Researching computer‐based collaborative learning in inclusive classrooms in Cyprus: The role of the computer in pupils' interaction

This paper discusses the results of a study of the role of the computer in scaffolding pupils' interaction and its effects on the disabled (D) pupils' participation and inclusion in the context of socio‐cultural theories and the ideals of inclusive education. The study investigated the interactions of pairs of D and non‐disabled (ND) pupils working together on computer‐based tasks, in mainstream primary schools in Cyprus. Twenty dyads of pupils (each comprising a D child and an ND peer) were observed and videotaped while working together at the computer. Data analyses were based on the collaborative nature of events for the non‐verbal interaction and the functional–structural approaches for verbal interaction. Through application of video analyses, seven central aspects of interaction were identified: helping behaviours, motivation, self‐confidence, peer‐acceptance, affection, positive and negative socio‐emotional status, and the input of the computer. Results of the study showed that the computer was a mediational scaffolding agent of the other six areas of the participants' interaction as it: (1) was an important interactional agent in initiating and terminating a conversation, (2) facilitated interaction and participation, as an intellectual and physical tool, (3) promoted different styles of interaction (not always positive ones) through the various input and output devices, by differentiating participation. Hence, the computer emerged as the third party in the collaborative activity which provided various opportunities and motivations for interaction.     

Is the relationship between competence beliefs and test anxiety influenced by goal orientation?

The study described here aimed to examine the relations between test anxiety, competence beliefs and achievement goals, and in particular if the relations between competence beliefs and test anxiety were moderated by achievement goals. Pupils in their first year of secondary schooling completed self-report questionnaires for test anxiety, competence beliefs and achievement goals. Results indicated that pupils with low competence beliefs in Mathematics reported more worrisome thoughts when they held a mastery-avoidance goal and female pupils with low verbal competence beliefs reported more off-task behaviours when they held a performance-approach goal. Male pupils with low verbal competence beliefs reported fewer off-task behaviours when they held a performance-approach goal. These findings may reflect how Mathematics may be uniquely related to a fear of failure among school subjects and how the gendered nature of verbal self-concept becomes important when peer comparison is a salient goal for pupils.     

Harsh parenting and peer acceptance in Chinese early adolescents: Three child aggression subtypes as mediators and child gender as moderator

This study examined the mediating roles of three types of child aggression in the relation between harsh parenting and Chinese early adolescents’ peer acceptance as well as the moderating role of child gender on this indirect relation. 833 children (mean age = 13.58, 352 girls) with their parents were recruited as participants from two junior high schools in Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China. The results showed that paternal harsh parenting was only associated with boys’ aggressive behaviors and maternal harsh parenting was only associated with boys’ and girls’ verbal aggression. Adolescents’ verbal and relational aggressions were negatively associated with their peer acceptance. Verbal aggression was more strongly and negatively associated with girls’ peer acceptance. The results imply that in the Chinese cultural context, paternal harsh parenting may compromise boys’ peer acceptance through boys’ verbal and relational aggression as mediators, whereas maternal harsh parenting may impair children’s peer acceptance through children’s verbal aggression as a mediator, especially for girls. These results provide a theoretical basis for ameliorating the negative effect of harsh parenting on early adolescents’ peer acceptance by reducing their aggressive behaviors, with different strategies between boys and girls.     

An analysis of the cultural representation of disability in school textbooks in Iran and England

The paper details the findings of a study which focused on the analysis of the cultural representation of disability in school textbooks in Iran and England. The paper argues that whilst inclusive education could facilitate the incorporating of disabled pupils into mainstream schools, there needs to be deeper examination as to how this transition should take place for children aged 3–13. The paper suggests that in such examinations, school textbooks might be of significance in familiarising non-disabled pupils, teachers and authorities with the issues related to disability and disabled pupils.     

Disabled Peers and Student Performance: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from China

This paper analyzes the academic peer influence of disabled students in the classroom, exploiting the random student–classroom assignment within middle schools in China. We show that the share of disabled students in a class has a significant negative impact on the academic achievement of their non-disabled classmates. This adverse influence remains largely stable over time when the classroom composition stays constant. We further find that the social spillovers of disabled students are attributable to their disability status rather than to their disability-correlated characteristics. An investigation into the mechanisms shows that disabled children lead to worsened learning environment and increased social interactions of their classmates with disruptive peers at school. There is no evidence that disabled children impair the learning efforts or the educational aspirations of non-disabled students in the same classroom.     

