bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Disabling children: Autism, the effect on families and professionals
Authors: Jones Glenys 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to explore the impact of children with autism on their families and the professionals involved and to consider how this might be minimised. The paper considers issues involved in deciding upon appropriate interventions both for families and schools and considers the evaluation of different approaches. Ways of engaging or motivating other children appear not to have the same effect on children with autism, and parents and professionals can be concerned or confused about the ways in which children with autism spend their time.
The bullying of sexual minorities at school: Its nature and long-term correlates
Authors: Rivers Ian 
Published: January 2023

AbstractOver the past 10 years, there has been a great deal of research activity exploring the nature and frequency of peer victimisation and bullying behaviour. This paper reports on a three-year study focusing upon the experiences of a sample of lesbians, gay men and bisexual men and women who were bullied at school, and the long-term impact it has had upon their lives. Data collection consisted of three elements: A survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered adults’ experiences of bullying at school (N = 190); a survey of the psycho-social correlates and long-term effects of bullying with a sub-sample of 119 participants; and, finally, a small number of in-depth interviews with 16 participants. Participants’ experiences of bullying in school were long-term (mean: 5 years) systematic, and were perpetrated by groups of peers rather than by individuals. Participants were unlikely to report incidents of bullying either to teachers or to someone at home. In the survey of psychosocial correlates and long-term effects over 50 per cent of participants reported contemplating self-harming behaviour or suicide with 40 per cent making one or more attempts. As adults, they were found to exhibit some symptoms associated with negative affect when compared to controls. However, participants did not suffer from low self-esteem and had a positive attitude towards their own homosexuality/bisexuality and homosexuality/bisexuality generally.
Sexual identity, psychological well-being and suicide risk among lesbian and gay young people
Authors: Walker Peter Huw 
Published: January 2023

AbstractFive lesbians and nine gay men participated in a semi-structured interview study looking at psychological well-being within the context of developing a lesbian or gay identity. Particular attention was paid to suicidal ideas and parasuicide. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 1996a) which revealed 10 main themes, of which two are highlighted as being relevant to providers of services for young lesbians and gay men, namely, coping strategies for dealing with negative reactions to disclosure and feelings of isolation. Recommendations are made regarding the provision of services to support and develop the psychological well-being of lesbian and gay young people.
Children with autism: Supporting the transition to adulthood
Authors: Moxon Lynne , Gates Darren 
Published: January 2023

AbstractAutism forms one of the best validated child psychiatric disorders: the genetic influences, cognitive and linguistic deficits, neurobiological abnormalities and social and adaptive functioning continue to be researched, and practice over the last decade has brought together differing expertise to focus on the child. However, children with autistic spectrum disorders grow up. Once they reach the age of 18 much of the support melts away. Recent research indicates a high degree of emotional distress and behavioural disturbance even among the most able group of young adults with an autistic spectrum disorder and points to the need for continuing education, ‘the treatment of choice’. Outcome studies indicate that the transition from childhood to adulthood needs as much, if not more, multidisciplinary support to span continuing education, training for employment, developing independence and social relationships as well as help for behaviour and mental health issues. This paper combines a review of recent relevant research with illustrations from casework and the personal observations of a service user.
How disciplinary and institutional orientation influences professionals’ decision-making about early childhood disability
Authors: Bartolo Paul A. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis study describes how professionals’ training and work setting influences their assessment of children with developmental disability suspected to lie within the autistic spectrum. Data consisted of the assessment discussion protocols about four pre-school children by two multiprofessional groups in London: a paediatrician, psychologist and speech therapist in a hospital; and educational psychologists, a psychotherapist and educational personnel in a school. Verbal protocol and thematic analysis revealed the application of three approaches – organic, behavioural and psychodynamic. Each approach provided different explanations of the problem, but all highlighted an individual disorder within the child. The potential impact of family and school contexts were more characteristic of the psychodynamic approach.
Building an inclusive education and training system. What is next for educational psychologists in South Africa?
Authors: Muthukrishna Nithi , Baez Maria 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis paper discusses new policy and legislation in South Africa with regard to inclusive education, and the emerging new role for educational psychologists as opposed to the traditional ‘within-child’ deficit approach. The first part of this paper centres on the historical context in which policy emerged, and why the need for change was so critical. The second part examines a recent policy initiative,White Paper 6(Department of Education, July 2001) that signifies a shift to a more systemic approach to education support services, educational psychology and a focus on barriers to learning and participation experienced by learners. Finally, the paper presents a discussion of the challenges and implications of policy for the changing role of educational psychologists in South Africa.
The roles of the educational psychologist in inclusion in Australia
Authors: van Kraayenoord Christina E. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractStudents with disabilities and learning difficulties in Australia are part of a school system that is becoming increasingly inclusive. Within this system, the educational psychologist plays several different roles as a participant in ascertaining the students and in determining their level of support. Increasingly, the educational psychologist is also associated with planning and making suggestions related to the teaching and evaluation of the students’ programmes. The challenges faced by the educational psychologist are linked to concerns of the parents and teachers. Solutions to challenges in two areas, assessment and collaboration, are considered in this article.
Evidence-based practice and educational psychology
Authors: Frederickson Norah 
Published: January 2023

