Transforming Troubled Lives : Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties 9781780527116, 9781780527109

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TRANSFORMING TROUBLED LIVES: STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS FOR CHILDREN WITH SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION Series Editors: Harry Daniels and John Visser Recent Volumes: Volume 1:

Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Mainstream Schools – Edited by John Visser, Harry Daniels, and Ted Cole

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION VOLUME 2

TRANSFORMING TROUBLED LIVES: STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS FOR CHILDREN WITH SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES EDITED BY

JOHN VISSER University of Northampton, UK

HARRY DANIELS University of Bath, UK

TED COLE University of Bath, UK

United Kingdom – North America – Japan India – Malaysia – China

Emerald Group Publishing Limited Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK First edition 2012 Copyright r 2012 Emerald Group Publishing Limited Reprints and permission service Contact: [email protected] No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the text, illustrations or advertisements. The opinions expressed in these chapters are not necessarily those of the Editor or the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-78052-710-9 ISSN: 1479-3636 (Series)

CONTENTS LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

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INTRODUCTION John Visser, Harry Daniels and Ted Cole

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DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL LITERACY – APPROACHES FOR STAFF AND STUDENTS DEVELOPING AN APPROACH IN THE SEBD SCHOOL Tina Rae AT-RISK CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE QUALITY OF SCHOOL LIFE Veˇra Vojtova´ and Petr Fucˇı´k THE PALS SCHOOL-WIDE POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT MODEL IN NORWEGIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS – IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION Terje Ogden, Mari-Anne Sørlie, Anne Arnesen and Wilhelm Meek-Hansen

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NATIONAL BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT SERVICE AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY IN SCHOOL: AN IRISH EXPERIENCE Siobhan MacCobb

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THE SCHOOL BEHAVIOURS RATING SCALE: A MEASURE TO ASSESS BEHAVIOURAL STRENGTHS AND NEEDS AND INFORM SUPPORTIVE PROGRAMMING Lyn Gardon

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DEVELOPING STAFF SKILLS THROUGH EMOTIONAL LITERACY TO ENABLE BETTER PRACTICES WITH CHILDREN WITH SOCIAL EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES (SEBD) Christiana Koundourou

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CHANGING PROFESSIONAL CULTURE – WHAT NURTURE GROUPS CAN ACHIEVE Jim Rose

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SETTING UP A NURTURE GROUP IN YOUR SECONDARY SCHOOL David Colley

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PREVENTING TEACHER BURNOUT: EXPLORING THE PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS FOR CHILDREN WITH SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES (SEBD) IN THAILAND Saengduean Yotanyamaneewong and Sham Juhari

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THE INTEGRATION OF SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED PUPILS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC: A QUALITATIVE VIEW ON A QUANTITATIVE PHENOMENON Jirˇı´ Neˇmec and Lenka Gulova´

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ELECTIVE HOME EDUCATION: SUPPORTING ACCESS TO EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITHIN THE GYPSY, ROMA AND TRAVELLER COMMUNITY Rebecca Clavell-Bate

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EXPERIENCING PHYSICAL EDUCATION THROUGH THE FILTER OF SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES Richard Medcalf

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Contents

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THREE CASE STUDIES IN RESIDENTIAL HOMES – A HOLISTIC PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Penelope Moon

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A NORTH EAST PUPIL REFERRAL UNIT’S RESPONSE TO THE CHALLENGE OF NEETS Crispian Woolford

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PEER MASSAGE IN THE CLASSROOM Jean Barlow

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‘IT WASNAE (ONLY) ME’ – THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-REGULATION AND SELF-RESPONSIBILITY IN PUPILS EXPERIENCING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES Joan Gaynor Mowat

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THE CHALLENGE FOR THE SQUARE PEG AND THE ROUND HOLE: A SENSE OF BELONGING TO SCHOOL Polly Sills-Jones

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MAKING SCHOOLS FITTING PLACES FOR ALL: A CREATIVE APPROACH FOR GIRLS EXCLUDED FROM MAINSTREAM EDUCATION Melanie Nind, Georgie Boorman and Gill Clarke

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DEVELOPING PREVENTATIVE RESPONSES TO DISRUPTIVE AND HIGH-RISK BEHAVIOURS Martha J. Holden, Jack C. Holden and Sandy Paterson SCHOOL SHOOTERS: MONSTERS OR VICTIMS Marcel Lebrun

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SEBDs AND THE MENTAL PROCESSING BIASES SUGGESTED BY SCHOOL-BASED DATA COLLECTION WITH CHILDREN AGED 8–12 IN GREECE: AN IMPORTANT FINDING AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH Christos Papakyriakopoulos

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EARLY FAMILY INTERVENTIONS AS PREVENTION OF ESCALATION OF BEHAVIORAL AND EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS IN INTERNATIONALLY ADOPTED CHILDREN Irene Feigin

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THE ‘F’ FACTOR: THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FAMILIES Alison Grimshaw

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PUNITIVE TRENDS IN GERMANY: NEW SOLUTIONS FOR DEVIANT BEHAVIOUR OR OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLES? Birgit Herz

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SUBJECT INDEX

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Anne Arnesen

Norwegian Centre for Child Behavioral Development, Oslo, Norway

Jean Barlow

Jean Barlow Training Solutions Ltd., Bolton, UK

Georgie Boorman

University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

Gill Clarke

University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

Rebecca ClavellBate

Lancashire County Council, Lancashire, UK

David Colley

Falmouth School, Cornwall, UK

Irene Feigin

Psychologist in Private Practice, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Petr Fucˇı´k

Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

Lyn Gardon

School Behaviour Solutions, Alstonville, NSW, Australia

Alison Grimshaw

Wirral Local Authority, Birkenhead, UK

Lenka Gulova´

Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

Birgit Herz

Leibniz University, Hannover, Germany

Jack C. Holden

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Martha J. Holden

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Sham Juhari

Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore

Christiana Koundourou

Special Needs Teacher, Paphos, Cyprus

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Marcel Lebrun

Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH, USA

Siobhan MacCobb

University of Dublin Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

Richard Medcalf

University of Wolverhampton, Walsall, UK

Wilhelm MeekHansen

Norwegian Centre for Child Behavioral Development, Oslo, Norway

Joan Gaynor Mowat

University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Penelope Moon

A Quiet Place, Liverpool, UK

Jirˇı´ Neˇmec

Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

Melanie Nind

University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

Terje Ogden

Norwegian Centre for Child Behavioral Development, Oslo, Norway

Christos Papakyriakopoulos

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, NHS, London, UK

Sandy Paterson

Barnardos High Close School, Wokingham, UK

Tina Rae

University of East London, London, UK

Jim Rose

The Fostering Foundation, London, UK

Polly Sills-Jones

University of Bedfordshire, UK

Mari-Anne Sørlie

Norwegian Centre for Child Behavioral Development, Oslo, Norway

Veˇra Vojtova´

Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

Crispian Woolford

Broom Cottages Centre, Pupil Referral Unit, Ferryhill, UK

Saengduean Yotanyamaneewong

Rajanagarindra Institute of Child Development, Chiang Mai, Thailand

INTRODUCTION Late in 2010 the Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Association (SEBDA), based in the United Kingdom, held an international conference at Keble College, Oxford. The theme was ‘Transforming Troubled Lives’ and 160 delegates arrived from countries around the globe. Around 50 per cent of those attending presented papers. Some of the presentations were short, others longer, some very practically based and others more theoretically focused. A range of papers has already been published in SEBDA’s international journal Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (volume 16, issue 3). The chapters in this volume draw upon other presentations given at the conference, which we, as editors, felt were representative of the good practice, provision and policy to be found amongst professionals working both to transform the sometimes troubled lives of children and young people and to ensure that these students are included in educational settings. Over the past 16 years, the three editors have collaborated in research in this area of education and during that time have struggled to come to a definition of Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD), which would be acceptable around the world. During this period there has been an increase in the range of terminology used, with each new descriptor seemingly having a precise set of diagnostic criteria to identify those with the condition (see, e.g. APA, 2000). The rise in the diagnosis of ADHD around the world over this period is but one example of this phenomenon. With each of the ‘refined’ terms we would appear to have separated out a group of children and young people who previously would have been termed ‘EBD’ or ‘SEBD’ in the United Kingdom. In England, we now have to contend with another arrangement of the words with government documents favouring the order Behaviour, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD) (e.g. DCSF, 2008). This is not the place to debate in detail the issues behind the relatively imprecise nature of what constitutes SEBD (see various international contributors to Cole, Daniels, & Visser, 2012, for fuller consideration). Rather our point is that despite all the debates over the decades professionals and others working with children and young people can agree that there unfortunately remain too many whose lives have been blighted. They are, as describe by Wills (1968), the ‘frightened, wounded, xi

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damaged and inadequate’ and it was these descriptors which were behind the title both of this book and the conference in Oxford. This volume sets out to provide practitioners and others with ideas, strategies and interventions to address these children’s and young people’s needs. Recent decades have also witnessed an increased emphasis on ‘inclusion’. Frequently the polemic surrounding this notion has been focussed on the placement of all students in mainstream settings. This has posed particular challenges for the children and young people described within this volume. They are the pupils who are most frequently either administratively or by their non-attendance at school are not in mainstream settings. We would argue that for some the ‘regular’ classroom or ‘ordinary’ school may not be appropriate to meets their needs anyway. Specialist settings should not necessarily be viewed as non-inclusive, particularly if inclusion is perceived as troubled children feeling included, that is having a positive emotional experience derived from others treating them well. To that extent it matters not so much where the young person is placed but how he or she is treated in that place. All contributors to this volume show how important valuing the child is and how this contributes to turning their troubles around. This book contains a range of intervention and strategies described by the 24 contributing authors. They demonstrate, as Royer (2001) puts it, that ‘one size does not fit all’ and that professionals need a variety of strategies, which to be effective must be ‘frugally’ used (Royer, 2012). Contributors come from a range of cultures and professional backgrounds and cover primary and secondary aged students in mainstream and specialist settings. The reader is advised to go beyond the text to seek out underlying precepts which are applicable to their culture and setting. Delegates at the conference frequently observed the same guiding principles operating across differing ways of intervening in the lives of troubled students. One editor described these as ‘eternal verities’ (Visser, 2005) to be found in all successful strategies and interventions. Tina Rae opens the volume with a description of work which took place in a specialist setting in London. Building on perceived good practice, the staff within the provision widened the range and depth of skills they could bring to developing the students’ ability to understand and handle their emotions. This is followed by a description of research aimed at providing staff in schools in the Czech Republic with a tool to identify children whose behaviours would put them at risk of marginalisation and possibly exclusion from schooling. It shows how using tools designed in other settings and cultures can be developed to fit local needs. There then follows a report of work in Norway by a team setting out to provide colleagues with a model to

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use in primary schools. The authors show the need to work collaboratively with parents, children, teachers and therapists to meet the needs of children who often present challenging behaviours. These three chapters have themes which reoccur throughout the chapters which follow, namely: the need for collaboration between stakeholders; the need to understand that the professional working with a child is a part of the problem and not apart from it; and the need to identify early the issues which the troubled child faces. The theme of professional co-operation is stressed in the chapter by Siobhan MacCobb that describes a project in Ireland involving occupational therapists and behaviour support staff. Of particular interest here is the focus on the individual child and acknowledging that each child and group of children has a unique culture to which the interventions proposed need to be tailored. Success requires a co-ordinated approach by policy makers to facilitate multi-agency work. Next follows Lyn Gardon’s chapter on the development of a school behaviour ratings scale for primary-aged children in Australia. She argues that identification must match intervention. Too often the assessment of a child leads to the ascription of a particular label, which then leads to a general intervention or strategy. The tool described provides some targets for intervention, which match specific identified areas of behaviour. The rating scale provides opportunities for the child’s progress to be ‘measured’, an important aspect which is overlooked in educational settings where the effectiveness of interventions and strategies are rarely checked. Christiana Koundourou pursues a similar theme in the next chapter with a description of the introduction of ‘SEAL’ in Cyprus. ‘SEAL’ (standing for the Social, and Emotional Aspects of Learning) is an English initiative widely used in primary schools but also advocated for secondary schools (e.g. DCSF, 2007). Christiana’s contribution links back to Tina Rae’s chapter as it centres upon children’s emotional development. She argues that for such programmes to be successful the skills and knowledge of teachers should be developed. Staff should also be knowledgeable about themselves if they are to be successful in meeting the needs of troubled children. Jim Rose continues this theme showing how an understanding of an intervention known as ‘nurture groups’ can bring benefits across a range of settings. He sets out how applying this understanding not just to children but to the training of teachers (both pre- and in-service) will enable the development of differing models of practice, thus meeting the needs of a

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greater range of students. David Colley takes this further by outlining the basic criteria for setting up and running nurture groups effectively in secondary schools. He argues that the application of nurture group principles to older children can reduce exclusions and promote educational engagement. Saengduean Yotanyamaneewong and her colleague look at the stress levels that teaching troubled children can induce. They do so within a Thai context and discuss factors which are associated with teachers who experience little or no stress when working with troubled children. They highlight some possible cultural factors which contribute to this lack of stress which should be researched in other cultures. Both Rebecca Clavell-Bate and Jirˇ ı´ Neˇmec and his colleague examine the plight of a particularly marginalised group – children of Roma ethnicity. Here is a group who, across Western Europe, is often viewed as outside society and countries’ cultures. These children frequently do not feel included in the schooling that society provides. Jirˇ ı´ and his colleague report a study undertaken in the Czech Republic which sought to understand the issues from the Roma viewpoint. Rebecca’s contribution explores the interaction between the Roma and provision within one local authority in England. She focuses upon the potential of providing individualised provision, which is tailored to meet the cultural needs of the Roma. Both chapters raise the issue of whether there is a real desire to include children who, at the very least, ‘trouble the system’. Should the system change to meet the child’s needs or does the child need to be ‘changed’ in order that he or she fits the system and is thus integrated? At first reading, Richard Medcalf and Penelope Moon’s chapters are very contrasting, with one discussing physical activity with troubled young people in a mainstream school whilst the other looks at staff training for a particular form of intervention in residential homes. However, there is a common aspect to the views of those concerned. Both the staff in Penelope’s study and the pupils in Richard’s, identify the importance of the relationship between adults and children as key in transforming troubled lives. Both chapters describe how confidence and trust are essential building blocks in bringing about desired change. Many countries have alternatives to formal schooling, particularly for older pupils approaching the end of their compulsory education. England is no exception and, in the past 15 years, there has seen an expansion of such provision, mainly for students who have been excluded from mainstream schools. Crispian Woolford describes one such programme and examines the approach he and colleagues developed to decrease the disengagement

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from society that sometimes occurs when troubled young people leave school. Often not proceeding into further education, job training or employment and increasingly marginalised, they drift to the very edge of their communities. The work of Bowlby and Maslow has been cited frequently to assist the understanding of children’s troubled lives. Jean Barlow, alluding to these seminal writers, stresses the importance of nurturing and emotional experience. She describes a ‘simple’ intervention, peer massage in the primary school classroom, which, it is argued, can help the development of children with SEBD. Joan Gaynor Mowat, working in Scottish schools, argues that troubled children need to gain a sense of agency and that this needs to be achieved if lasting changes are to occur. She reports a study which used group work to develop the capacity of participants to regulate their behaviours and thereby gain a sense of control over their lives. As with other interventions described in this volume the importance of positive relationships with the adults in charge of the programme appears to be a key factor in the intervention’s success. Maslow (1970) argued that a sense of belonging was crucial to the development of a rounded human being. Polly Sills-Jones examines this concept in relation to schooling arguing, from a psychotherapeutic perspective, that the pull of conformity plays a strong role in pupil behaviour in school. She discusses the different dimensions of the bond between pupil and school. When discussing earlier the problematic nature of defining the group, it would have been tempting to solve the issue by listing the common traits of those labelled SEBD. One of the characteristics that teachers in many countries (Cole et al., 2012) would identify is that it is seen as predominantly a male condition. Little research has been published about girls with SEBD in schools. Melanie Nind and colleagues report on a study which sought, via a variety of interventions, to provide students with opportunities to develop their sense of identity. There are resonances here with Mowat’s chapter on secondary-aged pupils developing a sense of agency and Woolford’s contribution on school leavers’ learning independence for future transitions programme. Fortunately occasions when students are very violent are rare, although some sections of the media would sometimes have us believe that schools are little short of miniature war zones, where serious conflict and challenge between their inhabitants are daily experiences. Martha J. Holden and colleagues discuss an approach to such rare occasions, using the Crisis

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Intervention For Schools Programme, which builds on staff skills in preventing disruptive behaviours and also de-escalating them when they do occur. Marcel Lebrun examines what can be done in one of the most extreme behaviours, the use of guns, which is also one of the least occurring but most reported. Both these chapters are written from an American perspective but their messages should be heeded in other countries. Christos Papakyriakopoulos describes a study in Greece, examining how causality is attributed by some children perceived as troublesome. Controversially, he suggests that they may be neurologically predisposed both towards reacting negatively in the attribution of causality and in their behavioural reactions. The chapter is included in this volume not because the editors necessarily concur with the author’s position but because it raises important questions about causality. If behaviours are explainable by fixed ‘wiring’ of the synapses as Christos seems to suggest, it brings into question most of the approaches described so far in this volume. With the increasing interest in neuroscience and the medicalisation of behaviour, readers might need to re-examine their beliefs and review the evidence about the causes of SEBD and how these underpin the interventions they espouse. Nowhere is this more important than when considering the child in his or her family context. Parenting is all too often seen by teachers as the ‘cause’ of the problems they believe they face in managing troubled students in their classroom. Two chapters look at interventions which involve families. First Irene Feigin describes her work with internationally adopted children. The issues she raises have, we believe, wider implications for children brought up separately from their birth parents. Her emphasis on working from family system theory is worthy of further examination, not least because whilst most adopted children do not have to cope with an overtly different culture and language, they often do have covert ones. The second chapter, by Alison Grimshaw, describes her partnership working with parents to develop children’s capacity, skills and motivation to learn. The approach advocated is premised on the notion that some children need to learn how to learn, to help to reduce their behavioural difficulties. The final chapter is included as a ‘wake up call’. We do not work in a benign human system. All cultures have values and beliefs which shift, change and impact on policies, provision and practice with and towards those whose troubled lives need transformation. Birgit Herz’s chapter urges us to be vigilant in ensuring children’s individual rights to a complete and fulfilling life are not eroded by moves towards punitive measures that attempt to change them. Sanctions may from time to time provide a

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steer towards more desired behaviour but punishment more often leads the child to working out how to do something without incurring the punishment! John Visser Harry Daniels Ted Cole Editors

REFERENCES American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual (4th ed.). Washington, DC: APA. Cole, T., Daniels, H., & Visser, J. (2012). The Routledge international companion to emotional and behavioural difficulties. London: Routledge. Department for Children, Schools and Families. (2007). Social and emotional aspects of learning for secondary schools. Nottingham, UK: DCSF Publications. Department for Children, Schools and Families. (2008). The education of children and young people with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties as a special educational need. London: DCSF. Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd ed.). London: Harper and Row. Royer, E. (2001). The education of students with emotional and behavioural difficulties; one size does not fit all. In J. Visser, H. Daniels & T. Cole (Eds.), Emotional and behavioural difficulties in mainstream schools. London: Elsevier Science. Royer, E. (2012). Training and professional development for educators working with children and young people with EBD: A personal checklist. In T. Cole, H. Daniels & J. Visser (Eds.), The Routledge international companion to emotional and behavioural difficulties. London: Routledge. Visser, J. (2005). Working with children and young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties: What makes what works, work? In P. Clough, P. Garner, J. T. Pardeck & F. Yuen (Eds.), Handbook of emotional and behavioural difficulties (pp. 225–244). London: Sage. Wills, D. (1968). Closing address at AWMC conference held at St Mary’s College, Cheltenham, UK.

DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL LITERACY – APPROACHES FOR STAFF AND STUDENTS DEVELOPING AN APPROACH IN THE SEBD SCHOOL Tina Rae ABSTRACT This chapter describes the work undertaken with staff and students at a school for students with social emotional and behavioural in developing emotional literacy and creating an emotionally literate and solution focused school context. Although this specialist provision provided a nurturing, emotionally literate and inclusive environment, senior staff identified a need to develop the breadth and depth of their approaches both to support the students and staff and to increase the feel of inclusion experienced by students. Building their positive experiences is using an Appreciative Enquiry Approach (Cooperrider, D. L. (2001) Lessons from the field: Applying appreciative inquiry. New York, NY: Thin Book publishing) alongside a series of solution focused tools and strategies staff were able to identify ways forward.

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 1–18 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002004

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INTRODUCTION The school concerned is situated in a London Borough and meets the needs of some of the Authority’s most vulnerable and emotionally challenging young people. The young people are aged from eleven to sixteen and attend the school on a daily basis. The senior management team wished to further develop their approaches and to particularly focus upon the development of an emotional literacy curriculum for students and also to provide support for the staff team in order to also further develop their own skills, awareness and ability to manage their own emotions and behaviours whilst simultaneously effectively managing those of the troubled young people in their care. The approach set out with the intention of highlighting, celebrating and building upon ‘what works well?’ The initial part of the process engaged staff in identifying what works well or has worked well in a variety of situations. For example:  What are we doing well in terms of including our challenging and vulnerable students?  When is it working well and why?  How is this different to the times when things go wrong?  How can we build further upon these positives and ensure that all staff and students experience more of ‘what works well?’ Adopting a solution focused approach in which staff are encouraged to vision ‘life without the problem’ and identify the most useful strategies and approaches can also be seen as a key to developing professional skills and practice. Reflecting upon what the staff team already ‘do well’ is powerful in terms of reinforcing existing strengths and the capacity to further develop these within a supportive and motivated context. When given the opportunity to reflect upon their practice and the reasons for their success, the staff were able to identify the specific factors that helped to ensure this success and further build upon them. Adopting a solution focused ethos and utilising the Appreciative Enquiry Approach allowed for a focus upon strengths which can be powerful and also increase the value of existing skills and strengths. As Ben-Shahar (2001) states: by enquiring into positive past experiences we can learn from them and then apply our learning to present and future situations.

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THE NEED FOR PRACTICAL ADVICE AND TRAINING However, in terms of developing systems and strategies for effective management of behaviour, adopting such an Appreciative Enquiry approach also needed to be supported by practical advice and training so as to ensure the development of teachers’ skills and competence in this area. This is vital given the teachers emotional engagement when involved in managing the behaviour of young people and the very particular challenges involved in ensuring their effective inclusion in both the learning and social contexts of school. It is this need that particularly prompted the development of the two programmes at the school. Initially, given the vulnerable nature of the students in its care, a whole-school curriculum in which students’ self-esteem could be safely nurtured and promoted was needed. However, at the outset, it was realised that it was necessary to develop the emotional well-being and emotional literacy of the staff prior to attempting to develop and deliver such a programme. An eight-module training package for staff entitled ‘Emotionally Literate Behaviour Management’ was developed which included a focus upon the following key areas: identifying and labelling feelings; becoming a good listener; defining and asserting yourself; managing stress and anger; managing conflict and coaching. This solution focused and practical approach aimed to promote and further develop staff skills and empower them to then develop the curriculum for their students across all year groups . The focus of the student programme was also on developing the core attributes of self-awareness, managing feelings, decision making, managing stress, conflict resolution, personal responsibility, self-concept, empathy, communication and group dynamics. Staff were encouraged to develop individualised approaches for each year group ensuring that the activities were attractive, engaging, meaningful and had ‘real life’ relevance. Inset days and staff meeting time were allocated to ensure that this task wasn’t perceived as something ‘extra’ – on top of what was already a heavy workload. The resulting curriculum provides teachers with resources to deliver 37 sessions over the academic year, with skills being reinforced and built upon during each subsequent year group.

EMOTIONAL LITERACY – FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS Sharp (2001) defines emotional literacy as ‘the ability to recognise, understand, handle and appropriately express emotions’ (p. 1). The use of

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the word ‘literacy’ as opposed to ‘intelligence’ is significant here. It does not seem to be useful to refer to these skills as something ‘fixed’ or stable over time such as ‘intelligence’. It is more appropriate and optimistic to refer to ‘emotional literacy’ since this suggests that these are skills that can be learnt and developed over time. Emotional literacy matters because human beings need to recognise their emotions in order to be able to label or define them. They also need to be able to understand how they are feeling in order to be effective as learners. They need to handle or manage emotions in order to develop as rounded people who are capable of helping themselves and maintaining their own emotional and mental health. Without such skills it is not possible to help and support others within the social context. These then, are key skills required by those in the caring professions and need to be developed if they are to be truly effective in providing appropriate role models and support systems for young people. If young people’s emotional literacy is closely related to their mental health, then it would seem logical to assume that the same relationship would exist for their teachers and parents/carers. Also, the fact that emotional literacy is derived from a combination of parents, schools and wider social networks, would suggest that all have some responsibility for young people’s mental and emotional well-being. Goleman (1996) highlights the important role that parents play in that emotionally adept parents can do much to help their children with each of the basics of emotional intelligence: learning to recognise, manage and harness their feelings, empathising and handling the feelings that arise in their relationships. (Goleman, 1996, p. 191)

Research to support such a perspective was conducted by Hooven, Katz, and Gottman (1997). These studies included a microanalysis of interactions in couples on how the partners both handled their children. Couples who were deemed to be more emotionally competent within the marriage relationship were also found to be the most effective in supporting/helping their children cope with their own emotions and feelings. It would seem impossible to refute the fact that mentally and emotionally healthy adults impact positively upon those they care for, that is model, teach and impart the desired skills and emotional/mental health/well-being. The study Mental Health and Adolescents in Great Britain (2000) confirms such a view, identifying factors correlating with the increased likelihood of childhood mental illness as including parental employment,

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parental qualifications, lone parents and parental mental health. As Sharp (2001) suggests while none of these correlations imply direct causation, it is more likely that emotionally literate parents will have emotionally literate children who will go on to be emotionally literate parents themselves. ( p. 5)

However, emotionally literate parents are not the only significant adults who can impact positively upon their child’s social and emotional development and it is vital to acknowledge and reinforce the important ways in which teachers and schools can and do make a difference – for all children, whether they are deemed to be at a high or low point on the emotional literacy continuum. Rutter (1991) highlighted how schools can help children to effectively manage the stresses and difficulties encountered in their own lives: it is not high school achievement that seems to make a difference, rather, it is positive experiences of a kind that are pleasurable and rewarding and which help children develop a sense of their own worth together with the confidence that they can cope with life’s challenges and control what happens to them. (p. 8)

However, it is also important not to overlook or discount the emotional labour involved in making such a difference.

EMOTIONAL LITERACY AND THE EMOTIONAL LABOUR OF TEACHERS The Elton Report (1989) highlighted the role of positive relationships in the teaching and learning environment and the ways in which teachers could be, and needed to be, fully effective: To be fully effective y teachers need y the ability to relate to young people, to encourage them in good behaviour and learning and to deal calmly but firmly with inappropriate or disruptive behaviour y Establishing good relationships with pupils, encouraging them to learn and to behave well have always been essential parts of a teacher’s work. This cannot be achieved by talking at children but by working with them. (pp. 67–68)

For many teachers, this would initially appear to be stating the obvious. Developing and maintaining positive and caring relationships with pupils is seen as extremely important and the emotional connection and social education is deemed to be as important as pupil’s cognitive education (Hargreaves, 1998, 1999). However, the conflict between caring and the

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pressures of the marketplace can be a cause of much emotional dissonance and stress amongst teachers. Teacher burnout as described by Byrne (1999) is, unfortunately, not uncommon but can be addressed through a range of organisational factors that reduce stress and provide the necessary emotional support for teachers. These include positive peer collaboration in order to combat isolation, the sharing of core values, belief systems and goals, a culture of solution focused problem solving, social support and a positive and visionary head who values the ‘emotional labour’ of teachers and recognises the importance of teachers acquiring and further developing emotional literacy skills within an emotionally literate organisation. As Hargreaves (1998) suggests, Goleman’s (1996) notion of emotional intelligence as a trait/traits omits the extent to which it is dependent on the influence of the organisation itself and the values and beliefs the organisation imparts and promotes within individual teachers. This does seem to suggest that if teachers are to successfully promote the emotional literacy of their pupils then, like their pupil’s parents, they will need to be emotionally nurtured and cared for themselves so that they can both acquire and transfer these skills. Being able to behave in such a way and to achieve such a goal does seem to presuppose some level of freedom/autonomy for the teacher. As Oatley (1998) states ‘it is only proper y that people should be able to choose what states to be in and should be able to keep them somewhat under control’. Perhaps making the ‘right’ choices and being able to effectively control an emotional state and empathise successfully with pupils and colleagues is easier for the teacher whose emotional labour is both valued and recognised and whose school as an organisation adopts and applies a systemic approach to human behaviour. This is certainly a key premise on which the work undertaken at the school was based.

