bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Multidisciplinary social communication intervention for children with autism and pervasive developmental disorder: The Child’s Talk project
Authors: Aldred Catherine , Pollard Clare , Phillips Rob , Adams Catherine 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis paper describes an early intervention approach designed for use by multidisciplinary professionals with children who have the severe social communication deficits of early autism and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). This is part of a control randomised trial involving a cohort of 40 children. The paper focuses on describing the intervention stage, interdisciplinary working and interim findings as it is too early to present the data analysis. The therapy defines the dyadic communication between parent and child, analysing the specific pattern, and profile of the child’s communication and social interaction as well as the communication strategies and adaptations of the parent. The intervention aims to enable parents and carers to finely tune their interaction using video feedback. Parents can reflect on their own interaction, identify which strategies engage the child in interaction and identify additional strategies which are adaptive to their child’s level of communication. This approach can work in conjunction with other autism-specific approaches.
Structuring uncertainty: Developing an ethical framework for professional practice in educational psychology
Authors: Webster Alec , Bond Tim 
Published: January 2023

AbstractAs the context for practice in educational psychology in the future seems destined to be no less complex or tension-ridden than it is currently, practitioners have a compelling need to develop ethical frameworks to guide and inform their work. A professional ethic is one way of reducing uncertainty, given that the problems most professionals face in their work are messy and ill formed, with few protocols. Ethical frameworks can be likened to scaffolding on building sites: they offer protection from mishap and thus allow individuals to do their jobs safely with a minimum of constraint. The core values for a professional ethic are considered, drawing on codes of practice issued by professional bodies; the therapeutic orientation implicit in being a psychologist; education law, duties of care and court judgments; ethical values and principles as points of reference for ethical dialogue; and organisational policy in host institutions. Whenever educational psychologists (EPs) are confronted with situations where ethical dilemmas arise, systematic procedures enable options to be considered in reaching an ethical decision. We present the case, given the foregrounding of EPs in relation to national agendas such as school improvement and inclusion, for greater ethical awareness in individuals and services. A professional ethic for EPs is also a social and iterative process, concerned with the development and maintenance of a professional culture based on best practice.
Ethical mindfulness and professional development in local education authority psychology services
Authors: Franey John 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis article takes as its focus the place of ethics within the profession of educational psychology. It argues that ethics within educational psychology is very much an embryonic field of inquiry, even though in their distinctive ways, ethics and educational psychology have much in common as critiques of human behaviour. Generic “at risk” situations which may lead to ethical complications are identified – unforeseen dilemmas, inadequate anticipation, unavoidable dilemmas, unclear dilemmas, inadequate sources of guidance and loyalty clashes. Drawing upon the literature and professional experiences it is then suggested that there are common ethically troubling issues and situations which educational psychologists have to confront – confidentiality, questionable interventions, competence, testing and assessment, resource allocation, collusive practice, conduct of colleagues and provision. Ways and means to promote greater ethical mindfulness among individual educational psychologists (EPs) and within local education authority (LEA) psychology services are suggested. These include planned continuing professional development (CPD) which takes as its foci the importance of ethical insight, ethical principles and ethical decision-making. It is also proposed that psychology services consider a range of organisational arrangements to heighten ethical mindfulness – the formal adoption of professional codes of conduct, ethics education during induction, the establishment of an ethics committee, a charter of users’ rights, the use of an ethical ombudsman and mentors, and the establishment of ethical case conferences along with the elevation of professional supervision to increase the opportunities for conscious consideration of ethical issues.
Ethical issues for educational psychologists engaged in research
Authors: Fox Mark , Rendall Sue 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe development of continuing professional development (CPD) doctorates means that more educational psychologists (EPs) are becoming involved in research. Though the British Psychological Society (BPS) provides ethical guidelines for undertaking research which fit closely with what most National Health Service (NHS) ethics committees require, within education there are no comparable checks. This paper suggests that EPs are in a position to socially construct ethical principles. These need to mirror the ethical concerns of professional practice, paying particular attention to the beginnings and endings of the interrelationships that characterise psychologists’ professional and research work. In addition these socially constructed ethical principles can provide an ethical basis for research that can challenge the status quo. In this way research can be used as a way of empowering disadvantaged communities within education rather than continuing to be part of the process that marginalises them.