AbstractFollowing its development in health contexts the move towards evidence-based practice has gathered momentum over the last five to ten years across all areas of social policy, including education. Key elements of evidence-based practice are described and critically evaluated. Implications for the practice of educational psychology are discussed and directions for future development identified. Attention is given to three areas in particular: the competencies needed for using research in evidence-based practice, the contributions educational psychologists can make to developing the research evidence on intervention efficacy and effectiveness, and the new emphasis on monitoring and evaluating outcomes for individual pupils. The second of these areas is illustrated with reference to research undertaken by educational psychologists on the circle of friends intervention approach. In the third of these areas a description is offered of the goal attainment scaling approach which supports the monitoring and evaluation of pupil progress as required by the newCode of practiceon special educational needs. Ways in which the opportunities offered by extended initial training and continuing professional doctorates in educational psychology might be utilised in developing the research basis for practice are suggested.
Community, cohesion and inclusive education
Authors: Hayes Ben 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe review team report following the 2001 race riots,Community cohesion, is not only an important reference for racial and cultural issues in schools and the communities they serve, but also contains a valuable framework for working with ‘communities’ of different sizes that could be utilised by educational psychologists to help develop inclusive learning environments. Eight ‘domains of social capital’ used by the Cantle review team are examined and interpreted in relation to a number of areas of psychological theory and practice. Applications within the work of the educational psychologist are considered.
An exploratory evaluation of two early intervention programmes for young children with autism
Authors: Farrell Peter , Trigonaki Nassia , Webster David 
Published: January 2023

This article discusses the impact of two contrasting early intervention programmes for a small number of young children with autism that were funded by Lancashire LEA. One of these, referred to as ABA/Lovaas (nine children), was based on the application of applied behavioural analysis techniques mainly in the home setting by therapists appointed by the parents and supported by a supervisor. The other programme, the Lancashire Under Fives Autism Project (LUFAP) – eight children – was developed by a team of teachers, therapists and educational psychologists in Lancashire and was delivered in mainstream preschool settings with the support of a Special Support Assistant (SSA), a visiting teacher and a speech and language therapist.In general terms the findings suggest that all key stakeholders – parents, teachers, therapists and EPs, were positive about the impact of both programmes. The parents felt supported and were pleased with the progress that their children were making. Mainstream teachers, especially those linked to the LUFAP programme, were positive about having a child with autism in their school and valued the support of the SSA and visiting teacher. Some of the parents in the ABA/Lovaas group had formed an informal support group and this proved to be mutually beneficial. Data from a reduced sample indicated that all the children made progress as measured on the Vineland and the Bayley scales although the rate of progress made by those on the LUFAP programme was more encouraging than those on the ABA/Lovaas programmes although this may be attributable to initial group differences.
Post-school transitions: Exploring practice in one local authority
Authors: Craig Lesley J. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractFollowing a social constructionist perspective, descriptions were generated of practice within schools, a further education (FE) college and other agencies involved in planning young people’s transitions from secondary school. The literature relating to the national context of transitions and a needs analysis in one authority suggested that lack of information from schools about young people’s support needs being provided in a timely fashion was an issue. Two research questions were identified in relation to describing current practice in the authority and the use of a transition form.The views of young people were sought using person-centred planning style interviews, analysed by thematic analysis. Questionnaire responses from staff in schools, FE college and Careers Scotland were collated into vignettes. The resulting descriptions revealed that advocacy from adults, good peer relationships and familiarisation with intended destinations all assisted young people’s confidence during transitions. It was also found that practice around information gathering and transfer varied widely across the authority, with irregular use of the transition form. Recommendations were made in relation to the practice of educational psychology services and other agencies.
Improvement of analogical reasoning and academic achievements by the Analogical Reasoning Programme (ARP)
Authors: Tzuriel David , George Tami 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of Analogical Reasoning Programme (ARP) on improvement of analogical reasoning processes and academic achievements in math and reading comprehension. The ARP is based on the Analogies subscale of theCognitive Modifiability Battery (CMB): Assessment and Intervention.A sample of 53 children in Grade 2 were randomly assigned to an experimental (N = 27) and control (N = 26) groups. The experimental group received the ARP whereas the control group received a substitute programme of educational games. Both groups received dynamic assessment and achievement tests representing near-, medium- and far-transfer measures. All participants were administered theChildren’s Analogical Cognitive Modifiability(CATM) and achievement tests in math and reading comprehension before and after the intervention and theChildren’s Conceptual and Perceptual Analogical Modifiability(CCPAM) test at the end of the intervention. The findings showed that the experimental group achieved significantly higher scores on the CATM and CCPAM tests at the end of the programme and higher pre- to post-intervention improvement on the CATM than the control group. The experimental group received significantly higher math scores after the programme as compared with the control group but not on reading comprehension. The research findings are discussed in relation to development of analogical reasoning strategies and their effects on academic achievements.
Pre-school peer play: The beginnings of social competence
Authors: Mathieson Kay , Banerjee Robin 
Published: January 2023