AN ECO-SYSTEMIC APPROACH AND THE PROMOTION OF EMOTIONAL LITERACY As Mosley and Tew (1999) suggest, the theoretical origins of applying a systemic approach to human behaviour rests in the work of Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (1969) and Gregory Bateson (1979) and in the clinical practice of family therapists such as Selvini-Palazzoni (1978), Minuchin (1974) and De Shazer (1982, 1985). Applications of these approaches within the school context were later developed by Molnar and Lindquist (1989) and Cooper and Upton (1990).

Developing Emotional Literacy

7

What these approaches rest upon is the premise that human beings are socially dependent upon their social context/environment for their emotional and mental well-being and do not have absolute autonomy in terms of behaviour, that is they are both influenced by and have the ability to influence their social circles/networks. Consequently, any change within their system/network will have some kind of effect upon the system as a whole. The dual nature of human striving for both a personal identity and a sense of belonging to a group, generally results in people operating within a group context or system. The behaviours that result can therefore be seen as a product of interactions within the group. As Hanko (1985) suggests, any changes in the school context can be made by considering if the behaviours are a result of the classroom or school environment or developed in the teacher–pupil interaction. Developing or promoting emotional literacy within the school environment or within the family context would consequently have implications for all these social systems due to the ways in which they evidently connect and interrelate. Small changes made in one relationship, one classroom or one staff room will, at some point, impact upon other parts of the system. In order for these changes to have positive outcomes, that is promote the emotional and mental health of all involved, it is vital that schools begin to promote the core competencies of emotional literacy in the knowledge that they are doing so within such an eco-systemic framework and therefore hopefully have a greater change of achieving their objectives.

THE EMOTIONAL CURRICULUM So, what are the key skills and competencies of emotional literacy and what can a school team do to promote these with a systemic framework? While there is some disagreement as to what the affective competencies are or should be, there does appear to be some overlap or consistency between the so called ‘core competencies’ as detailed by Salovey and Mayer (1990), Goleman (1996, 1998), Steiner and Perry (1997) and Higgs and Dulewicz (1999). These include:     

Self-awareness Management of emotions Management of relationships Motivation Empathy/interpersonal sensitivity

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 Social skills  Emotional interactivity, that is putting this all together  Conscientiousness and integrity (the individual’s ability to accept personal responsibility and accountability for his/her actions and decisions alongside being open and transparent in their dealings with others). For Sharp (2001), the key to achieving in these competencies initially lies in the individual’s ability to develop a vision of themselves and of who they want to be, that is the ideal self and to then establish and work towards the necessary personal goals in order to achieve that end result. He states that self-esteem is the evaluation or perception of our self-image and that this needs to be built upon in order to avoid the downward spiral of low selfesteem. For Sharp ‘if self-awareness is the foundation of emotional literacy then enhancing self-esteem lies at the heart of the nurturing process’. In order to raise ‘self-esteem’ and ‘self-awareness’ it would appear necessary to adopt a positive attitude and to take control of thoughts and feelings in order to use problems and difficulties as a springboard to deeper insight (Kehoe, 1997) and to use adversity as a springboard to change. Adopting such a solution focussed approach perhaps implies that optimism can be learned and developed over time. Edward de Bono (1967) has certainly shown that there are strong links between optimism, thinking and creativity, that is even when there is evident proof that there is no solution available to a particular problem, a new definition of that problem can still lead to a solution. It would seem then, that in order to promote the teaching and modelling of these key skills, schools would have to initially ensure that both staff and pupil’s self-esteem was nurtured and protected within an optimistic and solution focussed organisation. At this point, it would be easy to judge this as an extremely tall order but remaining optimistic is essential and it is important not to lose sight of the fact that school really do matter and can make a difference (Mortimore, Sammas, Russell, Lewis, & Stoll, 1988; Reynolds & Cuttance, 1992; Rutter, Mortimore, Ouston, & Maughan, 1979). Fostering and teaching the ‘core competencies’ of emotional literacy can perhaps best be done within the framework of a positive classroom climate. Hay McBer’s (2000) work on teacher effectiveness shows that pupils would be more willing to try new things and to learn from their mistakes if they felt emotionally supported by their teachers within the classroom context. However, as stated earlier, in order to provide such effective support, it is clearly essential for the teachers themselves to be both supported and nurtured within an emotionally literate context in which their well-being and skills of emotional literacy are continually promoted.

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DEVELOPING THE PROGRAMMES Staff Well-Being and Emotional Literacy The recent focus on personalised learning, creativity, critical thinking and SEAL may be contributing positively to overall student well-being. However, it would also seem necessary to ensure that those who are charged with fostering the emotional well-being of students should also have their own needs identified and met if they are to meet this objective successfully. This was certainly a belief within the context of the school. It was felt that if teachers are to set in place systems and protocols for improving practice and assessing their impact, they will also need to have developed and nurtured their own emotional literacy. They will need to have developed the language of emotions in order to foster this in their students. They will also need to be able to understand and manage their feelings, thoughts and behaviours if they are to advise their students on a range of strategies and also recommend and possibly deliver appropriate interventions. They will need to understand how to assess emotional development and the effectiveness of such interventions. They will need to feel confident that they have the appropriate training and personal skills base to facilitate the development of emotional well-being across the whole school. It is a tall order but a challenge the school staff were determined to try to attempt to meet.

Language of Emotions A good starting point was to ensure that all staff felt confident, not only in making use of the language of emotions themselves but also in spotting the sings of emotional illiteracy in their students. An initial awareness-raising session was a useful awareness-raising mechanism. This took the form of a thought-storming session focusing on the following key aspects:  Understanding emotions we experience in and out of school context  Distinguishing between comfortable and uncomfortable feelings and their triggers  Identifying when and how we express and manage our feelings  Discussing the positive and negative outcomes of stress and how we recognise, label and manage this particular feelings There are many (and varied) reasons why both adults and young people may find it difficult to directly express their feelings but encouragement and opportunities to do so will generally lead to honest, open relationships with

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clear lines of communication. Showing and expressing feelings helps to establish an individual’s identity while also encouraging open dialogue with colleagues. Focusing on developing staff self-awareness and the ability to express feelings in a more direct manner also contributes to the development of empathy – both for colleagues and for the students in the school community.

Emotionally Literate Staff Meetings Staff confidence in using the language of emotions and in pinpointing and addressing pupils’ emotional barriers to learning were subsequently fostered at the start of every staff meeting. The school staff were provided with opportunities to voice concerns regarding individuals or groups of students and to jointly problem solve making use of solution focused strategies and approaches which helped to ensure staff and pupil well-being was taken seriously. A series of key questions were regularly utilised as follows: Question

 Who are we concerned about?  What are the issues?  What emotions does this problem engender in both staff and pupils?  How can we effectively manage these emotions?  What would the situation look like if we could solve the problem?  What are the physical, social and emotional barriers to solving the problem?  When is the problem less pronounced and what is different about staff responses, the students’ responses and the overall context – the ‘exceptions’ to the problem?  How can we build on these?  Can we agree our strategies and overall action plan?

Answer

Developing Emotional Literacy

11

Alongside these staff meetings, it was also felt it was appropriate to further support individual teacher’s well-being via access to 1:1 coaching sessions. It was important that these sessions were not perceived as the usual focus upon curriculum delivery and measurement of teacher ‘performance’ but rather aimed to ensure well-being in the four key domains: spiritual, emotional, physical and mental. Consequently, during each coaching session, the following key questions were asked of staff:  How would you describe your well-being at this point in time (physical, emotional, mental)?  How well are you able to organise your time?  What is your work-life balance like at the moment and does it need adjusting?  How well do you feel you are able to find time to develop a sense of purpose to what you are doing – both in and out of school?  What do you think you might do differently to achieve a better outcome? What could you change? How might I (as a manager) support you in this?  When shall we review this situation? (set a date)

EMOTIONALLY LITERATE BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT – THE TRAINING Programme for Staff As a consequence of developing these approaches to staff well-being at a whole school and individual level, the senior management team at Chantry school were subsequently able to identify key core attributes for development amongst the staff team as follows:          

Self-awareness Managing feelings Decision making Managing stress Conflict resolution Personal responsibility Self-concept Empathy Communication Group dynamics

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In order to foster the development of such attributes the school’s educational psychologist subsequently devised and delivered the Emotionally Literate Behaviour Management programme. This training programme offers teachers a number of techniques and approaches which are aimed at improving the standards of pupils’ behaviour in the school context. It does not promote or advocate one particular method or theory. However, it does place great importance on the notion of emotionally literate teachers who, themselves, have the skills which they can in turn model to the students that they teach. Behaviour management is a complex and difficult area for many teachers and the central aim of this course is to provide a series of practical and pragmatic training tools which are not, in any sense, prescriptive. What is important is that teachers, themselves, are given the opportunity to examine their own beliefs, pre-conceptions, attitudes and preferences. In this way, it is hoped that they can uncover and identify changes that they can make in order to further develop their skills in this area. The course aims to meet the following objectives: 1. For teachers to develop an awareness of their own levels of emotional literacy and how this can impact both negatively and positively upon their own classroom management styles. 2. For teachers to identify the root causes of challenging behaviour and to discriminate accurately between what they can directly influence and what they can only influence indirectly. 3. For teachers to observe high quality classroom practice in which effective strategies and tools are used to manage the behaviour of the students. 4. For teachers to gain skills in assessing difficult situations and to further develop their own repertoire of coping strategies and support options. The course was divided into eight modules as follows: Module Module Module Module Module Module Module Module

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

– – – – – – – –

Identifying and Labelling your Feelings Becoming a Good Listener Defining and Asserting Yourself Managing Stress and Anger Managing Conflict Putting it all Together – Coaching 10 Most Useful Strategies or Top Tips Action Planning

These modules were highly practical and participatory in nature and produced a real ‘shift’ in terms of staff thinking and the overall development

Developing Emotional Literacy

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of their own emotional literacy skills and well-being. They also ensured an increase in confidence in terms of subsequently developing the emotional literacy curriculum for the students. Staff had not only accessed opportunities to develop their own skills but had also gained further insights as to how they might be able to move successfully foster the emotional literacy of the students in their care.

Developing the Student Programme The student programme was subsequently developed during an academic year in which three professional development days were specifically allocated to the development of the resource alongside regular weekly staff meeting and professional development time. Each year group tutor was supported by members of the SMT, LSAs and HLTAs and the school’s educational psychologist in order to develop the most appropriate curriculum for their year group. Although staff were aware of a plethora of programmes and resources available to support the developments of emotional literacy skills, these were most frequently aimed at students within the mainstream context. The majority of students not only experienced significant social, emotional and behavioural difficulties but also had a range of medical diagnoses including ADHD, Attachment Disorders, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome. Consequently, attempting to deliver what could be described as a ‘mainstream’ emotional literacy programme was not seen as a viable option. Many of the students have extremely poor concentration spans and associated learning difficulties, which often prevent them from spending longer periods on more formal writing tasks. Consequently, after a great deal of consultation, planning and thought, the programme was developed specifically for this group of students. Initially this began as a 12-session programme but quickly developed into a programme to encompass a whole academic year for each of the five-year groups. The resulting programme consists of two separate books, each containing 37 sessions which can be delivered to year groups 7–11 respectively. These have been specifically designed to build upon skills, strategies and approaches introduced in year 7 on a cyclical basis. Each of the session plans follows a similar format and generally aims to incorporate similar teaching points and ensure the development of basic skills of emotional literacy. The sessions are short in length, that is, 20–30 minutes and designed to be delivered through the PSHE or form tutor time. They are also clearly

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broken down into short, achievable tasks which are varied in terms of incorporating learning styles, that is, involving discussions, thoughtstorming, short activity page activities, problem cards and problem scenarios, questions for discussion and closing evaluations. Key Skills The key skills focused upon within this programme are as follows:  Self-awareness – this involves knowing the likes, dislikes, hopes, preferences, cultural heritage, talent, shortcomings and other uniqueness that make up each individual. It also involves becoming aware of both inner and outer states and processes.  Managing feelings – this involves building a vocabulary for feelings and knowing and understanding the relationship between thoughts, feelings and actions. It also includes the ability to read feelings clues in others and to respond appropriately, that is the development of empathy. There is also work focusing upon what is actually behind feelings, for example, the primary feelings underlying anger and learning how to constructively express and control such strong and uncomfortable feelings.  Decision making – these parts of the programme include examining what goes into making decisions. The students also have opportunities to learn step-by-step processes for decision making and are given opportunities to apply the process to real issues.  Managing stress – this involves understanding what stress is and where it comes from and how it affects us in our daily lives. There are opportunities for students to learn how to use exercise, diet, guided imagery, relaxation methods and attitude changes in order to both control and relieve stresses in their lives.  Personal responsibility – students are given opportunities to examine actions and to become further aware of their consequences. They learn how and when to say no and recognise the existence of personal choice in almost all situations. Taking responsibility for decisions and actions, that is developing the locus of control.  Self-concept – the programme encourages students to establish a firm sense of identity and feeling of self-esteem in acceptance of themselves. There are opportunities to engage in monitoring self-talk and to catch negative messages, for example, internal putdowns. They must also acknowledge the talents and abilities of both themselves and others in the school community.

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Developing Emotional Literacy

 Empathy – this involves taking on the perspective and understanding the feelings of others. The students are encouraged to develop caring and compassionate attitudes and to become more tolerant of each other.  Communications – this involves students learning and practising effective communication skills including the use of ‘I’ statements as opposed to blame. They are also encouraged to engage in active listening processes.  Group dynamics – working self-effectively in a group while also monitoring behaviours and roles is vital and a key part of many of the activities throughout the programme. Practising co-operation and independence and knowing how and when to lead and when to follow are all key skills which are covered within the five-year programme.  Conflict resolution – part of this programme includes the focus upon understanding that conflict is a normal occurrence in everyday life. What is most important is for students to be able to understand that it is potentially a productive process. Learning how to fight fairly with others and to practise a variety of conflict resolution strategies, including win– win approaches to negotiating compromise and problem solving, are also key skills taught within the five-year programme. Success Criteria For Sharp (2001) an emotionally literate education system is one that considers holistic development of both the learners and the educators, in contrast to the slavish devotion to simplistic linear attainment test measures much beloved of politicians. (p. 95)

Herein lies the ongoing dilemma for teachers/educators who feel that the core competencies of emotional literacy need to infiltrate into the very fabric of school life whilst also remaining acutely aware of the pressure and need to improve standards. However, given that the promotion of emotional literacy appears to result in improved standards (Goleman, 1996), such a dilemma could now be considered redundant. The success criteria for many of the programmes and resources considered in this paper appear reasonably consistent (Elias & Clabby, 1992; Stone & Dillehunt, 1978) and identify changes in both the affective and cognitive domains. Rae (1998, 2007) lists these in the form of a ‘success list’, which details the results of promoting emotional literacy:  Improved self-control  Improved listening skills

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Improved performance in class work Improved recognition and naming of own emotions (vocabulary) More understanding of causes of feelings and behaviours Improved management of anger Improvement of self-esteem/self-concept – more positive feelings regarding self  Fewer fights and verbal attacks on others In context, this list refers to core competencies of emotional literacy ‘within’ the pupils targeted via the school’s Emotional Literacy Curriculum would suggest some progress in all areas. However, it could be suggested that similar criteria would also be appropriate/applicable within a range of contexts and systems and for both the adults and children who interact within them. Consequently, it would seem to be appropriate that success criteria in this context also included the notion of team communication which can be fostered by using and encouraging self-disclosure, practising and encouraging dynamic listening, engaging in problem solving and the use of assertiveness and constructive criticism.

CONCLUSION – LOOKING FORWARDS The emotional literacy curriculum, whole-school approaches, and staff training programmes developed at the school are merely the beginning of a life-long journey in which staff will continually try to ensure that every student has the opportunity to develop the social, emotional and behavioural skills they need in order to function successfully – both in the social and learning contexts. While the student programme incorporates other materials and reinforces many of the objectives of the healthy schools’ agenda, it cannot be seen to provide a totally comprehensive resource. Like any such programme, it will need to be differentiated and supported by additional resources, approaches and personnel as appropriate to each individual context. Although it has been developed within the context of a special school, it can provide secondary school staff with a secure and comprehensive framework from which to begin to build an emotional literacy curriculum within their schools. It is hoped that in the longer term, such staff will also become increasingly aware of the need to promote the well-being, self-esteem and emotional literacy of both their students and staff members and to guard against aggressive and violent cultures in which bullying is the norm. However, in

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Developing Emotional Literacy

order to ensure the development of such a culture, experience from this project suggests that whole-school systems are needed alongside more specific programmes for staff and students. These include staff coaching/ counselling; solution focused staff meetings in which strategies are shared and agreed; a clear, fair and consistent behaviour policy, robust procedures on bullying and harassment and a whole-school approach to promoting emotional literacy and well-being.

REFERENCES Bateson, G. (1979). Mind and nature: A necessary unity. New York, NY: Dutton. Ben-Shahar, T. (2001). The question of happiness: On finding meaning, pleasure, and the ultimate currency. Retrieved from www.iUniverse.com Byrne, P. (1999). Social exclusion. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press. Cooper, P., & Upton, G. (1990). An ecosystemic approach to emotional and behavioural difficulties in school. Educational Psychology, 10(4), 301–319. De Bono, E. (1967). The 5 day course in thinking. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books. De Shazer, S. (1982). Patterns of brief family therapy. New York, NY: Guildford Press. De Shazer, S. (1985). Keys to solutions in brief therapy. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. Elias, M. J., & Clabby, J. (1992). Building social problem solving skills: Guidelines from a school based programme. San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass. Elton, L. (1989). Discipline in schools: Report of committee of enquiry chaired by Lord Elton. London: HMSO. Goleman, D. (1996). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. London: Bloomsbury. Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. London: Bloomsbury. Hanko, G. (1985). Special needs in ordinary classrooms. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Hargreaves, A. (1998). The emotional practice of teaching. Teacher and Teacher Education, 14(8), 845–854. Hargreaves, A. (1999) The psychic rewards (and annoyances) of teaching. In M. Hammersley (Ed.), Researching school experience: Ethnographic studies of teaching and learning. London: Routledge. HayMcBer. (2000). Research into teacher effectiveness: A model of teacher effectiveness. Research Report No. 216, HMSO, Norwich. Higgs, M., & Dulewicz, V. (1999). Making sense of emotional intelligence. Berkshire: NFERNelson Publishing Company. Hooven, C., Katz, L., & Gottman, J. (1997). Meta-emotion: How families communicate emotionally. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Kehoe, J. (1997). Mind power: Into the 21st century. Vancouver, BC, Canada: Zoetic. Mental Health and Adolescents in Great Britain. (2000). London: Stationery Office. Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy. London: Tavistock. Molnar, A., & Lindquist, B. (1989). Changing problem behaviour in schools. San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass. Mortimore, P., Sammas, P., Russell, E., Lewis, D., & Stoll, L. (1988). School matters the junior years. London: Open Books.

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Mosley, J., & Tew, M. (1999). Quality circle time in the secondary school a handbook of good practice. London: David Fulton Publishers. Oatley. (1998). Emotion. The Psychologist, 11, 285–288. Rae, T. (1998). Dealing with feeling an emotional literacy curriculum. Bristol: Lucky Duck Publishing. Rae, T. (2007). Emotionally literate behaviour management a training and personal development programme for teachers and those who support young people in schools. Bedfordshire: Authors on Line. Reynolds, D., & Cuttance, P. (Eds.). (1992). School effectiveness: Research, policy and practice. London: Cassell. Rutter, M. (1991). Nature, nurture and psychopathology: A new look at van old topic. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 125–136. Rutter, M., Mortimore, P., Ouston, J., & Maughan, B. (1979). Fifteen thousand hours: Secondary schools and their effects on children. London: Open Books. Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9(3), 185–211. Selvini-Palazzoni, M. (1978). Paradox and counter paradox. New York, NY: Jason Aronson. Sharp, P. (2001). Nurturing emotional literacy: A practical guide for teachers, parents and those in the caring professions. London: David Fulton Publishers. Steiner, C., & Perry, P. (1997). Achieving emotional literacy. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. Stone, K. F., & Dillehunt, H. Q. (1978). Self-science: The subject is me. Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear Publishing Company. Von Bertalanffy, L. (1969). General system theory: Foundations, development, applications. New York, NY: George Brazillier.

AT-RISK CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE QUALITY OF SCHOOL LIFE Veˇra Vojtova´ and Petr Fucˇı´ k ABSTRACT This chapter presents a pedagogical tool for investigating at-risk children’s attitudes towards the quality of school life. It has been developed from the questionnaire originally by Williams and Batten (1981), Binkley, Rust, and Williams (1996) and Dinkes, Forrest, and Lin-Kelly (2007).

INTRODUCTION School failure as well as hidden exclusion (resulting often from frequent school changes) present a key characteristic of children with behaviour disorders (Kauffman, 2005; Schu¨tz, 2005). According to a qualified estimation from OECD (2007), there are 6% of population in the age 15–19 who are assumed to be excluded from school before finishing their education by the year 2015. This percentage is running at 15–30% among the children with behaviour difficulties (Barr & Parrett, 2001). In the Czech Republic, the number of children with unfinished mandatory education1 varies between 3.5% and 4% (Table 1). Nevertheless, the specific statistics Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 19–37 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002005

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VEˇRA VOJTOVA´ AND PETR FUCˇI´K

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Table 1. The Pupils Dropping from Education Before Finishing 9th Grade of Elementary Education in the Czech Republic (UIV, 2008). Pupils Dropping from Education Before Finishing 9th Grade Elementary School – CZ

2004/2005

2005/2006

2006/2007

Grades 1–7 Grade 8 The rate of pupils with unfinished education

1,405 3,028 4.08%

833 3,500 3.87%

707 2,960 3.5%

focused on the monitoring of pupils with behaviour difficulties/disorders school failure are not being collected. Despite the lack of such statistics, we can assume, thanks to various sources, that the problem of low education and qualification of young people with the biographical history of behaviour difficulties/disorders is quite noticeable (MVCR, 2007). The strong relationship between behaviour difficulties/disorders and learning difficulties creates an endangering factor for quality of life in adulthood of these children exactly in the domain of lifelong education (WHO, 2001). Education and levels of achievement are linked to inclusive pedagogy. They are also a link to future quality of life and necessary for satisfying socialization in adulthood (Hayden, 2001; Vojtova´, Bloemers, & Johnstone, 2006). On the other hand, lack of engagement and achievement in education is perceived as a risk factor of social exclusion (Jahnukainen, 2001). The future quality of life of students depends upon schools providing an environment which incentivises students to achieve and this is particularly so for those children and young people whose behaviours are challenging. According to research (Barr & Parrett, 2001; Baur, Dones, & Frey, 2008), as far as the children at risk of behaviour disorders are concerned, the greatest potentiality to ensure this engagement is seen in prevention and intervention in education. Such conclusion can be also found in the analysis provided by OECD (2009) from schools around the world. This suggests that wholeschool preventive programmes focused on all pupils are the most effective ways of supporting pupils’ motivation towards education and to the protection of those at risk from exclusion from social networks and structures. Given the risk that behavioural problems represent in isolating and the marginalization of students with behaviour difficulties, schools within the Czech Republic wanted a tool which could identify these risk factors at an early stage. The hope was that a self-evaluative process could offer the schools the opportunity to intervene before the risk factors develop into

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21

behaviour disorders. Further it was thought that there would be wider benefits for schools in relation to the reinforcement of positive relations within school environments and education (teaching and learning). The screening function of such a tool could therefore be important not only on the level of school itself but also on the class or particular collective level (Vojtova´, 2010).

THE SCHOOL LIFE EVALUATION SCALE FOR THE BEHAVIOUR DISORDERS INDICATION We present such a tool in this chapter. We argue that the tool makes the dimension of ‘pupils’ school life perspective’ accessible to teachers, making them more aware of some negatively perceived aspects and allowing them to work actively and develop positive environments for all pupils. Our longterm research aims at verifying the usability of the ‘School Life Scale’ as a tool for the identification of risk areas of school life, especially the active involvement of pupils at risk of behaviour disorders in their learning. The background assumptions of our research come from Williams and Batten (1981), Binkley, Rust, and Williams (1996), and Dinkes, Forrest, and LinKelly (2007). We have modified the ‘Quality of School Life’ questionnaire (Williams & Batten, 1981), given the specifics of the Czech school environment. The research itself is distributed into several years and phases; it began in 2006 and will be concluded in 2013. We characterize ‘quality of school life’ in terms of the individual and contextual connections of the school environment. It is operationalized as a list of statements which are used in the questionnaire of the school life evaluation. Positive attitudes towards school life by pupils relates positively with their motivation (cf. UNESCO, 2005), and is an important factor affecting pupils’ approach to learning and education (cf. Booth & Ainscow, 2002). Negative attitudes, on the other hand, contribute to the development of behaviour difficulties (cf. Sørlie, 1997; Wearmouth, Glynn, & Berryman, 2005) and increase the risk of school drop-out (Jahnukainen, 2001). We arrived at a set of 35 statements theoretically divided into 6 topical dimensions: (i) the overall satisfaction with school, (ii) the perception of one’s own success and opportunity in learning, (iii) negative experience, (iv) the teacher–pupil relationship, (v) the school status of pupils and (vi) the formation of identity (cf. Binkley et al., 1996). The respondents answered in the ‘School Life Evaluation Scale’ on a sixpoint Likert-type scale;2 in the scale of ‘Behaviour Self-evaluation’ on the

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22

four-level Likert-type scale. The method of introspection (self-report) was used within the whole questionnaire. In the scale of behaviour selfevaluation, we used this method to observe (a) the preservation of the examination nature, from the perspective of the pupils themselves, (b) the protection from the impacts on pupils’ attitudes3 caused by outer labelling (see Kauffman, 2005; Visser, Daniels, & Cole, 2001).

THE COURSE OF RESEARCH We used statistic procedures to validate both the scales; we verified the validity and reliability, the internal consistency and we also examined the whole distribution of ‘School Life Evaluation Scale’, the predictive ability of school life evaluation scale and the relationship between pupil’s attitudes towards the school life and behaviour self-evaluation (Table 2). Table 2.

The 35 statements used in their six topical dimensions.

