Effects of a social participation intervention on primary school students' attitudes toward peers with disabilities

Abstract Students with social, emotional, behavioural and with learning disabilities often experience low levels of social participation or social exclusion in inclusive education. To mitigate the consequences of social exclusion (e.g., depression), it is essential to promote their social participation. To this end, we designed and implemented FRIEND‐SHIP, a six‐week social–emotional learning (SEL) intervention aimed at fostering social participation among primary school students. A total of n = 259 students participated in SEL activities targeting specific social–emotional skills (e.g., social awareness, relationship skills), while n = 244 students formed the control group. Students' attitudes toward peers with learning disabilities and toward peers with social, emotional and behavioural disabilities were assessed with a questionnaire administered before and after the intervention. Latent change score models revealed a significant effect of group assignment (intervention vs. control group) on changes in students' attitudes toward peers with disabilities. Specifically, students' attitudes in the intervention group significantly improved from pre‐ to post‐measurement, whereas attitudes in the control group remained stable or declined. The findings suggest that students' attitudes toward peers with disabilities can be significantly improved with our intervention and offer valuable insights into how social participation among students with disabilities can be effectively promoted in inclusive education.