The need for a professional ethic: International perspectives
Authors: Francis Ronald D. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis article examines the reason for the recent interest in ethics, and considers its deontological and consequentialist bases. It is noted that ethics may be taught directly, or incidentally as part of other instruction. Experience has shown that teaching it directly has considerable merit in that this makes ethical issues explicit rather than implying that they are a less important part of professional practice. In such a way the “knowing” of ethics becomes insightful understanding rather than a superficial piece of information. It is clear that ethics should not be considered a quasi-legal entity. Ethics is about human values; about best aspirational standards; about creative and remedial issues; and about operating with goodwill (whereas the law is seen as setting minimum standards, using the adversarial approach, and inviting sanctions for breaches). In convincing professionals about the merits of ethics there are three basic types of argument: the rational explanation of its merits; empirical data showing the benefits; and the use of appropriate case studies. Most civilised countries have a code of professional ethics (or code of conduct). It is also clear that although the length of such codes varies there is substantial agreement about what a code should contain. To illustrate these principles various practical illustrations are given, and helpful principles suggested. Finally it is noted that discussions of ethics are particularly significant as they provide a forum in which issues of value may be discussed in a constructive and non-confrontational context.
Competence, fitness to practise and continuing professional development: The ethical basis of educational psychologists’ practice
Authors: Lunt Ingrid 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn this article questions are raised about what constitutes fitness to practise for educational psychologists, starting with a discussion of “valid practice” and the current concern in many professions with “revalidation”. Most professions imply that “competence”, derived from a licence to practise or its equivalent, and adherence to an ethical code, constitute the basis of their current “fitness to practise”, and hence the justification for public trust or confidence. However, if we are thinking in terms of protection for the public or public confidence, this notion of “competence” must be considered a weak concept, since, once demonstrated through initial qualification and additional professional requirements for “membership” (the “licence”), it is rarely if ever subsequently checked. The article considers questions of qualification (licence to practise), ethical codes and continuing professional development (CPD) for educational psychologists, welcomes the move by the British Psychological Society (BPS) toward mandatory CPD as a means for revalidation of competence, and suggests that a core aspect of ethical practice implies a commitment to the maintenance of current fitness to practise.
Alternative practice: Alternative perspectives
Authors: Sutton Andrew 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe common professional/academic consensus around inclusion stems from a particular employment group dependent largely upon the patronage of the state. An autoethnographic account of an alternative career path reports the development of one alternative practice with less direct allegiance to existing state structures and, consequently, an alternative perspective on issues of inclusion and other currently hegemonic notions not generally regarded as problematic. Over the last 15 years, Conductive Education has become an international movement, driven by goals and values that are not those of the common consensus. There is contradiction between its aspirations for official acceptance and the vulnerability of its alternative essence and values to official absorption. Informed families’ dissatisfaction with existing services for children growing up with disabilities, including simplistic inclusion, and their choice of alternative practices, are emerging as a serious research topic. This testimonio aims to create space for unheard voices to be heard.
The evidence of psychology in action
Authors: Mageean Bernard 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe intention of this speculative statement is to review and revise a position outlined some years ago in various forms. According to this view, instructive action (or teaching) is not a matter accidental to the scientific practice of psychology, but rather the essential concern, being the currency of the single message exchange system that constitutes human action. It is possible then to look at some of the relevant evidence that psychological science provides, and to suggest that possibilities for effective use in instructional practice may follow from seeing psychologists’ actions as instructive activity, not merely for their peers, who are the audience for their words, but in connection with their essential role in this larger context of the single message exchange system and thence to the subsystems of the larger context in which social schemes guide action. It is thought that the debate produced by the call for evidence-based practice in education may be helped by consideration of this view that would place instructive activity at the centre of things. Some problems are identified for psychologists and teachers and some general suggestions are made about seeking a dynamic balance of forces and connection of levels in an interactive scheme where the activities of each party might produce evidence bearing upon the plans for action of the other.