Dimension

Overall satisfaction with school

Success and opportunity

The negative experience

Scale Item

Mean Scorea

Median Score

Standard Deviation

I really like going to school I know what the teacher wants from me I like most of the subjects I am happy Learning is fun Teachers don’t take my mistakes ill of me when they see that I make effort I am usually satisfied with what I do Overall satisfaction with school (summed)b

3.1 4.1

3 4

1.7 1.5

3.4 3.4 3.5 4.1

3 3 3 4

1.6 1.6 1.7 1.6

3.8

4

1.5

3.65

3.57

1.08

I like learning Teachers show interest in my opinions and thoughts I can reach good results I am curious I learn a lot Success and opportunity (summed)b

3.2 3.7

3 4

1.5 1.5

4.4 3.7 4.6 3.95

5 4 5 4.00

1.5 1.6 1.5 1.06

I feel lonely Teachers don’t like me I am often nervous

2.1 2.6 3.6

1 2 3

1.5 1.5 1.7

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At-Risk Children’s Attitudes Towards the Quality of School Life

Table 2. (Continued ) Dimension

Teacher–pupil

School status

Formation of identity

a

Scale Item

Mean Scorea

Median Score

Standard Deviation

Teachers like some pupils more I am afraid when I hear my name I am afraid of vexation The negative experience (summed)b

3.7 3.1 2.2 2.88

4 3 1 2.83

1.7 1.7 1.7 0.87

Teachers listen to what I say I can speak to the teacher when I have a problem Teachers are fair at assessment, punishment and praise Teachers help me when I don’t know how to proceed with an assignment Teachers evaluate me appropriately Teachers help me achieve good results Teacher–pupil (summed)b

3.6 4.2

4 5

1.6 1.6

3.7

4

1.7

4.2

4

1.6

4.5

5

1.5

4.2

4

1.5

4.07

4.17

1.17

People respect me Others think a lot about me I learn to take others the way they are I feel that I am important Pupils with disability are showed the same respect as others Schoolmates help me when I don’t know how to proceed with an assignment School status (summed)b

3.5 3.2 4.4

3 3 5

1.4 1.5 1.5

2.9 3.9

3 4

1.5 1.7

4.8

5

1.4

3.80

3.83

0.93

I learn more about myself Meeting other people helps me understand myself I know about many things which I do well I learn to understand schoolmates with different opinions I learn to understand being a person with handicap Formation of identity (summed)b Whole-scale (all dimensions)b

3.9 3.8

4 4

1.6 1.5

4.1

4

1.4

4.2

4

1.4

3.9

4

1.6

4.0 3.95

4.0 3.97

1.0 0.79

All items measured on 6-point Likert-type scale from 1 ¼ definitely false to 6 ¼ definitely true. Total score divided by the number of items to preserve the range 1–6.

b

24

VEˇRA VOJTOVA´ AND PETR FUCˇI´K

We worked with a representative sample of pupils fulfilling the higher level of mandatory school attendance across ages of 12–15. For the choice of respondents, we decided to apply the criterion of variable representation in terms of gender and the size and place of school (quota sampling procedure). The final number of the respondents reached 1,596.

School Life Evaluation Scale – The Distribution of the Collected Data The evaluation profile (table above gives the mean/median scores) illustrates respondents’ agreements with the following statements to a great extent: School is a place where my schoolmate helps me when I don’t know how to deal with an assignment. The biggest disagreement was expressed with the statements where I feel lonely and where I am afraid of vexation. Pupils perceive school as a place associated with happiness and feel safe at school: the feelings of being threatened by vexation and loneliness are items that appear to be the least problematic. It is also encouraging that pupils perceive school as a place where they learn to accept different opinions and different dimensions of human life, in the sense of health and disability (cf. RVP, 2005). The positive appraising of teachers’ attitudes towards pupils and the opportunity to develop shows a shift in the overall approach to learning in the school. It appears that pupils are more confident about their possibilities to attain good results in learning. One’s importance, on the other hand, appears to be undervalued by pupils – they generally feel as unimportant, the attention that they receive is felt to be insufficient, especially in higher school years. Self-confidence and the perception of one’s own importance are crucial for a successful social interaction and integration. Our survey shows that compensating for these weaker sides by introducing opportunities in the educative process is not a usual strategy at schools.

Histogram of the Overall School Life Evaluation Scale We also investigated the overall distribution of the used scale of school life evaluation, particularly the summed score of the whole battery of questions. By summing the results of all the items, we arrived at a scale where each pupil can receive an amount of 35–210 points. The overall value was divided by the number of questions, in order to return to the original scale: 1–6.4 The lowest theoretical score (1.0) would correspond to a pupil whose

At-Risk Children’s Attitudes Towards the Quality of School Life

25

evaluation of school is extremely negative. The highest score (6.0), on the other hand, reflects an unconditionally positive view of school. The observed lowest score in the file of elementary schools is 1.57 and the highest 5.97. The overall mean score is 3.95. Graph 1 presents the distribution of values on the scale, with a curve representing the normal distribution. The whole distribution is shifted towards the right side of the scale, which corresponds to the slight predominance of positive evaluation. Except for a few slight deviations, the form of the actual distribution corresponds to the normal curve, which is also confirmed by other graphical and statistical tools.5 If we treat the file of respondents as representative and if we use normality assumptions, the mean score of every school, class or pupil using this evaluation tool can be compared also in the terms of probability. For example, the score of 68% of all pupils should be located within the 71 standard deviation from the average, i.e. within the span 3.15–4.75; the score of 95% of pupils should not drop below 2.35 or rise above 5.55 (72 of the standard deviation, whose value is 0.8 in our case); the same holds for all pupils from the 6th to 9th elementary school years. The predominance of slightly positive attitudes in the overall scale of school life evaluation is positive. The support of pupils’ individuality and specificity with the emphasis on individual contribution to learning and teaching is an area which deserves more investigation.

Graph 1.

Histogram of the Overall School Life Evaluation Scale. Source: File elementary school pupils 6th–9th grade; N ¼ 1,596.

26

VEˇRA VOJTOVA´ AND PETR FUCˇI´K

The Parallel Validity of Scales To assess the validity and reliability of the school evaluation scale, we computed models of factor analysis checking the internal consistency of theoretically defined dimensions. In short, we do not present these results here and we focus on the test of external validity, which is more important for the practical usefulness of the questionnaire as the evaluation tool. For our research intent, the ability to predict the score of a particular pupil on the behaviour self-evaluation scale is the criterion of usability of the scale ‘School is a place where...’ as a tool for the indicating possible behaviour difficulties in the collective. For the operationalization of the behaviour difficulties, we used the battery of questions measuring the behaviour self-evaluation, where the respondents were asked to interpret the evaluation of their behaviour by chosen people from their social micro-group.6 The relationship between both the scales was proved via the test of a so-called parallel validity. We proceeded in two ways: (a) comparing the mean score of every particular question concerning the school life evaluation scale according to the pupil’s behaviour; (b) the use of multiple regression analysis. The pupils were divided into three groups according to the behaviour selfevaluation (negative self-evaluation, average self-evaluation and positive self-evaluation).7 When we approach to compare the means in the school life evaluation scale, there are noticeable systematic differences at these three groups (Graph 2). What is obvious is the decrease in the evaluation according to the score on the self-evaluation behaviour scale. The slightest differences can be found at the dimension of negative perceiving, on the contrary, the most significant differences concern the dimensions of success and opportunity and the overall satisfaction.

Multiple Regression Analysis As the means comparison shows, the evaluation of the school significantly varies according to the presence of the behavioural problems. This is noticeable on almost all of the scale items. Another way to test the hypothesis of the mutual relationship between the behaviour self-evaluation and the evaluation of the school environment is the model of multiple regression. We started with a model including all of the 35 items as explanation variables. In the position of dependent variable, there is the behaviour

27

At-Risk Children’s Attitudes Towards the Quality of School Life 1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

3,5

4,0

4,5

5,0

5,5

6,0

I like learning strongly disagree

teachers listen to what I say

strongly agree

I learn more about myself teachers show interest in my opinions and thoughts I really like going to school people respect me I can reach good results I can speak to the teacher when I have a problem I feel lonely I know what the teacher wants from me others think a lot about me teachers don't like me I like most of the subjects I learn to take others the way they are I am curious teachers are fair at assessment, punishment, and praise meeting other people helps me understand myself teachers help me when I don't know how to proceed with an assignment I feel that I am important I am often nervous I am happy teachers evaluate me appropriately pupils with disability are showed the same respect as others learning is fun teachers like some pupils more I know about many things which I do well

teachers help me achieve good results I learn to understand being a person with handicap

negative self-evaluation

I learn to understand schoolmates with different opinions

positive self-evaluation

I am afraid when I hear my name I am usually satisfied with what I do

average self-evaluation

teachers don't take my mistakes ill of me when they see that I make effort

schoolmates help me when I don't know how to proceed with an I learn a lot I am afraid of vexation

Graph 2. The Mean Score of the School Life Evaluation Scale in Particular Items According to the Self-Evaluation Behaviour Scale. Source: File elementary school pupils 6th–9th grade; N ¼ 1,596.

self-evaluation scale measuring the occurrence of behaviour difficulties.8 Logically, this model has got the best explanatory power, because all the information from the whole battery of questions is involved. The Pearson coefficient R reaches the level of 0.504, i.e. the model explains 25% of the behaviour scale dispersion. In Graph 3, there are parameter b values of this model for all the used statements. Parameter b represents the score increase or decrease on the behaviour scale self-evaluation, providing the fact that the pupil’s score in the particular evaluation dimension increases by one level of the scale (Graph 3).9 At the same time, the two dimensional correlation coefficients were also noted down in the graph. They depicted

–0,4

I like learning teachers listen to what I say I learn more about myself teachers show interest in my opinions and thoughts I really like going to school people respect me I can reach good results I can speak to the teacher when I have a problem I feel lonely I know what the teacher wants from me others think a lot about me teachers don't like me I like most of the subjects I learn to take others the way they are I am curious teachers are fair at assessment, punishment, and praise meeting other people helps me understand myself teachers help me when I don't know how to proceed with an assignment I feel that I am important I am often nervous I am happy teachers evaluate me appropriately pupils with disability are showed the same respect as others learning is fun teachers like some pupils more I know about many things which I do well teachers don't take my mistakes ill of me when they see that I make effort I am afraid when I hear my name I am usually satisfied with what I do I learn to understand schoolmates with different opinions teachers help me achieve good results I learn to understand being a person with handicap schoolmates help me when I don't know how to proceed with an I learn a lot I am afraid of vexation 0,4

-parameter

VEˇRA VOJTOVA´ AND PETR FUCˇI´K

Pearson´s correlation

28

–0,3

–0,2

–0,1

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

Graph 3. The Regression Model Parameters and the Correlation Coefficients for All the Items of Evaluation. Source: File elementary school pupils 6th–9th grade; N ¼ 1,596. Note: Dependent variable–behaviour scale.

the tightness of the individual items relationship with the behaviour scale. Generally speaking, we found quite strong relationship between both scales. The next step of the analysis was to identify the effects of particular theoretically defined dimensions of the school evaluation scale and to find the most parsimonious model using the items that proved the strongest explanation power. Shortly, we will move on the continuum between the most powerful model with all of the variables and the simplest model using just the sum score of the scale (see Table 3). Possible compromise could be the usage of the sum scores for six dimensions of the school life (for descriptives, cf. Table 1). Such a model gives us also information about the relative effect of each dimension. These results are represented by Table 3. For comparison, it is important to look at several parameters, especially R and R2, evaluating the overall

29

At-Risk Children’s Attitudes Towards the Quality of School Life

Table 3.

Regression Models Parametersa.

Model with Theoretically Defined Items

Parameter b

Constant of the model 1.104 A ¼ success and opportunity 0.086 C ¼ overall satisfaction 0.100 I ¼ identity forming (support) 0.016 N ¼ negative perceiving 0.065 S ¼ school status 0.079 T ¼ teacher–pupil relationship 0.033 R ¼ 0.386, R2 ¼ 0.149, ANOVA test significance ¼ 0.000 Overall Scale Score Model

Parameter b

Constant of the model 0.636 Overall school evaluation scale 0.377 R ¼ 0.382, R2 ¼ 0.146, ANOVA test significance ¼ 0.000

Significance 0.000 0.018 0.003 0.641 0.009 0.021 0.252

Significance 0.000 0.000

Source: File elementary school pupils 6th–9th grade; N ¼ 1,596. a ANOVA test signification expresses the overall model suitability (i.e. its approximation towards the empiric data) and its significance must not exceed 0.05. R and R2 mean Pearson correlation coefficient and its square value, a so-called coefficient of determination. These values also indicate the model suitability – its overall explanatory ability. The R2 centuple can be interpreted as the percentage of variability of the dependent variable, which is explained by independent variables. In our case, approximately 15% of the dispersion on the behaviour scale is explained by the attitudes towards the school. The table itself includes the regressive formula parameters, where the b coefficient indicates the relative influence of the variable given; and the significance speaks about the importance of this influence. The critical level of the significance is again 0.05. The variables with the significance higher than 0.05 have got a low influence on the dependent variable.

explanatory ability of the model (also called the goodness-of-fit statistics). What is crucial for us is the fact that not all the parameters allow us to refute the hypothesis about the relationship between the examined variables, but the explanatory power of that model is weaker. Furthermore, it is also important to notice the b parameters which show the dimensions overall satisfaction, success and opportunity and school status as the most important indicators of the behavioural problems.

THE PARSIMONIOUS MODEL OF THE BEHAVIOUR EVALUATION SCALE Furthermore, we were also looking for various ways of a more parsimonious model predicting the possibilities of behavioural problems in the school

VEˇRA VOJTOVA´ AND PETR FUCˇI´K

30

Table 4.

The Parameters of the Most Saving Regression Model.

Model with the Most Suitable Items Constant of the model a06_S other people respect me a07_A I know I can reach good results a09_N I feel lonely a12_N teachers don’t like me a18_T teachers help me if I don’t know how to proceed with an assignment a19_S I feel that I am important a29_C I am usually satisfied with what I do R ¼ 0.484, R2 ¼ 0.234, ANOVA test significance ¼ 0.000

Parameter b

Significance

8.517 0.278 0.169 0.092 –0.192 0.107

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.014 0.000 0.007

0.098 0.282

0.018 0.000

Source: File elementary school pupils 6th–9th grade; N ¼ 1,596.

environment. For this reason, we would select such items, whose correlation and regression parameter values are the highest.10 This is the same procedure as if we by the means of the stepwise11 method ask the software to find the variables with highest informative value. The final model includes only seven items of the original scale. Nevertheless, its explanatory power in comparison with the model, where all the variables were included, decreases only minimally. In order to be able to predict the problem behaviour well, it is sufficient to use just the seven following items (Table 4): Other people respect me; I know I can reach good results; I feel lonely; Teachers don’t like me; Teachers help me when I don’t know how to proceed with an assignment; I feel that I am important; I am usually satisfied with what I do. These items are selected across the theoretically defined dimensions to represent the empirically most important statements.

THE SELECTED RESEARCH FINDINGS INTERPRETATION At-Risk Pupils’ Attitudes Towards the Quality of School Life The structure of the data distribution reflecting the pupils with behaviour difficulties attitudes towards the school environment varies. The systemic differences in the school life evaluation at three groups of pupils divided according to the self-evaluation can be found in Graph 3. If we focus our attention on the interpretation of the differences in the group of pupils with

At-Risk Children’s Attitudes Towards the Quality of School Life

31

behaviour difficulties attitudes and the group of the whole file of elementary school pupils, the slightest difference is found in the dimension of negative perceiving, the widest differences concern the dimensions of success and opportunity and the overall satisfaction. Pupils with behaviour difficulties show generally less satisfaction with the school life. In the domain of the overall satisfaction with the school, as well as the whole file of pupils, they evaluated the statement ‘school is a place where I really like to go’ negatively. The negative attitudes towards the school environment encourage the interpretation that pupils with behaviour difficulties do not perceive the school as a place connected with one’s personal happiness; in comparison with the whole set of pupils their evaluation of this item is negative. In the domain of success and opportunity, the pupils with behaviour difficulties evaluated all the items in the negative or ambivalent way. Although in the whole elementary schools file the positive evaluation prevails in this domain, pupils with behaviour difficulties express neutral or negative attitudes towards the evaluation of school as a place of opportunity and success. Our findings correspond to theoretical presumptions. These pupils do not like going to school; they do not like learning. They are usually not satisfied with what they do at school. They expressed their ambivalent attitudes towards the satisfaction with the school work, the curiosity concerning the school work and towards the teacher’s interest in their opinions, as well as towards the factor I like most of the subjects. In the domain of negative perceiving pupils with behaviour difficulties evaluation differs more significantly only in the evaluation of the factor ‘teachers don’t like me’, towards which they expressed their ambivalent attitude; whereas the group of elementary school pupils did not agree with this statement. Such a phenomenon proves the existence of an uncertainty concerning the perceiving of one’s own person at school; it also depicts an insufficiently pronounced position in the school social hierarchical relationships. As far as the domain of the school status is concerned, pupils with behaviour difficulties evaluation shift into the opposite, eventually ambivalent, location in four out of six factors. As well as with the whole set, the best evaluated item among all the other factors is the item ‘schoolmates help me when I don’t know how to proceed with an assignment’, though the level of positive evaluation is on the lower level of the evaluation scale. If this evaluation is taken into consideration, we can claim that even pupils with behaviour difficulties perceive an opportunity of support in the school environment. The negative attitude is taken by this group of pupils towards the items ‘other people respect me’, and ‘I feel that

32

VEˇRA VOJTOVA´ AND PETR FUCˇI´K

I am important’. The group of elementary school pupils is in the first item on the level of slightly positive evaluation; in the second item, the evaluation is slightly negative. These findings allow us to deduce that school does not provide the pupils with the space for self-confidence development or the emancipation in terms of one’s own opinion preference and independency. Both the groups of pupils evaluated the item ‘others think a lot about me’ in an ambivalent way. Pupils with behaviour difficulties evaluated the item ‘pupils with disability are showed the same respect as others’ in an ambivalent way; whereas the set of elementary school pupils took positive attitudes towards this item. The item connected with the teachers’ openness towards the pupils’ opinions is expressed by the ambivalent evaluation of pupils with behaviour difficulties, as well as the pupils of the 8th and 9th grades from the set of elementary schools. In the domain teacher–pupil relationship, the attitudes towards the factor of ‘fair assessment, praise and punishment’ differ; the set of pupils with behaviour difficulties expressed the disagreement with this statement, in comparison with the ambivalent attitude of the all elementary school pupils. The interpretation of this attitude can be connected with the pupils with behaviour difficulties overall distrust in the opportunity for successful school work, which is already expressed in the domain of success and opportunity. The ambivalent attitude is expressed in the evaluation of the item ‘teachers listen to what I say’, compared with negative attitudes of the set of all the elementary school pupils. If we decide to interpret these findings in the concept of the quality of school life theory in the analogy of the model of resilient activities and processes, we come to the conclusion that out of the internal quality school life factors, it is only the factor of the safe school environment, which is reflected in the positive location, as far as the pupils with behaviour difficulties attitudes are concerned. In comparison to the group of the all school pupils, they do not have any support in the perceiving of one’s own opportunity for success; their school results are usually not connected with their expectations of success. This finding corresponds to the theoretical concept of the vicious circle syndrome of academic failure for this group of pupils. In the area of identity, pupils with behaviour difficulties do not usually adopt a clear attitude. Exactly, the social anchoring in terms of support is, according to the theoretical concepts, one of the possibilities for risk factors of behaviour disorder development elimination on the personal level of a child. According to our findings, if we take into consideration the supportive school processes, these are the peer relationships that work very well, when pupils with behaviour difficulties perceive a possible opportunity

At-Risk Children’s Attitudes Towards the Quality of School Life

33

of support in case of need. They perceive the relationships with adults in an ambivalent way, eventually negatively. Based on our research findings, the school environment from the pupils with behaviour difficulties perspective is supportive only in the area of safe environment creation in terms of one’s physical being. Ambiguously, the school is perceived as the environment providing opportunities for success, joy and happiness as the basic input in personal growth and development during the life. Pupils with behaviour difficulties do not perceive school as being interested in their viewpoint; the school does not use the formative potential of evaluation processes in terms of appreciating the pupils. Pupils with behaviour difficulties identified one crucial aspect of supportive processes connected with their surroundings’ interest, i.e. perceiving schoolmates as supportive factors in case of need. From the viewpoint of a social support theory, we regard this finding as a supportive argument of proinclusive education for this group of children and we also regard it as an antiargument against their exclusion. The peer support potential is in comparison to the age structure of the examined file reinforced also in the terms of development. In the school environment, the peer support factor provides a wide range of possibilities for constructive activities enhancing the internal quality of school with the orientation towards pupils with behaviour difficulties. The ambiguity in the teacher–pupil relationships evaluation by pupils with behaviour difficulties allows us to summarize that school works a little or not at all with the supportive processes of its environment in favour of inclusive education of pupils with behaviour difficulties.

CONCLUSION The aim of our chapter was to present the measuring tool for the screening of pupils with behaviour difficulties in the school environment. The measuring of abstract concepts, such as attitudes towards school, requires analysing and gathering a number of indicators, which are logically ordered into particular domains measuring various aspects of a given concept. During this process, we used a combination of two strategies in our research. The first one concerned the modification of the Quality of School Life Questionnaire (Binkley et al., 1996), the other was connected with its completion by the behaviour self-evaluation scale. We constructed the school life evaluation scale ‘School is a place where...’, in which the indicators for the school evaluation were gathered into six domains focused on the school life evaluation. The indicators of the scale for the behaviour

34

VEˇRA VOJTOVA´ AND PETR FUCˇI´K

self-evaluation were grouped into two domains: in the first one, pupils interpreted the evaluation of their own behaviour from the perspective of socially closed people and in the other they evaluated their own behaviour by the method of introspection. The accuracy of the choice was proved on the empiric data collected during the year 2008 and the first quarter of the year 2009. The tests used for this proving were the tests of reliability and validity of the measuring tool. The data analysis with regard to the basic aim of the research took place in three periods. Consequently, we realized the external validization of the school life evaluation scale by the means of comparing the obtained data on another set of respondents. In the first period of the proving of the School Life Evaluation Scale ‘School is a place where...’, we described the basic data distribution using the method of descriptive statistic analysis. In the second phase, we proved the internal reliability (Cronbach a coefficient calculation), and the internal validity (using the factor analysis) of the both tested scales with the aim to analyse the internal logical consistency and cohesion of choices at individual items of the scale. Based on this analysis, we are entitled to claim that the school life evaluation scale in individual dimensions expresses a satisfying internal consistency, i.e. correct internal validity. At the same time, this scale also predicts a substantial part of the dispersion at the control scale, which measures behaviour self-evaluation. The outer validity test proves that the school life evaluation scale can be really used to identify pupils with behaviour problems. The essential research finding comprises the fact that during the behaviour self-evaluation prediction all the items of the school evaluation scale do not have the same explanatory ability. The scale includes questions forming the core of the school life evaluation scale in relation to the predictive ability to identify the pupils perceiving their behaviour as being difficult. These are the questions concerning the factors: Other people respect me; I know that I can reach good results; I feel lonely; Teachers don’t like me; Teachers help me when I don’t know how to proceed with an assignment; I feel that I am important; I am usually satisfied with what I do. These questions can be considered as key representations of given scale domains, and by the means of their using it is also possible to reach almost the same predictive scale ability as it is with the full version. They form a basis for the sevenfactor scale for the indication of risk of behavioural problems in the condition of a school with a sufficient predictive ability for the needs of internal school evaluation. The found factors are considered to be the indicators of pro-inclusive education of pupils with behaviour difficulties.

At-Risk Children’s Attitudes Towards the Quality of School Life

35

Another important research result is the fact that in the collective with behaviour difficulties attitudes, we were able to identify one crucial factor of supporting processes connected with the surroundings’ interest; i.e. the perceiving of schoolmates as a supportive aspect in case of needs. In terms of learning theories, this research outcome encourages the necessity of using such methods and forms of education which would use this supportive factor for motivation enhancing and involving pupils with behaviour difficulties into education. In relation to the intervention theories such a result indicates the intervention methods and forms in the phase of child/ pupil activation, so that the child can take part in the intervention processes by means of social interaction in the peer groups. From the viewpoint of the social theory, this result encourages the argument of the pro-inclusive education for this group of children, and it also serves as the anti-argument against their exclusion. The loss of social contact with well-known schoolmates after the pupil exclusion, no matter whether this exclusion is short or long term, decreases the child’s trust in his/her peers. We concluded this summary on the grounds of the finding that the item ‘schoolmates help me when I don’t know how to proceed with an assignment’, having compared pupils with behaviour difficulties attitudes in the file of elementary schools with pupils with behaviour disorders in the residential care, is the most different. Our further aim is to make the seven-factor scale standard on a wide set of respondents in the Czech Republic; we also intend to offer this scale to schools for internal evaluation and early intervention for pupils with behaviour difficulties.

NOTES 1. From 6 to 15 years age – 9 grade. 2. Pupils expressed their opinion about each of them via a six-level scale: from 1 ¼ definitely false to 6 ¼ definitely true. 3. The information from particular files also include the type of elementary school (common, selective, special), the place and size of the school, the number of pupils and teachers, the presence of a psychologist or a special teacher. Such information is added to every individual record for a pupil (to every line of a data matrix), despite the fact that such information is the same for all the pupils of a particular school. 4. Recall that all scales consisted of 6 levels, the maximal score is therefore 6  35. In order for the summing to work properly, it was necessary to reverse the scale in the dimension negative experience. 5. The normality of the distribution is controlled graphically by the so-called Q-Q graph. Statistically, we test the distribution normality hypothesis with the help of the

36

VEˇRA VOJTOVA´ AND PETR FUCˇI´K

Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, which significance yields the value 0.20 in this case (it must be above 0.05). 6. The indicators of the scale for the behaviour self-evaluation were grouped into two domains: in the first one pupils interpreted the evaluation of their own behaviour from the perspective of socially closed people and in the other they evaluated their own behaviour by the method of introspection. 7. Generally, the scale reached the levels from 4 to 16 (4 questions associated with 4 possible answers – see b1–b4). The scale was trichotomized according to the percentiles of distribution into groups of approximately the same size (in terms of the number of respondents) with the score of 4–10, 11–12, 13–16. 8. There we preferred the scale constructed by 4 items. The scale made of the first four items is unidimensional according to the factor analysis and the coefficient of reliability increases to 0.604. 9. The interpretation of these values is given by a regression formula y ¼ a þ bx1 þ bx2 þ bx3 þ bx4 þ bx5 þ bx6 þ e, where a parameter stands for the model quality; b parameters are appropriate regressive coefficients values in the table; and e parameter describes a random error summarizing an inexplicable dispersion of the dependent variable (behaviour scale evaluation). 10. The simple regression coefficient can differ from the model parameter, because the correlation model calculation does not take into account the other variables influence. In such a case, the mutual scale items correlation is a justified presumption. The regression model gives us a better image of really influent variables. The parameter in the multiple regression model is free of this influence, because it describes the given variable influence, providing the fact that other variables are constant. 11. The method in which the variables are put into the model gradually. Every particualar variable influence is tested when it is recorded into the model, and if the influence is not sufficient, the variable is omitted. The software searches the suaitable compromise between the model accuracy (the explained dispersion should be the highest possible) and its saving ability (the number of variables used should be the lowest possible). The software is SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) (Norusˇ is, 2006).

REFERENCES Barr, R. D., & Parrett, W. H. (2001). Hope fulfilled for at-risk and violent youth (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Binkley, M., Rust, K., & Williams, T. (1996). Reading literacy in an international perspective. Recommendations for the future (pp. 97–875). Washington, DC: NCES. Booth, T., & Ainscow, M. (2002). Index for inclusion, developing learning and participation in schools. Bristol: CSIE. Dinkes, R., Forrest C., E., & Lin-Kelly, W. (2007). Indicators of school crime and safety (Statistical Analysis Report [online, 2008-06-22]. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov). Washington, DC, 20006: NCES 2008021. Hayden, C. (2001). Social exclusion and exclusion from school in England. In J. Visser, H. Daniels & T. Cole (Eds.), Emotional and behavioural difficulties in mainstream schools (Vol. 1, pp. 1–5). Oxford: JAI.

