A qualitative investigation into adolescents with learning disabilities : their perceptions and uses of social support

• Main Author: Wilkie, Tara V.
• Other Authors: Maguire, M. (advisor)
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: McGill University 1999
• Subjects: Learning disabled teenagers.; Social networks.
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=36069

This qualitative descriptive inquiry investigates the perceptions and uses of social support of a selected group of adolescents who attended an English school for students with learning disabilities in Montreal, Quebec. I draw on Vygotskian socio-cultural theory as a framework for understanding how the participants access and use people for social support and how these adolescents provide others with social support. I use three Vygotskian concepts, the zone of proximal development, self-regulation and internalization to examine the differences between those who use support well and those who do not. Data collected and analyzed includes audio taped interviews with focus groups, students, parents, teachers and professional staff, school based and classroom based participant observations. A major finding to emerge is that adolescents in this inquiry use or do not use support well based on what they have internalized through previous experiences and social interactions in their home contexts. The students who use support well appear to have had positive demonstrations of social support within their zones of proximal development, thus enabling them to internalize and self regulate how to access and use social support in other contexts. The students who do not use support well do not appear to have experienced positive demonstrations of social support within their zones of proximal development. This latter group experience difficulties in accessing, accepting and using social support both in home and school contexts. However, these adolescents can learn to self regulate, access and use social support when adults, their peers or significant others listen and validate their concerns and move into their zones of proximal development. Implications for teachers include; (a) Creating open and trusting environments in which students feel comfortable in risk-taking and self-disclosure; and (b) Implementing mentoring programs in which a collaborative environment is created and