Children's moral judgments and moral emotions following exclusion of children with disabilities: relations with inclusive education, age, and contact intensity.
Inclusive classrooms sharpen younger students' moral rejection of disability-based exclusion, yet moral approval alone does not guarantee real social connection.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Gasser et al. (2013) asked kids how they felt about leaving out classmates with disabilities. They surveyed children in regular and inclusive classrooms. They also checked how often kids played with peers who had disabilities.
What they found
Most kids said excluding someone because of a disability is wrong. Younger children in inclusive rooms gave the strongest moral answers. They also showed more sympathy for the excluded child.
How this fits with other research
Alnahdi (2019) found the same pattern in Saudi elementary schools. Szumski et al. (2020) added that students with a stronger moral identity show even less bias. Grütter et al. (2017) swapped 'contact intensity' for 'close friendship' and still saw the same link: more peer contact plus stronger upset feelings predict pro-inclusion views.
Yet two studies seem to clash. Schwab (2015) shows inclusive classes lift friendships for typical kids but leave students with SEN feeling left out. Kasari et al. (2011) found most students with ASD stay on the social edge even in shared classrooms. The gap is about outcome: Luciano measured moral judgment, while the others tracked real social ties. Kids can believe exclusion is wrong while still struggling to form friendships.
Why it matters
Moral growth is a good start, but it is not enough. Use Luciano's finding to justify inclusive placements, then add friendship-building tactics. Pair younger students for short, fun jobs. Teach empathy scripts. Check that students with disabilities actually receive invites, not just kind thoughts.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We investigated relations between children's moral judgments and moral emotions following disability-based exclusion and inclusive education, age, and contact intensity. Nine- and 12-year-old Swiss children (N=351) from inclusive and noninclusive classrooms provided moral judgments and moral emotion attributions following six vignettes about social exclusion of children with disabilities. Children also reported on their level of sympathy towards children with disabilities and their contact intensity with children with disabilities. Overall, children condemned disability-based exclusion, attributed few positive emotions to excluder targets, and expressed high sympathy for children with disabilities, independent of age and educational setting. However, younger children from inclusive classrooms exhibited more moral judgments and moral emotions than younger children from noninclusive classrooms. Moreover, children who expressed high sympathy towards children with disabilities were more likely to report frequent contact with children with disabilities. The findings extend existing research on social exclusion by examining disability-based exclusion and are discussed with respect to developmental research on social and moral judgments and emotions following children's inclusion and exclusion decisions.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.11.017