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Jahnukainen, M. (2001). Social exclusion and dropping out of education. In J. Visser, H. Daniels & T. Cole (Eds.), Emotional and behavioural difficulties in mainstream schools (Vol. 1). Oxford: JAI. Kauffman, J. M. (2005). Characteristics of emotional and behavioral disorders of children and youth (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Mvcr. (2007). Hodnocenı´ syste´mu pe´cˇe o ohrozˇene´ deˇti. Praha [online, 2007-10-23]. Retrieved from www.mvcr.cz/bezpecnost/delikventi. Norusˇ is, M. J. (2006). Guide to data analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. OECD. (2007). Students with disabilities, learning difficulties and disadvantages. Paris: OECD Publishing. OECD. (2009). Education Today: The OECD perspective. Retrieved from www.sourceoecd.org/ education/9789264059894. Accessed on May 20, 2010. RVP. (2005). Ra´mcovy´ vzdeˇla´vacı´ program pro za´kladnı´ vzdeˇla´va´nı´. Praha: VU´P. Schu¨tz, A. (2005). Je selbstsicherer, desto besser? Basel: Beltz Verlag. Sørlie, M. (1997). Atferdsproblemer i skolen. Fokus pa˚ stabilitet, endring-og forandring, Article from the ‘‘Special Education Knowledge and Action Development’’ research programme (1993–1999). Oslo: Spesialpedagogikk. Special issue. ISSN 0332-8457. UIV. (2008). Online, Statistical information. Retrieved from http://www.uiv.cz/. Accessed on May 10, 2010. UNESCO. (2005). Education for all – The quality imperative. Paris: EFA Global Monitoring Report. UNESCO publishing, Paris, France. Visser, J., Daniels, H., & Cole, T. (2001). Emotional and behavioural difficulties in mainstream schools (Vol. 1). Oxford: JAI. Vojtova´, V. (2010). Inkluzivnı´ vzdeˇla´va´nı´ zˇa´ku˚ v riziku a s poruchami chova´nı´ jako perspektiva kvality zˇivota v dospeˇlosti. Brno: MUNI PRESS. Vojtova´, V., Bloemers, W., & Johnstone, D. (2006). Pa¨dagogische Wurzeln der Inklusion [Pedagogical Roots to Inclusion]. Berlin: Frank & Timme GmbH. Wearmouth, J., Glynn, T., & Berryman, M. (2005). Perspectives on student behaviour in school (ISBN 0-415-35402). London: Routledge. WHO. (2001). ICF introduction, ICIDH-2, resolution ([online, 2005-05-03]. Retrieved from www.who.com). Geneva: WHA54.21. Williams, T., & Batten, M. (1996). The quality of school life. In M. Binkley, K. Rust & T. Williams (Eds.), Reading literacy in an International Perspective, Reccomendations for the Future, NCES 97-875. Washington, DC.

THE PALS SCHOOL-WIDE POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT MODEL IN NORWEGIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS – IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION Terje Ogden, Mari-Anne Sørlie, Anne Arnesen and Wilhelm Meek-Hansen ABSTRACT This chapter provides an overview of a programme or rather a model used in Norwegian primary schools to meet the needs of children whose behaviour difficulties interrupt teaching and learning. In this chapter we give an overview of the PALS model and also present the general outline of a longitudinal outcome study of the school model including some information about the participating schools, staff and students.

INTRODUCTION Emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), including rule-breaking, disruptive and acting-out behaviour are among the largest unmet challenges Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 39–55 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002006

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in Norwegian primary schools. Children who are aggressive and violent at school are at risk for later antisocial careers, particularly if they also have academic problems (Mytton, DiGuiseppi, Gough, Taylor, & Logan, 2007). Both serious EBD and less dramatic instances of norm and rule-breaking behaviour among students are main concerns among teachers and parents in many schools. Even though the prevalence of behaviour problems is not monitored in Norwegian schools on a regular basis, the OECD PISA study ranked Norway and Greece at the bottom of the list among 29 participating countries when it came to disruption, noise and unrest in the classrooms (Kjærnslie, Lie, Olsen, Roe, & Turmo, 2004). In addition to the high prevalence of off-task behaviour, and other behaviours incompatible with learning in Norwegian classrooms, there is also a small group of students who have more serious EBD (Lindberg & Ogden, 2001; Wilson & Lipsey, 2007). The concern for the safety and well-being of other students has been one of the main reasons for excluding these high-risk students from ordinary classrooms and even schools. On the other hand, the broad political consensus on the idea of inclusive schools in Norway conveys the message that even if some students are very difficult to handle in ordinary classes, placements in special units and groups should be limited or avoided. This policy has led to an increased demand for school-based intervention strategies that might work in regular schools and classrooms. Several methods, strategies and programmes have been developed for that purpose, but the empirical support of their effectiveness is still limited (Nordahl, Gravrok, Knutsmoen, Larsen, & Rørnes, 2006). One of the promising models is the school-wide positive behaviour support (SWPBS) model which has been adapted to Norwegian primary schools and named PALS.

THE PALS SCHOOL INTERVENTION MODEL PALS is the Norwegian acronym for ‘positive behaviour, supportive learning environment and interaction in school’. The model is based on the principles and procedures of the SWPBS model (Sprague & Walker, 2005) and adapted to Norwegian primary schools (grade 1–7) by Anne Arnesen and Wilhelm Meek-Hansen at the Norwegian Centre for Child Behavioural Development (NCBD) (Arnesen, Ogden, & Sørlie, 2006). Comprehensive and intensive strategies targeting serious behaviour problems are combined with positive behaviour support and preventive interventions aimed at the majority of well-behaved students. The general idea behind PALS is to replace reactive and punishing approaches to

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problem behaviour with proactive strategies which influence students through teaching and learning activities, generous support of positive behaviour and through the quality of the learning environment.

THEORETICAL FOUNDATION Underlying the SWPBS and the PALS school model is the idea that the ecology of cognitive and social learning influences the development of academic and social competence (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). On the micro-social level, social interaction learning model and social learning theory (Patterson, 1982) explain how children learn to control their aggression and act prosocially in a mutual learning process with their environment, including parents, siblings, peers and teachers. Difficult children and negative parenting practices initiate coercive family processes in which reciprocal learning produces socially unskilled children who become increasingly aversive in their interactions with others. At school they experience academic failure and tend to be rejected by their peers and confronted by their teachers. Rejection and failure undermine their ‘social bond’ to the school. They easily turn to students with similar problems for contact and support and start reinforcing each other’s negative behaviours (McEvoy & Welker, 2000). According to coercion theory, coercive cycles between parents and children increase the risk of children initiating similar interactions with their teachers leading to prolonged reciprocal interactions around disruptive behaviours (Forster, 2010; Nelson & Roberts, 2000; Patterson, 1982). The SWPBS model (Sprague & Walker, 2005) is consistent with coercion theory, and was particularly influential in the process of developing the Norwegian PALS model.

CORE COMPONENTS The main objective of the three-tiered positive behaviour support model is to establish a positive school climate for all students and at the same time promote long-term changes in the behaviour of higher-risk students (Bradshaw, Reinke, Brown, Bevans, & Leaf, 2008). The SWPBS model aims to alter the school environments by targeting staff behaviours in order to create systems and procedures that promote positive change in student behaviour (Bradshaw, Mitchell, & Leaf, 2010). Universal prevention at level 1 addresses the whole school population with particular emphasis on reaching the 80–90% of the students with few or none behaviour problems

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(Muscott, Mann, & LeBrun, 2008). This primary tier involves the general idea that students are taught behavioural expectations the same way as they are taught academics (Darch & Kameenui, 2004). Consequently, behavioural expectations are defined, taught, monitored and rewarded across all arenas of the school. Additionally, a clearly defined and consistently implemented continuum of consequences for problem behaviours is established. The monitoring of the students’ social behaviour is used for planning and implementing changes in routines or practices. Secondary prevention at level 2 of behaviour support is designed for the 5–10% of students at risk for problem behaviour who barely respond to the universal prevention strategies (Muscott et al., 2008). Tertiary prevention at level 3 addresses the remaining 1–5% of high-risk students and involves individualized interventions that are based on Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA). The interventions often include family or community collaboration, in order to prevent the emergence or continuation of more serious problem behaviour. The PBS school-wide model has been evaluated in several studies, some of which are summarized in a later section. Certain adaptation of the SWPBS model had to be made in order for the model to be implemented in Norway.

TEN PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING THE PALS MODEL Based on the theories and research outlined in the previous paragraphs, 10 intervention principles underlying the PALS model might be formulated. 1. Evidence-based interventions. Evidence-based practice is based on what is considered to be the best available research knowledge about what works in order to develop positive behaviour support for all students. Norwegian PALS schools are continuously trying to implement evidencebased practices like those applied within SWPBS in organizational systems that are designed to promote the fidelity of implementation and sustainability of effects (Horner et al., 2009). 2. School-wide interventions. The school-wide approach involves all students and the whole staff and emphasizes that monitoring and interventions should target all arenas of the schools. What goes on at the classroom level shall reflect values and standards at the school level. The approach stresses the importance of consistency in the communication of norms, and common rules. Norms and expectations are filtered down the school organization from leadership to the individual student.

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3. Multi-modal interventions. Multi-modal interventions are implemented at the individual level, the classroom or group level, the school level and the system or organizational level. Interventions might target students directly or indirectly through the staff. 4. Matching interventions to the students’ risk level. A three-tiered model of assessment and intervention is differentiating between universal (primary), selected (secondary) and indicated (tertiary) interventions. The universal interventions – Tier 1. Most students are well behaved, but still they deserve a reasonable amount of praise, encouragement and rewards for complying with school rules, norms and expectations. Interventions for all students might include (a) school-wide rules and procedures for encouragement of positive student behaviour, (b) predictable consequences for problem behaviour and (c) proactive classroom management, academic support and good directions. The targeted group interventions – Tier 2. Approximately 5–10% of the student body have difficulties in coping with the expectations from teachers and peers. Among the interventions at this level are (a) additional social skills training, individually or in small groups, (b) additional academic support to individual students or as small group instruction, (c) the teaching of emotional regulation and effective problem-solving skills to teachers, (d) proactive classroom management skills for teachers and (e) increased home–school cooperation. The intensive individual interventions – Tier 3. Interventions at this level include (a) individual and multi-systemic support plan based on FBA, (b) intensive social skills training, (c) parent training and (d) behaviour management training for teachers. 5. Positive behaviour support. Positive behaviour support emphasizes the importance of communicating to the students rules and expectations about what they are expected to do (rather than what they should not do), and the systematic use of positive feedback and consequences in order to promote positive behaviour. All students are taught positively formulated rules and norms for expected behaviour which are followed up with consequent, frequent and instant positive feedback both to the students, their teachers and sometimes also their caregivers. 6. Action-oriented and skills-oriented interventions. This principle is based on the assumption that students sometimes learn more from what teacher and staff do, than from what they say. Although, increased teacher awareness and reflection is emphasized in the PALS model, it is followed by practical problem solving, planning and concrete action. Increased student and staff competence are important outcomes, and both groups

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are given ample opportunity through role play and experience based learning activities to rehearse and practice new skills. 7. Problems-oriented and resource-oriented interventions. Assessment of risk factors is combined with systematic attention to protective factors and resources, both in the students and in the school environment. At each school, the particular constellation of risk factors and resources is used in the planning of interventions. 8. Interventions that aim at increasing academic and social competence. Social and academic competence are mutually reinforcing, and either of the two might be the cause of the other. Students with initial reading problems develop behaviour problems, and children who enter school with behaviour problems tend gradually to struggle with school work (Morgan, Farkas, Tufis, & Sperling, 2008). Moreover, cognitive deficits, attention problems and a dysfunctional context may be common underlying causes of academic as well as social and behavioural problems in school. Consequently, both academic skill deficits and social skills deficits are targeted in an overall intervention strategy with problem students. 9. Team-based intervention approach. Most successful prevention and intervention programmes in school are based on team models in which all important groups at the school are represented, including the school leadership and the parents. Teams who are familiar with the intervention components and well trained in the implementation strategy are the link between the programme supervisor and the school staff. The school team plans and implements interventions, introduces the model to parents and staff, monitors the process and outcomes and coordinates the school-wide assessment of risk and protective factors. The teams receive monthly training and consultation from their supervisor, while the teams train the school staff on a weekly basis. 10. Interventions implemented with fidelity. All the core components of the programme model should be carried out as planned and consonant with the programme’s goals and theoretical assumptions (Wilson & Lipsey, 2007). The PALS model is implemented in each school over a period of 3 years. The first year is a planning year where universal school-wide and classroom planning occurs and the school staff receive training. During the second year, staff combines universal interventions targeting all students with selected interventions targeting at-risk students. In the third year, the school staff continues the implementation at the individual and group level, and staff adds FBA and interventions targeting the high-risk students to the programme.

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The 10 principles emphasize interventions that promote friendship, positive social relations and social bonding to school. Through the teaching and learning of necessary skills and generous doses of encouragement and rewards for participation and positive behaviour, the students learn to cope with the student role and participate in school activities.

RESEARCH ON THE SWPBS MODEL Most evaluations of the SWPBS model have focused on the primary prevention tier, and promising results have been demonstrated, although mostly in non-randomized studies in one or two schools or in a large group of schools. There are exceptions to this, and Bradshaw et al. (2010) studied the impact of the SWPBS model in a 5-year longitudinal randomized controlled effectiveness trial in 37 elementary schools in the United States. The school-level analyses indicated a significant reduction in student suspensions and office discipline referrals (ODRs) in the schools trained in SWPBS as compared to schools not trained in the model. Some diffusion of particular elements of the model occurred in the comparison schools, but they did not sustain these efforts over the course of the trial. In another study by Bradshaw et al. (2008), 21 schools were randomly assigned to receive training in PBS and 16 were untrained control schools. Trained schools evidenced significantly higher levels of implementation fidelity while non-trained schools showed some increases, but lagged behind trained schools on most subscales. In a third randomized study which included 30 elementary schools and used a wait-list control design, it turned out that evidence-based practices could be implemented systemically at the whole-school level (Horner et al., 2009). But the lack of pre-intervention information prohibited the establishment of causal associations between the intervention and reductions in ODRs. In a cohort of 28 early childhood education programmes and K-12 schools, the universal level of the SWPBS model was implemented with fidelity within 2 years and sustained over the course of the following year (Muscott et al., 2008). A substantial reduction in ODR and suspensions was achieved, but as in the previous study, limitations of the study design made it impossible to establish that changes in student behaviour were attributable to the SWPBS intervention. Legitimate concerns have also been raised about the reliability of using ODR measures to document the effects of the programme. Also the number of players involved in the process and the complexity of interactions among them can be problematic for ensuring consistent outcomes (Irvin, Tobin, Sprague, Sugai, & Vincent, 2004).

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Some studies have focused on the secondary level of interventions, and particularly on the Check In–Check out (CICO) programme, which is frequently used at this level. The results from such studies are promising, showing a reduction in problem behaviour attributable to the CICO intervention, but most of these studies have included very few students. Todd, Campbell, Meyer, and Horner (2008) included four elementary school-age boys, Hawken, MacLeod, and Rawlings (2007) did a study on 12 students, the same number of students as in Crone, Hawken, and Horner (2004) study. Moreover, in the Todd et al. (2008) study, generalization of the results were difficult because the schools programmatically also used the SWPBS system. An intervention targeting students at the tertiary level called the PreventTeach-Reinforce (PTR) model was tested in an RCT with 245 students in Grade K-8 (Iovannone et al., 2009). Preliminary results showed that the PTR group had significantly higher social skills, more academic engaged time and significantly lower problem behaviour when compared with students who received services as usual. On the downside, the study reported that most teachers discontinued implementing the interventions after problem behaviour decreased or the study was ended. The authors speculate that maybe the teachers did not view behaviour as a skill requiring continuous instruction as did reading, math or writing. As can be seen from the studies reported, there are limitations to the outcome research on the SWPBS model. First, several of the studies only evaluate one of the three levels of intervention while the possible impact of the other simultaneously implemented levels is not taken into consideration. Several of the studies have no comparison group, and some studies have a very small participant groups which makes significant conclusions and generalizations difficult. Moreover, several authors have questioned the validity of ODR as an outcome variable (Hawken et al., 2007; Muscott et al., 2008) partly because this variable may not always correlate with observed reductions in problem behaviour in the classroom (Hawken et al., 2007). In spite of the fact that SWPBS has been implemented in over 9,000 American schools (Bradshaw et al., 2010), there is still a lack of controlled effectiveness studies which document positive outcomes in regular practice (Horner et al., 2009).

THE FIRST EVALUATION OF PALS The PALS school-wide intervention model in Norway was initially implemented and evaluated in a quasi-experimental design in which four intervention schools were compared to four matched neighbouring schools.

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All comparison schools initiated some type of school improvement projects, but the interventions were different from those implemented in the PALS schools. The teachers’ assessment of student behaviour in the PALS schools showed that the percentage of low-risk students (students with one or no serious incidents reported this year) had increased from 78.5% to 86.6% from the first to the second year of implementation. The proportion of moderate-risk students (between two and five serious incidents reported this year) had decreased from 10.5% to 8.1%, and the percentage of high-risk students (six or more serious incidents reported by staff this year) from 9.5% to 5.3% (Arnesen & Ogden, 2006). Two years after the model was introduced, the PALS schools reported reduced student problem behaviour and increased social competence compared to the comparison schools (Sørlie & Ogden, 2007). The encouraging results set the stage for a largescale implementation and evaluation project with an increased number of schools and a more advanced research design.

THE SECOND EVALUATION OF PALS In 2002 four Norwegian primary schools implemented PALS and by 2007 when the second evaluation of the PALS model was initiated, 91 schools were practicing the model. Additionally, from 2008 some schools implemented a compressed version of the model, referred to as the PALS ‘short version’. A considerable number of schools were needed in order to evaluate PALS, as school was the unit of analysis. A total of 65 schools contribute to the current study; one group of 28 schools implement the full-scale PALS model, a second group of 17 schools implement the PALS short version and a third group of 20 schools function as comparison schools. In the planning of the study, it was emphasized that (a) the number of schools should be large enough to analyse group differences between schools, (b) the participating schools should be representative of Norwegian primary schools and (c) schools in the different intervention conditions should be equivalent.

STUDY DESIGN The study has a strengthened quasi-experimental design in which comparison schools are matched to the PALS schools on size and geographical location. The comparison schools were recruited from the same municipalities as the PALS schools, while the PALS short version schools were

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Fig. 1.

PALS Evaluation Timeline 2007–2012.

recruited from other municipalities. Using two rather than one comparison group increases the possibility to explore threats to the causal inference (Shadish, Cook, & Campbell, 2002). In order to prevent programme contamination, schools implementing similar prevention and intervention programmes were not included in the study. Neighbouring schools to the PALS schools were, for instance, not invited. Information is collected from principals, teachers, teacher assistants, after-school personnel, students and parents. A research contact was appointed at each school, and these persons were trained and supported throughout the study by the research project staff. To evaluate the short- and long-term effects of PALS, data are collected at six time points during four successive school years (Fig. 1). A double pre-test was included in the design to help examine selection bias and attrition as sources of observed effects (Shadish et al., 2002). Adding a repeated pre-test of the same construct on consecutive occasions prior to treatment also helps reveal maturational trends, detect regression artefacts, and study testing and instrumentation effects.

INTERVENTIONS AS IMPLEMENTED An external PALS coach provided training and coaching to each school’s PALS team monthly through 2 school years (2007–2009) for approximately 20 hours per year (2 hours/10 training sessions). In addition to building

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leadership teams in each school from the first year of implementation, the PALS teams were provided booster sessions and sustaining implementation activities in four half-day regional or local network meetings per school year. The external coach also offered follow-up phone calls to the schools’ local PALS coach and principal between the training sessions. The PALS team was responsible for planning and monitoring the implementation at their school. They trained the school staff in using the key features and intervention components approximately 2 hours each month. The team spent a minimum of 2 hours per week on the implementation activities. Each year PALS teams and staff attended a national conference as part of the sustaining activities. The PALS team further planned and implemented a system of supports for high-risk students. Part of the team’s responsibility was to collaborate with professionals in the district’s health or child care system to develop local competencies. Evidence-based three-tiered interventions to promote positive behaviour and social competence were implemented depending on assessment of the students’ risk level. Data on discipline referrals (DR) and FBA was used to determine the level of intervention. The Universal Interventions – Tier 1: All students were taught the defined school-wide rules and expectations across all settings on a daily basis through the first 2 weeks. The staff provided systematic supervision and immediate acknowledgement and encouragement of all students. They also provided predictable responses to students’ inappropriate behaviour across all school settings. The Targeted Group Interventions – Tier 2: The students who did not profit from the tier 1 interventions were identified (typically in range of 3–5 major DRs) and provided interventions based on the particular need of the student. Schools used different interventions for targeted students based on school discipline data and available resources. Typically, elements from the First Step to Success (Golly, Sprague, Walker, Beard, & Gorham, 2000) and the behavioural education programme CICO were used to meet students’ needs for positive support and feedback more efficiently. Intensive Individual Interventions – Tier 3: For the most challenging students (typically having more than six major DRs), individual support teams were established. These teams planned, implemented, monitored and evaluated the students’ progress and response to the intervention and support. The high-risk students were provided an individualized behaviour support plan based on functional assessment. Actually, the intervention most frequently used for improving the students’ social skills was the cognitive behavioural programme Stop-Now-And-Plan (SNAP) (Augimeri, Farrington, Koegl, & Day, 2007).

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THE PALS SHORT VERSION Recruitment of schools to the PALS short version took place in 2008 by an open invitation to all primary schools in strategically selected urban municipalities in which no PALS or comparison schools were located. Prior to the invitation all schools were stratified into three subgroups according to school size (small, medium, large). The schools which volunteered for participation received a 30 hours practice-oriented course for the whole school staff in how to prevent and manage problem behaviour. The staff in the 17 schools in four sites (1–7 schools per site) attended four full-day courses through the school year 2008–2009. The courses took place at each of the four sites and contained all key features (components þ interventions) for implementation of the school-wide PALS model. The training sessions provided a combination of lectures, demonstration, training, coaching and ‘home-work’. The participating schools received the PALS manual as a compendium and all training materials could be downloaded from the Internet. Contrary to the full-scale PALS schools, the PALS short version schools were not offered any external coaching and implementation or technical support. Research hypotheses: The key research hypothesis for the evaluation study is that students attending the PALS schools will demonstrate fewer externalizing problems and higher social competence than students in the comparison schools. Expectations are also that the students attending the PALS schools implementing the long version will over time develop more positive behaviour compared to the comparison students. Moreover, it is expected that the interventions will be more effective at lower grade levels than at higher levels, that boys will benefit more than girls, and that students with the highest risk level will change more than students at lower risk levels. Based on the previous pilot study (Ogden, Sørlie, & Amlund-Hagen (2007), it is also expected that students with Norwegian as their second language will improve more on the social skills outcome variable than their peers.

PARTICIPANTS After recruiting 65 schools for participation in the study, the characteristics of the schools, their staff and students were analysed. The distribution of small, medium and large schools in the sample correspond fairly well with the national distribution (8.4% o100 students, 39% 100–299 students, 52.6% W300 students, Statistics Norway, 2009a). In accordance with the

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selection procedure, no differences between the PALS, PALS short version and comparison group were found on these variables. The number of staff participants at baseline amounted to 2,380 and the overall response rate was 81.1%. It was higher in the PALS schools (86.8%) than in the PALS short version schools (79.9%) and the lowest response rate was registered in the comparison schools (73.5%). No baseline differences were found among the groups on any of the staff indicators measured, indicating that the three groups of participating schools were comparable on these variables. The baseline descriptive data of staff corresponded well with national data in that most of the staff participants were middle aged (60% older than 35 years) and experienced teachers (86% had worked more than 5 years in school) and 8 out of 10 were female. Among the 10,681 students in 4th to 7th grade, written consent to participation was given for 8,236 and 7,761 participated in the baseline assessment, which is a 77% participation rate and 94% of those who had their parents consent to participate. According to the school principals, 5.3% had received special education the previous school year, which matches the mean national level of 5.5%. Moreover, an average of 4.5% had been referred to school psychological services and 7.6% had minority background (mainly from Pakistan, India, Somalia and Eastern Europe). The PALS short version schools as a group had a higher percentage of immigrant students than the PALS and comparison group. The principals reported the proportion of students with moderate to serious behaviour problems to be 7.8%; relatively more such students in the PALS schools (9.2%) than in the PALS short version (8.8%) and the comparison schools (4.9%). After having recruited the participant schools, two important questions were raised. The first was, as outlined above, whether the three groups of schools differed at baseline as regards school, student and staff characteristics. The second question was addressing whether the participating schools were representative of primary schools in Norway. Few group differences were found among the three groups of schools (PALS, PALS short version and Comparison) at baseline. The participant schools were compared to national averages on more than 50 learning environment variables in the national registry database for schools. Group differences were only found on eight variables. The baseline comparison led to the conclusion that there were far more similarities between the school groups than differences, and that the sample was representative of Norwegian primary schools. The recruitment procedure and research design thus seemed to reduce some known weaknesses of non-randomized studies and contributed to creating a representative sample of Norwegian primary schools and comparable groups of schools.

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MEASURES The primary outcome variables of the evaluation study are measures of problem behaviour in school based on teacher observations. The measures ‘Problem Behaviour in the School Environment last Week’ and ‘Problem Behaviour in the Classroom last Week’ were originally developed by Grey and Sime (1989) and require teachers, assistants and after-school personnel to report how many times they have observed negative behaviour incidences during a randomly selected week. The observations take place in the classrooms or on other areas in school like in the hallways and on the playground. The third measure requires teachers to report the number of students seriously hindering learning and teaching activities in class during the present year (‘Behaviour Problematic Students in Class this Year’; Kjøbli & Sørlie, 2008; Ogden, 1998; Sørlie & Ogden, 2007). Additionally, teachers assess individual students according to selected items from the ‘Teacher’s Report Form’ (TRF: Achenbach, 1991) and from the ‘Student/ Child Problem Behaviour Scale’ (Gresham & Elliott, 1990; Sørlie & Nordahl, 1998).

CONCLUDING COMMENTS In response to the increasing demand for school-wide intervention strategies that match students’ needs and level of functioning in Norwegian schools, PALS has proved to be a good model. The model promotes school-wide social competence, positive behaviour and interaction through teaching, skills training, classroom management, monitoring, supervision and home– school collaboration. Students and staff formulate, teach and learn a set of positively formulated rules that conveys clear expectations for positive behaviour. Consistent use of encouragement and incentives contributes to the recognition of pro-social behaviour while negative behaviour is met with predictable consequences. At the school level, monitoring of student behaviour lays the foundation for the identification of problems, problem solving, planning, implementation and evaluation. The principle of matching interventions to the students’ risk level signals the blending of preventive and ameliorating interventions. The majority of students mostly abide by school rules and expectations and should be consistently complimented and rewarded for doing so. At the same time, effective strategies are needed in order to manage and reduce more serious emotional and

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behavioural difficulties among students. Individualized positive behaviour support should be the vehicle for turning problem students around. The SWPBS model has been extensively evaluated, but there is a need of controlled effectiveness studies documenting positive outcomes in regular practice (Horner et al., 2009). In the first Norwegian evaluation of PALS, the outcomes were encouraging, but the number of schools was small (Sørlie & Ogden, 2007). The increasing number of primary schools implementing the PALS model in Norway has made it possible to recruit schools which are representative of Norwegian primary schools, to a large-scale evaluation study. In a quasi-experimental longitudinal design, the selection of schools seems to have resulted in equivalent groups of schools with more similarities than differences. Two of these groups implement the PALS model or the PALS short version programme and one group serve as a comparison group.

