Students with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities: Spontaneous behaviors in classroom
Élèves en situation de polyhandicap: comportements spontanés en classe
Résumé
Despite the law of February 11, 2005, which guarantees the right for schooling for all students with disabilities, only around 13% of young people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) benefit from part-time schooling in France. The schooling of students with PIMD is particularly challenging because it involves reconsidering curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. In this observational study, which is part of a larger longitudinal research project, we focused on behaviors students with PIMD spontaneously (i.e., without being explicitly invited to do so) produce in the classroom. The participants were ten students with PIMD, aged 8 to 15, who attended two one-hour classes per week during one school year; in the classroom there were a total of five students with PIMD and two teachers as well as some other professionals (e.g., educator), if necessary. Three randomly selected classes (i.e., one per trimester) were filmed during the school year and analyzed. The results showed that all the students produced spontaneous behaviors. Some of them were exclusively aimed at exploring the material they had at their disposal, but most students also produced spontaneous behaviors addressed to the teachers, the other professionals and/or the other students. The analyses further showed that the teachers didn’t always react to, or take into account the students’ spontaneous behaviors; most of the time, they didn’t seem to notice those behaviors at all.