Modeling emotional,cognitive, and behavioral predictors of peer acceptance

Integrating principles of differential emotions theory and social information-processing theory, this study examined a model of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral predictors of peer acceptance in a sample of 201 early elementary school-age children (mean age = 7 years, 5 months). A path analytic model showed that social skills mediated the effect of emotion knowledge on both same- and opposite-sex social preference, but social skills and verbal ability were more strongly related to opposite-sex peer acceptance. These findings suggest that adaptive social skills constitute a mechanism through which children express their emotion knowledge and achieve peer acceptance. Results also supported findings of previous studies that showed that emotion knowledge mediated the effect of verbal ability on social skills. Findings from the present study have specific implications for emotion-centered prevention programs that aim to improve children's socioemotional competence and enhance the likelihood of peer acceptance.     

The impact of resource programs upon the self-concept and peer acceptance of learning disabled children

The purpose of the study was to measure the impact of resource interventions upon the level of peer acceptance and self-concept. Subjects were 82 children from 5 elementary schools in central Pennsylvania. The Experimental group (N = 41) consisted of learning disabled children in regular classes with resource room interventions. The Control group (N = 41) consisted of nonlearning disabled children stratified by sex and classrooms. All subjects were group administered a self-concept measure and a peer acceptance measure early in the school year and again at the end of the school year. Separate 3-way analysis of variances with repeated measures revealed that the LD children were significantly lower in self-concept scores and peer acceptance ratings at both testing occasions than were the nonLD children. The resource based program did not result in significant changes in either self-concept or peer acceptance after one year for the LD group.     

Bridging the gap between a learning support centre and school: A solution‐focused group approach

This paper describes a small‐scale action research project that aimed to increase the effectiveness of a learning support centre within a secondary school. Central to the project was the use of a solution‐focused approach with groups of pupils. The added dimension in this project involved a focus on class teacher involvement. The paper discusses the importance of peer support and teacher involvement in working to enhance positive behaviour by bridging the gap between the learning support centre and the wider school system. It details the work undertaken by two educational psychologists (EPs) working in one secondary school.     

Untangling the links of parental responsiveness to distress and warmth to child outcomes

This study demonstrated separate linkages between 2 features of positive parenting--responsiveness to distress and warmth--and different aspects of children's socio-emotional functioning, in a sample of 106 children (6-8 years old). As expected, mothers' and fathers' responsiveness to distress, but not warmth, predicted better negative affect regulation. Maternal responsiveness to distress also predicted children's empathy and prosocial responding. Maternal warmth, but not responsiveness to distress, was linked to better regulation of positive affect and (in boys only) to greater peer acceptance. Additionally, negative affect regulation mediated between maternal responsiveness to distress and children's empathic responding. Positive affect regulation mediated between maternal warmth and boys' peer acceptance. The findings support a differentiated approach to positive parenting.     

The mediating effect of task presentation on collaboration and children’s acquisition of scientific reasoning

There has been considerable research concerning peer interaction and the acquisition of children’s scientific reasoning. This study investigated differences in collaborative activity between pairs of children working around a computer with pairs of children working with physical apparatus and related any differences to the development of children’s scientific reasoning. Children aged between 9 and 10 years old (48 boys and 48 girls) were placed into either same ability or mixed ability pairs according to their individual, pre-test performance on a scientific reasoning task. These pairs then worked on either a computer version or a physical version of Inhelder and Piaget’s (1958) chemical combination task. Type of presentation was found to mediate the nature and type of collaborative activity. The mixed-ability pairs working around the computer talked proportionally more about the task and management of the task; had proportionally more transactive discussions and used the record more productively than children working with the physical apparatus. Type of presentation was also found to mediated children’s learning. Children in same ability pairs who worked with the physical apparatus improved significantly more than same ability pairs who worked around the computer. These findings were partially predicted from a socio-cultural theory and show the importance of tools for mediating collaborative activity and collaborative learning.     