REFERENCES Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Integrative guide for the 1991 CBCL/4-18, YSR and TRF profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry. Arnesen, A., & Ogden, T. (2006). Skoleomfattende kartlegging av problematferd [School-wide assessment of problem behaviour]. Spesialpedagogikk, 2, 18–29. Arnesen, A., Ogden, T., & Sørlie, M.-A. (2006). Positiv atferd og støttende læringsmiljø i skolen [Positive behaviour and supporting learning environments in school]. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. Augimeri, L. K., Farrington, D. P., Koegl, C. J., & Day, D. M. (2007). Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16, 799–807. Bradshaw, C. P., Mitchell, M. M., & Leaf, P. J. (2010). Examining the effects of schoolwide positive behavioural interventions and supports on student outcomes. Results from a randomized controlled effectiveness trial in elementary schools. Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions, 12, 133–148. Bradshaw, C. P., Reinke, W. M., Brown, L. D., Bevans, K. B., & Leaf, P. J. (2008). Implementation of school-wide positive behaviour interventions and supports (PBIS) in elementary schools: Observations from a randomized trial. Education and Treatment of Children, 31, 1–26. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiment by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Crone, D. A., Hawken, L. S., & Horner, R. H. (2004). Responding to problem behavior in school. The behaviour education program (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Darch, C., & Kameenui, E. (2004). Instructional classroom management: A proactive approach to behaviour management (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Merrill Prentice-Hall. Forster, M. (2010). When cheap is good: Cost-effective parent and teacher interventions for children with externalizing behaviour problems. Dissertation, Uppsala University, Uppsala. Golly, A., Sprague, J., Walker, H., Beard, K., & Gorham, G. (2000). The first step to success program: An analysis of outcomes with identical twins across multiple baselines. Behavior Disorders, 25, 170–182.

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Gresham, F. M., & Elliott, S. N. (1990). Social skills rating system (Manual). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service. Grey, J., & Sime, N. (1989). Findings from the national survey of teachers in England and Wales. In Elton (1989). Discipline in schools. Report of the Committee of Enquiry chaired by Lord Elton. Department of Education and Science and the Welsh Office. London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office. Hawken, L. S., MacLeod, K. S., & Rawlings, L. (2007). Effects of the Behaviour Education Program (BEP) on office discipline referrals of elementary school students. Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions, 9, 94–101. Horner, R. H., Sugai, G., Smolkowski, K., Eber, L., Nakasato, J., Todd, A. W., & Esperanza, J. (2009). A randomized wait-list controlled effectiveness trial assessing school-wide positive behaviour support in elementary schools. Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions, 11, 133–144. Iovannone, R., Greenbaum, P. E., Wang, W., Kincaid, D., Dunlap, G., & Strain, P. (2009). Randomized controlled trial of the prevent-teach-reinforce (PTR) tertiary intervention for students with problem behaviours. Journal of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders, 17, 213–225. Irvin, L. K., Tobin, T. J., Sprague, J. R., Sugai, G., & Vincent, C. G. (2004). The validity of office discipline referral measures as indices of school-wide behavioural status and effects of school-wide behavioural interventions. Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions, 6, 131–147. Kjærnslie, M., Lie, S., Olsen, R. V., Roe, A., & Turmo, A. (2004). Rett spor eller ville veier? Norske elevers prestasjoner i matematikk, naturfag og lesning i PISA 2003. Oslo, Universitetsforlaget. Kjøbli, J., & Sørlie, M.-A. (2008). School outcomes of a community-wide intervention model aimed at preventing problem behaviour. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 49, 365–375. Lindberg, E., & Ogden, T. (2001). Elevatferd og læringsmiljø 2000 [Student behaviour and learning environment 2000]. Oslo: Læringssenteret. McEvoy, A., & Welker, R. (2000). Antiscocial behaviour, academic failure, and school climate. A critical review. Journal of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders, 8, 130–140. Morgan, P. L., Farkas, G., Tufis, P. A., & Sperling, R. A. (2008). Are reading and behaviour problems risk factors for each other? Journal of Learning Disabilities, 5, 417–436. Muscott, H. S., Mann, E. L., & LeBrun, M. R. (2008). Positive behavioural interventions and supports in New Hampshire. Effects of large-scale implementation of schoolwide positive behaviour support on student discipline and academic achievement. Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions, 10, 190–205. Mytton, J., DiGuiseppi, C., Gough, D., Taylor, R., & Logan, S. (2007). School-based secondary prevention programmes for preventing violence (Review). Evidence-Based Child Health, 2, 814–891. Nelson, J. R., & Roberts, M. L. (2000). Ongoing reciprocal teacher-student interactions involving disruptive behaviours in general education classrooms. Journal of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders, 8, 27–37. Nordahl, T., Gravrok, Ø., Knutsmoen, H., Larsen, T. M. B., & og Rørnes, K. (2006). Forebyggende innsatser i skolen. Rapport fra forskergruppe oppnevnt av Utdanningsdirektoratet og Sosial- og helsedirektoratet om problematferd, rusforebyggende arbeid, læreren som leder og implementeringsstrategier. Oslo: Utdanningsdirektoratet. Ogden, T. (1998). Elevatferd og læringsmiljø. Læreres erfaringer med og syn pa˚ elevatferd og læringsmiljø i grunnskolen. [Student behaviour and learning environment. Teachers’

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experiences and view of student behaviour and learning environment.] Oslo: Norwegian Ministry of Education. Ogden, T., Sørlie, M.-A., & Amlund-Hagen, K. (2007). Building strength through enhancing social competence in immigrant students in primary school. A pilot study. Journal of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 12, 105–117. Patterson, G. R. (1982). A social learning approach. Coercive family process (Vol. 3). Eugene, OR: Castalia Publishing Company. Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Sprague, J. R., & Walker, H. M. (2005). Safe and healthy schools. Practical prevention strategies. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Sørlie, M.-A., & Nordahl, T. (1998). Problematferd i skolen. Hovedfunn, forklaringer og pedagogiske implikasjoner. [Behaviour problems in school. Main findings, explanations, and pedacogical implications]. Hovedrapport fra forskningsprosjektet ‘‘Skole- og samspillsvansker. Rapport 12a/98. Oslo: Norsk institutt for forskning om oppvekst, velferd og aldring. Sørlie, M.-A., & Ogden, T. (2007). Immediate impacts of PALS: A school-wide multilevel programme targeting behaviour problems in elementary school. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 51, 471–492. Todd, A. W., Campbell, A. L., Meyer, G. G., & Horner, R. H. (2008). The effects of targeted intervention to reduce problem behaviours. Elementary school implementation of check in–check out. Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions, 10, 46–55. Wilson, S. J., & Lipsey, M. W. (2007). School based interventions for aggressive and disruptive behaviour: Update of a meta-analysis. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33(Suppl. 2), 130–143.

NATIONAL BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT SERVICE AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY IN SCHOOL: AN IRISH EXPERIENCE Siobhan MacCobb ABSTRACT The results of a pilot project between the Discipline of Occupational Therapy, Trinity College, Dublin, and the National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) demonstrate that collaboration between professionals, students and parents can enable those of social disadvantage with significant behavioural problems participate better in school. This chapter describes the development of this service for students in two disadvantaged second-level schools, the processes of identifying need, interventions delivered and the collaborative workings of the partnership. The broad view of the Person–Environment–Occupation (Law et al., 1996) and a client-centred approach (Law & Mills, 1998) guided the intervention. An understanding of the social and situational influences in the school and classroom as experienced by each student was sought, as was the impact of possible sensory processing and attention difficulties on satisfactory participation in school. Students were perceived as having individual

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 57–74 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002007

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social and self-management learning needs and each class group and school was acknowledged as a unique culture. Engagement in fun-focused group processes supported the experience of inter-subjectivity and peer group learning was actively fostered. Thus, social action and coconstruction of shared learning brought students to better connect with themselves and each other resulting in better engagement in school. However, each school staff and management team had its own culture and metaphor for explaining their students’ behaviours. This influenced their response to the occupational therapy perspective applied in this project. Following on from the success of this project, it is recommended that the collaborative approach between student, parents, teachers and therapist should be further developed in schools to benefit those with complex challenging behaviours. A national agency such as the NBSS is central to delivering this collaboration and partnership.

INTRODUCTION The National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) in the Republic of Ireland was established by the then Minister of Education and Science (now the Department of Education and Skills) in 2006 in response to the recommendation in ‘School Matters’, the report of the Task Force on Student Behaviour in Second-Level Schools (Department of Education and Science, 2006). The web site of the NBSS, http://www.nbss.ie (accessed 19 December 2011), describes its structure as a multi-disciplinary team composed of a National Co-ordinator, Assistant National Co-ordinators, Regional Development Officers, Literacy Development Officer, Research and Development Officer, Occupational Therapist, Clinical Speech and Language Therapist and Associates. It states that the work of the NBSS is informed by international models and based on good practice in partner schools. The service offers schools three levels of support with respect to behaviour: Level 1 Whole School Positive Behaviour Support which offers proactive and preventative interventions that address the needs of all students and staff within the school; Level 2 Targeted Intervention Behaviour Support which supports teachers in partner schools in the development and implementation of targeted behaviour interventions for students, in small groups or class groups, whose progress in school is impeded by their social, emotional or behavioural skills; Level 3 Intensive, Individualised Behaviour Support (including Behaviour Support Classrooms in 23 schools and Behaviour for

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Learning Programme Teachers in 26 schools) which is tailored to the specific needs of the individual student. While commentary with regard to behaviour often tends to focus on students and their actions, the NBSS, supported by international research and practice such as The Birmingham Framework (Williams & Daniels, 1999), Solution Oriented Schools (Metcalf, 2003), Whole School Positive Behaviour Support (Luiselli, Putman, Handler, & Feinberg, 2005), has chosen a whole school approach as its fundamental vision and practice. In September 2008, the Discipline of Occupational Therapy, Trinity College, Dublin, was invited to participate in a Level 3 pilot project with the NBSS from October 2008 to June 2009 to support better participation by identified students in learning and school life. Students presenting with significant challenging behaviours, attention difficulties and hyperactive behaviours in school, with their parents’ permission, were invited to participate in an intervention tailored to the specific context of their school, class group and their individual needs.

AN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PERSPECTIVE Occupational therapy is concerned with promoting health and well-being through occupation. Occupational therapists routinely work with people with significant and multiple difficulties and disabilities in various settings; however, this project was the first experience in such a second-level school environment in Ireland. Occupation is defined as culturally valued, coherent patterns of actions that emerge through transactions between the person and the environment and as activities that the person either wants to do or is expected to do. (Humphry, 2002, p. 172)

Occupation is conceptualised not as something that resides only within the individual but as socially constructed and culturally determined (Wilcock, 1998). The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in everyday life, such as in school to the satisfaction of self and others. Participating in school is seen as a major occupation of young personhood/ adolescence that is simultaneously societal, social and individual. The aim of the project was through collaboration, the use of various individual and group activities and therapeutic use of self, to support the student’s experience of autonomy, success and belongingness in school which would then transform and bring about change and development in the individual,

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and in the class group. The intervention was influenced by more recent theories regarding the centrality of relationships and the need for connectedness (Tronick, 1998), particularly as the young people were aged from 12 to 16 years. Vygotsky’s (1978) views regarding the linking of cognitive and social processes in human development and that learning happens in the ‘zone of proximal development’ were implicit in the approach adopted. The perspective taken at the outset by the occupational therapy project leader was that those presenting with behaviours that inhibited their learning and participation in school were capable and potentially competent learners in the right environment, with appropriate scaffolding, by their own efforts and through their engagement in activities and contexts that were meaningful to them. The second perspective taken, as teachers report that young people usually were ‘good’ in one-to-one situations was that physical, cultural and social aspects of the environment were also key determinants in eliciting the undesirable behaviours, not just underlying social, emotional and learning difficulties. An understanding of environment includes physical aspects, such as the layout of the classroom and corridors, social aspects such as relationships between students and between students and staff, cultural aspects such as the values experienced by the student as part of the school community and institutional aspects as experienced by the student such as the organisational rules, hierarchy and priorities. The occupational therapist is interested in the individual’s perceptions and experience of the social environment of school and considers that it is an important influence on participation. Reality is always interpreted from the perspective of a socially defined perceiver (Turner, Oakes, & Haslam McGarty, 1994). The occupational therapist acknowledges that the young person’s social identity and categorisation of self and others such as students and teachers influences their view of reality and that their behaviour in turn is influenced by this view. The therapist uses peer group work to exploit the fluidity of social identity to support positive behaviours. With regard to the individual’s learning disabilities or difficulties, Christiansen and Baum’s (2008) perspective on the person accepts that there are intrinsic factors unique to each individual that make up one’s set of skills and abilities. These are neuro-behavioural factors (especially relevant with students with attention and impulse management difficulties), emotional, cognitive, psychological and spiritual factors (signs and symbols that provide meaning about self and one’s place in the world). Improved participation in school by those who experience difficulty may be achieved by enhancing their skill levels in specific performance areas (such as managing their impulse behaviours), and by adapting the learning tasks, and

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also by modifying the environment so that there is a better Person– Environment–Occupation (PEO) fit (Law et al., 1996). This PEO model is a useful framework for analyses of the possible interaction of multiple factors affecting performance. It consists of three components, namely the person (P), the environment (E) and the occupation (O). The interaction of the three components results in occupational performance (doing). These elements are dynamic and as factors within any of the three components change, the person’s performance is enhanced or inhibited. The person is perceived to be continually developing and is intrinsically motivated by interests, belief about self and his/her skills and the cultural relevance of the desired behaviours. This model provides a framework for a systematic interactional analysis of P–E, P–O and E–O and was applied in this project to better understand the young person’s experience and needs. An important concept in relation to understanding experience and behaviour in school is the individual’s own view and satisfaction with his/ her performance and his/her own meaning of participation in school. This framework emphasises the interdependence between the environment and the young person. This view and that of Processes Transforming Occupation (TPO) put forward by Humphry (2005) in which she proposes that change (that we want towards more participatory behaviours in school) will originate from multiple synergistic forces such as those allowed for or supported by the young person’s social group; occupations (activities) that are observed and scaffolded during shared occupation with more skilled partners; and that as the reason for doing the desired activity changes, the student reorganises himself for doing. Thus, learning and adaptation to changing circumstances evolves initially from approximate desired behaviours to more skilful behaviours. For those with difficulties such as the young people involved in this project, if we, the learning facilitators can notice change in direction towards these behaviours and support their emergence by adapting the environment, and perhaps the task, it is likely that the pattern of behaviour will consolidate the new behaviours into everyday practice.

THE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THERAPIST AND YOUNG PERSON Another perspective implicit in occupational therapy and applied in this project is the philosophy of client-centred practice based on the work of

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Rogers (1961) and Maslow (1970). The six principles of client-centred occupational therapy practice are defined by Law and Mills (1998) as client autonomy and choice; respect for diversity; therapeutic partnership and shared responsibility; enablement and empowerment; contextual congruence; agreeing about priorities; and understanding the situation from the client’s perspective. The occupational therapist collaborates with the young person as an equal partner and takes on the role of enabler (Matheson, 1998). Although this approach may appear different from the teacher’s value system and practice, the collaborative approach used in occupational therapy shares some of the values of Culturally Responsive Classroom Management (CRCM) (Gay, 2000) and mindfulness (Miller, 2001). McCready and Soloway’s (2010) article on teachers perceptions of challenging student behaviours in inner city schools demonstrates that similarities in values and attitudes can exist in two apparently different professional practice domains. Another difference in values between occupational therapists and teachers is how and why occupation is used. The term ‘occupation’ implies intentionality and purposefulness, and the use of occupation therapeutically involves active engagement to bring about change in and by the ‘doer’, the student him/herself. The focus may be to experience an enhanced sense of competency and mastery, autonomy, a positive sense of personal identity and of belonging. The experience and process of engagement may be just as important as succeeding in finishing an assignment or having a ‘product’. Enjoying and participating in ‘doing’, especially in a shared context of ‘weness’ in the classroom, can be intrinsically satisfying and motivational for continued engagement in school activities. It is the ‘doer’s’ perspective that matters. What is seen as a priority by the individual becomes the priority of the therapist. If the activity has no relevance for the young person, it is inappropriate to use. The therapist becomes the conduit to find a better fit between the young person, the school environment and meaningful engagement in school.

ESTABLISHING THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS When working with young persons with particular learning needs, collaboration between teachers and occupational therapists is perceived to be fundamental to delivering good practice (Villa & Thousand, 2000). As the NBSS has an ethos of collaboration, and the schools, teachers and young people had no previous working relationship with occupational therapy,

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it was accepted that a collaborative open-minded approach was required. It was expected that there would be different professional and individual understanding about challenging behaviours and about strategies for change. To address this, agreed structures were put in place by the NBSS for developing partnership between teacher, therapists and parents. Direct lines of communication were agreed and managed by the NBSS. The occupational therapy team had much to learn about working in a different culture and setting. Collaboration was required for all stages of the pilot programme.

IDENTIFICATION OF NEED AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES Discussions were held with the NBSS National, Assistant National and Regional Co-ordinators, School Principals and Deputy Principals to discuss the proposed project with the occupational therapy team. Formal and informal presentations were made to the teaching staff in the schools to explain some of the underlying approaches in occupational therapy such as the PEO framework, sensory processing difficulties as they may impact on performance in school and strategies to be used such as peer group learning, and a client-centred approach. Sensory processing is a term referring to the handling of sensory information by the nervous system such as the registration, modulation, integration and organisation of sensory stimuli including behavioural responses to stimuli (Miller & Lane, 2000). The processing of movement and touch experiences are of particular interest to the occupational therapist as influencing sustained attention and selfregulation of behaviour. This information sharing with teachers on occupational therapy perspectives assisted in framing expected outcomes for the project. With parental permission, young people were invited to participate in the project. Table 1 summarises the numbers of students participating in the project over two time periods from October 2008 to May 2009. In total 32 students were involved from both schools with ages ranging from 12 to 16 years. Thirty of the students were boys and two were girls. The gender difference is partly explained in that one of the schools was a single sex male school, and the other school had more boys than girls attending. In addition, ADHD, one of the most common disruptive behaviour disorders, affects mostly boys (Gaub & Carlson, 1997; Gershon, 2002).

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Table 1.

School 1 School 2 Total

Numbers of Participants Over Two Time Periods. October–January

February–May

Total

9 6 15

11 6 17

20 12 32

School 1 identified three young people in first year (age 12–13 years) requiring exceptional behaviour management inputs, three in second year (13–14 years) and three in third year (15 years) who had individual needs and difficulties. School 2, a boys only school, identified six third-year students (aged 15/16), who had a pattern of frequent suspension from class and school with a probable outcome of expulsion before the Junior Certificate exams. The Principal and Deputy Principal were most anxious that they stay in the educational system. Midway through the project a group of six first-year students (12–13 years) were identified as possibly benefiting from inclusion in the project. The schools obtained permission from parents for their young person to be involved in the pilot programme. Parents were invited to meet the occupational therapy team to discuss the young person’s interests, strengths and challenges in school, and to explain the programme. Information from teachers and guidance counsellor related to strengths and challenges in managing learning were shared. The occupational therapy team observed some students in their classroom during different subjects, such as maths, home economics and art. The physical, social and cultural environment and routines were noted. As the difficulties reported were social and behavioural in nature, it was decided that a group work approach would be used. In peer group learning, students learn better from models closer to themselves rather than from ‘experts’ who are perceived to have little relevance to the student’s context. It is an effective method of bringing about change in behaviour and attitude (Gould & Lomas, 1993). The use of fun activities is also a very useful way for the therapist to establish a positive ‘client’-centred relationship with those who are hostile to or feel threatened by authority. By careful planning of game playing activities, it was possible to identify if the individual had difficulties such as sustaining attention, concentration, language comprehension, motor planning, social awareness and in particular self-regulation, rule compliance and interpersonal interaction with class mates, etc. Personal interests and motivators were also explored in these initial fun-focused group sessions.

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SUMMARY OF NEEDS IDENTIFIED It was clear that the needs of students in the two schools differed. The culture in the school settings differed also.

School 1 From observation and working with the younger persons in small groups, the occupational therapy team considered that a number had sensory processing and modulation difficulties, attention and self-organisation difficulties that made it difficult for them to manage the school environment and the school work expected of them. (Possible sensory modulation difficulties may be manifest in the young person underreacting or overreacting, being easily distracted, having high activity levels or appearing detached and withdrawn and unresponsive.) In addition, their emotional and social skills in some respects were typical of much younger young persons. In contrast, the older boys (aged 15/16) identified their own difficulties in managing their behaviour and their school work. Individual needs were explored in the group setting in a collaborative way with students helping each other get a perspective on how their behaviour impacted on others in the classroom. A programme of intervention and support was proposed at a meeting with school staff in January 2009.

School 2 The process of identifying need differed in School 2. The boys (aged 15–16 years) and some of their parents met the occupational therapist and school management in an initial meeting which set out a way of working within an active collaborative process with the boy, parent and school. It was clearly articulated to the boys by the school management and by parents that change in behaviour was essential and that this programme might be their last opportunity to stay in school. The Deputy Principal took the role of ‘champion’ for the project and he expressed his interest in the boys and his concern for their well-being and elicited their cooperation and participation. During the initial group activity sessions, it became clear that the boys had considerable personal abilities and strengths. They expressed the view that their challenging behaviours related to feelings of anger, oppression by teachers and of perceived injustice. The group work intervention explored the locus of control in relation to their behaviours. In this way the boys

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identified the need for change. The types of games used were demanding of rule compliance and collaboration for deciding strategy. There was a combination of physically active games and discussion-type games. It wasn’t just the play, it was the constructive play. There were boundaries, it was fun but there were boundaries within which the fun happened, safe. y It was about rights and responsibilities, probably more so than rights, because they’re quite aware of their rights. (Deputy Principal)

It took considerable time for some of the boys to recognise their need to change behaviour, but without their recognition it was considered that change was unlikely.

EXPLORING OF STRATEGIES TO MEET NEEDS In both schools, the approaches used to identify needs were also used to address needs as they arose. Following on from the fun-focused group sessions, individual students were invited to one-to-one sessions for more detailed assessment and to explore with the students strategies to meet their own needs. Self-prioritising of need and owning one’s action takes time to emerge as it is often a new concept. Student needs time and a mechanism to reflect on their action. While the therapist is interacting with the student through different activities and tasks, some of which may be formal assessments of performance (such as motor skills), a collaborative therapeutic relationship is established. The young person is invited to make choices about activities, is asked his/her opinion and preferences and agreements about personal goals are made. This shift of power towards the young person also supports emergent self-responsibility and internalises the locus of control. Environmental adaptation and the careful choice and grading of activities are used to engage the student in that ‘zone of proximal development’ (Vygotsky, 1978). Opportunities to learn skills, to experience positive affirmation, to experience mastery and competency are planned for by the use of activity, the use of time, an adapted environment (including physical and social) and the therapeutic use of self. In order for the game to be played successfully, there were self-management strategies to be learned by the student, for example to control his impulses to shout out, to wait his turn, to listen to the instructions for the game and to co-operate with others. Shared fun and collaborative achievement was the intrinsic reward. With regard to the younger group in School 1, a structured behavioural reward system for individuals was designed that would help them to organise

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their impulse behaviour and that also helped them to addressed their sensory needs, for example earning minutes of deep pressure ‘squashing’ between gym mats in the occupational therapy sessions. A structured approach in organising and timing classroom activities was put forward, as was a proposal to deliver a modified version of the ‘Alert Programme’ (Williams & Shellenberger,1996) focusing on sensory modulation and organisation of behaviours. With the older boys (aged 15–16), strategies to solve difficulties in the classroom were explored in the group sessions, and personal goal planning for positive school behaviours was introduced. In School 2, the main aim of the intervention was to provide an opportunity and a supportive environment for the learning of co-operative social skills, and the acknowledgement by the boys that they could change their behaviours, if they so wished. An experiential group work model provided the students with opportunities to learn about the impact of their social interaction with others. These fun co-operative skill building sessions took place in the school gym twice a week. Self-awareness varied from individual to individual. The group drew up their own rules and had to deal with rule breaking as a group. Although the rate of change was slow, the commitment from the school in supporting the intervention was considerable. Every attempt was made to encourage the boys to attend. Non-attending boys were contacted at home by the Deputy Principal and encouraged to attend. This gave a clear message of support for the possibility of improvement and success from the school. Parents and guardians support proved valuable as some boys reported encouragement to stay with the programme. My Da gave me h50 because I’m coming here and doing the work. (School 2 Participant)

COLLABORATIVELY REVIEWING STRATEGIES AND MAKING ADJUSTMENTS The NBSS team identified the preferred forum for each school for feedback and review. School 1 A formal staff meeting was held at which the therapist reported on her assessment of need and intervention with the students. However, some teaching staff did not accept the interpretation of need identified by the

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occupational therapist and the focus and method of intervention. They requested that the in-school programme be suspended until an ‘off-site’ occupational therapy facility was identified. They considered that the nature of the relationship between the students and therapists was not sufficiently formal for a school, and the interventions resulted in a loss of class time for the students. They believed that occupational therapy was not appropriate in a mainstream school setting. The occupational therapy team leader agreed to explore the possibility of off-site services. However, one teacher volunteered to work alongside the occupational therapists with his class of 11 students in second year who were particularly challenging. At a subsequent meeting between the NBSS Co-ordinator, the School Principal and occupational therapy team, it was agreed that formal standardised assessments would be completed with the students who had been initially involved in the programme and that no further in-school intervention would be carried out with them. The purpose of the assessments was to assist the students and parents with clinic appointments from their local health services, request additional resources for the students and assist the teachers when making decisions in relation to class methodologies and strategies. Subsequently, the teachers reviewed their decision and an in-school intervention successfully recommenced in September 2009. With regard to working with the teacher and his class, the aims for the intervention with the group of second-year students were agreed as engagement with the subject/work, and improved time-keeping. This intervention began in early January and concluded in late May.

School 2 In School 2, there was an ongoing review process between the NBSS and the Deputy Principal, staff, parents and boys regarding the project. One of the adjustments made from January to mid-March, in addition to the occupational therapist, three occupational therapy students acted as ‘buddies’ in the group sessions. By using group dynamics and peer group learning approach, they modelled ways of looking at troublesome behaviours as they occurred in the games and group activities in a non-threatening way. I was quite surprised, because in the sense that when they had to do a game, wheelbarrow or anything like that, there was no big deal, some students did it with some students, some of them did it with the older students, and that was very good, there was none of the, ‘he’s a teacher, he’s not going anywhere near me’. It was all really, really good fun. (Deputy Principal)

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As insight was developing through the group work and it was considered appropriate to increase the demands on the older boys to take responsibility for change, one-to-one sessions with the therapist were offered. Individually tailored strategies to better self-manage behaviour emerged from these sessions. Each student developed his Personal Goal Plan in which he identified and targeted his preferred classroom behaviour, and the structured achievable and relevant steps to achieve this. Now towards the end they were given small tasks that they had to get signed by each class teacher and, two of the boys in particular really, really benefited from that. They took a certain amount of pride in it. You only had to concentrate on one class, and on one thing, that they wouldn’t for example talk out of turn, that they wouldn’t mess and then it graduated on to the fact that they would look at the teacher while they were talking, you know, actively listen and so on. (Deputy Principal)

The class teacher involvement validated the student’s efforts for change. Their approval and the Deputy Principal’s support seemed to give confidence to keep up the work. Students improved their awareness of ‘internal’ reactions to situations and they better managed their feelings in class. They reported that they now felt that they had earned an important chance to change their bad reputation. An additional group of six first-year students were offered group sessions with the therapist and occupational therapy students. They related quickly to the purpose of the rules of the games and demonstrated good understanding of how their behaviours were impacting on each other. The NBSS and Deputy Principal managed the communication between the therapy team, staff, students and parents. A whole school approach was used. At the very start, we had a morning where they came in and explained everything they were going to do and then at every staff meeting it’s on the agenda, the NBSS update, so we explained what’s going on and then at the end it was summed up. It’s a perfect model I think, because you say, this is what we’re going to do, this is what’s happening with that-what we said we were going to do, sum up at the end, this worked well and ask for feedback. Some people might say, well I didn’t like it because students were taken out of class, no-one said that, no-one said we didn’t know what was going on, because we can say, well in January you had a morning when it was all explained to you and every single staff meeting it’s been brought up. We bring it up as well, we have a Year Head’s meeting on a Friday morning, and we, if necessary, we include anything there. (Deputy Principal)

The collaborative process in School 2 took considerable effort but ultimately consolidated the approach and delivered success.

