Meeting the needs of pupils with learning difficulties. What do primary and secondary schools expect of their educational psychologists?

A questionnaire survey was conducted in all primary schools in the Dunbarton division of Strathclyde region (N=117) to obtain the views of headteachers regarding the involvement of local authority educational psychologists in the area of learning difficulties. This was a follow‐up to a previously published study of the views of learning support coordinators in secondary schools throughout the division. The results of the primary survey are presented and comparisons made with the secondary schools. The findings suggest that schools perceive psychologists as having a central role to play in the area of learning difficulties but indicate a considerable shortfall between present and desired levels of service. It was also noted that after more than a decade of reconstruction of psychological services in which a major theme has been a reduced emphasis on direct work with individual children, the traditional role of individual assessment and counselling is the one which continues to be strongly endorsed by teachers. Some implications for psychological services and schools are considered.     

Cultural sensitivity: American and British teacher trainees compared ‐ a response to Thomas Deering

How effectively are teacher trainees prepared for teaching ethnic minority pupils? What part does practical teaching experience play in developing the cultural sensitivity of trainees? Do American and British trainees differ in their levels of cultural sensitivity and, if so, what are the causal factors involved? This article is a critical response to Deering, who has identified these as his research questions. While welcoming the attention given to an important subject, we question the appropriateness of Deering's research procedure and challenge his interpretation and discussion of the findings.     

A Case Study of Giftedness and Specific Learning Disabilities: Bridging the Two Exceptionalities

Despite being unable to dress himself, sit still on a chair, or write a legible sentence, Scott was, from a very early age, able to build whole cities from construction blocks, able to complete complex puzzles, and verbally precocious. Even with his disabilities and their contrast with his academic talent, he completed K–12 school and went on to excel at university. This case study represents the challenges many parents experience with identifying their children’s disability and giftedness and ensuring that both exceptionalities are optimally developed. Through this case study, the roles an education system and the parents of such a child must assume if this development is going to happen are highlighted. Recommendations for identification, service provision, professional development for teachers, and collaboration among all parties connected with such students are made.     

Overexcitabilities and ADHD in the Gifted: An Examination

Gifted children and adolescents can display behavioral characteristics similar to those exhibited by children and adolescents who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), leading to potential issues with misdiagnosis. The overlapping characteristics between giftedness and ADHD are often seen as anecdotal or to only exist in theory, such as that explained by Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration and his notion of overexcitabilities. There is a paucity of empirical data to support this perceived relationship between ADHD and overexcitabilities. This study provides empirical support for a relationship between ADHD and overexcitabilities within a sample of gifted adolescents. Implications are discussed.     

ATTITUDES ABOUT AGING AND GENDER AMONG YOUNG,MIDDLE AGE,AND OLDER COLLEGE-BASED STUDENTS

Using an updated version of the Aging Semantic Differential, 534 younger, middle age, and older participants from a college community rated female and male targets categorized as ages 21–34 and 75–85. Participants also provided views about their own aging. Repeated measures of analysis of variance examined attitudinal differences by age and gender of targets, and by participant age and gender. Female targets were viewed more positively than males by most rater groups. Older targets were viewed more positively by older participants than by other age groups. Older participants had more positive views about their own aging than did participants of younger or middle ages.     

Imagining Recovery,Resilience, and Vulnerability at 75: Perceptions of Social Work Students

BSW and MSW students (N = 183) read one of three vignettes and were asked to respond to 21 items investigating their perceptions about depression, anxiety, and resilience of the vignette's character. While the incidents in each vignette were identical, the main character was (a) a 75-year-old Mr. Jones, (b) a 75-year-old Ms. Jones, or (c) “Imagine you are 75 years old.” The character of each vignette had lost a spouse, was a victim of a mugging, and was exhibiting symptoms of depression and anxiety. The 21 items were analyzed by vignette type using a General Linear Model (GLM) and controlling for student type (BSW, MSW) and ethnocultural identity (member of the dominant or minority group). The GLM was significant (F = 3.020, df = 42, p = .000). There were significant differences among the vignette types in 11 of the 21 items. In general, respondents were more likely to perceive that they would be more resilient and less vulnerable at 75 than other 75-year-old men and women.