Bolstering resilience through teacher-student interaction: Lessons for school psychologists
Schools are often the only formal service provider for young people living in socio-economically marginalized communities, uniquely positioning school staff to support positive psychosocial outcomes of youth living in adverse contexts. Using data from 2,387 school-going young people [Canada (N = 1,068), New Zealand (N = 591), and South Africa (N = 728)] living in marginalized communities and who participated in the Pathways to Resilience study, this article reviews how student experiences of school staff and school contexts moderated contextual risks and facilitated resilience processes. Findings of these analyses affirm t...
Source: School Psychology International - April 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Liebenberg, L., Theron, L., Sanders, J., Munford, R., van Rensburg, A., Rothmann, S., Ungar, M. Tags: Special Issue Articles Source Type: research
Childrens positive adjustment to first grade in risk-filled communities: A case study of the role of school ecologies in South Africa and Finland
This article presents a comparative case study on the ways in which children’s school ecologies facilitate their adjusting positively to first grade in risk-filled contexts in South Africa and Finland. The insights of two children (one South African, one Finnish) from socio-economically disadvantaged communities, their teachers, parents and significant others constitute the data corpus of this study. The data were collected via semi-structured interviews, ‘Day-in-the-Life’ video-recorded observations, and Draw-and-talk and photo elicitation methods. The data were analysed deductively using the seven, comm...
Source: School Psychology International - April 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Kumpulainen, K., Theron, L., Kahl, C., Bezuidenhout, C., Mikkola, A., Salmi, S., Khumalo, T., Uusitalo-Malmivaara, L. Tags: Special Issue Articles Source Type: research
'Look, I have my ears open: Resilience and early school experiences among children in an economically deprived suburban area in Ireland
Children from economically disadvantaged communities frequently lack the socio-emotional, cognitive and behavioural skills needed for successful early school adjustment. Assessments of early school experience often rely on parent and teacher perspectives, yet children’s views are essential to design effective, resilience-promoting school ecologies. This mixed methods study explored children’s appraisals of potential stressors in the first school year with 25 children from a disadvantaged suburban community in Ireland. School scenarios were presented pictorially (Pictorial Measure of School Stress and Wellbeing,...
Source: School Psychology International - April 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tatlow-Golden, M., OFarrelly, C., Booth, A., ORourke, C., Doyle, O. Tags: Special Issue Articles Source Type: research
The everyday ways that school ecologies facilitate resilience: Implications for school psychologists
From a socio-ecological perspective of resilience, social ecologies are crucial to children’s functional outcomes in the face of adversity. Schools, in particular, are integral to the multiple social systems that children are embedded in. Consequently schools have a special responsibility towards meaningfully and routinely supporting children’s resilience. Drawing on a synthesis of 33 publications, I document the everyday ways that school ecologies enact this responsibility. I caution that although much of this everyday routine is potentially protective, it neglects important leverage points for supporting resi...
Source: School Psychology International - April 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Theron, L. C. Tags: Special Issue Articles Source Type: research
The impact of life skills training on behavior problems in left-behind children in rural China: A pilot study
A randomized controlled experimental pilot study was conducted in order to investigate the effect of life skills training on behavior problems in left-behind children (LBC) in rural China. Sixty-eight LBC were recruited from a middle school in rural China. The intervention group took a ten-week-long life skills training course. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher’s Report Form (TRF) were used to evaluate the behavioral problems of the children at three separate intervals: Prior to the intervention, the first week following the intervention, and three months after the intervention. Children in the interven...
Source: School Psychology International - February 1, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Liu, J., Liu, S., Yan, J., Lee, E., Mayes, L. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Are elementary school teachers prepared to tackle bullying? A pilot study
The aim of this pilot study was to investigate to what extent elementary school teachers were prepared to tackle bullying. Interview data from 22 Dutch elementary school teachers (M age = 43.3, 18 classrooms in eight schools) were combined with survey data from 373 students of these teachers (M age = 10.7, grades 3–6, ages 8- to 12-years-old, 52.2% boys). The teachers in this study gave incomplete definitions of bullying, had limited strategies to find out about bullying, and did not recognize the self-reported victims in their classroom, suggesting that even though teachers are supposed to have a central role in tac...
Source: School Psychology International - February 1, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Oldenburg, B., Bosman, R., Veenstra, R. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Handwriting-based model for identification of developmental disorders among North Indian children
Handwriting execution is based on the cognitive, kinesthetic, motor skills, and manual co-ordination skills of an individual. The deterioration in handwriting quality is a common implication of neurological disorders. Difficulty and degradation in handwriting has been attributed to the sensory motor deficits prevalent in developmental disorders. In spite of the association between developmental disorders and handwriting ability, the diagnostic potential of handwriting characteristics remains untapped. The present case control study was conducted among 300 subjects aged 6- to 11-years-old of North Indian origin to measure t...