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MEASURING OUTCOMES As it was a pilot project, review and refinement was ongoing. While progress in reaching the project overall aims (the lessening of challenging behaviours and greater participation in school) was being monitored by teachers and the NBSS, the students’ desired outcomes were being focused on as part of the client-centred approach. Students’ views on each session were sought in informal discussion and through a brief feedback questionnaire. Interviews were carried out with students at the end of the programme. Another measurement of outcome of engagement in work/learning was the art exhibition mounted by the second-year class in School 1. The NBSS conducted an end of project review with school management and teachers. A qualitative interview was carried out with the Deputy Principal in School 2. A written report from the occupational therapy team was presented to the NBSS reviewing their perspective on the project.

Outcomes for School 1 Having reviewed the standardised assessments carried out with eight of the initial nine students in which difficulties related to sensory processing, maintaining attention and social skills were specified, the school management offered designated space on the school grounds to continue the project into the following year. Students in the second-year group became increasingly involved in work/ learning. Students came on time. For example, one lunch time three of the students stayed in the class so as to be on time and to get first choice of the work task. The ‘buddy system’ with three occupational therapy students helped support a co-operative learning environment. I enjoyed getting help from people with drawing. I looked forward to coming to art. (Second-Year Student. School 1)

There was a marked change from their openly hostile and violent behaviours towards each other in the classroom. All students participated and produced work of a higher standard than they had previously carried out. Application to the task increased from 20 to 40 minutes, average time across the group. The number of samples of completed work for all students increased per session. Students named their work and either brought it home or stored it in their portfolios, rather than throwing it in the bin. All students agreed to put forward a minimum of four pieces of work for

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exhibition, review and examination. This was evidence of their considerable growth in personal development and satisfaction with their work. When interviewed at the end of the project, in May 2009 students reported that they enjoyed learning how to do good work, that they liked the way the room and class was organised, that they felt good about their work. Everyone can get work done when they put their mind to it. I learned how to draw better using squares on paper. I got a lot more work done ‘cause I was interested in the work. I wanted to take my work home because I was proud of it. (Second-Year Student. School 1)

Some students in this class were identified as having specific difficulties related to sensory processing, sustaining attention and visual perception. These were formally assessed. Written reports and recommendations were provided.

Outcomes for School 2 The school’s stated outcome was that with improved behaviour the boys would complete their Junior Certificate Exam at the end of the academic year. Some boys regularly expressed the wish to be expelled, but considered that this was not acceptable to their parents. As the programme unfolded, the frequency of this expression diminished and the boys acknowledged that they did not want to always be in trouble, that they were tired of being ‘blamed for everything’. The supportive environment of the group work, the school staff and parents combined with the individual goal planning sessions appeared to help the boys to change their expectations towards striving for success in belonging to the school community. They understood that in order to belong work had to be done including taking exams. The boys themselves identified that they wanted to be part of the school community and especially to be allowed go on outings. They were excluded because of their behaviour. The most meaningful achievement for them was having an outing at the end of the programme. So to support this, a structured behavioural reward system was introduced. It was agreed by the boys and therapist that ‘points’ were awarded for (self-determined and classroom teacher acknowledged) goal attainment classroom behaviours plans. A target score was agreed for each student. Scores gained in each class were added up at the end of each day. This contributed to the weekly target. Over the last six weeks of the academic year, points contributed to the overall target. All boys succeed in reaching their target, and thus earned their outing. The relationship between the therapist and the student, and the fine-tuning of the desired goals and behaviours helped to motivate and

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strategise for success. The experience of self-responsibility and selfdetermination motivated sustained improvement for the final six weeks of term prior to the State Examination. You would have to admire the patience, I’m fairly patient myself, but the patience of XXX and XXX, and the other rest of her team, I thought it was amazing. The care and compassion came through, the students themselves were only beginning to realise that near the end, that they weren’t going to give up on them and they were actually interested, you know, nothing in it for them! It was for the students’ benefit, and I think it’s an absolutely fantastic programme. (Deputy Principal)

An additional outcome was that the six boys decided to return to school in September 2009 to start the senior cycle course. With regard to the first-year group, even with a short time for intervention, it was notable that the students developed sufficient insight to bring about a change in their behaviours. The school explored innovative ways of including similar inputs as part of mainstream class work in future first-year induction programmes. I would think for the 1st years it would be really good for them if you could carry that on to 2nd year and 3rd year, I think you’d have a great bunch. They’ve been very, very troublesome, not vindictive or anything like that, just, they’ve no boundaries, the language, the things they say to teachers, the things they say to each other in front of teachers, I would definitely think it had a calming effect. (Deputy Principal)

CONCLUSION As part of a NBSS collaborative intervention with teachers, students, parents and occupational therapists, the project set out to support learning and school participation by students with significant challenging behaviours. The project worked differently in each school, and delivered outcomes specific to each individual and setting. As students have individual needs and each class group and school has a unique culture, the broad view of the PEO model and the social focus on school participation aided the conceptualisation of the occupational therapy service. Reports gathered by the NBSS from school management and staff confirm satisfaction with the various outcomes. Students reported satisfaction with their changed behaviours. I’ve been here since 1973 and it’s probably one of the most positive interventions, I would have said the NBSS was one of the most positive interventions, but the occupational therapy I thought it was handled very well. Most of the teachers here are

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very, very positive about the NBSS and about what XXX (occupational therapist) was trying to do. (Deputy Principal)

Collaborative approaches between the NBSS, teachers, students, parents and occupational therapists required a considerable amount of effort. Although multi-disciplinary work is challenging and time-consuming, the collaborative approach with parents, young persons, teachers and occupational therapy and the behaviour support service is effective particularly for students with multiple challenges.

REFERENCES Christiansen, C., & Baum, C. (2008). The person-environment-occupation-performance model. In M. B. Cole & R. Tufano (Eds.), Applied theories in occupational therapy: A practical approach (pp. 127–133). Thorofare, NJ: SLACK. Department of Education and Science. (2006). School matters: The Report of the Task Force on Student Behaviour in Second Level Schools. Dublin: Department of Education and Science. Gaub, M., & Carlson, C. L. (1997). Gender differences in ADHD: A meta-analysis and critical review. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1036–1045. Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research and practice. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Gershon, J. (2002). A meta-analytic review of gender differences in ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 5, 143–154. Gould, J. M., & Lomas, A. R. (1993). The evolution of peer education: Where do we go from here? Journal of American College Health, 41(May), 235–240. Humphry, R. (2005). Model of process transforming occupations: Exploring societal and social influences. Journal of Occupational Science, 12(1), 36–44. Law, M., Cooper, B., Strong, S., Stewart, D., Rigby, P., & Letts, L. (1996). The personenvironment-occupation model: A trans-active approach to occupational performance. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(1), 9–23. Law, M., & Mills, J. (1998). Client-centred occupational therapy. In M. Law (Ed.), Clientcentred occupational therapy. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK. Luiselli, J. K., Putman, R. F., Handler, M. W., & Feinberg, A. B. (2005). Whole – School positive behaviour support: Effects on student discipline problems and academic performance. Educational Psychology, 25(2/3), 183–198. Maslow, A. (1970). Motivation and personality (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Harper & Row. Matheson, L. N. (1998). Engaging the person in the process: Planning together for occupational therapy intervention. In M. Law (Ed.), Client-centred occupational therapy (pp. 107–122). Thorofare, NJ: SLACK. McCready, LT., & Soloway, B. (2010). Teachers’ perceptions of challenging student behaviours in model inner city schools. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 15(2), 111–123. Metcalf, L. (2003). Teaching towards solutions: A solution focused guide to improving student behaviour, grades, parental supports and staff morale. Bancyfelin: Crown House Publishing.

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Miller, J. P. (2001). The holistic curriculum. Toronto: OISE Press. Miller, L. J., & Lane, S. J. (2000). Towards a consensus in terminology in sensory integration theory and practice: Part 1: Taxonomy of neuro-physiological process. Sensory Integration Special Interest Section Quarterly, 23(1), 1–4. Rogers, C. (1961). On becoming a person: A therapist’s view of psychotherapy. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Tronick, E. (1998). Dyadically expanded states of consciousness and the process of therapeutic change. Infant Mental Health Journal, 19(3), 290–299. Turner, J., Oakes, P., Haslam, S., & McGarty, C. (1994). Self and collective: Cognition and social context. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20(5), 454–463. Villa, R. A., & Thousand, J. (2000). Collaborative teaming: A powerful tool in school restructuring. In R. A. Villa & J. S. Thousand (Eds.), Restructuring for caring and effective education: Piecing the puzzle together (pp. 254–291). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes. Wilcock, A. A. (1998). An occupational perspective of health. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK. Williams, H., & Daniels, A. (1999). Framework for intervention, the road to total quality behaviour. Educational Psychology in Practice, 15(4), 228–236. Williams, M. S., & Shellenberger, S. (1996). How does your engine run? A leader’s guide to the Alert Programme for self regulation. Albuquerque, NM: Therapy Works Inc.. Yvgotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

THE SCHOOL BEHAVIOURS RATING SCALE: A MEASURE TO ASSESS BEHAVIOURAL STRENGTHS AND NEEDS AND INFORM SUPPORTIVE PROGRAMMING Lyn Gardon ABSTRACT The School Behaviours Rating Scale (SBRS) measures observable school behaviour in primary aged students. It provides a tool for teachers and psychologists to use to assess behaviour and determine targets for intervention. The Scale measures strengths and needs, is easy to administer and score and is time efficient. It has been developed in Australia using data from classroom teachers on almost 2,000 students aged 5–12 years of age. The SBRS has sound psychometric qualities with subscale internal consistency scores ranging between .88 and .96, and test–retest reliability coefficients ranging from .86 to .97. The Scale comprises 51 behavioural descriptors which measure observable school

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 75–92 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002008

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behaviour across six domains or subscales comprising: General Classroom Behaviour; General Playground Behaviour; Getting Along with Other Students; Attempting Tasks Presented; Development of Social Skills and Aggressive Behaviours. The SBRS can be used to provide explicit information about a student’s behavioural strengths, target areas for intervention, support functional assessment and provide a measure for pre- and post-intervention efficacy.

INTRODUCTION There is no doubt that negative student behaviour is one of the major challenges for teachers and school personnel. A growing number of students are presenting with challenging behaviours which impact not only on their own learning, but the learning of others and the well being of the teacher (Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995). Teachers in schools spend a lot of time exploring how to best manage and support students with problem behaviour and how to ensure that schools are safe and secure environments for all. Traditionally, behaviour problems have been considered under a medical model where the problem is viewed as belonging to the child, and so have been treated accordingly. However, there is mounting evidence that an educative approach may be far more appropriate and successful. Schoolwide systems based on the active teaching of explicit behavioural expectations reduces the incidence of disruptive behaviours in eighty per cent of students (Safran & Oswald, 2003; Sugai & Horner, 2002, 2005). While some schools are recognising the effectiveness of processes based on school-wide positive behaviour support and implementing systems which explicitly teach behaviours (Horner, 2007), there are still those students in our schools who require additional supports in order to manage and maintain the behaviours expected of them. This chapter concerns itself with this group of students and focuses on an assessment instrument for teachers to use with children who have additional behavioural support needs. The instrument measures the relative strengths and weaknesses of an individual student’s behaviour at school. It measures observable school behaviours which can then become the target for positive intervention, whereby the desired behaviour can be explicitly taught in the same way as other curriculum areas are developed. In order for teachers and school personnel to be able to assist, support and teach students an alternative behavioural response, behaviour must be

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viewed as a set of skills or competencies which are able to be taught in the same way as basic academic skills (Maag, 2001; Walker et al., 1995). If behaviour is viewed as a set of skill competencies which need to be learned, practiced, reinforced and generalised in the same way as any skill, then teachers are better placed to assist students develop the necessary behaviours needed to operate successfully at school. As with the development of other academic skill areas a core component of programming is an effective, reliable and valid assessment instrument which allows the teacher to examine what the student is already able to do and what skills still need to be further developed. This assessment tool, based on measuring observable behaviours enables teachers and schools to do this.

PROBLEM SCHOOL BEHAVIOUR Severe and challenging behaviour problems in infants and primary aged children is an increasingly demanding problem for schools (Ramsey, 2000). It is estimated that between 10 and 15 per cent of preschool children have moderate to severe behaviour problems with the most severe identifiable by the time the child is in Year 1 at school (Marshall & Watt, 1999). Left untreated such behaviours become entrenched and difficult to change (Tolan & Gorman-Smith, 1997). Kazdin (1987) argued that if by the end of third grade there has not been successful intervention for children displaying antisocial behaviours then it should be regarded as a chronic problem. Behaviour problems are associated with social problems, aggression, poor academic performance, early school leaving and adolescent delinquency. It is common for behaviour problems to manifest themselves in the school setting where limits are set and behavioural and learning expectations are defined. Students who experience difficulty managing their behaviour at school are frequently met with a series of negative consequences which may do more towards confirming the student’s negative self belief rather than modifying their behaviours (Mayer, 1995; Mayer & Sulzer-Azeroff, 1991). Intervention into problem behaviours in our schools has traditionally been reactive and based on punishment (Conway, 2002; Maag, 2001; Sugai & Horner, 2001). School discipline systems are usually designed around sets of consequences for negative behaviours using punitive style measures such as time out, detention and suspension. Schools often have complex systems for controlling or managing poor behaviour requiring substantial amounts of time and effort to implement (Maag, 2001).

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In order to understand why schools continue to invest so much time and energy into reactive, consequence-based systems it is necessary to examine common teacher beliefs and traditions of thought. Historically teachers have believed that problem behaviour has either stemmed from home or has its origin within the child and that disruptive behaviour patterns have a deliberateness of motive (Sugai & Horner, 1999). Such beliefs have led to a focus on labelling the type of behaviour problem and creating the link with disability. When a student presents with ongoing challenging behaviour, schools are increasingly seeking assessment from outside personnel such as psychologists or specialist medical practitioners like paediatricians or paediatric psychiatrists. Classifications or labels placed on children by such assessments may result in clinical labels such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorder. Conway (1994) argued that these labels may have meaning for the medical profession but do little to provide direction for teachers on appropriate educational management. Oswald (2002) expressed concern that the ‘medicalising’ of behaviours may be seen by school personnel as a quick and easy option often leading to medication for the child and possible additional school funding. He pointed out that medical labels may be seized upon as an excuse not to provide appropriate and meaningful school-based interventions. Lovejoy (1996) found that another effect of labelling was that the student’s behaviour was seen as more deviant than when there was no diagnosis and that experienced teachers believed it was not appropriate to ignore even minor behaviours. This suggests that students with a diagnosed behaviour disorder are not only viewed as being more unusual but whose behaviour is intervened on more quickly. For many schools the support of a teacher’s aide is viewed as essential to enable students with particular diagnoses to operate in the school system. Although a clinical labelling process may be necessary for possible additional funding support it provides little or no help in determining the best programme of support or intervention for the individual child (Brulle, 1988; Conway, 1994). Such diagnoses and mental health labels also imply that there is some fundamental problem with the child which is clinical, internal and cannot be changed. This deficit thinking is frequently confirmed by many of these students also being prescribed psychopharmacological medications for their ‘condition’. As long as teachers and schools continue to view school behaviour problems under the lens of the medical model there will be a continued

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view that there is little that can be done to influence the behaviour of troubled students and that the behaviour will continue despite school efforts to curb it.

A TEACHING–LEARNING MODEL The question for schools is how to best lessen the frequency, intensity and impact of behaviour problems on the individual and the school. Gonczi (2002) in his study on school suspensions found that schools that were succeeding in minimising the impact of problem behaviour were ones where school personnel had recognised the complex and multifaceted nature of behaviour. Staff in these schools adopted creative solutions including an appropriate teaching and learning model. Research recognises that explicit behaviour teaching is an essential and integral part of effective behavioural supports for students (Gresham, 1998; Kauffman, 1999; Lewis & Sugai, 1999; Mayer, 1995; Walker et al., 1996). Schools need to plan for the development of behavioural skills in the same way they plan for curriculum using assessment, programming, direct instruction and evaluation (Kameenui & Darch, 1995). Gordon (1996) argued that effective teachers teach and view the learning of classroom behaviour as they do literacy and numeracy. These teachers work from the premise that not knowing how to behave means it must be taught. Behavioural scientists have argued that behaviour is learned, is affected by environmental factors and can be changed (Sugai, Horner, & Sprague, 1999). Students who enter our schools and display inappropriate behaviours may be reacting to this environment with what skills they have learned so far in life. If the reaction from schools at this point is to commence a series of disciplinary steps then the cycle of negativity will be started. Teachers view the student as ‘naughty’ and difficult to teach, the student is singled out for negative attention, believes that school is not a place where they can succeed and so disengages. Punitive or disciplinary steps may control the behaviour in the short term but offers little to the student to learn how to do things differently. Under a teaching–learning model, behaviour becomes viewed as an action which occurs within the context of a setting, a setting which can be altered and manipulated by the school’s personnel and the surrounding system. Thinking under this model is more likely to view behaviour as a response to

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a setting rather than an innate fault within the individual student. Viewing student behaviour through the lens of a teaching–learning model is less likely to result in the rejection of the student as being innately a problem and hence build more positive attitudes and connection towards school within our student population (Long, 2006). School connectedness is a highly protective factor against the development of mental health problems for adolescents (Shochet, Dadds, Ham, & Montague, 2006). Goodenow (1993) defined school connectedness as the extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, included and supported by others in the school and playground. Creating supportive learning environments where skills are taught, rehearsed and reinforced is one way to establish settings where students are able to feel safe, included and have a sense of belonging. The growing body of evidence around the benefits of the explicit teaching model used in school-wide positive behaviour support is testimony to this thinking. The use of this model has not only created more positive school climates but also led to improved learning outcomes (Fleming et al., 2005; McIntosh, Chard, Boland, & Horner, 2006). The medical model may be attractive to schools because it is linked to additional resource provision, but it does little to provide the specific information which teachers are trained to understand, that is teaching. A significant change in thinking is required if schools are to have a real impact in supporting students with behavioural problems. The traditional model of control frequently used by teachers needs to shift to a model whereby students are explicitly and systematically taught a different way of behaving. This will require teachers to abandon the thinking that children should know how to behave and that reprimanding a child somehow produces more appropriate behaviours next time. Students who display inappropriate behaviours must have explicit, direct instruction and support to change (Lloyd, Forness, & Kavale, 1998; Shores et al., 1993; Walker et al., 1995). As with any good teaching model, effective and valid assessment is an essential component. Schools regularly assess students within curriculum areas to ascertain levels of learning and effectiveness of teaching. However, this has not been the case when it comes to behaviour. Behavioural assessment has been viewed as the domain of specialist staff that are most often external to the school (Sugai et al., 1999). Quinn et al. (2001) believe that the external expert model takes the ownership of the problem away from the school and individual teacher and increases the likelihood that the solution will be further separated from the people who need to implement it.

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ASSESSMENT When teachers set out to teach students an academic task they assess, plan, model, allow practice time and provide feedback. If the student makes a mistake the teacher does not punish the child but rather provides further instruction to correct the error. Maag (2001) argued that the same logic needs to be applied to student behaviour. Conway (1994) pointed out that teachers need to increase their skills in assessing, planning and monitoring behaviour problems that arise in their classrooms. Accurate and valid assessment is an essential part of the teaching and learning model. Teachers know that planning a reading programme for a student first requires an assessment of current skill level. However, little if any assessment of what is needed precedes significant resources flowing to students with challenging behaviour in an attempt to remediate the problem. Many such students have a teacher’s aide to assist them but with little direction or specific information on their role or the student’s behavioural support programme. Behavioural interventions in regular schools and classrooms are rarely based on information gained from assessment information because in general, schools lack the capacity to conduct such assessments and rely heavily on the external expert (Sugai et al., 1999). The reality is however, there are many more students presenting with challenging behaviour than there are external, specialist teachers, leaving many students without any specialist intervention. One reason schools continue to seek the external expert model is, in part, due to teachers not having access to valid, reliable and easy to use assessment instruments. Walker (1997) pointed out that teachers are the best source of information regarding student behaviour and as such should be the primary agents for assessment. We should be using our teachers more, not less! Behavioural assessment instruments available for schools have mostly been designed for use by school psychologists and measure behaviour in terms of mental health terminologies. For example, currently widely used instruments used for assessing behaviour in children and young people, report on behaviours, mood and emotion using clinical levels of deviance based on teacher reports of what they perceive about the child. Such instruments have a real place in the world of psychology but are not designed for teacher use. Data collected on such rating scales is interpreted by members of the medical profession and may lead to a mental health diagnosis according to the categories set down by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Resulting interventions

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may involve psychopharmacological treatment and/or psychological therapy. These assessments, however, do not provide the type of information on which to base an effective in class or school behaviour support plan. Applied behaviour analysis and functional assessments are recognised as valuable techniques for gathering data and assessing behaviour (Alberto & Troutman, 1999; Sugai et al., 1999; Walker et al., 1995). Functional behavioural assessments aim to gather specific information about when, where and why a particular behaviour occurs including antecedent variables in order to improve the quality of the subsequent behavioural intervention (Sugai et al., 1999). In the United States in 1997, amendments to the Individuals and Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (PL 105-17) made it mandatory for a functional assessment to be conducted for students who exhibit challenging behaviours giving rise to the development of comprehensive training programmes and manuals (Conway, 2002). In Australia students with additional needs may have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) which identifies learning goals including information around behaviour but there is currently no mandated requirement to have conducted a prior assessment. For teachers to conduct a functional assessment they need training and time within the school day to observe and record behaviours. Beare (1991) reported that teachers expressed frustration over the time taken to complete a functional assessment and their lack of training in the area. Schools are extremely busy places and many lack the capacity to undertake extensive, time-consuming assessments (Dunlap et al., 1999). If teachers are to believe that assessing and planning for behaviour change is their business and within their capabilities, then they need instruments which measure observable behaviour and report in a meaningful and useful way. Horner (1994) expressed the need to develop instruments and assessment procedures which will deliver precise information to teachers about the behaviour problem, yet require a minimum of time and effort. Providing tools for teachers to use which are valid and reliable will assist in building the capacity of schools to rely less on the external expert. The School Behaviours Rating Scale (SBRS) has been developed to provide teachers with such an instrument.

THE SCHOOL BEHAVIOUR RATING SCALE The SBRS is a valid, reliable and concise instrument for use by classroom teachers and school personnel. It can be completed in less than 20 minutes

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and provides a mechanism for teachers to determine behavioural needs and define target behaviours for intervention for students aged 5–12 years of age. Importantly, it also enables teachers to identify areas of strength allowing for a more global reporting of student behaviours. The SBRS defines behaviours in terms of skill areas including compliance, social and friendship skills, aggressive behaviours, learning behaviours, attention and organisation. The SBRS is based on observed behaviour and allows for programmes to be evaluated using pre- and post-intervention assessment. The SBRS comprises 51 behavioural descriptors and teachers are asked to rate each according to frequency across a seven point Likert scale. Teachers are asked to rate the individual student’s behaviour as compared to his or her peer cohort.

SCALE DEVELOPMENT The SBRS was developed by consulting with experienced classroom teachers and specialists in the field, distributing the pilot scale to a random sample of schools and gathering ratings from practising teachers. Teacher reports on nearly two thousand students were gathered from hundreds of teachers across a stratified random sample of schools in New South Wales. Schools were randomly selected to include those from rural and urban areas, of varying size and varying socio-economic communities. Staff were invited to take part in the research and asked to complete the draft SBRS on up to eight randomly selected students in their class. Students were selected according to their position on the class roll. Fifty of these teachers were then randomly chosen and asked to rate the same students twice with a time gap of four weeks. Additionally, 30 specialist behaviour teachers from rural and urban areas were contacted and asked to complete the draft SBRS for 8 students already identified as having significant behaviour problems. The draft SBRS item pool of 120 descriptors was subjected to a series of analyses including principal components analysis aimed at reducing the number of descriptors and retaining items which loaded at least W.5 on one factor and o.5 on another. This process resulted in 51 behavioural descriptors being retained across six identified subscale areas: General Classroom Behaviour; General Playground Behaviour; Getting Along with Other Students; Attempting Tasks Presented; Development of Social Skills; and Aggressive Behaviours. A sample of the descriptors in each subscale is shown in Table 1 Sample Descriptors. Cut-off scores have been developed

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Table 1. Subscale

Sample Descriptors. Sample Items

General classroom behaviour

Puts hand up to speak in class Follows instruction of class teacher

General playground behaviour

Plays in correct areas in the playground Follows other teachers’ directions

Getting along with other students

Has friends in class Is able to work in a group

Attempting tasks presented

Finishes set tasks Perseveres with tasks he/she finds difficult

Development of social skills

Is able to share equipment in class Accepts responsibility for his/her own behaviour

Aggressive behaviours

Hits other children to get what he/she wants Argues with staff

across each subscale for both male and female students. Scores are described in terms of a level of competency and form the Student Behaviour Profile. There are three levels of competency on the Student Behaviour Profile: primary, secondary and tertiary. The secondary and tertiary levels indicate that intervention supports are recommended within this particular subscale area. The SBRS uses a three-tier system to indicate the level of intervention that may be required. The concept of a tri-level system has been used for decades and first appeared in the preventative mental health research material in the 1960s (Becker, Madsen, Arnold, & Thomas, 1967; Madsen, Becker, & Thomas, 1968) which examined the concept of prevention and early intervention. This same concept or model continues to be used today within the population health field and is also being used with reference to behaviour in schools. Walker and his colleagues (Walker et al., 1996) use a three-tier triangle to represent this same prevention logic of thinking. The SBRS uses the terms primary, secondary and tertiary to describe the three levels of intervention indicated. Primary level – the student’s current level of competency for this subscale as rated with the SBRS shows that the behaviour is not rated as dissimilar to the majority of the peer group and that no additional individual intervention is indicated at this time. The whole school system used for all students

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appears to be adequate. Whole school systems may include features such as: school behaviour rules and expectations which are clearly defined and understood; a reward system is in place to reinforce expected behaviours; and, a well understood system to manage inappropriate student behaviour. Behaviours which score at this level are considered strength behaviours. Secondary level – the student’s current level of competency for this subscale as rated with the SBRS shows that additional intervention support is indicated. This support may take the form of a small group intervention or more explicit teaching of expected behaviours. The Student Behaviour Profile provides possible target areas and specific behaviours to focus on by examining the individual item descriptors within the subscale. Tertiary level – the student’s current level of competency for this subscale as rated with the SBRS shows that additional intervention support is highly indicated. This support should be specific and include an individualised behaviour support plan. The Student Behaviour Profile allows school staff to quickly identify possible target behaviours for intervention within one or more subscale areas. The competency level indicated has been derived from cut-off scores which are based on the behaviour performance ratings of the almost 2,000 primary aged students in the development sample. Cut-off scores for male and female students are markedly different and have been calculated separately for each subscale. Table 2 shows cut-off scores for male students and Table 3 shows cut-off scores for female students for each intervention level indicated across all six subscales. Cut-off scores are intended to be used as indicative or marker points. A score less than or equal to the cut-off should be interpreted to mean that this student has been rated poorly when compared to his or her peers and as such requires behavioural intervention or support. Table 2.

Cut-Off Scores for Male Students.

Intervention Level Indicated

Tertiary Secondary Primary

Cut-Off Scores – Subscale Males

General classroom behaviour

General playground behaviour

Getting along with other students

Attempting tasks presented

Development of social skills

Aggressive behaviour

r2.35 r3.31 Z3.32

r2.67 r3.83 Z3.84

r2.50 r3.63 Z3.64

r1.33 r2.25 Z2.26

r2.83 r3.83 Z3.84

r2.20 r3.60 Z3.61

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Cut-Off Scores for Female Students.

Table 3. Intervention Level Indicated

Tertiary Secondary Primary

Table 4.

