'It's FBO: Facebook official!' - The role of technology in inclusion mechanisms developed and used with peers by students with SEBD

Students with Emotional and Behavior Difficulties (EBD) or Social, Emotional and Behaviour Difficulties (SEBD) are increasingly being identified as a part of the school population requiring specific attention( Travell, 1999; Visser, 2001). The characteristics of this 'at risk' group offer an interesting perspective, less restrictive than that of 'Learning Difficulties' or 'Behaviour Difficulties' and yield more diversified and far reaching modes of intervention established on a systemic understanding of classroom manifestations (Miller, 1996; Cullinan, 2002; Van Acker, 2003).
Since these students with SEBD constitute a substantial part of the school population, they are now the focus of much research work and many classroom practices seeking to establish full and successful inclusion (No Child Left Behind Act 2001; Chief Secretary to the Treasury, 2003). Much of the work surrounding the practice of inclusion of students with SEBD has focused on classroom management (Long, 1999), teacher training (Obiakor, 1996; Miller, 1996) and curriculum adaptation (McDermott, 1993). Peer relations, though, also play a central part in the process of inclusion, a set of dynamics often ignored by teachers and researchers alike (Fovet, 2008; Carter, Cushing & Kennedy, 2009) and in the modern classroom, technology acts as a crucial pivot in peer interactions (Calvert, 2002; Boyd & Ellison, 2007).
This paper will investigate how technology - in particular social networking sites - is used by high school students with SEBD to create inclusion mechanisms, develop classroom resilience and establish or correct relationships with peers. The outcomes of this research are far reaching as, once identified, these processes can be monitored, encouraged and used proactively by teachers in their efforts to establish an inclusive classroom.

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