A social skills group for children

Abstract

An NHS Trust set up groups to teach social skills to children and adolescents using a cognitive behavioural framework. One group of seven children (five boys and two girls) is described. Parents were invited to a parallel parents' group. Each group lasted for 90 minutes and ran weekly for 6 weeks. Extensive liaison with parents and teachers took place before, during and after the group. Analysis of pre- and postgroup questionnaires sent to parents and teachers indicated improved social functioning, outside the group, for most of the children. Parents valued the dialogue with professionals and often felt supported by them for the first time. Therapists' contact with teachers ensured full knowledge of children's behaviour and the transfer of skills to schools. Cognitive behavioural techniques with children under-going group work require intensive liaison to facilitate generalization of skills learnt.     

Specific Learning Disabilities and the Portuguese Educational System

Although the Portuguese educational system advocates the accommodation of all students in regular schools, it has not adopted a coherent discourse that would contribute to meeting effectively the needs of students with specific learning disabilities (SLD). As such, the successive reorganizations of special education have resulted in uninformed decisions that have caused the education of students with SLD in Portugal to be, in many instances, detrimental to their academic and social growth. We describe the reality of SLD in Portugal, considering four main topics: (1) the establishment of the SLD concept, (2) the birth of a Portuguese definition of SLD, (3) the context of educational policy, and (4) the provision for students with SLD.     

Effectiveness of a school-based multicomponent program for the treatment of children with ADHD

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a multicomponent program for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) carried out by teachers in a classroom context. Dependent measures included neuropsychological tasks, behavioral rating scales for parents and teachers, direct observation of behavior in the classroom, and academic records of children with ADHD. Fifty children with ADHD participated in the study. The teachers of 29 of the 50 students were trained in the use of behavior modification techniques, cognitive behavior strategies, and instructional management strategies. The other 21 students formed the control group. Parents' and teachers'ratings detected improvements in primary symptoms (inattention-disorganization, hyperactivity-impulsivity) and in behavioral difficulties usually associated with ADHD (e.g., antisocial behavior, psychopathological disorders, anxiety). Furthermore, the results showed increased academic scores, enhanced classroom behavioral observations, and improved teachers' knowledge about the strategies directed toward responding to the children's educational needs.     

The contribution of school-related parental monitoring,self-determination,and self-efficacy to academic achievement

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of school-related parental monitoring (SR-PM), self-determined motivation, and academic self-efficacy to academic achievement across time. The authors hypothesized that SR-PM would affect academic achievement indirectly via its effects on self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy beliefs. The participants were 501 adolescents (220 boys; 281 girls) in Grades 6 and 9 as well as their mothers and fathers. We carried out a 2-year, multi-informant study in which the authors assessed SR-PM (maternal and paternal reports), self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy (self-report), and academic achievement (school records). The authors used structural equation model analysis to test the hypotheses. The analysis shows that SR-PM was positively associated with self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy and that self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy affected academic achievement. Furthermore, analyses of indirect effects showed that SR-PM influences academic achievement via its effects on self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy.     

The Temporality of Participation in School Science: Coordination of Teacher Control and the Pace of Students’ Participation

This study investigates classroom organisation and interaction focusing on phases of activity. The detailed in-depth case study is based on video recordings of 1 science unit consisting of 11 lessons about biological evolution in a Swedish ninth-grade class (aged 15). The study illuminates the temporality of student participation as a fundamental and practical concern for the science teaching profession. Through multiple scale analysis an activity pattern and students' contrasting positions are identified. Movements of control and agency between teacher and students in small-groups provide opportunities for the teacher to coordinate the teaching and the pace of students' participation. The implications point to challenges involved in providing all students with the learning opportunities that participation in the school science discourse affords.     

A Topical Trajectory on Survival: an Analysis of Link-Making in a Sequence of Lessons on Evolution

This study explores the concept of link-making in relation to communicative strategies applied in the teaching and studying of biological evolution. The analysis focused on video recordings of 11 lessons on biological evolution conducted in a Swedish 9^th grade class of students aged 15 years. It reveals how the teacher and students connected classroom conversations, the frequency of references to conversations in whole-class settings, and the development of a theme focusing on species survival and extinction. Detailed examples from the data illustrate how this theme developed from its initiation during the first lesson, through discussion and clarification, to its wrapping up during the last lesson. They further illustrate how students made sense of what the teacher said and wrote, and how the teacher postponed issues, explained and developed topics, provided opportunities for link-making, organised the class, motivated students, and checked their understanding. The study’s methodological approach offers a way of including several time dimensions within research. Based on our findings, we conclude that the excerpts examined here did succeed in building ‘islands of coherence’ in the co-construction of curricular content. Moreover, the topical trajectory in relation to species survival provided opportunities for constructing a ‘scientific story’ in the classroom.     

Maternal experiences of childhood abuse and intimate partner violence: Psychopathology and functional impairment in clinical children and adolescents

Objectives

The current study examined the independent effects of mothers’ childhood abuse (CA) and intimate partner violence (IPV) on psychopathology and functional impairment in children; and the potential moderating and mediating role of individual and family factors in these relationships. Additionally, this study explored the potential cumulative effects of both maternal CA and IPV on children's outcomes.

Method

The sample included 547 Spanish children and adolescents aged between 8 and 17 years, and their parents, who had accessed mental health services. The assessment was based on structured interviews with the children and their parents. Statistical analyses were carried out through hierarchical multiple, negative-binomial and logistic regressions, and Structural Equation Models.

Results

Children whose mothers experienced CA and those whose mothers suffered physical IPV showed increased DSM-IV disruptive disorders and externalizing behavior problems, respectively. Children who directly observed physical IPV and also suffered physical punishment by parents showed increased internalizing problems. IPV had effects, either direct or indirect by physical punishment, on children's externalizing problems. Cumulative effect analyses indicated that the prevalence of disruptive disorders was highest in children whose mothers had suffered both CA and IPV.

Conclusion

Spanish children whose mothers have suffered CA, IPV or both, are at high risk of serious conduct problems, whereas children exposed to IPV and who were also physically abused are at greater risk of internalizing problems. Physical punishment of children contributes in part to explain externalizing problems of IPV-exposed children. These findings indicate potential targets of assessment and intervention for families seeking help in mental health services.