Cut-Off Scores – Subscale Females

General classroom behaviour

General playground behaviour

Getting along with other students

Attempting tasks presented

Development of social skills

Aggressive behaviour

r3.41 r4.65 Z4.66

r4.20 r5.17 Z5.18

r3.38 r4.38 Z4.39

r2.50 r3.75 Z3.76

r4.00 r5.17 Z5.18

r4.00 r5.20 Z5.21

Coefficient Alpha Reliability for Subscale and Total Scale.

Subscale

Coefficient Alpha

General classroom behaviour General playground behaviour Getting along with other students Attempting tasks presented Development of social skills Aggressive behaviour Total score

Table 5.

.96 .90 .93 .88 .93 .95 .95

Subscale Factor Loadings: Range.

Subscale

General classroom behaviour General playground behaviour Getting along with other students Attempting tasks presented Development of social skills Aggressive behaviours

No. of Items

Loadings Range – Most

Loadings Range – Least

17 6 8 4 6 10

.885 .877 .852 .877 .893 .858

.679 .745 .800 .832 .834 .802

The SBRS has very sound psychometric properties. Table 4 indicates the internal consistency coefficient alphas of each subscale on the SBRS and Table 5 shows the range of factor loadings on the final six subscales.

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The School Behaviours Rating Scale

THE SCHOOL BEHAVIOURS RATING SCALE IN USE The following case of Kane is provided as an example of how the SBRS is being used in the field by general classroom teachers.

Background Kane is a Year 5 boy aged eleven in a middle-sized primary school. When in Year 4, over a 12 month period there had been 17 recorded behaviour entries for refusal, disobedience and playground problems. The incidents were becoming more frequent and he had recently been suspended from school for 10 days when he was assessed using the SBRS. Kane’s Year 3 academic results indicated low band literacy and he has a receptive language delay. Kane’s classroom teacher completed the School Behaviours Rating Scale Student Behaviour Questionnaire.

Student Behaviour Profile Kane’s Student Behaviour Profile using the SBRS when he was in Year 4. Intervention Level Indicated TERTIARY

Comp ≤2.35

Comp ≤2.67

Comp ≤2.50

Comp ≤2.83

Comp ≤1.33

Comp ≤2.20

SECONDARY

Comp ≤3.31

Comp ≤3.83

Comp ≤3.63

Comp ≤3.83

Comp ≤2.25

Comp ≤3.60

PRIMARY

Comp ≥3.32

Comp ≥3.84

Comp ≥3.64

Comp ≥3.84

Comp ≥2.26

Comp ≥3.61

General Classroom Behaviour

General Playground Behaviour

Getting Along with Others

Develop’t of Social Skills

Attempt Tasks Presented

Aggressive Behaviour

The Profile indicated areas of strength in General Classroom Behaviour, Getting Along with Other Students and Development of Social Skills. The target area for improvement was identified as General Playground Behaviour. Before deciding on target behaviours and developing a Behaviour Support Plan, Kane’s teacher was asked about how she delivered instructions to Kane. Since his classroom behaviour was an area of strength it was important to find out more about what was happening in this setting.

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Kane’s teacher explained that when she delivered an instruction to Kane he was more likely to comply if:  Instructions were given one at a time  He was given time to process the instruction and  If needed, the instruction was repeated using the same language Target Behaviours Explicit target behaviours were taken from the General Playground Behaviour subscale. Two behaviours rated as highly problematic were selected. 1. I will follow instructions from all teachers 2. I will move back from the playground when the bell goes Behaviour Support Plan The results of the Student Behaviour Profile were discussed with both Kane and his mother. Areas of strength were identified and target behaviours were explained and discussed. It was very important to spend time explaining his areas of strength as both Kane and his mother were usually confronted with the negatives. After explaining strengths, both became far less defensive and more welcoming of the planned support. Kane’s Behaviour Support Plan included:    

All staff using simple one step instructions with Kane Giving him ‘take up time’ to comply If required, the instruction was repeated using the same language Staff on playground duty gave him notice that play activity time was to finish in 5 minutes  All staff actively looked for opportunities to praise Kane for compliance  Kane’s class teacher provided reinforcement for following his target behaviours – extra play for the whole class once per week. Kane was provided with explicit teaching around the plan and what complying with an instruction without abusive comment or questioning would look like and sound like. The reinforcement of additional play time was chosen as it was Kane’s preferred activity and because he was socially popular with his peers. This utilised Kane’s areas of strength.

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The School Behaviours Rating Scale

EVALUATION AND POST-INTERVENTION ASSESSMENT In order to determine how successful the intervention had been, Kane’s teacher completed the Student Behaviour Questionnaire again eight weeks later. The following Student Behaviour Profile resulted. Intervention Level Indicated TERTIARY

Comp ≤2.35

Comp ≤2.67

Comp ≤2.50

Comp ≤2.83

Comp ≤1.33

Comp ≤2.20

SECONDARY

Comp ≤3.31

Comp ≤3.83

Comp ≤3.63

Comp ≤3.83

Comp ≤2.25

Comp ≤3.60

PRIMARY

Comp ≥3.32

Comp ≥3.84

Comp ≥3.64

Comp ≥3.84

Comp ≥2.26

Comp ≥3.61

General Classroom Behaviour

General Playground Behaviour

Getting Along with Others

Develop’t of Social Skills

Attempt Tasks Presented

Aggressive Behaviour

Kane’s behaviour had improved significantly over the eight week period. The results were shared with Kane, his mother and all staff. Staff continued to use the strategies. Kane is now in Year 5 and his improved behaviour has maintained.

CONCLUSION In order for teachers and school personnel to be able to assist, support and teach students an alternative behaviour response it is necessary that behaviour be viewed as a set of skills or competencies which are able to be taught in the same way as basic academic skills. Teachers can use the SBRS to assist students develop the skills necessary to be successful at school. It would be a far more effective system of support for students with problem behaviour if the staff who know the student well, conduct the assessment, target the areas for intervention, design the programme to teach the alternate behaviour, allocate resources based on need and not timetabling convenience and continue to assess behaviour over time to determine the efficacy of intervention supports. It is important schools view student behaviour problems differently and develop the capacity to design positive environments and interventions (Dunlap et al., 1999). If teachers and schools continue to view negative

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behaviours solely under the lens of the medical model there will be a continued view that little can be done in schools to truly influence the behaviour of troubled students. Schools will continue to use consequencebased systems in the belief that a punishment will somehow teach the student an alternate behaviour (Maag, 2001). Psychological assessment has meaning within the medical profession but has limited value to a classroom teacher beyond a label. The label has no real meaning to the teaching professional and does not provide any explicit information on which to build an appropriate and effective behaviour support programme. Functional behavioural assessments have been shown to provide explicit information about the behaviour but require significant training and are excessively time-consuming (Beare, 1991). The SBRS provides teachers and school personnel an instrument that will assess relevant information about the problem behaviour which can form the basis of behavioural intervention plans and targeted use of resources. Teachers and school personnel must be able to provide programming support for students early in their schooling before negative patterns are set and the cycle of failure has begun. For schools to embrace such programming as a matter of course they must feel empowered and equipped with appropriate, valid and reliable assessment tools. We need to be building the capacity of teachers to embrace the practices of inclusion and not exclusion which may be based on a concept of labelling, difference and deficit.

REFERENCES Alberto, P. A., & Troutman, A. C. (1999). Applied behaviour analysis for teachers (5th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall. American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Beare, P. L. (1991). Philosophy, instructional methodology, training and goals of teachers of the behaviorally disordered. Behavioural Disorders, 16(3), 211–218. Becker, W. C., Madsen, C. H., Jr., Arnold, C. R., & Thomas, D. R. (1967). The contingent use of teacher attention and praise in reducing classroom behaviour problems. Journal of Special Education, 1(3), 287–307. Brulle, A. R. (1988). Dinosaurs don’t die easily: A commentary on Walker, Severson, Stiller, Williams, Haring, Shinn and Todis. Remedial and Special Education, 9(4), 54–55. Conway, R. (1994). Students with behavioural and emotional problems. In A. Ashman & J. Elkins (Eds.), Educating students with special needs (pp. 291–343). Sydney: Prentice Hall.

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Conway, R. (2002). Behaviour in and out of the classroom. In A. Ashman & J. Elkins (Eds.), Educating children with diverse abilities (pp. 172–236). Sydney: Prentice Hall. Dunlap, G., Hieneman, M., Horner, R. H., Lewis, T. J., Liaupsin, C., Nelson, C. M., y Wilcox, B. (1999). Applying positive behavioural support and functional behavioural assessment in schools. OSEP Centre on Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports. US Office of Special Education Programs. Fleming, C. B., Haggerty, K. P., Catalano, R. F., Harachi, T. W., Mazza, J. J., & Gruman, D. H. (2005). Do social and behavioral characteristics targeted by preventive interventions predict standardised test scores and grades? Journal of School Health, 75, 342–350. Gonczi, A. (2002). Measuring and reporting on discipline and student suspensions in NSW government schools. Sydney: NSW Department of Education and Training (Author). Goodenow, C. (1993). Classroom belonging among early adolescent students: Relationships to motivation and achievement. Journal of Early Adolescence, 13, 21–43. Gordon, G. (1996). Managing challenging children. Western Australia: Prim-Ed. Gresham, F. M. (1998). Social skills training: Should we raze, remodel or rebuild? Behavioural Disorders, 24(1), 19–25. Horner, R. H. (1994). Functional assessment: Contributions and future directions. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 401–404. Horner, R. H. (2007, February 6). School-wide positive behavior support Eugene, OR: OSEP Centre on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, University of Oregon. Kameenui, E. J., & Darch, C. B. (1995). Instructional classroom management. New York, NY: Longman. Kauffman, J. M. (1999). How we prevent the prevention of emotional and behavioural disorders. Exceptional Children, 65(4), 448–468. Kazdin, A. E. (1987). Treatment of antisocial behaviour in children: Current status and future directions. Psychological Bulletin, 102(2), 187–203. Lewis, T. J., & Sugai, G. (1999). Effective behaviour support: A systems approach to proactive schoolwide management. Focus on Exceptional Children, 31(6), 1–24. Lloyd, J. W., Forness, S. R., & Kavale, K. A. (1998). Some methods are more effective than others. Intervention in School and Clinic, 33(4), 195–200. Long, M. (2006). How young people are fairing: An update about the learning and work situation of young Australians. Melbourne: Monash University. Lovejoy, M. C. (1996). Social inferences regarding inattentive-overactive and aggressive child behaviour and their effects on teacher reports of discipline. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 25, 33–42. Maag, J. W. (2001). Rewarded by punishment: Reflections on the disuse of positive reinforcement in schools. Exceptional Children, 67(2), 173–186. Madsen, C. H. J., Becker, W. C., & Thomas, D. R. (1968). Rules, praise and ignoring: Elements of elementary classroom control. Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis, 1(2), 139–150. Marshall, J., & Watt, P. (1999). Child behaviour problems: A literature review of the size and nature of the problem and prevention interventions in children. Western Australia: The Interagency Committee on Children’s Futures. Mayer, G. (1995). Preventing antisocial behaviour in the schools. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 28, 467–478. Mayer, G., & Sulzer-Azeroff, B. (1991). Interventions in vandalism. In M. S. G. Stoner & H. Walker (Eds.), Interventions for achievement and behavior problems (pp. 559–580). Washington, DC: National Association of School Psychologists Monograph.

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McIntosh, K., Chard, D. J., Boland, J. B., & Horner, R. H. (2006). Demonstration of combined efforts in school-wide academic and behavioral systems and incidences of reading and behavior challenges in early elementary grades. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, 8, 146–154. Oswald, D. P. (2002). The new medical model and beyond: A response to Forness and Kavale. Behavioural Disorders, 27(2), 155–157. Quinn, M. M., Gable, R. A., Fox, J., Rutheford, R. B., Jr., Van Acker, R., & Conroy, M. (2001). Putting quality functional assessment into practice in schools: A research agenda on behalf of E/BD students. Education and Treatment of Children, 24(3), 261–275. Ramsey, R. (2000). Quality matters. Revitalising teaching: Critical times, critical choices. Report of the review of teacher education. New South Wales: NSW Department of Education and Training. Safran, S. P., & Oswald, K. (2003). Positive behavior supports: Can schools reshape disciplinary practices. Exceptional Children, 69(3), 361–373. Shochet, I. M., Dadds, M. R., Ham, D. R., & Montague, R. (2006). School connectedness is an underemphasized parameter in adolescent mental health: Results of a community prediction study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35(2), 170–179. Shores, R. E., Jack, S. L., Gunter, P. L., Ellis, D. N., DeBriere, T. J., & Wehby, J. H. (1993). Classroom interaction and children with behaviour disorders. Journal of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders, 1, 27–39. Sugai, G., & Horner, R. H. (1999). Applying positive behavioural support and functional behavioural assessment in schools. OSEP Centre on Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports: US Office of Special Education Programs. Sugai, G., & Horner, R. H. (2001). School climate and discipline: Going to scale. OSEP Centre on Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports: US Office of Special Education Programs. Sugai, G., & Horner, R. H. (2002). The evolution of discipline practices: School-wide positive behavior supports. Child and family Behavior Therapy, 24, 23–50. Sugai, G., & Horner, R. H. (2005). School-wide positive behavior supports: Achieving and sustaining effective learning environments for all students. In W. H. Heward (Ed.), Focus on behavior analysis in education: Achievements, challenges, and opportunities (pp. 90–102). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall. Sugai, G., Horner, R. H., & Sprague, J. R. (1999). Functional-assessment-based behaviour support planning: Research to practice to research. Behavioural Disorders, 24(3), 253–257. Tolan, P. H., & Gorman-Smith, D. (1997). Treatment of juvenile delinquency: Between punishment and therapy. In D. M. Stoff, J. Breiling & J. D. Maser (Eds.), Handbook of antisocial behaviour (pp. 405–415). New York, NY: Wiley. Walker, H. M. (1997). The acting out child. Longmont, CO: Sopris West. Walker, H. M., Colvin, G., & Ramsey, E. (1995). Antisocial behaviour in schools: Strategies and best practices. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole. Walker, H. M., Horner, R. H., Sugai, G., Bullis, M., Sprague, J. R., Bricker, D., & Kauffman, M. J. (1996). Integrated approaches to preventing antisocial behaviour patterns among school-age children and youth. Journal of Emotional & Behavioural Disorders, 4, 193–256.

DEVELOPING STAFF SKILLS THROUGH EMOTIONAL LITERACY TO ENABLE BETTER PRACTICES WITH CHILDREN WITH SOCIAL EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES (SEBD) Christiana Koundourou ABSTRACT Nowadays primary and secondary school teachers search for increasing amounts of educational support when it comes to educating pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). The social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL) framework that was recently launched within the English educational setting provides a wide variety of guidelines and advice on how to promote and enhance the needs of pupils, including those with SEBD. These needs can be met by enhancing pupils’ self-awareness, managing their skills, enhancing their motivation and enabling them to become more empathetic as well as developing their social skills. These five components, according to many authors, are

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 93–106 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002009

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considered to come under the umbrella of social, emotional and behavioural skills (SEBS). In the literature, there is evidence to support the view that primary and secondary school teachers are not psychologically prepared to adequately support pupils with SEBD within the classroom setting. The research I have undertaken has enabled me to come to the conclusion that, before entering the classroom, teachers first need to develop their own SEBS before attempting to enhance those of SEBD pupils. This goal can be achieved by enabling teachers to become more emotionally literate. Through the development of emotional literacy, teachers will gain the ability to understand their own emotions, listen to others and learn to empathise with them, as well as to express their emotions productively (Barrow, Bradshaw, & Newton, 2001). Once this goal has been achieved, teachers will be in a better position to support pupils with SEBD within their classrooms. Therefore, this chapter aims to explore the elements that emotional literacy has to offer primary and secondary school teachers, and how these elements enable them to enhance their personal skills when it comes to supporting pupils with SEBD.

INTRODUCTION Today primary and secondary school teachers search for increasing amounts of educational support (diverse skills, abilities among children, challenging and out-of-control behaviours, inconsistencies in school expectations, lack of collaboration) when it comes to educating children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) (Adera & Bullock, 2010; Connelly et al., 2008). Teachers describe many frustrations in trying to provide direct support for children’s learning. The Social Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) framework that was recently launched within the English educational setting provides a wide variety of guidelines and advice on how to promote and enhance all children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills (SEBS) (DfES, 2003; Humphrey et al., 2008; Ofsted, 2007). SEBS involve making positive relationships with other people, understanding and managing oneself and one’s emotions, thoughts and behaviours, understanding, and responding to the emotions and behaviours of others, in ways that are in the best long-term interest of oneself and others (DfES, 2003; Faupel, 2003; Zins, Weissberg, Wang, & Walberg, 2004).

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As authors of the SEAL programme argue (DfES, 2003), SEBS have five components as first identified by Goleman (1996). These include selfawareness, managing their skills, enhancing their motivation and enabling them to become more empathetic as well as developing their social skills. The different components that underpin the framework appear to be key elements that children with SEBD often present difficulties with. These will include the following:  Teachers taking every opportunity to improve children’s self-esteem by rewarding and praising good behaviour that takes place in the classroom (Grossman, 2004; Webster-Stratton, 2002). Emotional and social factors of low attainment, according to Pumfrey and Reason (1991), affect a child’s perception of him/herself. They argue that the emotional impact of struggling with completing their work within the classroom can have a negative impact on a child’s self-esteem, resulting in SEBD. Children with SEBD should receive positive attention and praise for appropriate behaviours. This is because they may constantly receive criticism from people around them, regarding their inappropriate behaviour. As a result, their self-esteem may be low (Hull Learning Services, 2003; WebsterStratton, 2002).  Sometimes lack of a recognisable system of communication for each child such as a lack of understanding and a desire to vent feelings of anger and frustration can be the reason behind challenging behaviours observed (Fogell & Long, 1997; Harris, Cook, & Upton, 1996; Visser, 2000), something that can be supported by developing teachers’ listening skills, something that will give proof to children that teachers understand them (Fogell & Long, 1997).  Teachers should try to encourage children to take every responsibility for their own actions, by enabling them to understand the effects their behaviour can have on other people (Halliwell, 2003; Provis, 1999).  Children with SEBD often present challenging behaviour (DfES, 2001). Therefore, teachers should try to anticipate trouble, by recognising those situations in which a child commonly experiences problems, such as lining up at the door and coming in from break, and offer help rather than criticising bad behaviour (Halliwell, 2003).  Because of the nature of their difficulties, children with SEBD will not always behave like their contemporaries. Therefore, teachers should be in a position to deal with bad behaviour in a positive way, and try to remember to label the behaviour and not the child: calling a child ‘stupid’,

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‘naughty’, ‘bully’ or ‘slow’ only serves to reinforce the idea in the child’s mind that they are indeed stupid, naughty, a bully or slow. Instead, teachers should aim to send various reinforcing messages such as ‘I like you, but I do not like your behaviour’ (Halliwell, 2003).  Different goals set by teachers should be realistic, clear and well defined (Halliwell, 2003), as children with SEBD might be unable to access the curriculum across a wide range of lessons (Fell, 2002). Therefore, it is my belief that the SEAL programme can be proposed as a means of supporting children with SEBD to improve in the different areas where they present difficulties in learning within a school context. However, producing different programmes and implementing different frameworks is not enough to support teaching practices with SEBD children (Koundourou, 2010). There is evidence to support the view that primary and secondary school teachers are not adequately prepared to support children with SEBD within the classroom setting. Sometimes they lack knowledge, sometimes limited support is offered to them from the government, sometimes they lack materials and sometimes there is lack of communication between themselves and the special educational needs teachers (Koundourou, 2007, 2010). My research led to the conclusion that the way teachers feel about working with children with SEBD appears to threaten their view of their capacity in the classroom and ability to achieve teaching goals for themselves and for their children (Chazan, Laing, & Davies, 1994; Leadbetter & Leadbetter, 1993). As Almog and Shechtman (2007) argue, sometimes the gap between the teacher’s knowledge and actual behaviour reinforces them not to apply their knowledge in real classroom situations. This might be because teachers respond spontaneously when it comes to supporting children with SEBD, without relating the incident to the different theories or previously acquired knowledge that was gained, as they seem to experience difficulties in bridging the gap between theory and practice (Almog & Shechtman, 2007). High levels of disruptive student behaviour can lead to low levels of teacher self-efficacy in terms of classroom management which, in turn, can lead to a higher level of teacher burn out. Furthermore, this can lead to a higher level of child disruptive behaviour, something that can reduce teachers’ level of self-efficacy. In other words, teachers play a significant role in the lives of children with SEBD. Teachers also admitted that dealing with SEBD in the classroom can be tiring, frustrating and demanding and takes an undue proportion of

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their time (Gray, Miller, & Noakes, 1996; Gray & Richer, 1995). These problems most of the times can directly influence teachers’ decision making and the way they behave in the classroom (Koundourou, 2010; Pajares, 1992). Consequently, schools have to rely a great deal on teachers’ management skills and competencies in relation to task orientation, classroom discipline and management with this category of children (Poulou, 2005). As Greenhalgh (1991) argues, where learning is impeded by feelings of distress, the child’s relationships with teachers, peers and family are often tense. The teacher’s attitudes and skills in terms of interactive processes go a considerable way to either meeting or negatively reinforcing special needs. Koundourou (2010) came to the conclusion that, before entering the classroom, teachers first need to develop their teaching strategies when it comes to working with children with SEBD. Having said that, before attempting to enhance teachers’ teaching strategies when working with these children, it is important for teachers to attempt to enhance their own SEBS first. First of all, it is important for teachers to be able to self-regulate their own emotions when working with children. Self-regulation involves a cognitive path that requires continuous adaptations and decisions, learning to be aware of how to gain a valid understanding of different situations and reflecting on dispositions about how different activities that involve emotions should be done, how they are done or have been done (Sanz de Acedo Lizarraga, Ugarte, Caedelle-Elawar, Iriarte, & Sanz de Acedo Baquedano, 2003; Zimmerman, 1998). Central to self-regulatory activities are the importance of self-awareness while completing a task, monitoring progress while performing it, as well as finding new strategies when the previous ones did not lead to successful task completion (Sanz de Acedo Lizarraga et al., 2003). According to Zimmerman (1998, p. 2), self-regulation theorists y view learning as an open-ended process that requires cyclical activity on the part of the learner that occurs in three major phases: forethought, performance and selfreflection.

Firstly, the forethought phase guides both the mind and the performance with regard to any specific task that needs to be undertaken, and plans for future action (Zimmerman, 1998). Secondly, the performance phase involves the processes that take place during learning efforts and influences concentration and performance (Zimmerman, 1998). This phase is about controlling every aspect involved in the development of an activity, as well

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as factors that may affect specification and distribution of time and effort (Sanz de Acedo Lizarraga et al., 2003). It is about controlling the urge to act in the here and now (Faupel, 2003). Finally, the self-reflection phase involves processes that occur after learning efforts – the analysis of whatever has occurred, the results obtained and the relationships that influence a learner’s reaction to that experience (Sanz de Acedo Lizarraga et al., 2003; Zimmerman, 1998). Teachers should try to use this cycle of learning within their classroom not only to enhance their children’s self-regulation skills but to enhance their own self-regulation skills as well. Being self-regulated will enable them to view academic learning as something that is done to or for them. It will enable them to take control of their learning (Zimmerman, 1998). Therefore, teachers should try to self-assess their tasks and control their thoughts, attitudes and behaviours (Sanz de Acedo Lizarraga et al., 2003). Secondly, self-awareness is the ability of individuals to recognise and understand their own emotions and their effect (emotional awareness), their strengths and weaknesses (accurate self-evaluation) as well as the ability to provide them with a strong sense of self-worth (self-confidence) in order to be creative and perform well (Akerjordet & Severinsson, 2007; Faupel, 2003; Goleman, 1996). Being self-aware involves individuals being emotionally self-aware, and having the ability to recognise their own emotions by discriminating between their various emotions. In other words, be in a position to name or label these emotions (Duval & Silvia, 2002; Faupel, 2003). But recognition is not enough. Individuals also need to be able to understand their emotions by appreciating the fact that emotions can affect what they think, say and do (Duval & Silvia, 2002; Faupel, 2003). The capacity for self-awareness also requires accurate self-evaluation (Duval & Silvia, 2001). This requires individuals knowing their strengths and weaknesses, what is within their competence and what is beyond them. It is about realistic assessment of their skills and competences (Faupel, 2003). As Hunter-Carsch, Tiknaz, Cooper, and Sage (2006) add, it is through the realisation of an individuals’ uniqueness that each individual can achieve self-awareness that can lead to a sense of purpose and awareness in their relationships with other people. Besides a realistic evaluation of individual skills and competences, it is also important for the individual to value him/herself as a person, and be in a position to distinguish between the belief in his/her inherent values and what s/he really care about, on the one hand, and competencies s/he possesses on the other (Faupel, 2003). Therefore, it is important for teachers

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to have a realistic and balanced view of their attainments in order to avoid disappointments. The ability to judge the self is essential for identifying progress towards achieving goals (Carver & Scheier, 1998) and for targeting areas for improvement (Sedikides & Strube, 1997). However, this can be a source of problems (Duval & Silvia, 2002). Enabling individuals to recognise the possibility of failing, self-evaluation can interrupt task performance and make people defensive, as shown by numerous self-serving biases in social perception and attribution (Duval & Silvia, 2002). Having said that, Silvia and Duval (2004) argue that when self-evaluation increases concerns with the self’s performance, and thus interferes with divergent thinking, then ability to improve can minimise the detrimental effects of self-evaluation. Feeling able to improve buffers the individual against defensiveness (Carver & Scheier, 1998) and minimises the effects of failure and selfevaluation (Dunning, 1995). Therefore, for individuals to understand how they are supposed to behave, they first need to understand the world from a cognitive perspective (Gray, 2002; Silvia & Phillips, 2004; Weare, 2009) by embracing positive behaviour management approaches (Gray, 2002). Thirdly, when referring to motivation, psychologists refer to the reasons why individuals are stimulated into action (Covington, 2000). Motivation can have a significant impact on individual’s academic achievements, and motivational problems can seriously harm learning and can be the cause of the development of serious behavioural problems (Givvin, Stipek, Salmon, & MacGyvers, 2001). There are many ways in which motivational problems manifest themselves. These include low levels of effort, lack of participation, unwillingness to take on challenging tasks, giving up quickly in the face of difficulty and so on (Givvin et al., 2001). Over the past 50 years, two different kinds of motivation have been of interest to psychologists – intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Covington, 2000). Extrinsic motivation means doing something as a result of which individuals anticipate some kind of tangible reward such as good grades, recognition or gold stars. In other words, the value of an action lies not in the behaviour but in what they get as a result of that behaviour. Consequently, the rewards turn out to be unrelated to the action (Covington, 2000; Fields & Boesser, 1998). The reward is external to the individual because it comes from someone else. Obviously, behaviour teaching strategies rely on extrinsic motivation (Fields & Boesser, 1998; Givvin et al., 2001). Alternatively, intrinsic motivation occurs when individuals are engaged in activities for their own sake. The value lies in the behaviour itself, and the reward resides in the actions themselves and on how an individual feels

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about it. The reward is internal to the individual (Fields & Boesser, 1998). Therefore, the repetition of an action does not depend as much on external inducement, as on the personal satisfaction derived from overcoming a personal challenge, learning something new or even discovering new things of personal interest in terms of their teaching practices (Covington, 2000). Therefore, it is important for individuals to come to appreciate the value of teaching children and recognise the natural benefits of positive interactions and making good choices. Fourthly, teachers need to be empathetic with the children that they work with, be good listeners and be ready to support them. Empathy is the capacity to understand, feel, perceive and be sensitive to the messages that others are sending us regarding the way individuals think and feel (Faupel, 2003; Sanz de Acedo Lizarraga et al., 2003). Empathetic educators try to understand their children from their point of view, and they often can appreciate and sense how and why their children think and feel in particular ways. This is something that appears to be very important for teachers if they want to build positive relationships with the children (Fields & Boesser, 1998). Teachers understand that, given the circumstances and their children’s developmental levels, their thoughts and feelings are both natural and normal. Empathetic teachers can communicate their understanding of what their children are experiencing, and their own appreciation of why they feel and think as they do. Respecting children and their viewpoints helps children respect their view points (DeVries & Zan, 1994 in Fields & Boesser, 1998). But teachers do not always agree that their children should act on their thoughts and feelings (Grossman, 2004; Sanz de Acedo Lizarraga et al., 2003; Weare, 2004; Weiss, 2006). When empathetic expressions occur in the classroom, children sense that the teacher actually understands what they are thinking and feeling. Consequently, the attitudinal quality of the relationship between teachers and children creates conditions for significant learning to take place (Weiss, 2006). The outcomes of empathy result in affective responses, cognitive understanding and helping behaviour (Hakansson & Montgomery, 2003) which is reflected in fuller and more meaningful relational experiences (Kerem, Fisherman, & Josselson, 2001). Finally, empathy is predominantly about understanding how others see the world by listening to all the messages given by individuals. But the second strand of empathy refers to the individual’s ability to communicate with others who have indeed listened to them, and who come to appreciate that their understanding may be very different from that of others. The skills needed are primarily concerned with how individuals influence other people to help meet their own needs, but in ways that also enable others to meet

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their own needs. Influence can be used as a catch-all expression for the variety of possible strategies, tactics and behaviours that can use be used to achieve this (Faupel, 2003). There are different levels of social skills. Also, teachers need to have good social skills not only with their children but with the rest of the teachers of the same school as well. Some of these include discreet skills such as using appropriate eye contact, facial expressions, tone and volume of speech and body posture. Some are rather more general, like the use of humour, smiles, laughter and asking for help when needed. Others include ways of being in a relationship with others, like standing up for oneself, learning to share, waiting for one’s turn, acknowledging one’s mistakes and so on (Faupel, 2003; Grossman, 2004). Good social skills with the children will enable them to communicate appropriately, and the children can see that their teacher is willing to help them and listen to them. Good social skills between the teachers enable them to share experiences, knowledge and at the same time to get inspired and encouraged to carry on with their work. This goal can be achieved by enabling teachers to become more emotionally literate. As Goleman (1996) argues, the above components mentioned appear to be the five dimensions of emotional literacy (EL) (DfES, 2003; Faupel, 2003; Goleman, 1996; Weare, 2004). Through the development of EL, teachers will gain the ability to understand their own emotions, listen to others and learn to empathise with them as well as to express their emotions productively (Barrow, Bradshaw, & Newton, 2001). According to Goleman (1996), EL helps people to enhance/develop their     

social and emotional competence; behaviour in and out of the classroom; ability to learn; academic achievement scores and work performance; and role in life.