Bridging the gap: teachers cooperating together to implement cooperative learning

Cooperative learning (CL), in spite of extensive research and documented benefits, is not widely used in England. A review of the literature shows that it requires a staged and sustained approach to implementation, which has led to a gap between its potential and actual use. The case study cited here provides one example of bridging that gap through schools working together, with a community of facilitators, or experts, to provide support. As interest grows internationally into teachers cooperating in professional learning communities, this article argues that collaborative cultures provide the key to implementing and sustaining CL. In other words: teachers cooperating together also support pupils learning together.     

社会关系对小学生孤独感的影响

用问卷法和同伴提名法对876名小学生的亲子依恋、教师接纳、同伴接纳与孤独感之间的关系进行研究。结果表明:亲子依恋、教师接纳、同伴接纳与小学生孤独感之间存在显著相关;各变量的不同水平之间儿童孤独感存在显著差异;亲子依恋、教师接纳、同伴接纳对儿童的孤独感有较大的预测作用,但在不同性别、年级水平上又存在明显不同。     

Learning 'Peace Talk' in Northern Ireland: Peer Mediation and Some Conceptual Issues Concerning Experiential Social Education

Experiential learning is often seen as a central component of social education and pastoral programmes such as peer mediation; but the precise nature of experience as an educational, social and pedagogic/cultural process in schools is complex. This paper uses the notion of experiential learning to explore the impact of a peer mediation programme in a transforming integrated school in Northern Ireland. The programme was intended to mainstream the involvement of pupils in the process of creating a more integrated school ethos and was implemented by youth workers working as members of the school staff.
The paper begins with a review of the theoretical basis of experience as educational. This is followed by an interpretative review of the results of a survey of pupils' attitudes to peer mediation and semi-structured interviews with pupils and school and project staff about their perception of the impact of the programme on ideas of social learning. One issue is the extent to which developing pupils' capacity for interactive dialogue can be seen as an experiential process, like learning a foreign language – hence 'peace talk'. Another is the process by which the perception of peer mediation training as 'experiential' constituted an enabling 'pedagogic discourse' which legitimized the programme for teachers and affirmed its beneficial impact on pupils.     

Inclusive provision options for pupils on the autistic spectrum

In the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of pupils with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) attending mainstream schools. However, particular concerns have been expressed about their inclusion, focused on an increased risk of peer rejection and lack of staff knowledge about appropriate teaching approaches. Parental views of inclusive placements are consistently more positive where there is an ASD resource base in the school. This study was designed to investigate characteristics of the provision available to pupils with ASD in mainstream schools with and without a specialist ASD resource base. Information was gathered from semi‐structured interviews with staff in 26 schools about levels of inclusion and support, about the strategies used to support pupils with ASD, both at an individual and whole school level, and about changes considered desirable. Interviewees were also asked to describe how they would respond to scenarios depicting situations that are commonly experienced in working with pupils who have ASD. Findings confirmed that the features of mainstream placements identified as important by parents of children with ASD were more likely to be found in schools with ASD resource bases. However, it was found that comparable provision could be made across settings given appropriate staff training. Scope for further development across settings was also identified, particularly in the use of evidence‐based peer‐mediated strategies.     

Peer collaboration: the relation of regulatory behaviors to learning with hypermedia

Peer collaboration is a pedagogical method currently used to facilitate learning in classrooms. Similarly, computer-learning environments (CLEs) are often used to promote student learning in science classrooms, in particular. However, students often have difficulty utilizing these environments effectively. Does peer collaboration help students learn with these environments? Little research looking closely at face-to-face peer collaboration with computer learning environments exists. Utilizing a social-cognitive theoretical framework, this study investigated the relation between the conceptual-knowledge learning and the collaborative regulatory behaviors of students working with a peer as they studied about the human circulatory system using a hypermedia CLE. Fifty-four high-school students from the East Coast of the United States were audiotaped to identify the collaborative regulatory behaviors they evidenced as they studied. Results revealed significant correlations among students’ proportion of categories of regulatory behaviors and their learning gains (from pretest to posttest). Moreover, qualitative analyses revealed particular behaviors that larger-gain collaborative pairs engaged in to a greater extent than smaller-gain pairs as they learned with the hypermedia environment.     

