academic self‐concept, social inclusion and emotional school well‐being compared to students with LD in inclusive classes. Overall, the study results indicate that Austria is struggling with implementing inclusion.