CHILDREN WITH EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOUR DIFFICULTIES AND THEIR PARENTS

This article is based on a paper given by the author at the 1998 conference of the Association of Workers for Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.     

CURIOSITY IN SMALL CHILDREN AND CHILDREARING STYLE OF THEIR MOTHERS

The present study examined the connection between curiosity behaviour of small children and their mothers' childrearing style. Twenty children from 2.5 years to 4.5 years in age were separately observed in free play with a toy set of the Sceno Test. For each child the amount of manipulated material was noted. It was found that the differences among the group were both sex and age independent. Subsequently, video observations of interactional play between mother and child in the home environment were carried out. By means of qualitative content analysis of the video recordings for all twenty mother‐child pairs, the frequency of controlling behaviour by the mothers was assessed. A very high correlation between curiosity behaviour in a free play situation and controlling behaviour of the mother in the mother‐child interaction was established.     

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MAJOR RESEARCH PARADIGMS AND THEIR METHODOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS RESEARCH

Recently in special needs research qualitative methods have been advocated and utilised. Unfortunately, confusion exists concerning the methods of investigation and the researchers’ paradigmatic assumptions. We argue that it is the paradigmatic lens of the researcher which guide the whole research process rather than the methods employed. In this paper the three major paradigms currently operating in educational research will be described and the distinction between “method” and “paradigm” will be clarified. Although the issues raised here are applicable to all strands of educational research, the purpose of this paper is to guide special needs researchers in identifying their own assumptions and examining for themselves the implications of choices about research methodology based on those assumptions.     

RESILIENCY PROFILES OF CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY AND THEIR TYPICALLY DEVELOPING PEERS

Intellectual disability (ID) is associated with a range of risk factors that make children more vulnerable to adverse developmental outcomes, including mental health problems. Nevertheless, some children with ID do much better than others, presumably because of the presence of protective factors that increase their resilience. The current study compared resiliency profiles of children with ID (n = 115; mean age, 11.9 years) and their typically developing peers (n = 106; mean age, 11.8 years) using the Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents and the Healthy Kids Resilience Assessment. In many respects, children with ID and their typically developing peers reported similar levels of the protective factors that are associated with resilience. However, the children with ID reported higher levels of emotional sensitivity and lower tolerance, as well as fewer future goals. Compared with typically developing children, those with ID reported more support at school and less support within their communities. These findings have important implications for interventions that aim to promote positive developmental outcomes and to prevent the adverse sequelae that have been associated with low intelligence.     

SUPPORT NEEDS OF CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: AGE‐RELATED IMPLICATIONS FOR ASSESSMENT

The Supports Intensity Scale–Children's Version (SIS‐C) was developed to assess the support needs of children and youth aged 5 to 16 years with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Data from the standardization sample of the SIS‐C were analyzed to evaluate the impact of the age cohorts (5–6, 7–8, 9–10, 11–12, 13–14, and 15–16 years) used to stratify the sample on the measurement model, as well as the latent means, standard deviations, and correlations. The findings confirmed measurement invariance across age cohorts, but suggested that at the latent level, younger children, generally, have more intensive support needs and that as students with intellectual disability age, their support needs decrease. In addition, the 15‐ to 16‐year‐old cohort displayed differences in terms of the strength of correlations between support need domains, with stronger correlations than the other age groups. Implications for future research and practice are described.     

THE ROLE OF SCHOOL LEVEL PROTECTIVE FACTORS IN OVERCOMING CUMULATIVE RISK FOR BEHAVIOR DIFFICULTIES IN CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES

The study investigated whether school‐level protective factors could moderate the effects cumulative risk has upon behavior difficulties in children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The sample comprised 4,288 children identified with SEND: 2,660 pupils within 248 primary schools, and 1,628 pupils within 57 secondary schools. Risk factors associated with increases in behavior difficulties over an 18‐month period were summed to a cumulative risk score. Various school‐level factors were added to multilevel models, with interaction terms computed between cumulative risk and these variables to assess their potential protective effects. The primary school model revealed a significant interaction between cumulative risk and school academic achievement in predicting behavior difficulties. Higher levels of achievement in primary schools help reduce behavior difficulties for children most at risk. The secondary school model evidenced a significant interaction between cumulative risk and school percentage of students eligible for free school meals (FSM). Lower proportions within a school of children eligible for FSM were associated with reductions in behavior difficulties for children at high levels of risk. Interventions aimed at improving school‐level academic achievement and targeting high‐risk students attending schools with large proportions of children eligible for FSM would be beneficial.     

TEACHER EDUCATION AND TEACHER-PERCEIVED NEEDS IN EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

Professors and teachers were compared relative to their perspectives on preservice educational measurement courses. Twenty-four professors from different colleges in seven states and 360 teachers from elementary and secondary schools in one midwestern state responded via mailed questionnaire. Professors reported the emphasis given to each of eight topics in preservice educational measurement courses, and teachers reported the emphasis they believed should be given to each topic. In five of the eight content areas, the relative emphases given by professors differed from that recommended by teachers. Major differences emerged in nontest evaluation, statistical analysis, and formative and summative evaluation. Implications of these results are discussed.