Children, psychologists and knowledge: A discourse-analytic narrative
Authors: Billington Tom 
Published: January 2023

AbstractDuring the last three hundred years, as new forms of knowledge-making have been forged under the changed conditions of the Western economies, new human activities (professions) have often vied with one another to provide both the justification and the means for an expansion of ‘governmentality’ into the lives of children. One such new discipline of knowledge has been psychology. It is argued here that the forms of knowledge-making devised by psychologists (and indeed also by other professionals) have been subject to particular, and sometimes alienating, social power relations that may well have obscured other, different kinds of thinking about the experiences of children. The principles of a particular model of discourse analysis are applied here in order to consider not only the importance of language within current practices but also beyond that the issues of meaning, knowledge and power.
A contextual and methodological perspective on the evidence-based intervention movement within school psychology in the United States
Authors: Stoiber Karen Callan , Waas Gregory A. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn this article, we consider contextual and methodological issues for moving the profession of educational and school psychology toward embracing evidence-based interventions. We specifically examine how the context of schools relates to issues in advancing research that enable educational and school psychologists to enhance critical outcomes for children and families in the areas of prevention and intervention. Following a contextual perspective on the application of evidence-based approaches, we discuss a conceptual schema for evaluating current research. We also illustrate how this framework can be used for guiding future prevention and intervention research. In addition, we examine the need for embracing evidence-based practices as a means to improve school psychology service delivery in the US. The article concludes by summarising important issues for developing a meaningful evidence-based framework that both reflects sound methodology and the context of school-based prevention and intervention research.
Social cognitive development of children with learning difficulties
Authors: Nabuzoka Dabie , Empson Janet M. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis paper discusses social cognitive functioning of children with learning difficulties (LD) as a focus for intervention in schools. Research linking such functioning with social emotional adjustment is discussed. This suggests that social cognitive skills of children with LD significantly account for the quality of their social relationships. However, studies also suggest that social adjustment is often a result of complex interactions between the child’s functional level and the social ecology of the school. Findings from studies of normally developing children in their natural environments are discussed in relation to their implications for interventions involving children with LD. Intervention strategies that go beyond mere social skills training for children with LD are suggested. It is argued that while such children may benefit from training in social cognitive skills, problems in social relations cannot be explained solely by deficits in social cognitive functioning. Rather, the way social cognitive factors may be implicated in the social emotional adjustment of such children should be seen as sometimes secondary, and not primary, to the presenting difficulties.
The role of analogy use in improving early spelling performance
Authors: Kirkbride Sybella , Wright Barlow C. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis paper reports on an investigation into the effectiveness of teaching year 1 and 2 children to use analogy in spelling. It also looks at which word units (onset+peak, peak, rime or coda) most contribute to correct analogy use. The study employed a mixed design, with 36 children divided into an experimental and a control group. Three spelling tests (at times 1, 2 and 3) were administered to both groups approximately five weeks apart with a five-week intervention programme between the first and second tests, during which the experimental group only received coaching in analogy use in spelling. Comparison of the means for correct spellings at times 1 and 2 showed a significant improvement in the experimental group’s correct spelling performance compared with controls, and this advantage was maintained, though less marked, at time 3. Spellings were scored three times: on the basis of correct spelling, phonological plausibility (PP) and evidence of analogy use. This allowed examination of the relationship between correct spelling, PP and analogy use. Separate regression analyses for the two groups showed analogy use to be more predictive of correct spelling than PP for the intervention group, whereas the reverse was the case for controls. This suggests that it was the coaching in analogy use in spelling, rather than intervention per se, which made the difference to the intervention group’s correct spelling performance. Finally, a comparison of the overall means for correct analogy use showed no significant difference between the units onset+peak, rime or coda, but the rime made a greater contribution to correct spelling than the peak.
