The role of materialism on social,emotional and behavioural difficulties for British adolescents

The relationship between materialism and social-emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBDs) was assessed by comparing a sample of adolescents receiving in-school behavioural support with adolescents not receiving any support. All participants completed the Youth Materialism Scale and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Binary logistic regression indicated that adolescents who reported higher levels of materialism were more likely to be classified into a group considered ‘at-risk’ for developing conduct and peer problems. Hierarchical logistic regression assessed the moderation of behavioural support and indicated that adolescents in receipt of behavioural support who reported higher levels of materialism were at a greater risk of hyperactivity in comparison to those who receive support but reported lower levels of materialism. For adolescents not receiving behavioural support, less materialistic attitudes placed them at a greater risk of hyperactivity. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between different SEBD typologies and the potential effects of materialism during adolescence.     

Developmental Links between Teacher-Child Closeness and Disobedience for Boys Placed in Special Education

The aim of this study was to examine developmental links between disobedience and teacher-child closeness in a sample of boys with psychiatric disorders (i.e., emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD)) and special educational needs who are placed in special education. More specifically, this study examined whether developmental links were different between boys with EBD (n = 150) versus boys with ASD (n = 122). Developmental links between disobedience and teacher-child closeness were investigated by incorporating a multi-informant perspective using teacher, child, and peer ratings and analyzed using autoregressive cross-lagged models across three waves within one school year. Results showed that in general, developmental links between teacher-child closeness and disobedience were stronger for boys with EBD than for boys with ASD. Specifically, boys with EBD experiencing less teacher-child closeness showed more disobedience, which in turn negatively affected their relationship development according to teacher ratings. Surprisingly, for boys with ASD, higher levels of disobedience predicted higher levels of teacher-rated teacher-child closeness during the school year. Our results offer more insight into the differential impact of teacher-child closeness on the behavioral problems for children with EBD and ASD.     

Mind,Language and Artworks as Real Constraints on Students' Critical Reasoning about Meaning in Art

To engage in discussions of artwork meaning is to engage in critical reasoning, a factor that is central to the interpretation of artworks in the art classroom. While this may appear as a common‐sense claim that reflects the tacit assumptions most art educators have about students' critical dispositions in art, it is also evident that little is known about the deeper structures underlying students’ critical reasoning and how such structures shape students’ interpretations of artworks. Drawing on my research on students’ theories of critical meaning in art, this article explores the nature of practical and theoretical constraints on students’ critical reasoning about the meaning of artworks. I account for how intentional beliefs, language and representational artefacts function as a nexus of real constraints that condition students’ advance into interpretations of the social meaning of art. After briefly outlining the design and methodology of my study, I examine students’ critical reasoning performances during the formative period of development between middle to late childhood. The findings reveal that with increasing age students gradually learn to exercise their own critical intentions and represent inferences that acknowledge the significance of constitutive rules and force of a collective intentionality in the artworld on their interpretations of artworks as artefacts. I then make some conclusions about the relationship of domain‐specific shifts in art understanding, the role of intentionality, representational understanding, beliefs about art and reasoning skills to the linguistic, theoretical and artefactual constraints conditioning students’ intuitive advance into real understandings of art.     

Developing a Tiered Response Model for Social-Emotional Learning Through Interdisciplinary Collaboration

A tiered response model for social-emotional learning (SEL) is needed to address the significant mental health needs of young people in this country. In collaboration with other school mental health professionals, school psychologists have a unique expertise that situates them to be systems change agents in this work. This article describes a pilot project that focused on augmenting existing SEL services with SEL assessment within a tiered system of support in one elementary school. Using a consultation-based model grounded in principles of empowerment evaluation, an interdisciplinary school team used SEL data collected during one school year to inform the delivery of SEL interventions and supports. Data from SEL, academic, and behavioral assessments were examined retrospectively to illustrate the potential value of integrating assessments and interventions across domains. The discussion offers implications for ongoing efforts to develop and implement tiered response models through interdisciplinary collaboration among school mental health professionals.     

