The effects of sleep disturbance on school performance: A preliminary investigation of children attending elementary grades
Sleep disorders in children are common. Sleep plays an important role in children’s development and sleep disorders can have a substantial impact on their quality of life. Indeed, sleep is crucial for physical growth, behavior, and emotional development and it is also closely related to cognitive functioning, learning and attention, and therefore to school performance. In the present study sleep habits were investigated in 173 school-age children by using the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). Results show that children attending the third elementary grade had higher CSHQ total score, indicating slee...
Source: School Psychology International - July 17, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Reale, L., Guarnera, M., Mazzone, L. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Facilitators and barriers to the provision of therapeutic interventions by school psychologists
There is growing concern internationally about the prevalence of mental health problems among school-aged children and their access to specialist services. School psychologists (SPs) may be one group of professionals well-positioned to support the well-being of children and young people, due to their position as applied psychologists working within educational settings and their capability to deliver therapeutic interventions. This research considers findings from a large scale, United Kingdom (UK)-wide survey of the views of SPs (N = 455) about facilitators and barriers to the provision of therapeutic interventions to chi...
Source: School Psychology International - July 17, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Atkinson, C., Squires, G., Bragg, J., Muscutt, J., Wasilewski, D. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Treatment integrity of interventions with children in School Psychology International from 1995-2010
Over the past two decades, the role of school psychologists internationally has shifted from a more narrow focus on assessment to a broader emphasis on problem solving and delivering intervention services via consultation. Defining interventions is important for replication and translation of practice. Further, to make valid, data-based decisions about intervention effectiveness, school psychologists need to consider student outcomes in light of treatment integrity data. Reviews of treatment outcome research in many applied fields indicate that although many researchers operationally define interventions, a majority of res...
Source: School Psychology International - July 17, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Sanetti, L. M. H., Dobey, L. M., Gallucci, J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Psychological and educational recommendations for working with young people with Retinitis Pigmentosa
This article reviews the consequences of Retinitis Pigmentosa, a retinal degenerative disease with progressive reduction of the visual field, visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and night blindness. Retinitis Pigmentosa is addressed from both a psychological and an educational standpoint, focusing on the impact on learning, emotional well-being, and the social relationships of young people and adolescents. We examine problems affected people have to face and offer suggestions and strategies to professionals working with individuals and family members. (Source: School Psychology International)
Source: School Psychology International - July 17, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Chacon-Lopez, H., Lopez-Justicia, M. D., Vervloed, M. P. J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Applying educational psychology in a changing World: Some lessons from Mongolia
This article describes the evaluation of a project designed to provide in-service training for teachers in rural schools in Outer Mongolia in techniques of independent and co-operative learning. Difficulties faced by Mongolian teachers in implementing a new national standards based curriculum were identified by the Mongolian State Education University responsible for teacher training. In conjunction with an EU funded UK team of educators, a Master’s degree course was established based upon principles of reflective practice and action research. Sixty-eight teachers from two Mongolian rural provinces completed the cour...
Source: School Psychology International - July 17, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Burden, R., Taylor, W. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
AIDS in South Africa: Therapeutic interventions to strengthen resilience among orphans and vulnerable children
Worldwide, approximately 10% of the 34.2 million individuals infected by human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) are under the age of 18. Additionally, 17.8 million children have experienced one or both parents dying of HIV/AIDS. In comparison to other countries, South Africa has the highest per capita of recorded HIV/AIDS cases. These deaths have altered the social landscape by compromising the security and stability of communities and families. In order to address these challenges, research-based and practitioner-recommended interventions are offered to strengthen South African childre...
Source: School Psychology International - May 15, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Heath, M. A., Donald, D. R., Theron, L. C., Lyon, R. C. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Student motivation for learning in Ghana: Relationships with caregivers' values toward education, attendance, and academic achievement
This study examined the role that Ghanaian caregivers’ values toward education play in shaping students’ intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation for learning, and the ways these values and motivational orientations predict school attendance and achievement. Study participants included 88 students (M = 11.63 years; 48% female) from two primary schools in peri-urban Ghana and their 68 caregivers (M = 40.02 years; 60% female). Results revealed that caregivers’ perception of education as valuable was related to more intrinsically oriented profiles of motivation and higher attendance in students. Contrary to res...