Distinctly different? Descriptions of the sexually abused and ‘non abused’ child
Authors: O’Dell Lindsay 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIt is argued that the mainstream understandings of the child given within (and outwith) developmental psychological theorisation have profound implications for both the sexually abused and the ‘non-abused’ child. In particular, the view of sexually abused children as distinctly different from other children is a common assumption within such understandings. The issue of difference is explored in this paper using a simple Q study which required participants to describe either a sexually abused child or a child more generally. The Q study is reported and the different descriptions of childhood from the analysis are discussed.
Child emotional abuse: The role of educational professionals
Authors: Doyle Celia 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe paper examines the roles of schools and educational professionals in relation to children who have been emotionally abused by their parents where emotional abuse is the sole or main form of abuse. Information was gained from two contrasting studies. The first study provides an overview of school-age children in the emotional abuse category of local authority child protection registers in England. This study was based on telephone interviews with key workers in 112 cases from twelve local authorities representative of the different geographical and demographic areas of England. This study provided primarily quantitative data about procedural issues and education-related problems. The second study explores the role of educational professionals on the basis of information from in-depth interviews with 14 people who experienced substantial childhood emotional abuse and now define themselves as survivors of this form of abuse. The results show that schools were clearly involved in identifying and referring emotional abuse cases to social services. Furthermore, psychological maltreatment affects children’s schooling in a variety of ways. Finally, educational professionals, including educational psychologists, played a key role in enhancing the resilience of many of the survivors. In conclusion, they can provide support, role models and, in terms of Carl Rogers’s theories, unconditional positive regard. Generally, educational professionals have an essential role in working with children who have been emotionally abused.
Mediating knowledge construction: Towards a dynamic model of assessment and learning
Authors: Jensen Mogens R. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn the United States the extent of the need for new thinking and new approaches to all of education is underscored by the prevalence of inadequate student achievement and preparation across the nation. In the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 68 per cent of the nation’s 4th graders scored below proficient in reading (US Department of Education, 2001a) and 74 per cent scored below proficient in math (US Department of Education, 2001b) – with higher rates of failure among Latino and Black students, students in inner cities, and students living in poverty. In response to these kinds of results, and the emergence of a knowledge economy, the National Education Goals Panel (1991) have long called for ‘fundamental changes in our education system [to enable people] to think for a living, adapt to changing environments [and] continually learn and develop new skills’ (p.1). When fields are in crisis – as for many is the case with education – philosophers of science advocate an examination of their underlying paradigms. The aim is to rethink premises that may enable scientists and practitioners to ask new questions, construct new theories, design, implement and research new programmes, and achieve better results. This paper presents one attempt to do that in education. It draws principally on advances in the cognitive and learning sciences to secure a philosophical paradigm and a theoretical foundation to guide the efforts of programme developers, educators, parents, administrators and policy makers to help all students achieve higher academic standards while learning how to learn.
Mediating knowledge construction: Towards a dynamic model of assessment and learning
Authors: Jensen Mogens R. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis paper is designed to accomplish four principal goals. The first is to provide an overview of the applied programmes that have been developed with the help of the theory of mediated constructivism and its underlying change-model paradigm. The theory and the paradigm are described in the previous paper in this journal. Covering assessment, classroom learning, parent education/home learning, and leadership for school-community development, the applied programmes illustrate an attempt to create an integrated set of options for educational service delivery where each component assists and amplifies the benefits of the others. The second goal is to illustrate the scientific research programme that is being pursued to determine the treatment validity of the proposed model. This is a work in progress. The emphasis in this paper is upon the classroom-learning component and the results of a controlled investigation of upper elementary regular education students in 10 experimental and 10 control classrooms. The third goal is to enable classroom teachers to connect philosophical assumptions, theoretical concepts and scientific research via examples of classroom related activities. The text is reinforced here with two appendices. One focuses on the identification of knowledge construction functions within academic standards and the other focuses on a dialogue that teachers can use or adapt to introduce the knowledge construction function covered in the example. The fourth and final goal of the paper is to discuss the empirical evidence from the classroom research study and to integrate the scientific results with the theory and philosophy that produced them.