Elephants,Donuts and Hamburgers: young children co‐operating to co‐operate and co‐operating to compete in two primary schools

Abstract A total of 152 5‐6‐year‐old schoolchildren worked alone or in groups, cooperatively within groups or competing against another group, over 4 weeks. New measures allowed us to consider their preferences for collective or individualistic styles. Three factors: individualism/collectivism, sociability and altruism were identified. The first two were found to be stable over time; the third changed and was related to whether the children worked co‐operatively or competitively. Differences were found in collectivism/individualism. Girls (particularly older girls) preferred working co‐operatively significantly more than boys at Time 1; however, this decreased over time for girls, whilst boys became less individualistic over time. Younger children scored significantly less than older children on a sociability factor, but this increased significantly over time compared to the older children‐‐artificially in the group co‐operative condition. Findings are discussed in light of curriculum and pedagogy of primary schools and social psychological research with children.     

Attribution style of adolescents with school-reported social,emotional and behavioural difficulties

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between attribution style and social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBDs), and to explore differences in attribution tendencies between adolescents with and without SEBDs. In total, 72 adolescents attending a school in London were recruited; 27 were receiving support for SEBDs from the behaviour and education support team at their school and 45 were recruited from the main school population. Participants completed the Children’s Attribution Style Questionnaire and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that adolescents with SEBDs had a more negative attribution style, made more stable attributions of negative events and reported fewer internal attributions of positive events than students without SEBDs. The findings highlight the importance of cognitive factors in providing a basis for interventions intending to address young people’s behaviour and cater for the heterogeneous nature of SEBDs.     

Whose are the Es in EBDs?

Two related incidents prompted me write this paper. First, I was looking through my files of quotes and came across one from a brief conversation some seven years ago with a 14 year old boy – I will call him John. John was responding to a question about an incident in class in his last year at primary school. He said he believed it was “the thing” that resulted in his exclusion from mainstream school. The second incident, or series of incidents, happened over a period of about three weeks in October 1995 when I had a number of telephone calls – including several from teachers – about EBDs. I recognised a common thread running through these that reflected numerous other conversations over the past few years. They also reminded me that, just as Peter Kingston drew attention in an article in the Guardian to the rising tide of emotion in the debate on ADD and ADHD (Kingston, 1995), emotion is evident in very many discussions of EBDs generally. Two quotes sum up this point. The first, the one I just referred to, from John:     

‘They are out of control’: self‐perceptions,risk‐taking and attributional style of adolescents with SEBDs

Fifty‐six secondary school students with and without social emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBDs) completed self‐report measures of their strengths and difficulties, self‐concept and social identity, cognitive attributional style and participated in computer‐based tests of risk‐taking and impulsivity. Contrary to common understanding, the students with SEBDs made realistic estimations of their difficulties and were as able to make attributions as their peers without SEBDs; though they tended to attribute negative events internally significantly more often than did students without SEBDs. No differences were found between the two groups in terms of risk‐taking as measured on a computer‐based test. Implications of these findings for identification of and working with students with SEBDs are considered.     

‘But no one in my family has been to University’ Aiming Higher: School students’ attitudes to Higher Education

In this paper, we present findings from the second stage of a three year longitudinal study involving 3,570 students aged 13–18 in a London Borough looking at the impact of Widening Participation (WP) on the attitudes of students. We outline findings from a previous stage and then focus specifically on two cohorts of Year 10 students (aged 14–15) in two consecutive years. The students completed the specially designed Attitudes to Higher Education Questionnaire (AHEQ) and provided information on WP activities in which they had participated. Data on the students’ academic attainment and social backgrounds were also included. There were significant sex and cohort differences and interactions which were found to be related to WP activities specifically aimed at increasing the participation of socially disadvantaged students in higher education. The implications of findings are discussed in relation to theories of social identity and self concept and the implementation of strategies to increase participation in Higher Education.