Abstract:

There is a growing interest in social relations among children in inclusion-related research (Almási et al., 2018; Horváth et al., 2019; Horváth et al., 2016). If we focus on the individual, we can see that the appropriate, needs-based education of students with disabilities participating in general education can only be provided if the needs can be realized not only in special needs education services but also in other areas of education (Almási et al., 2018). This can be ensured through data-based decision making (Wilcox et al., 2021). Preschool and primary school teachers, on the other hand, must make decisions not only about the students, but also regarding the communities, and, if necessary, to designate the goal and direction of community development. This also requires objectively collected data, e.g., to determine who is in a marginal position in the community (Horváth et al., 2019).

In our presentation, we introduce the first phase of a 5-year program that implements community level data-based decision-making in the first 4 grades of a Hungarian primary school in a 5-year follow-up study. The time spent in preschool plays a decisive role in the school career, the transition from preschool to school is especially important, mainly in the case of children with special educational needs (Horváth et al., 2019). Therefore, the first phase of the presented program deals with the preschool-school transition.

In the first phase, the social relationships of 3 mixed-age preschool group were mapped using an ICT-based sociometric framework (Horváth et al., 2019). The peer-nomination instrument consisted of 8 items including questions concerning sympathy, community functions, individual abilities, and popularity. Data processing was carried out on a tablet. A total of 66 children (34 boys, 32 girls, 3-6.5 years) participated in the data collection.

The participation of preschool teachers in the data collection was useful in several ways: they helped the children to interpret certain questions, they got to know their connection needs, their peer-choice attitude, they gained insight into the hierarchy and dynamics of relationships.

The next step will be to share the information gathered about children in a joint professional dialogue with preschool teachers and first-grade teachers this autumn before entering school. The aim is to help the preschool-school transition, to prepare teachers to receive children. Over the next 4 years, follow up of these communities will take place during the first four years of primary school, using data-based decision-making at the community level within the framework of the program presented in the presentation.

Keywords:

Data-based decision making, peer relations, school transition, community development.