The David Wills Lecture 2001

Abstract

In this, the Annual David Wills Lecture, Dr. John Visser explores common, recurrent themes in the development of our understanding of approaches to EBD. He describes these themes as eternal verities!     

Follow‐up study of ex‐students of a residential school for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in New Zealand

A follow‐up study was conducted on ex‐students of a residential special school for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in New Zealand. Previous research on post‐school outcomes for students with emotional and behavioural difficulties has found low levels on quality of life indicators such as education, employment and community adjustment. Twenty‐nine ex‐students and/or their parents or caregivers were located and interviewed 10–14 years after they had left residential school. Interviews focused on their educational achievement, employment record and community adjustment. Findings indicated low levels of achievement in terms of educational qualifications and employment records, high rates of involvement with the criminal justice system and low levels of community adjustment. Implications of the study findings suggest that key factors in improving student outcomes are establishing effective procedures for transition, providing ongoing support for ex‐students, and better special needs training for teachers in mainstream schools.     

An exploration of teachers' current perceptions of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties

Difficulties exist in identifying and providing services for children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). As teacher referral is an essential link in service delivery this study investigated teachers' current perceptions of SEBD by examining characteristics of children nominated by their teachers as having SEBD. While the majority of children were nominated for externalizing behaviours, teachers rated girls as having more severe externalizing difficulties than boys. In contrast, there was no significant difference between teachers' internalizing ratings of boys and girls, despite the fact that girls reported more severe depressive symptomatology. Moreover, teachers rated gender‐contrary behaviours more severely than gender‐consistent behaviours. Consistent with achievement results, teachers rated the majority of children as having moderate to severe academic difficulties. Little agreement was found between characteristics reported by teachers and children. Implications are discussed within the context of the school psychologist's role in working with teachers to increase awareness of the profile of these children.     

The inclusion of students with BESD in mainstream schools: teachers' experiences of and recommendations for creating a successful inclusive environment

Since the election of the Labour government in 1997, England has seen policy changes leading to increased rights for students with special educational needs (SEN), including those with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD), to be educated in mainstream schools. The present paper reports on the findings of a small-scale study conducted with a sample of mainstream secondary school teachers across the UK. Semi-structured interviews were used to investigate their experiences and approaches to including students with BESD in mainstream education. Teachers spoke of the challenges to effective inclusion centring on lack of resources and level of expertise. Despite identifying a variety of strategies for working with students with BESD, the issues raised by teachers bear striking resemblance to those acknowledged in policy over 20 years ago suggesting that regardless of Labour's changes, longstanding obstacles to inclusion have yet to be addressed.     

Difficulties associated with the coding and categorization of students with emotional and behavioural disabilities in Alberta

In Canada, there is a recent trend toward non-categorization of services of students with emotional and behavioural disabilities (EBD). Yet in Alberta, the coding of students with EBD provides opportunities to diagnose students' learning difficulties but is hindered in this process, in large part, by being tied into special needs funding. Current coding and subsequent funding practices favour a medical model approach that provides opportunity to over- and misidentify students for higher funding levels. Though this is likely done with good intentions to get services otherwise denied, it may have led to a perverse situation of the practice of ‘coding for dollars’ for these students. In this article we discuss the Alberta EBD coding and funding model using administrative data as well as conclusion remarks from a seminar participated in by different stakeholders. Recommendations for policy changes will be addressed.     

Meeting the mental health needs of children and youth: using evidence-based education worldwide

In this paper, we review the factors that impact the mental health of children and youth, highlight the magnitude of the mental health problem based on data from selected countries, emphasise the influence that culture has on the development of children and youth, and delineate several strategies and programmes proven to be effective when working with children and youth in educational settings.     

Peer groups and behaviour problems

Abstract

The study evaluated the effect of a programme for elementary school students with behaviour problems integrated into the regular classroom. The programme combined in-class social skills training and specific educational activities with peers, namely cooperative learning and tutoring by a prosocial peer. The innovative aspect is that the social status and affiliations of children with behaviour problems are key components in the matching of children during peer support. The goal is to improve social behaviour and to change peer perception through interventional strategies, therefore improving social reputation. Pre-test/post-test control group design was used. Results from traditional analysis indicated no significant difference between treatment and control groups after the programme. A modest effect size showed a relative improvement for students with behavioural disorders who participated in social skills training. Results are discussed in terms of the role of friends in the intervention programme.     

The forgotten schools. Current status of special schools for pupils with social,emotional and behavioural difficulties in Germany: a complete national survey

The article reports on a survey of special schools for children with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) in Germany. The schools were asked by standardised mail questionnaire about their organisational structures. The rate of return was 77% and a total of 397 schools were included in the interpretation of data. The questionnaire asked for several items to analyse the structural elements and organisational compositions of the schools. Rather than measuring the effects of instruction and treatment in the separate school settings, the present study is basic research aiming at stocktaking of the current organisational status of these schools that have barely been the focus of research. The number of structural problems that SEBD schools in Germany have to face is enormous, according to the findings. It is arguable whether optimal service delivery and support to the pupils is possible under the general conditions revealed by the present study, e.g., inadequate number of teachers and other staff members (and thus insufficient staff for child guidance), only a few schools offering full‐time schooling services, and in only a few instances do we find inter‐agency collaboration.     

Pre‐service teachers’ open‐minded thinking dispositions,readiness to learn,and attitudes about learning and behavioural difficulties in students

This self‐report study investigated 274 pre‐service teachers’ attitudes toward students with learning and behavioural difficulties (LBD) and the factors that predict their attitudes. Using four scenarios describing students with LBD, we investigated the degree to which pre‐service teachers’ open‐minded thinking dispositions, readiness to learn about students with LBD, beliefs about the role of regular classroom teachers in providing for these students, and emotions in relation to dealing with these students’ difficulties predict their likelihood of engaging in punitive reactions (e.g., giving a timeout) and planned behaviours (e.g., adapting instruction). Teachers with more open‐minded thinking dispositions and readiness to learn about students with LBD reported a higher likelihood of adapting instruction. Pre‐service teachers’ negative emotions partially mediated the relationship between their beliefs and punitive reactions and fully mediated the relationship between their open‐minded thinking dispositions and punitive reactions.     

One in Three? Teachers' Attempts to Identify Low Self-Esteem Children

The maintenance of healthy self-esteem remains a central concern in pastoral care. It is almost taken for granted that we can identify low self-esteem in children based on the knowledge built up through day-to-day interactions. But self-esteem is essentially a personal perception, and one may ask, to what extent can another make reliable judgements about such a phenomenon? This study looked at the match between teachers' judgements of their pupils' self-esteem and the children's own self-reports. The teachers concerned were committed to self-esteem enhancement as an important goal of their teaching, but the findings indicate that when trying to identify low self-esteem children in their classes, they were frequently unsuccessful. These findings are discussed, and implications considered.