Self-Concept of Young People with Physical Disabilities: Does integration play a role?

Different countries have approached the education of students with a disability in different ways. Some have advocated for maximum integration, while others have maintained separate schools for those with special needs. The impact of the different educational settings on the self-concept of young people with a physical disability so far has received very little empirical attention. This study compared four groups of students with a physical disability who differed in their level of school integration: (a) US integrated students ( n = 53), (b) Czech integrated students ( n = 14), (c) Czech students educated at special schools on a daily basis ( n = 51), and (d) Czech students attending special schools on a residential basis ( n = 66). In addition, these young people with a disability were compared to a normative sample of Czech students without a disability. The comparisons were made on self-reported self-perceptions, aggression/emotional instability, view of the world, and dependency using the Personality Assessment Questionnaire (Rohner, 1991). Significant between group differences favouring integration were found. More integrated students reported lower levels of aggression, more positive views of themselves, and more positive views of the world. Discussion addressed implications for educational policies for children with special needs.     

Learning to recalibrate the role of dead reckoning and visual cues in spatial navigation

In Experiment 1, hamsters started from their permanent home at the periphery of a circular arena and headed to a food source at the center. They then returned, fully laden with food, along a direct path to their home. On control trials, in which no manipulation takes place, visual cues outside the arena and dead reckoning (i.e., updated internal references generated during the outward journey to the food source) controlled the return journey. On experimental trials, the arena, with the hamster in its nest, was rotated by 90°, putting dead reckoning at variance with the distal visual environment. The animals were rewarded for going with dead reckoning. At first, they favored the distal cues, but later most of the subjects switched to using dead reckoning. Thus, hamsters are flexible enough to recalibrate the relative weight that they normally attribute to different sets of spatial cues. In Experiment 2, the reliance on dead-reckoning was greatly enhanced when a cue card at the nest entrance was rotated along with the arena, pitting one proximal cue plus dead reckoning against distal cues. Hence, dead reckoning and external cues seem to reinforce each other through their mutual correlation.     

The Very Beginnings of Togetherness in Shared Play Among Young Children Le tout de´buts du sentiment de e Togetherness f dans le Jeu Partage´ chez les Jeunes Enfants Los Inicios del Sentimiento de Unio´n en Los Juegos Compartidos Entre Menores

This article aims to illustrate the notion of togetherness with observations collected in day care centres during studies carried out within the theoretical framework of Piagetian constructivism. This article concerns the very beginnings of this phenomenon, within spontaneous activities shared between under 3-year-old children, in its cognitive dimension. It shows an early capacity, in young children, to penetrate the intersubjective world and provides some indications for favouring the development of these competencies in early childhood services. Cet article a pour but d'e´tayer la notion de e togetherness f a ¤ partir d'observations recueillies en cre ¤ che, au cours d'e´tudes mene´es dans le cadre the´orique du constructivisme piagetien. Il porte sur les de´buts de ce phe´nome ¤ ne, e´tudie´ici, au sein d'activite´s partage´es entre enfants age´s de moins de trois ans, plus particulie ¤ rement dans sa dimension cognitive. Il montre les capacite´s pre´coces des jeunes enfants a ¤ pe´ne´trer dans le monde de l'intersubjectivite´et indique quelques pistes pour favoriser le de´veloppement de ces compe´tences dans les structures e´ducatives de la petite enfance. Este artículo tiene por objectivo ilustrar la noción de 'togetherness' desde las observaciones recolectadas en guardería, durante los estudios realizados en el marco temático del constructivismo de Piaget. El artículo trata de los principios de este fenómeno, estudiado aqui durante las actividades compartidas entre los menos de tres años, concierne particularmente su dimensión cognitiva. Muestra las capacidades de los más pequeños niños en entrar en el mundo de la intersubjectividad e indica algunas pistas para favorecer el desarollo de esas capacidades en las estructuras educativas de la pequeña infancia.     

Pre-service teachers’ greater power to act in the classroom: analysis of the circumstances for professional development

This case study analysed the circumstances during a one-year work placement in which a pre-service teacher showed professional development, with a focus on the impact of her interactions with various interlocutors. The study was conducted within the framework of the cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) and of activity theory with its methods for the clinical study of activity. The results showed intra-psychic conflicts. produced by interactions with trainers, peers, experienced colleagues, and students. These conflicts prompted the development of the pre-service teacher’s professional activity through the construction of new goals and new motives for action (development through sense), and the construction of new operations to reach these goals (development through efficiency). This study thus opens the way for creating training programmes that favour the development of teachers’ power to act. It provides a source for transforming traditional mentoring methods in teacher training.     

Mother’s, father’s regulation and child’s self-regulation in a computer-mediated learning situation

This study has explored the parents’ regulation strategies that were more likely to support children’s self-regulation in learning situations with computers. These strategies have been analysed by means of new grids involving seven categories of behaviour: cognitive strategies relating to identification of objective, exploration of means, attention and evaluation; motivational strategies; and socio-communicative strategies such as joint attention and request. 62 7-year-old children from Quebec families were examined with their mothers and fathers. The children were asked to complete two learning tasks that involved using LOGO software to draw a picture. Results indicated that parents’ regulation varied depending on their gender; a higher directivity was observed in mothers, more specifically through some specific strategies. Analysis of variance on repeated measures showed that, during the session, there was a decrease in the specification of the objective, the initiation of joint attention and of behaviour regulation in parents; and an improvement of the identification of the objective, planning and self-evaluation in children. Correlations between parental regulation and children’s self-regulation strategies indicated positive links concerning strategies relating to joint attention and to motivation; and negative links concerning strategies relating to the exploration of means and evaluation. A good adjustment of the parents’ regulation and the children’s self-regulation correlated positivel with success in the task. Methodological implications are proposed for research and psycho-educative intervention.