Source: School Psychology International - February 1, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Dhall, J. K. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Message processes and their associations with adolescents executive function and reports of bullying
Substantial research has identified the negative health outcomes associated with bullying for adolescent victims. Researchers have examined expressive writing as a possible method by which to decrease violence among adolescents. Results of these studies, however, suggest that expressive writing is associated with positive, negative, and neutral outcomes for adolescents. The present study had two aims related to these mixed findings. First, it sought to investigate the association between micro- and macro-level message processes that relate with self-regulation in adolescent writings about bullying and their reports of bull...
Source: School Psychology International - February 1, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Crowley, J. P., Harvey-Knowles, J. A., Riggs, N. R. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Educational psychology in Portugal: Results of the 2013 International School Psychology Survey
This study provides valuable information regarding the characteristics, training, roles, activities, preferences, research interests and challenges reported by 803 Portuguese educational psychologists. The study includes responses to the International School Psychology Survey (ISPS) from educational psychologists across various regions of Portugal. The information gathered through the implementation of the International School Psychology Survey (ISPS) allowed us to conclude that they had one of the highest levels of experience and of discrepancy in gender (favoring female psychologists), when compared with findings from IS...
Source: School Psychology International - February 1, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Coelho, V. A., Marchante, M., Raimundo, R., Jimerson, S. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Bullying involvement of Korean children in Germany and in Korea
This study compared bullying involvement of Korean or Korean-German children living in Germany with children in Korea, and examined children’s perceptions of school environment associated with bullying involvement of the children. This study included 105 Korean or Korean-German children living in the Bayern State of Germany as the study sample and 95 Korean children in Gyeongnam Province of Korea as the control group. Korean children in Germany were significantly less likely to be exposed to and less likely to be engaged in bullying behaviors than those in Korea, except relational bullying. Overall 21.0% of Korean or...
Source: School Psychology International - February 1, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Bae, H.-o. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Editorial Notice
(Source: School Psychology International)
Source: School Psychology International - November 20, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Tags: Editorial Notice Source Type: research
Psychological, family, and social factors linked with juvenile theft in Korea
The absence of an approach which encompasses several micro-systems in Korea may leave important factors of youth risk behaviors undetected. Thus, an examination of a broad set of ecological factors within the micro-system--including individual characteristics as well as immediate family, peer, and school environments surrounding the youth--that is associated with juvenile theft is warranted. The current study analyzes a rare dataset of 176 youth who were arrested for theft and a matching non-theft sample of 180 youth. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to examine variables related to theft engagement. Higher le...
Source: School Psychology International - November 20, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Lee, D., Han, Y., Park, M., Roh, S. Tags: Regular Article Source Type: research
Instructional context and student motivation, learning, and development: Commentary and implications for school psychologists
From an ecological perspective, learning and development in childhood and throughout the lifespan occur in the context of interactions within complex social networks. Collectively, the articles in this special issue illuminate three important themes related to teacher-student interactions within instructional contexts: relationships, competence, and agency. Through consultation and systems level advocacy, school psychologists can use these themes as starting points for improving the instructional context for both students and teachers. (Source: School Psychology International)
Source: School Psychology International - November 20, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Pendergast, L. L., Kaplan, A. Tags: Special Issue Articles Source Type: research
Readying students to test: The influence of fear and efficacy appeals on anxiety and test performance
Educational accountability policies have led to a growth in the use of high-stakes examinations for a number of important educational decisions, including the evaluation of teacher effectiveness. As such, educators are under increasing pressure to raise student test performance. In an attempt to prepare students for a high-stakes exam, teachers often resort to using threat-based messages that focus on the negative consequences of test failure rather than messages highlighting students’ ability or expectation for high performance. However, the relative influence of teacher messaging (threat-based or facilitating) unde...
Source: School Psychology International - November 20, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: von der Embse, N. P., Schultz, B. K., Draughn, J. D. Tags: Special Issue Articles Source Type: research
The enabling and protective role of academic buoyancy in the appraisal of fear appeals used prior to high stakes examinations
Prior to high stakes examinations, teachers may engage in instructional practices to encourage their students to prepare well for their exams, including the use of ‘fear appeals’. The current study examined whether academic buoyancy played a role in student appraisals of fear appeals as threatening or challenging. High school students (N = 770) preparing for high-stakes mathematics exams in England completed self-report measures of the frequency with which their teacher used fear appeals, how they appraised those fear appeals, and their academic buoyancy. In line with prediction, students appraised fear appeals...
Source: School Psychology International - November 20, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Symes, W., Putwain, D. W., Remedios, R. Tags: Special Issue Articles Source Type: research