Background:Successful school experience is influenced by children’s ability to manage their emotions and relationships with others. Peer play provides an important learning context for the early development of social competence, but not enough is known about the emergence of peer relationships in the pre-school years. Our study explores peer play in 2- to 3-year-olds, identifying the roles played by temperament and emotion understanding, and examining convergence between parent and practitioner assessments of social behaviour.Methods:106 children aged 2 to 3 years yielded data from three questionnaires: the Goodman (Goodman & Scott, 1999) Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire, rated by parents and practitioners; the Rothbart et al.’s (2001) Child Behaviour Questionnaire measure of temperament, rated by parents; and the Fantuzzo et al.’s (1995) Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale, rated by practitioners. A subsample of 28 children completed emotion recognition and prediction tasks adapted from Denham (1986).Results:Parent ratings of children’s temperament – particularly effortful control/self-regulation and surgency/extraversion – predicted practitioner ratings of socio-behavioural and peer play competencies. Also, emotion understanding predicted interactive peer play competencies and pro-social behaviour. There was agreement between parent and practitioner ratings of pro-social behaviour, but there was evidence of divergence in judgements about behaviour problems.Discussion:The findings show the importance of exploring play situations as a context for understanding the emergence of peer relationships and social competence in the pre-school years. They also highlight the links between parental judgements and practitioner perceptions of young children’s interactions. Implications for our understanding and promotion of children’s social competence are discussed, with attention to possible impacts on learning.
Computer versus human-based support: Effect on computer game performances in (in)effectively learning pre-schoolers
Authors: Veenstra Baukje , van Geert Paul L.C. , van der Meulen Bieuwe F. 
Published: January 2023

This research focuses on the effects of human versus computer instruction on improving the learning behaviour of pre-school children. One-hundred-and-eighty-four unresponsive, impulsive or reflective Dutch pre-schoolers were randomly assigned to one of the four instruction conditions (computer-assisted instruction, adult-assisted instruction, both or no instruction). The children played a computer game focused on improving learning behaviour during two or three sessions. The results show that the preschooler’s behaviour during the game corresponds to regular learning behaviour. Impulsive children showed most errors and mouse clicks and unresponsive children showed the least mouse clicks and a warming-up phase. As expected, in the computer-assisted instruction plus adult-assisted instruction condition all learners showed positive learning outcomes. Computer-assisted instruction reveals positive effects on learning outcomes of reflective and unresponsive learners and adult-assisted instruction reveals positive effects on impulsive children. Considering the overall development across the games, impulsive children did not improve their learning behaviour. However, reflective and unresponsive children showed a learning effect. Reflective children showed a clear decrease of trials in the beginning and unresponsive children showed a relatively large increase in mouse clicks after a warming up-phase. However, their number of clicks remained lower than the reflective children.We can conclude that, since learning type is relevant, this game might function as an objective and reliable tool to assess the type of learning behaviour of pre-school children. It is concluded that computer-assisted instruction in combination with adult-assisted instruction is the best manner to regulate learning skills.
Using the two-factor Theory of Planned Behaviour to predict adolescent breakfast choices
Authors: Conner Mark , Hugh-Jones Siobhan , Berg Christina 
Published: January 2023