Source: School Psychology International - May 15, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: McCoy, D. C., Wolf, S., Godfrey, E. B. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
In-school psychosocial support services for safeguarding children's rights: Results and implications of a Botswana study
This study investigated protections to children’s right to safe learning environments through the provision of in-school psychosocial support services. Participants were 230 learners from a cross-section of Botswana schools (females = 124, males 106; age range 10.7–17.7 years; school grades 5 to 12; median age = 14.5 years, SD = 3.65 years). Data on learner access, utilization, and preferences of in-school psychosocial support services were collected using focus group discussions, individual interviews, and a semi-structured survey. The data were analysed thematically and with supplemental quantitative analysis...
Source: School Psychology International - May 15, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Ntinda, K., Maree, J. G., Mpofu, E., Seeco, E. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Violence, resilience and solidarity: The right to education for child migrants in South Africa
This article examines the psychology of migrant learners’ resilience, their right to education, and how migrant organizations and South African civil society are supporting and reinforcing the agency of migrant learners and their parents. It is based on a year-long study conducted by researchers at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Education Rights and Transformation (CERT), funded by the Foundation for Human Rights. Testimonies, participatory workshops, surveys, interviews, and focus groups with learners, parents, educators, officials, and civil society activists in three South African provinces were...
Source: School Psychology International - May 15, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Hlatshwayo, M., Vally, S. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
When schooling experiences are respectful of children's rights: A pathway to resilience
This article reports findings from the Pathways to Resilience study, South Africa. Rooted in a social ecological understanding of resilience, this mixed-methods study investigated resilience processes of black South African youths from poverty-stricken, rural contexts. School-attending youths (n = 951) completed the Pathways to Resilience Youth Measure (PRYM), which included one resilience measure and two school experience measures. Independent sample t-tests showed that youth reporting agency-supportive school environments (n = 137) had significantly higher resilience scores than youth with opposit...
Source: School Psychology International - May 15, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Theron, L., Liebenberg, L., Malindi, M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Towards respecting children's rights, obligations and responsibilities: The Zimbabwean case
This article reports on an attempt to demonstrate the importance of putting theory into practice in a way that will impact on the lives of children who are currently being denied their basic rights. Purposive sampling of schools in urban areas in Harare Province, Zimbabwe, was used with data collected from 147 participants (M age = 16.9, SD = 1.38) that was subjected to quantitative analysis. Data were gathered on participants’ views on children’s rights and obligations and their understanding and implementation of the Bills of Rights. Children acknowledged that their rights were being implemented although inad...
Source: School Psychology International - May 15, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Mhaka-Mutepfa, M., Maree, J. G., Chiganga, G. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Advancement of children's rights in Africa: A social justice framework for school psychologists
The United Nations Convention on Children’s Rights and the subsequent African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child together with the Bill of Children’s Rights and numerous other policies and regulations in many African countries have set the precedent for children’s rights to be respected and implemented across the African Continent. However, little is known about the actual advancement of children’s rights within Sub-Saharan Africa; hence, the purpose of this study was to explore the advancement of children’s rights within an African context. This qualitative study included a sample...
Source: School Psychology International - May 15, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Pillay, J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Notice for 'Cyberbullying in schools: A research of gender differences'
This study investigates the nature and the extent of adolescences’ experience of cyberbullying. A survey study of 264 students from three junior high schools was conducted. In this article, ‘cyberbullying’ refers to bullying via electronic communication tools. The results show that close to half of the students were bully victims and about one in four had been cyber-bullied. Over half of the students reported that they knew someone being cyberbullied. Almost half of the cyberbullies used electronic means to harass others more than three times. The majority of the cyber-bully victims and bystanders did not...
Source: School Psychology International - March 18, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Tags: Notice Source Type: research
Children's social competence within close friendship: The role of self-perception and attachment orientations
The associations between self-perception and attachment orientations and three aspects of children’s competence within friendships were examined: Managing conflict, seeking support, and giving support. Questionnaires were completed by 260 4th- and 5th-grade students. Homeroom teachers reported on the children’s social adjustment. Secure attachment orientation and positive self-perception were positively associated with prosocial friendship competencies, and negatively associated with disengaging strategies. By contrast, ambivalent attachment was related to accommodation strategy and to disengaging strategies in...
Source: School Psychology International - March 18, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Scharf, M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
The Good Behavior Game: A classroom-behavior intervention effective across cultures
This article presents a review of the literature on the Good Behavior Game as it applies to international and diverse student populations. (Source: School Psychology International)
Source: School Psychology International - March 18, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Nolan, J. D., Houlihan, D., Wanzek, M., Jenson, W. R. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
