Activity Structure and Social Interactions with Peers in Developmentally Integrated Play Groups

Abstract

Previous attempts to determine the impact of activity structure on the frequency of social interaction among preschoolers have been inconclusive. Yet the teacher's structuring of play activities is a relatively low-cost manipulation that, if effective in increasing peer interactions, might be extremely useful to those concerned with mainstreaming preschool children with disabilities. In this study, 20 children with disabilities and 8 normally developing children were observed while they participated in activities from an experimental curriculum designed to foster social integration. We predicted that (1) more peer interaction would be observed in play activities that were more structured and (2) teacher interaction rates would not be related to activity structure ratings. Both hypotheses were supported. Rates of peer interaction for children with and without disabilities covaried with activity structure ratings. Among the children with disabilities, rate of peer interaction correlated positively with both mental age and social competence scores; no such relationship was found for the normally developing children. Teacher interaction rates correlated negatively with mental age and social competence scores for both groups.

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