Purpose:The study used the two-factor Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to predict healthy breakfast choices in a sample of adolescents and the extent to which gender, social class and age (school grade) moderated the relationships.Methods:A total of 1735 11- to 15-year-olds recruited from schools in Gothenburg, Sweden, completed TPB questionnaires on choices of high-fibre bread and low fat milk for breakfast. The TPB questionnaires tapped intentions, affective and instrumental attitudes, injunctive and descriptive norms and perceived control and confidence. Two weeks later the adolescents completed a seven-day food diary about food consumed at breakfast.Results:Intentions to consume high-fibre bread and low fat milk were predicted by affective and instrumental attitudes, injunctive and descriptive norms, and perceived confidence. In addition, affective attitudes for bread and descriptive norms for milk were stronger predictors of intentions in the older groups. Consumption of high-fibre bread and low fat milk was predicted by intentions, perceived confidence, and the interaction between age and intentions. Decomposition of the interaction between age and intentions for the two breakfast choices indicated that intentions were significantly stronger predictors of behaviour for the older children.Conclusions:The two-factor TPB provides a reasonable basis for predicting intentions and behaviour in relation to healthy breakfast choices in adolescents and basing interventions to change such behaviours. The importance of personal and parental factors was demonstrated by the fact that attitudes (instrumental attitudes for milk and affective attitudes for bread) and descriptive norms were the strongest predictors of intentions for the two behaviours. In turn intentions were the most powerful determinants of both behaviours. Importantly intentions were significantly stronger determinants of both behaviours in older compared with younger adolescents. This probably reflects both developmental factors and the growing autonomy over healthy behaviour choices that adolescents experience as they grow older. Implications for using the two-factor TPB in relation to health behaviours in children and adolescents are discussed.
Narrative therapy and outsider witness practice: Teachers as a community of acknowledgement
Authors: Walther Sarah , Fox Hugh 
Published: January 2023

When people meet together to hear, respond to and acknowledge the preferred accounts of people’s lives, it is referred to in narrative therapy as ‘outsider witness practice’. In this paper, we describe how the outsider witness practice framework can support staff in educational settings to acknowledge preferred accounts of identity. We summarise the broader orientation to life, identity and relationships that inform narrative therapy as a context for locating outsider witness practice. We then describe the outsider witness practice framework and scaffold in some detail and illustrate this with an example of a piece of therapeutic work with a young man.This paper is intentionally written in the first person. This reflects our wider commitment as narrative therapists to inviting and promoting a sense of personal agency, ownership and accountability.
The optimum context for learning; drawing on neuroscience to inform best practice in the classroom
Authors: Hohnen Bettina , Murphy Tara 
Published: January 2023

Aims:As our understanding of neuroscience and the developing brain continues to grow, there is a worldwide move to use this information to inform educational practice. This paper attempts to draw together several convergent but complementary ideas in neuroscience to produce a model outlining the optimum context for a child to learn in a classroom.Method:A general outline of brain development is presented, highlighting key areas of brain functioning and cell connection. The positive cycle of learning shows how brain circuits are formed which require the child to be engaged in ‘doing’ a task.Findings:Two key situations which mitigate against a child entering the positive cycle of learning are highlighted: where the child is stressed, and where they are not at their achievable challenge level. Both situations might emphasise activity in the midbrain, which is believed to reduce connections to the forebrain (primarily considered the ‘thinking brain’, which is essential for learning). The importance of a student’s beliefs and mindset are also described which are strong contributors to learning behaviour. Finally, the importance of maintaining a developmental perspective within education is outlined, given what is known about stages of brain development and in particular given the significant changes that take place during adolescence in terms of brain reorganisation. A final model is proposed to guide teacher’s behaviour as a model to be empirically tested in the future.Limitations:Although an emerging area, this field is in its infancy. Many of the studies included in the model have yet to be replicated and the degree to which a cohesive model such as this can offer a testable means for approaching individual needs is unknown. Merging paradigms from different fields such neuroscience, attachment research and education is a fairly recent endeavour and will require further empirical investigation in a collaborative manner.