Maria Glad

Ph.D. in Special Education at Stockholm University. Working as special school expert officer and advisor at the municipality level for parents to children and young people with intellectual disabilities.

My research interest departs from a theoretical understanding of children's development and learning as an interplay between biological conditions, social relations, and environmental and social contexts. In these contexts, policies formulated in the broader field of education, along with special education practices and measures, become important. According to several previous national and international studies, children with disabilities and other special educational needs could be at risk of becoming less involved in play situations with other children due to barriers in early childhood education learning environments. Removing these barriers is crucial for quality inclusion and calls for an imperative to special education research. 

My thesis, including three articles, explored the implementation of a peer-mediated instruction and intervention for social skills and play between children, in Swedish inclusive preschools.

Publications

Gladh, M. (2025). New special educational practices for social skills and play between children. Inclusive reflections and enactments of peer-mediated instruction and intervention in Swedish preschools (PhD dissertation, Department of Special Education, Stockholm University). https://su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1975732/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Gladh, M., Siljehag, E., Westling Allodi, M., & Sandall, S. R. (2025). Teachers’ perceptions of using peer-mediated instruction and intervention for supporting children’s social skills and play between children in inclusive preschools. Cogent Education, 12(1), 2460969. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2460969

Gladh, M., Siljehag, E., Westling Allodi, M., & Odom, S. L. (2022). Supporting children’s social play with peer-based intervention and instruction in four inclusive Swedish preschools. Frontiers in Education, 7. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2022.943601

Gladh, M., Westling Allodi, M., Siljehag, E., & Odom, S. L. (2021). Social validity and psychometric properties of Teacher Impression Scale – A pilot study. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 37(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2021.1894401

Gladh, M. & Siljehag, E. (2025). Lek mellan barn som medel och mål i inkluderande
förskolor. In M. Westling Allodi & H. Selenius (Red.), Specialpedagogisk forskning och tidiga insatser (s. 351–371). Stockholm University Press. https://doi.org/10.16993/bct.q

Westling Allodi, M., Gladh, M., Suhonen, E., Takala, M. & Zappaterra, T. (2019). Perceptions of Members in Parents’ Associations for Children with Disabilities of their Children’s Opportunities to Play. In M. Westling Allodi, T. Zappaterra (Red.), Users' Needs Report on Play for Children with Disabilities: Parents' and children's views (pp. 29-41). Warsaw, Poland: De Gruyter Open. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110537482-004