Self-rated health and wellbeing among school-aged children with and without special educational needs: Differences between mainstream and special schools.
Inclusive placement only helps when you also build an inclusive culture.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lambert et al. (2018) asked 11- to 14-year-olds how healthy and happy they felt. Some kids had special educational needs. Some went to special schools. Some went to regular classes.
The team compared four groups: SEN kids in special schools, SEN kids in mainstream, non-SEN kids in mainstream, and kids in special schools who no longer needed SEN support.
What they found
Kids with SEN in special schools said they felt sicker than all other groups. Kids with SEN in regular classes felt less happy with life than kids in special schools.
Just being in a regular classroom did not boost wellbeing. Placement alone is not enough.
How this fits with other research
Katz et al. (2020) seems to disagree. They gave every student a mental-health class in a regular school. Kids with developmental disabilities made big gains in self-concept and coping. The difference: Jennifer’s team added a program, not just a room.
Heiman (2001) saw the same split. Special-school teens felt more depressed. Mainstream teens with SEN felt more lonely. Both papers show the same pattern: setting matters, but only when it comes with real inclusion.
Kan et al. (2025) looked even younger. Five- to eleven-year-olds in Singapore special schools also scored low on quality-of-life. Executive-function struggles and parent stress were the big drivers. The problem starts early and stays.
Why it matters
Before you move a student, ask what supports ride with them. A seat in a regular class is not a cure. Add peer buddies, teacher training, and mental-health lessons. Check executive-function skills and parent stress. Measure happiness, not just grades.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Studies among students with special educational needs (SEN) in separate special schools (SSS) and mainstream schools (MS) are particularly applicable to educational attainment and social participation. However, indicators of health and wellbeing have rarely been considered. AIMS: This study investigates two related topics: first, health and wellbeing differences between students with SEN in special schools (SSS) and students without SEN in regular schools, and second, the rarely considered question whether health and wellbeing among students with SEN differ between school settings (i.e. MS vs. SSS). METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Bivariate and multilevel analyses are applied with data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) with 5267 students (grade 7). OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: After having controlled for background characteristics, students in SSS report higher likelihoods of poor self-rated health compared to students in higher track schools. Self-rated health of students with SEN does not significantly differ between MS vs. SSS. For life satisfaction, students with SEN show higher likelihoods of low life satisfaction when attending MS. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Teachers in inclusive settings are encouraged to establish class work and teaching that support a real change from class placement to inclusive culture in order to suitably support students with SEN.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2018 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2018.04.021