The effects of social skills training and peer involvement on the social adjustment of preadolescents

This study examined the effects of social skills training and peer involvement on the peer acceptance of disliked preadolescents. 56 fifth- and sixth-grade children were identified as unaccepted by their peers and deficient in conversational skills. These children were then randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment conditions: (1) conversational skills training (individual coaching), (2) peer involvement under superordinate goals (group experience), (3) conversational skills training combined with peer involvement (group experience with coaching), and (4) a no-treatment control. Differential treatment effects were observed at both a posttreatment and follow-up assessment. As predicted, conversational skills training promoted skill acquisition and increased skillful social interaction. Peer involvement increased peer acceptance and children's self-perceptions of their social efficacy. The results were interpreted in terms of a developmentally based multidimensional model of social competence.     

Enhancing Social Acceptance of Early Adolescents with Physical Disabilities: effects of role salience,peer interaction,and academic support interventions

The study designed and field-tested the effectiveness of a school-based program for enhancing the social acceptance of early adolescents (i.e., ages 11 to 14 years) with physical disabilities attending ordinary Zimbabwean schools (N=218; Mean age 12.49, SD=1.87 years). Actual (i.e., peer) social acceptance and perceived (i.e., self) social acceptance were considered and for same-gender and opposite-gender groups. The program involved (a) a role salience intervention, (b) a peer interaction intervention, and (c) an academic support intervention, and combinations of the individual interventions. The social enhancement protocols were pilot tested over a three-month period. The main study involved entire classrooms (N=194 classrooms; 8342 students) in order to avoid contamination of the interventions, treat the context of prejudice and enable non-disabled classmates to benefit from participation. Nomination sociometric techniques were used to measure social acceptance, and identify student-preferred school or classroom roles, preferred peers, and preferred academic services. Measures of intervention effectiveness were taken at 12-week intervals over a 6-month period. Repeated measures analysis showed that the peer interaction intervention was singularly more effective than the role salience and academic support interventions in raising the actual social status of students with physical disabilities. Interventions involving role salience were effective in raising the students' perceived social status.     

‘One girl had a different idea’: children’s perspectives on learning and teaching models in the traditional classroom

ABSTRACT

This paper explores learning from the perspective of primary pupils in Egypt. The article explores models of learning and teaching and how pupils respond to traditional models and to changes within those. Qualitative data was collected from 57 interviews with 81 primary pupils in Alexandria, Egypt. Our research approach was interpretivist and our method was individual interview and observation. Teachers had introduced for the first time the practice of group and/or pair-work in the English language classroom. Following this change, pupils described their learning as benefiting from: peer support; exercising self-direction; participating more actively; and enjoyment of collaborative work. These findings accord with the research literature on collaborative learning. We conclude that even in traditional sites of learning, children appreciate aspects of collaborative learning.     

The global classroom: advancing cultural awareness in special schools through collaborative work using ICT

This paper reports research on cross‐national collaboration through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) within the statutory curricula of 10 special schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Working in north–south paired classes, the pupils carried out joint tasks using asynchronous computer conferencing and videoconferencing. The full spectrum of learning difficulty and disability was represented amongst the participating pupils. Interviews were conducted to elicit the views and experiences of the teachers in the 2002/03 cohort. The main aims were to discover whether cultural awareness developed through joint tasks using the two technologies, if computer conferencing improved literacy and ICT skills, and if videoconferencing enhanced oral communication. The results showed that cultural awareness developed as far as cognition allowed, when pupils in partner schools became aware of similarities as well as differences. Those with sufficient keyboard ability benefited from computer conferencing and ICT competence improved, but the much preferred medium for collaborative, inter‐school work was videoconferencing. All but the most dependent pupils could participate, and valuable, transferable social and communication skills were acquired.     

Impact of instruction on behavior disordered and learning disabled students' creative behavior

Ninety-eight pupils from intermediate-level behavior disordered and learning disabled self-contained classrooms served as subjects. The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking were used as pretests and posttests to measure the effect of creativity instruction on the creative thinking skills of the subjects. For 14 weeks the Purdue Creative Thinking Program was used to stimulate the behaviorally disordered (BD) and learning disabled (LD) experimental group's creative behavior. Subjects in the BD and LD experimental group made significantly greater scores than did the control groups on the verbal and figural subtests of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking.