Reviews and Update

Books reviewed:

Bleach, K. Raising Boys’ Achievement in Schools

Farrant, Ann Sibling Bereavement: Helping Children Cope with Loss

Mallon, Brenda Helping Children to Manage Loss: Positive Strategies for Renewal and Growth

Calvert, Mike and Henderson, Jenny (eds) Managing Pastoral Care

Holden, Cathie and Clough, Nick (eds) Children as Citizens: Education for Participation     

RESEARCH SECTION: The self‐esteem of pupils in schools for pupils with social,emotional and behavioural difficulties: myth and reality

The self‐esteem of pupils has long been regarded as a key variable affecting both pupils' learning and behaviour, although the relationship between the two may not be as strong as many in education have always assumed. In this article, Jeremy Swinson, an educational psychologist and honorary lecturer in educational psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, reports the findings from a study in two parts. Firstly, an examination was made of 35 Statements written by officers from seven different education authorities in the north‐west of England for pupils attending two independent schools that specialise in working with pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). It was found that, of the 35 Statements examined, 34 included self‐esteem as one area of special need. The second phase of the study examined the self‐esteem of 60 pupils in four specialist schools for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The results showed that the average scores for self‐esteem for both the primary and secondary sample were very similar to the scores obtained by previous researchers in mainstream schools. However, it was apparent that more pupils than expected appeared to have either very low or very high self‐esteem. In terms of locus of control, it was found that a large number of secondary pupils had a high score although this was not found to be the case for the primary pupils in the sample. Jeremy Swinson discusses these results and presents his analysis of their implications for teachers, educational psychologists and education officers.     

试论基础教育课程改革与教师角色行为的变化

教师的素养、教师的角色行为能否跟得上基础教育课程改革的步伐，从根本上决定了基础教育课程改革的成败。文章通过对基础教育课程改革与教师角色行为关系的探讨，希望对当代基础教育教学理论与实践有所启示。     

A Social Development Curriculum: Applying Nurture Group Principles and Practices to Support Socially and Emotionally Vulnerable Children Within Mainstream Classrooms

Rebecca Doyle set up the first nurture group in Thetford Education Action Zone in 2000. In 2001, she published an account of her work to reintegrate pupils from the nurture group into the mainstream of their infant school in the pages of BJSE. In this article, Rebecca Doyle describes how mainstream class teachers requested further support in working with socially and emotionally vulnerable children in their classes using the principles and practices from the nurture group. A social development curriculum was written to support this interest, offering mainstream staff a planning tool to complement their existing schemes of work and to help in the drive to make the curriculum appropriate for every child, regardless of their barriers to learning. This article indicates that mainstream staff are now able to bring the increasing knowledge of nurture group working to the fore in their planning, supporting the development of whole-school nurturing approaches. The social development curriculum has become a well-used document alongside current planning frameworks, supporting staff in meeting the diverse needs of pupils within mainstream classrooms with minimal cost and little additional workload.
In closing her article, Rebecca Doyle argues that the social development curriculum has had a positive impact upon the pupils in her school and upon her colleagues on the staff. She is pursuing her research into nurturing approaches through her membership of the National Nurture Group Network and her studies for a higher degree at the University of East Anglia.     

The exclusiveness of group identity in celebrations of team success

Basking in reflected glory (BIRGing) describes individuals’ tendency to publicly affiliate themselves with successful others. Within sport, scholars have provided foundational knowledge pertaining to BIRGing; however, they have not deeply engaged with sport fans to understand the influence of multiple group identities in celebrating team success. Using social identity theory and social identity complexity as theoretical frameworks in the current study, I conduct qualitative research with sport fans to understand how multiple group identities influence fan behaviours in response to team performance. I discover that fans (1) BIRG and blast for an enhanced sense of inclusiveness and distinctiveness, and (2) possess multiple, ordinarily inclusive group identities, which converge into a highly exclusive social identity structure immediately before, during, and after games against rivals. I conclude by discussing the potential theoretical and managerial implications regarding multiple group identities in sport contexts, as well as directions for future research.     

Health information seeking behaviour: the librarian's role in supporting digital and health literacy

This paper is based on Rachel Butler's dissertation carried out at the University of Sheffield as part of the MA Library and Information Services Management. The study examines people's online health information seeking skills, with the specific aim to identify how libraries and health services can work together in supporting digital and health literacy. A survey approach is used to explore online searching habits as well as librarian and health professionals’ views on health literacy. The key findings indicate that whilst the majority of respondents consider themselves to be health literate, there was an overall agreement that effective education and support could be achieved through the collaboration between libraries and health services, and specifically to signpost information and to provide targeted education. The limitations of the research for dissertation are recognised leading to recommendations that further study focuses on the impact of signposting and education on health literacy.F.J.     

Pride as moral motive: moral pride and prosocial behaviour / El orgullo como motivación moral: orgullo moral y conducta prosocial

Moral pride, namely the pride generated by morally positive behaviour, can foster prosocial behaviour. To demonstrate this, two quasi-experimental studies were conducted with nine- to 11-year-old children. Study 1 analysed the effect of the pride felt after engaging in prosocial behaviour, in four classrooms from two different schools (N = 94). Study 2 analysed the effect of the pride generated by the evocation of a past example of one’s own prosocial behaviour, in four classrooms from another school (N = 77). The hypothesis was supported in Study 1 but not in Study 2. Interesting correlations were found between dispositional moral pride (measured using a scale designed ad hoc) and other relevant variables in the moral field: intention to engage in prosocial behaviour, habitual prosocial behaviour and dispositional empathy. In general, these studies attest to the importance of moral pride, both dispositional and that felt in a specific situation, in moral life.     

Contextualising ECEC research: the case of Slovenia

In the present study the longitudinal relations between quantity of centre-based child care (in months) and teacher reports of internalising and externalising behaviour in the first and second grades were examined for 325 Slovenian children. The socio-political context of affordable, accessible and homogenously high-quality child care is quite different compared to the context in countries from which many child-care studies originate (e.g. the USA). In Slovenia quality standards are regulated (child:staff ratio, teacher education, curriculum), the service is subsidised and children are guaranteed a place after the end of parental leave (i.e. at 11 months). In the described socio-political context a beneficial effect of child care quantity was found for internalising behaviour, while there were negative effects for externalising behaviour. Children who spent more time in child care exhibited less internalising behaviour and more externalising behaviour in the first grade of school, both with small coefficient sizes. Our study shows that even in the context of progressive child care some positive as well as less positive effects of child care participation on child development occur.     

Mental toughness in education: exploring relationships with attainment,attendance, behaviour and peer relationships

Mental toughness has frequently been associated with successful performance in sport; however, recent research suggests that it may also be related to academic performance in Higher Education. In a series of three exploratory studies, we examined the relationship between mental toughness and different aspects of educational performance in adolescents aged 11–16, focusing on academic attainment, school attendance, classroom behaviour and peer relationships. Study 1 revealed significant associations between several aspects of mental toughness (but particularly control of life) and academic attainment and attendance. Study 2 revealed significant associations between several aspects of mental toughness (but again particularly control of life) and counterproductive classroom behaviour. Finally, Study 3 demonstrated significant associations between aspects of mental toughness (confidence in abilities and interpersonal confidence) and peer relationships. The results are discussed in terms of the potential value of mental toughness as a useful concept in education.     

Classroom behaviour and academic achievement: how classroom behaviour categories relate to gender and academic performance

Latent profile analysis was used to identify different categories of students having different ‘profiles’ using self-reported classroom behaviour. Four categories of students with unique classroom behaviour profiles were identified among secondary school students in Oslo, Norway (n = 1570). Analyses examined how classroom behaviour categories are related to gender and school performance and whether a dual understanding of gender in school is helpful when trying to explain achievement differences as supposed to classroom behaviour categories. Analyses showed that gender was a better predictor of school achievement than classroom behaviour categories, even though the behaviour categories did contribute to the explanation of variance in students’ academic marks above and beyond gender.