The influence of familial support and dysfunctional attitudes on depression and delinquency in an adolescent population

This study evaluates the role of familial support and dysfunctional attitudes in depression, delinquency and the concomitance of these disorders in an adolescent population from a middle-class community in the Trois-Rivieres area. The Beck Depression Inventory and the Mesure d'adaptation sociale et personnelle pour adolescents québécois —MASPAQ (Measure of social and personal adaptation in Quebec adolescents) were used respectively to evaluate depression and delinquency. The Mesure de la perception du soutien familial (Measure of perceived social support — family) and échelle des attitudes dysfonctionnelles (Dysfunctional attitude scale) served to evaluate the familial and cognitive variables of the study. The findings confirm that a higher incidence of disorders concerning depression and delinquency in adolescents is associated with a lower level of familial support. Moreover, whereas dysfunctional attitudes concerning dependence and achievement are related to the presence of internal disorders such as depression, dysfunctional attitudes concerning self-control are linked to external problems such as delinquency. Findings of the test on the mediating role of dysfunctional attitudes in the relationship between familial support on the one hand and depression and delinquency on the other, do not support the presence of such a role.     

Author Index Volume 6

Authors Index

Author Index Volume 6     

Introducing a symbolic interactionist approach on teaching mathematics: the case of revoicing as an interactional strategy in the teaching of probability

This study examines an interactional view on teaching mathematics, whereby meaning is co-produced with the students through a process of negotiation. Further, teaching is viewed from a symbolic interactionism perspective, allowing the analysis to focus on the teacher’s role in the negotiation of meaning. Using methods inspired by grounded theory, patterns of teachers’ interaction are categorized. The results show how teachers’ actions, interpretations and intentions form interactional strategies that guide the negotiation of meaning in the classroom. The theoretical case of revoicing as a teacher action, together with interpretations of mathematical objects from probability theory, is used to exemplify conclusions from the proposed perspective. Data are generated from a lesson sequence with two teachers working with known and unknown constant sample spaces with their classes. In the lessons presented in this article, the focus is on negotiations of the meaning of chance. The analysis revealed how the teachers indicate their interpretations of mathematical objects and intentions to the students to different degrees and, by doing so, create opportunities for the students to ascribe meaning to these objects. The discussion contrasts the findings with possible interpretations from other perspectives on teaching.     

Social Support and Socioeconomic Status Predict Secondary Students' Grades and Educational Plans Indifferently Across Immigrant Group and Gender

Social support and socioeconomic status (SES) have received considerable attention in explaining academic achievement and the achievement gap between students with ethic majority and immigrant background, and between boys and girls. Using a Structural Equation Modeling approach we examine (1) if there exist a gap in school achievements between these groups, (2) whether social support and SES is associated with achievements across these groups, (3) whether social support is associated with achievements after controlling for SES, and (4) whether achievement gaps are explained by group differences in social support and SES. Self-reported cross-sectional survey and register data from 8,574 10th graders in Norway was employed. Although we found group differences in achievements, and direct associations with social support and SES, we found no group differences in these associations. Controlling for SES and other sources of social support, teachers' support remained a significant positive influence on students' school outcomes.     

“Special Support” in Preschools in Sweden: Preschool staff’s definition of the construct

This study investigates the definitions of the construct “young children in need of special support” given by preschool staff in Sweden in 540 preschool units. The study has a mixed‐methods design based on qualitative analysis of an open‐ended question and quantitative analysis of questionnaire responses. The results reveal two general perspectives in definitions of the construct, a child perspective and an organisational perspective. Units with a child perspective had a higher proportion of children in need of special support, especially girls. The study highlights that the term “children in need of special support” is partially socially constructed and is partially based on perceived child characteristics. The perceptions of what is considered to be a child in need of special support held by staff in a unit may impact on the services provided to children in need of special support.     

What Future for Phenomenographic Research? On Continuity and Development in the Phenomenography and Variation Theory Research Tradition

Volume 60(3) of the Scandanavian Journal of Educational Research is a special issue on current trends in the phenomenography and variation theory research tradition. In the introduction to the special issue, Rovio-Johansson and Ingerman look towards the potential theoretical and methodological future of phenomenography and pose two questions: “Is phenomenography complete and finalised with no further development necessary?” and “Is phenomenography relatively insignificant in the future development of the tradition as it has been transcended by variation theory?” The aim of this paper is to address these two questions, and in the process elaborate the relationship between phenomenography and variation theory in educational research.     

No name,no game: Challenges to use of collaborative digital textbooks

Collaborative digital textbooks – comprehensive materials covering entire curriculums – are developing from being books in pdf format to becoming collaborative digital environments where teachers and students can communicate, engage in feedback and discussions, share and manipulate materials, test knowledge, and monitor results. This study investigates how these digital environments are used in school practice: How are the collaborative tools used to improve learning? Thirteen seventh- and eighth-grade classes, 370 students and 30 teachers in five Swedish secondary schools, were investigated over 1,5 years by means of questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews with teachers and students. Here, questionnaire results are presented, while observations and interviews serve to provide contextual insights. Collaborative tools were very little used; often teachers and students were not even aware of their existence. Most use was individual, students were left alone with the digital material. Students read or listened to the text and did not actively engage in learning by e.g. making notes or marking text. Most teachers did not use the material actively to help students understand and learn, most did not even check student results on automated tests. We conclude that the teachers have not incorporated the new, collaborative design of the digital textbook into their thinking regarding tools for teaching and learning and still regard it as a static book. This suggests that making full use of digital tools requires new ways of thinking of teaching, and that it takes more than providing digital tools to achieve this end.