Assessment of Supporting Factors in School Adjustment of Children in the Elementary Grades With Borderline Intellectual Functioning: From the Perspective of Public Elementary School Teachers and Teachers in BIF Alternative School

The purpose of this study is to explore the support elements necessary for the adaptation of border-level intellectual functional elementary school students to school life recognized by field educators. One-on-one individual interviews were conducted with 10 public elementary school teachers and 10 teachers from alternative schools operated for border-level intellectual functional students. The results of similarity classification and importance evaluation were both visualized by a multidimensional scale analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis based on the extracted statements. As a result of this study, first, support in the relational aspect should be expanded. Support for border-level intellectual functional students, which has thus far been biased towards the learning aspect, should be provided in a balanced way when regarding the relational aspect. Second, support for establishing awareness of the educational community object is necessary; this is so that the educational community can fully understand the characteristics of border-level intellectual functionality that are distinguished from other disabilities. Third, cooperative support between several educational entities with homeroom teachers and parents as the core subjects is needed. In order for border-level intellectual functional elementary school students to adapt to school life, it should be recognized that support focus needs to be tailored towards how to create an educational environment including homes and schools surrounding them, rather than how to improve their functions.