Limitations of the study and ideas for future research

There are several limitations to the study which must be considered for accurate and appropriate conclusions to be drawn. Firstly, the study was conducted in two schools within one local authority and focussed on Year 4 and 5 pupils. The schools had larger than average numbers of pupils who are eligible for pupil premium funding, speak English as an additional language and reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. Whilst it could be argued that the results are not generalisable to other school contexts or to schools in other areas of the UK, it should be acknowledged that the present study found results that were comparable to other published studies, suggesting that the pattern of results may be reflected in wider

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contexts. For the results to be considered more generalisable, further observations of lesson and breaktime interactions with a more diverse and larger sample would be required.

The study also focussed on pupils who were on the SEN register for C&I or SEMH needs, which included pupils with and without EHCPs. It is recognised that these pupils do not represent the full range of SEN, and it may be helpful for future studies to replicate the research with pupils with other forms of SEN, such as those with learning and cognition or physical and sensory needs. It is also acknowledged that the SEN categories are not discreet and therefore pupils in the study may have had overlapping SEN in two or more of the broad SEN categories. As such, it may not be possible to attribute the variances found in the study to the factors associated with solely SEMH or C&I needs.

Additionally, whilst the size and demographics of a school may affect the experiences of pupils, the interventions in place for those pupils and the school ethos is arguably more influential to the everyday social experiences of pupils and may therefore have played a significant part in the patterns of peer relations and breaktime experiences of the pupils in the study. The schools used in the present study appeared to have an average to above average inclusive ethos, and took steps to promote an atmosphere of kindness and acceptance at a classroom and whole school level. This is of particular relevance given that researchers have identified an association between school ethos and policies on peer relations (Titman, 1994 as cited by Blatchford & Baines, 2010). It will be important for future research to take into account the classroom and breaktime interventions that are taking place for these pupils, in order to capture a more complete understanding of the factors that lead to successful peer relations for PSEN.

A further limitation of the study is that it in part, relies on data which is correlational in nature, and it is therefore not possible to ascertain a causal link between the variables included within the Pearson correlations and multiple regression analysis. As such, whilst this study indicates that there is a strong relationship between peer contact in the classroom and peer

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preference, and between adult involvement in the classroom and peer preference, it is also possible that there are other confounding variables that are contributing to this relationship. For example, it is possible that overall levels of peer preference are more closely related to the characteristics and behavioural traits of the participants involved, as opposed to their levels of peer contact or adult involvement per se.

This is particularly relevant given that the SEN sample used in the present study were pupils with C&I and SEMH needs. Durkin and Conti- Ramsden (2010) in their review of the social and emotional functioning of young people with specific language impairment report that pupils with language needs are at a significant social disadvantage and are less likely to engage in social conversation with their peers, are less responsive to the initiations of others, have poorer conversational skills and are less likely to reach mutual decisions with their peers. Similarly, pupils with SEMH may experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties such as being withdrawn or isolated or displaying challenging behaviours (DfE, 2015), characteristics which have been linked to: greater levels of peer rejection (Frederickson & Furnham, 2004), difficulties in initiating conversations (Blatchford,1994) and greater levels of bullying and victimisation, (Baines & Blatchford, 2010). As such it is reasonable to hypothesise that the lower levels of peer preference found for the PSEN in the present study may have been a primary consequence of their C&I and SEMH needs as opposed to their levels of peer contact or adult involvement, which in themselves, may have been a by-product of their levels of SEN. In order to gain a clearer perspective around these interrelating factors, it would be useful for future research, using a longitudinal approach, to look specifically at levels of peer contact, adult involvement and individual characteristics such as behavioural traits, social skills and language skills, in order to ascertain the relevant contributions of these variables to overall peer relations. However, whilst this represents a limitation of the current research, the present study is nevertheless valuable in opening the discussions around the possible environmental factors that may be contributing to poor peer relations for

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PSEN, and in challenging the dominant discourse that ongoing adult support is beneficial for the inclusion of PSEN in mainstream schools.

It is also important to note that whilst the present study suggests that higher levels of peer contact in the classroom is associated with higher levels of peer contact at breaktime, the study is not able to show whether pupils were interacting with the same peers at breaktimes and in the classroom. It may be helpful for future research to explore whether those pupils that work together, also play together.

Additionally, the interviews were only carried out with PSEN meaning that the responses from the interviews could not be directly compared with NSEN pupils. As such, it is not possible to know whether or not typically developing children would have provided similar responses relating to their experiences of peer relations at school, limiting the conclusions that can be drawn from the study. However, it was possible to compare the results of the study to previous studies that have been carried out on the experiences of breaktimes for pupils with and without SEN in mainstream populations, allowing for parallels and contrasts to be highlighted and discussed.

Although attempts were made to make a comparison group for NSEN pupils who were matched by age, gender and academic ability, it was not always possible to closely match pupils according to these criteria. For example, there was one male pupil for whom a female comparison was found. As such, it is possible that the differences in peer relations and peer contact may have been attributed to factors other than SEN type, thus limiting the conclusions that can be drawn from the study. However, where the present study coincides with previous research, the results have been comparable (e.g. Pinto, 2015).

Although the study utilised peer relations measures that have been validated in previous research, the reciprocal best friend analysis yielded a number of challenges. For example, whilst a number of steps were taken to ensure the questionnaires were completed in full by the participating students, it was found that only 93 of the 153 pupils completed the questions which asked them to nominate their 3 best friends, meaning that the results

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were restricted to the nominations received from this smaller selection of pupils within the overall sample. As such, this means that a large proportion of best friend nominations have been missed from the study, and as such the results from this part of the data analysis are not as robust as they could have otherwise been.

Finally, it is acknowledged that there were a number of important measures of peer relations that were not included as the focus of the study. For example, social skills are an important aspect of peer relations that have been linked to social success (Rubin, Bukowski & Parker in Weiner, 2004). However, the social skills of the pupils within the study were not measured, and thus it is not possible to know the extent to which levels of peer acceptance were related to social skills over other classroom and breaktime factors captured in the study such as peer contact and adult involvement. Findings from such research could significantly contribute to our understanding of the range of factors that are most influential to the development of successful social experiences for PSEN.

5.7. Implications for Educational Psychologists, Schools and Policy