A Single Case Study on Providing Peer Support and Whole Class Strategies as Interventions for Children Who Are Experiencing Difficulty with Their Attention (Concentration) in the Classroom

Many students are struggling with attention in class. On the other hand, many teachers are struggling with using their limited time to support students with diverse needs. The purpose of the research project is to explore and develop effective intervention strategies that teachers can use at a low cost to support students who are experiencing difficulty with their attention (concentration) in the classroom so as to promote inclusiveness in education.

The terms ‘Peer Support’ and ‘Whole Class Strategies’ are nothing new. Yet this study used a relatively new way to use Peer Support and Whole Class Strategies as interventions to improve on-task behaviour of primary students who struggled with attention. A single case experimental design was adopted to investigate the impacts of the interventions. Four Year 5 students, the Class Teacher and the school’s SENCo participated in using the strategies. The effectiveness of the strategies and the experience of using them from the student and teacher participants’ perspectives were explored by mixed methods. Systematic observation was used to collect quantitative data on the student participants’ time-on-task rates over different intervention phases while semi-structured individual interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data on the participants’ experiences.

Results showed that marked improvements in the time-on-task rates were found in all participating students when each of the intervention strategies was implemented. Triangulation of data from students’ perspectives supported the conclusion that both strategies were effective. However, the Class Teacher’s view only supported the effectiveness of Whole Class Strategies, but not Peer Support. Analysis of qualitative data further revealed how the participants interacted with the intervention strategies. Several main themes generated from the student participant’s interview data on Peer Support were related to executive functions which echoed with the literature on attention difficulties. Thematic analysis of teacher participants’ interview data suggested that evaluation of the effectiveness of Peer Support might had been modulated by expectations.