Background: An increasing number of segregating solutions (e.g. remedial classes) can be seen in Swedish schools. The aim of this article is to stress how children describe why they attend a remedial class and what it means to be a pupil in that setting.
Methods: The data collection consists of semi-structured interviews with 10 pupils between 10 and 12 years old attending 10 different remedial classes because they had been attributed with having concentration difficulties or diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The content of the interviews was described and analysed in relation to the classroom context. The socio-cultural perspective is used as a screen to describe and understand the children's comments about attending remedial class.
Results and conclusions: All interviews with the children indicate that they are carriers of their schools' compensatory perspective. This means that they are fully aware of the fact that they are regarded as difficult, with annoying and problematic behaviour, deviating from pupils' in general. The remedial class creates social difficulties for the children; they see themselves as deviant, they lose old friends and there are limited possibilities of establishing new friendship in remedial classes.
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.