The concept of EL was developed in the 1970s within American humanistic psychology and has come to be popularised in the United Kingdom through psychotherapist Susie Orbach’s Guardian column (Orbach, 1994). According to Park (1999) and Sharp (2001), EL is described as developing individuals’ ability to acknowledge what it is they feel, to express those feelings in an appropriate fashion and to empathise with the feelings of others to handle and appropriately express emotions.

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While Meekums (2008) has criticised Park’s failure to define ‘appropriate fashion’, Park (1999) claimed that EL facilitates all other educational goals as each school offers multiple opportunities for the sort of interpersonal connections, between young people and their peers as well as their teachers, that can remove blocks and facilitate emotional development. Averill (2004, p. 228) states that the interest in EL is growing because ‘it has an easily recognised grain of truth. We all know people who are emotionally adept. Whatever the occasion, they seem to experience the right emotion in the right way, for the right reason and with good effects’. Faupel (2003, p. 3) also comes to offer a more explicit definition of the concept of EL arguing that EL is the ability of people to recognise, understand, handle and appropriately express their own emotions and to recognise, understand and respond appropriately to the expressed emotions of others

Park and Tew (2007) added that EL can be defined as a set of skills that enable people to enhance their ability to recognise, understand, handle and appropriately express emotions. Emotions are critical ingredients for optimal information processing, social communication, written communication. Motivation, attention, concentration, memory, critical thinking skills, creativity, behaviour, physical health and our very survival. (Elias & Arnold, 2006, p. 15)

The purpose for developing our EL is to precisely identify and communicate our feelings and improve our ability to identify our feelings by their specific names. EL provides us the opportunity to understand the different forces that shape us, inspire us and limit us (Park, 1999). An emotionally literate person will be able to read or decode signs and symbols that they receive from other people (Faupel, 2003), and to understand the forces that impel them to act in particular ways (Park, 1999). Park (1999) also argues that EL is about limiting their potential to be oppressive by feelings that render them anxious, undermine the quality of their relationships and limit their capacity to think clearly about information that comes to them. EL is about enabling them to make sense of their own lives so that they can make sense of everything else as well (Park, 1999). It is important for teachers to be able to talk comfortably about their feeling, as not every teacher is at ease doing so or wants to be. There is little or nothing on the standard education of teachers that prepares them for this kind of teaching. Children are aware when their teacher lacks confidence in the classroom or prefers to keep a distance from them. Consequently, they are more

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likely to take advantage of this. Steel (2002) argues that teachers often struggle to admit their anxieties in a culture that fails to recognise that the need for support goes beyond staffroom scepticism. These feelings are contagious and can affect the working environment – negative teachers’ expectations and attitudes have a profound effect on children’s school issues. Pumfrey (2000) pointed out the important role of teachers’ attitudes in the success/failure of including children with SEBD in the school and classroom community as these attitudes can influence their children. Mosses argues that it is more productive to enter the classroom without any negative expectations and with no assumptions as to how things might, or might not, turn out. This shift in perspective appears to be the keystone to an enjoyable lesson. Consequently, it is important for teachers to feel comfortable with themselves first about entering a classroom and having to teach children with SEBD. For this reason, EL programmes typically give perspective teachers several weeks of special training in the approach (Goleman, 1996, p. 279). In the literature, there is evidence to support the contention that training and participation in different seminars or special lessons helps teachers to obtain and interpret knowledge, share experience and be advised on different issues/strategies that are available, and enables them to support and enhance their teaching practice (Chazan et al., 1994; Pajares, 1992; Phtiaka, 2005; Poulou, 2005). Also, while many teachers may be reluctant at the outset to tackle a topic that seems so foreign to their training and routines, there is evidence that once they are willing to try it, most will be pleased rather than putting off (Goleman, 1996, p. 279) Adera and Bullock (2010) stated that sensitivity training for all teachers working with children with SEBD may better equip them with the required skills and prepare them to be more empathetic as they address the needs of children with SEBD. Following this notion, it can be evidently argued that giving the chance/opportunity to teachers to become emotionally literate will give them the opportunity to be in a better position when dealing with those children. Concluding from the above issues that have been raised, it is my opinion that once teachers have the chance to explore their emotional world, they will be in a position to feel more self-aware and self-regulated about their emotions and themselves, they will become more motivated about their teaching, they will be in a position to feel, understand and be sensitive to different messages that are sent to them and finally they will also be in a position to communicate with the people around them. After that it is my argument that teachers will be in a better position to support children with SEBD within their classrooms and at the same time feel more confident when dealing with different incidents of inappropriate behaviour.

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REFERENCES Adera, B. A., & Bullock, L. M. (2010). Job stressors and teacher job satisfaction in programs serving students with emotional and behavioural disorders. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 15(1), 5–14. Akerjordet, K., & Severinsson, E. (2007). Emotional intelligence: A review of the literature with specific focus on empirical and epistemological perspectives. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 16(8), 1405–1416. Almog, O., & Shechtman, Z. (2007). Teachers’ democratic and efficacy beliefs and styles of coping with behavioural problems of pupils with special needs. European Journal of Special Educational Needs, 22(2), 115–129. Averill, J. R. (2004). A tale of two snarks: Emotional intelligence and emotional creativity compared. Psychological Inquiry, 15(3), 228–233. Barrow, G., Bradshaw, E., & Newton, T. (2001). Improving behaviour and raising self-esteem in the classroom. London: David Fulton Publishers. Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1998). On the self-regulation of behaviour. New York, NY: Cambridge University. Chazan, M., Laing, A. F., & Davies, D. (1994). The attitudes of mainstream teachers towards pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 9(3), 261–274. Connelly, G., Lockhart, E., Wilson, P., Furnivall, J., Bryce, G., Barbour, R., & Phin, L. (2008). Teachers’ responses to the emotional needs of children and young people: Results from the Scottish needs assessment programme. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 13(1), 7–19. Covington, M. V. (2000). Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation in schools: A reconciliation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9(1), 22–25. DfES. (2001). Special educational needs: Code of practice. Nottingham: DfES Publications. DfES. (2003). Primary national strategy. Developing children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills: A whole school-curriculum approach. London: DfES. Dunning, D. (1995). Trait importance and modifiability as factors influencing self-assessment and self-enhancement motives. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 1297–1306. Duval, T. S., & Silvia, P. J. (2001). Self-awareness and causal attribution: A dual-systems theory. Boston, MD: Kluwer Academic. Duval, T. S., & Silvia, P. J. (2002). Self-awareness, probability of improvement and the selfserving bias. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(1), 49–61. Elias, J. E., & Arnold, H. (2006). The educator’s guide to emotional intelligence and academic achievement: Social-emotional learning in the classroom. London: Sage. Faupel, A. (2003). Emotional literacy – Assessment and interventions (ages 7 to 11). Southampton: Psychology Press. Fell, P. (2002). Overcoming barriers to successful support: An examination of issues for teachers and support workers. In P. Gray (Ed.), Working with emotions. London: Routledge Falmer. Fields, M. V., & Boesser, C. (1998). Constructive guidance and discipline: Preschool and primary education (2nd ed.). New York, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Fogell, J., & Long, R. (1997). Emotional and behavioural difficulties. England, UK: NASEN Publication. Givvin, K. B., Stipek, D. J., Salmon, J. M., & MacGyvers, V. M. (2001). In the eyes of the beholder: Student’s and teacher’s judgments of students’ motivation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 321–331.

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Goleman, D. (1996). Emotional intelligence – Why it can matter more than IQ. Great Britain: Bloomsbury. Gray, J., & Richer, J. (1995). Classroom responses to disruptive behaviour. London: Routledge. Gray, P. (2002). Working with emotions. London: Routledge Falmer. Gray, P., Miller, A., & Noakes, J. (1996). Challenging behaviour in schools. London: Routledge. Greenhalgh, P. (1991). The creative tension of separation and integration: Processes in support provision for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 6(3), 177–184. Grossman, H. (2004). Classroom behavior management for diverse and inclusive schools (3rd ed.). Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. Hakansson, L., & Montgomery, H. (2003). Empathy as an interpersonal phenomenon. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 20(267), 267–287. Halliwell, M. (2003). Supporting children with special educational needs: A guide for assistants in schools and pre-schools. London: David Fulton Publishers. Harris, J., Cook, M., & Upton, G. (1996). Pupils with severe learning difficulties who present challenging behaviour: A whole school approach to assessment and intervention. Kidderminster: BILD Publications. Hull Learning Services. (2003). Supporting children with behaviour difficulties. London: David Fulton Publishers. Humphrey, N., Kalambouka, A., Bolton, J., Lendrun, A., Wigelsworh, M., Lennie, C., & Farrell, P. (2008). Primary social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL): Evaluation of small group work, DCSF-RB064. Nottingham: DfES Publications. Hunter-Carsch, M., Tiknaz, Y., Cooper, P., & Sage, R. (2006). The handbook of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. London: Continuum. Kerem, E., Fisherman, N., & Josselson, R. (2001). The experience of empathy in everyday relationships: Cognitive and effective elements. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 18, 709–729. Koundourou, C. (2007). Facing the challenging of educating pupils with EBD in the mainstream primary schools of Cyprus, Master of Arts dissertation, University of Nottingham, UK. Koundourou, C. (2010). An examination of the effects of the SEAL programme on children with SEBD in a mainstream Greek-Cypriot primary school to change their behaviour, Unpublished thesis, University of Birmingham, UK. Leadbetter, J., & Leadbetter, P. (1993). Special children: Meeting the challenge in the primary school. London: Cassell. Meekums, B. (2008). Developing emotional literacy through individual dance movement therapy: A pilot study. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 13(2), 95–110. OFSTED. (2007). Developing social, emotional and behavioural skills in secondary schools. Ref no.: 070048, London. Orbach, O. (1994). What’s really going on here? London: Virago. Pajares, F. (1992). Teacher’s beliefs and educational research cleaning up a messy contract. Review of Educational Research, 62, 307–332. Park, J. (1999). Emotional literacy: Education for meaning. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 4(1), 19–28. Park, J., & Tew, M. (Eds.). (2007). Emotional literacy: Pocketbook. UK: James Park and Marilyn Tew. Phtiaka, H. (2005) Children with special needs in the ordinary classroom teachers’ and peers views. Presented in the International Special Education Conference, Glasgow, Scotland.

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Retrieved from http://www.isec2005.org/isec/abstracts/papers_p/phtiaka_h.shtml. Accessed on 20 May 2005. Poulou, M. (2005). Perceptions of students with emotional and behavioural difficulties: A study of prospective teachers in Greece. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 10(2), 137–160. Provis, M. (1999). Ethical practice: Key considerations when working with young people in difficulty. In J. Visser & S. Rayner (Eds.), Emotional and behavioural difficulties. A reader. UK: QEd Publications. Pumfrey, P. (2000). Emotional and behavioural difficulties: Messages for teachers. Paper presented at ISEC, Manchester, UK, 24–28 July 2000. Retrieved from http:// www.isec2000.org.uk/abstracts/papers_p/pumfrey2.htm. Accessed on 4 April 2010. Pumfrey, P. D., & Reason, R. (1991). Specific learning difficulties, challenges, responses and recommendations. In B. Riddick (Ed.), Living with dyslexia. Sanz de Acedo Lizarraga, M. L., Ugarte, M. D., Caedelle-Elawar, M., Iriarte, M. D., & Sanz de Acedo Baquedano, M. T. (2003). Enhancement of self-regulation, assertiveness, and empathy. Learning and Instruction, 13, 423–439. Sedikides, C., & Strube, M. J. (1997). Self-evaluation: To thine own self be good, to thine own self be sure, to thine own self be true, and to thine own self be better. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 29, 206–269. Sharp, P. (2001). Nurturing emotional literacy. London: David Fulton Publishers. Silvia, P. J., & Duval, T. S. (2004). Self-awareness, self-motives, and self-motivation. In R. A. Wright, L. Greenberg & S. S. Brehm (Eds.), Motivational analysis of social behaviour: Building on Jack Brehm’s contributions to psychology. Mahwah, NL: Lawrence Erlbaum. Silvia, P. J., & Phillips, A. G. (2004). Self-awareness, self-evaluation and creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 1009–1017. Steel, L. (2002). Staff support – Lessons from experiences. In J. Visser (Ed.), Emotional and behavioural difficulties: Successful practises. UK: QEd Publication. Visser, J. (2000). Managing behaviour in classroom. London: David Fulton Publishers. Weare, K. (2004). Developing the emotionally literate school. London: Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd. Weare, K. (2009). SEAL: The international evidence base, national conference for head-teachers. University of Southampton. Retrieved from http://www.bandapilot.org.uk/secondary/ resources/conference/katherine-weare.ppt-. Accessed on 18 January 2009. Webster-Stratton, C. (2002). How to promote children’s social and emotional competence. Great Britain: Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd. Weiss, S. (2006). Classic psychoeducational approaches to teaching and talking with troubled children. In M. Hunter-Carsch, Y. Tiknaz, P. Cooper & R. Sage (Eds.), The handbook of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. London: Continuum. Zimmerman, B. J. (1998). Developing self-fulfilling cycles of academic regulation: An analysis of exemplary instructional models. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Selfregulated Learning. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Zins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Wang, M. C., & Walberg, H. J. (2004). Building academic success on social and emotional learning. London: Teachers College Press.

CHANGING PROFESSIONAL CULTURE – WHAT NURTURE GROUPS CAN ACHIEVE Jim Rose ABSTRACT This chapter explores the ways in which, over the past several years, the onus of UK central government policy has impacted upon managers and practitioners across services and agencies that work with children, young people and their families. It further considers the changes that have taken place in the education and training of the related professional workforces, with examples from education, social work, youth justice, residential work and fostering. By drawing upon ideas from attachment theory and the principles of nurture, it becomes possible to identify alternative ways of working in these settings. In these new models the importance of positive relationships comes to the forefront of policy and practice, whilst the education and training of professional workers is shaped by a greater emphasis on children’s development and the profound significance of attachment and nurture. In different settings and across age groups, nurture groups provide an outstanding practice model, offering children and young people the right

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 107–119 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002010

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sort of experiences for improving their self-esteem, building up their resilience and overcoming barriers to learning. The principles upon which nurture groups are based offer an exciting template, not only for developing models of practice, but for influencing the formulation of policy and the education of students in initial training or as part of continuing professional development.

CURRENT PROFESSIONAL CULTURE – THE IMPLICATIONS OF POLICY FOR PRACTICE So what are these concerns about how we are working with our most vulnerable children, young people and families? Professional activity in social care, education, youth justice and health services has been dominated for a number of years by policy directives that require copious forms to be completed, papers to be filed, boxes to be ticked, targets to be achieved and reports to be written. The latter usually in a formulaic style, with their conclusions already prescribed and sometimes even with helpful, prepared phrases ready for cutting and pasting; ‘Here’s one I made earlier!’ (Rose, 2010, p. 1)

It has become increasingly acknowledged that across the United Kingdom the policy context for work with troubled children, young people and families has created a culture for managers and practitioners whereby control prevails over welfare, regulation over professional judgment and protocol over process (Rose, 2010). A dominating feature of this culture is the reliance on bureaucratic approaches for the collection and collation of data and information. The purpose of this is to satisfy the requirements for what are regarded as ‘evidencebased’ evaluations and quality assurance programmes, with an emphasis on showing value for money and the achievement of short-term outcomes. The demands for the systematic gathering of information are extensive and pervasive. In social work, the impact of this may be seen not just in terms of reducing the amount of time front-line workers spend in direct contact with people, but in the corrosive way that the number of hours spent in ‘recording’ re-directs the focus of workers’ attention away from opportunities to think reflectively about the meaning of their work, especially those potentially dangerous or abusive situations with which they may be involved. The priority becomes the completion of a form, itself now the definition of the ‘professional task’, the satisfactory completion of which is the measured outcome of effective practice. In education, the emphasis on delivery and standards, evidenced through continuous testing and publicly marked by league tables, has greatly diminished the scope for extending creativity in teaching practice (Craft, 2005).

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Whilst acknowledging that there are other policy streams joining into the overwhelming tide of central policy directives and using the introduction of the SEAL programme (social and emotional aspects of learning) in schools as an example, Clouder and Heys are clear that this tide will not be easily reversed: The danger is that SEAL and other such endeavours too, will fall victim to the prevalent target-setting measures, as has been already mooted for creativity in schoolsy . The ‘delivery’ model of education is deeply entrenched and in spite of its well-documented shortcomings will take much effort to be transformed into a more child-orientated approach. (Clouder & Heys, 2008, p. 7)

DATA DUMPING We have some way to go before our systems and evidence-based approaches help professional workers avoid simply dumping data into endless bundles of electronic forms, and instead help them connect the facts before them with the stories behind them. (Rose, 2010)

One of the common factors emerging from the number of inquiry reports that have followed the most serious and horrifying child protection incidents in recent years, is the failure of agencies to coordinate the information they had about the families with whom they were concerned. In addition, these are families about whom a great deal was known and who had been visited many times. There are several layers that need unwrapping when trying to understand the reasons why professional workers, with access to large amounts of information about the circumstances of individual children and their families, are not able to process this material in ways that inform and modify their practice. Some of this is a result of the manner in which the information is gathered and the perceptions that workers have as to why it is being collected. The over-prioritising of statistical returns for the purposes of audit extends across all public services. It has become a driver for amassing information which, once consigned to an excel spread sheet and passed upwards and onwards, is lost to practitioners for collation and analysis, essential tasks for thinking about and trying to make sense of the human experiences that live behind the statistics. This phenomenon may be described as ‘data dumping’, when between the act of gathering information and implementing further action, no space is allowed for reflective thinking about actual experiences. In an important and challenging research article, Karen Broadhurst and her colleagues argue that in a social work context, ‘current attempts to

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increase safety through formalisation of organisational procedures and their enactment by IT systems, may have had a contrary effect’. Furthermore: during our fieldwork, we observed that workers at the front-door faced acute challenges to safe practice. Imperatives to safeguard children and support families appeared at odds with, rather than enhanced by, new modes of e-governance and associated performance targets. In particular, the immutable timescales set for the completion of the initial assessment inevitably pushed workers to make quick categorisations based on, at best, one home visit. Equally, the standardised and complex assessment forms appeared to engender a range of problematic recording practices. (Broadhurst et al., 2009, p. 2)

The aim of Broadhurst’s article is to demonstrate from field work examples how the pressures on managers and social workers to process referrals, undertake initial assessments and record them on the standardised forms within prescribed time scales, creates what she calls ‘latent error conditions’. Contributing to these conditions are the ‘short cuts’ that managers and workers routinely take in the course of their work in order to achieve the specified targets, the consequences of which may be that in the case of individual families poor safeguarding decisions are made. The design of the IT systems for recording initial referrals and assessments exacerbates the potential for error. Broadhurst found that ‘data input demands seriously eroded valuable face-to-face time with children and their parents/carers’. In social services, priority needs to be given to reduce the distance between workers, family and community that many studies have cited (by both service users and front line workers) as central to good practice (Pithouse & Holland, 1999; Gray, 2002; Ruch, 2005). We have seen that the IT-enabled, performance-driven IAS has created further distance between worker and service user, offering instead a scientistic veneer of codes, risk scores and metrics. (Broadhurst et al., p. 15)

Information gathered by individual services and agencies is rarely brought together in a context whereby its meaning may be thought about and interpreted or used to develop a continuing narrative account of evolving events. Although tools such as the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) are intended for the collation of different views across the professional spectrum and therefore intended to address these issues, the context and processes by which the assessment is completed does not and cannot address questions as to how meaning may be ascribed to the data that has been collected.

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THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF THE PROFESSIONAL WORKFORCE The edicts of central policy, with the ensuing emphases on monitoring and auditing, have resulted in the emergence of a practice culture dominated by protocols and procedures, target driven and overly bureaucratic. This has inevitably influenced agencies’ expectations regarding staff performance which, together with other tensions bearing down on the higher education sector, have had a direct effect on both content and teaching styles in initial and post-qualifying training programmes. One of the consequences of this for institutions providing these training programmes has been that the traditional balance, that is between providing educational experiences for students that stimulate their capacity for reflective thinking whilst allowing time to ground practice in sound theoretical perspectives and the demands of prospective employers for immediate effectiveness in the work place, has been lost. Tony Jeffs and Jean Spence (2007/2008) may be writing specifically about the education and training of youth workers, but many of their points are highly relevant to issues in higher education as a whole. Their criticisms about the quality of training for youth workers echo those that that have been levelled against training programmes designed for other disciplines, including social work and teaching. Jeffs and Spence offer a serious critique of recent trends in higher education and in particular on the quality of much present-day teaching and learning. From the starting point of the Further and Higher Education Act (1992), they summarise: The accumulated impact has been to reconfigure the balance between management, administration, teaching and research. Marketisation has injected competition into each and every corner of the sector, strengthening the autonomy of management, bureaucratising systems and subjecting academic issues to pressures external to issues of educational worth and intellectual validity. (Jeffs & Spence, 2007/2008, p. 138)

The shift in the responsibility for funding participation in higher education from state to student has re-focused the priorities of individuals onto outcomes and qualifications and the priorities of institutions onto student numbers and financial viability. Concerns to increase student numbers have led inevitably to questions being raised about the academic standards of those entering professional qualifying courses and subsequently the nature of the training that they receive.

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This discussion is only part of a much broader debate about higher education and points to the widespread changes in teaching and learning that have occurred throughout the sector as a whole. Outcomes driven processes curtail and in the case of pre-packaged programmes seek to remove the opportunities for teachers to give expression to what Palmer refers to as the ‘capacity for connectedness’ to ‘join self and subject’ (1998, p. 11) thereby linking ideas and enabling student and teacher alike to move beyond the merely relevant ‘what is’ towards a liberatory sense of ‘what might be. (Jeffs & Spence, op. cit., p. 144)

The education and training of teachers is currently undergoing a sea change in both focus and locus. Schools are now in a position to drive and determine the content of initial teacher training programmes and also to provide the settings for people entering the profession to gain their qualification. This represents a move away from university-based courses (although universities may be involved in partnership with schools) but brings with it an inevitably increased emphasis on subject based teaching practice and a further diminution in opportunities for the study of such topics as the philosophy and history of education, which may be argued as essential for producing rounded and grounded professional educators. The curtailment of time for students to gain a broad theoretical knowledge and have adequate opportunities for practice experience in the course of their initial training, raises serious issues. This is particularly pertinent with regard to how the needs of the most vulnerable and challenging children and young people are best addressed in the classroom and in schools as a whole. The employability of teachers is dependent on how well they are prepared to interact and support children and young people in their learning. If children are unavailable to learn, as a result of social and emotional difficulties, even the best and most highly qualified graduates may be illequipped to reach them and engage with their behaviour in the classroom. Currently, many teachers believe that they have not been sufficiently prepared to deal with challenging behaviour in the classroom, a point reinforced by the high rates of attrition in the early months and years of teachers entering the profession. The behaviour of certain children and young people is found by many teachers to be bewildering and on occasions deeply and personally troubling. Current policy directives suggest that it is up to the teaching profession to ‘quell’ unacceptable behaviour in the classroom in order for effective teaching and learning to take place. However, those children who present extremely challenging behaviours are likely to be the very pupils who are emotionally and cognitively unavailable

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for learning, whilst their difficulties will only be reinforced if behaviour management techniques are reactive, punitive or judgmental. The Consortium for Emotional Well Being in Schools (CEWBS) is made up of a network of organisations who share a common set of values and principles around the importance and relevance of attachment theory and nurture. The Consortium’s mission is to encourage all providers of initial teacher training to include in their programme a module on the basic understanding of what challenging behaviour means, that is the notion of ‘behaviour as communication’. This would enable students to gain some understanding of the significance of attachment theory to child development and should be linked with an introduction to the emerging knowledge from neuroscience about the growth of the infant brain and the key processes of early learning through relationships and experience.

RELATIONAL PRACTICE Whilst, as we have shown, there are policy streams that promote well-being (SEAL in education or the increased levels of funding for child and adolescent mental health services) there is still the unyielding requirement for services to demonstrate their effectiveness in statistical formats that purportedly measure performance, rather than in ways that give expression to the quality of human relationships across a service and offer a real voice to ‘service users’. A truly radical shift in culture would bring to the forefront recognition and acceptance of the powerful ideas from attachment theory about the fundamental human need for secure attachment relationships and the importance of these relationships for learning and development. The reasonable requirement to measure organisational performance has to be balanced with delivering services that meet the real needs of children and young people; it is vital that these services include practices that embody nurturing approaches and address the fundamental challenges of providing secure attachments and building resilience through relational experiences. Our growing knowledge about how the infant brain develops, the correlation between physiological growth and emotional and cognitive development with the quality of early nurturing experiences, builds upon these ideas and has huge implications for our approach to work with children, young people and families stretching across education, health and social work. Importantly, however, they also impact on the structures that organisations need in order to support the work of their staff.

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For front-line staff to experience the security and containment that are essential for meeting the needs of the most vulnerable and damaged children, young people and families, requires a professional culture that reflects and enshrines these priorities. To work thoughtfully and safely necessitates organisational structures that support protected spaces for thinking and reflection. To be effective, professional supervision must be regular and challenging, whilst staff meetings and training sessions have to happen as planned, even in the face of all the other pressures that beset institutions and organisations. Workers have to accept their responsibilities as well, however, and ensure that they play their part in facilitating the regular occurrence of these crucial activities. These ideas present particular challenges for teachers and schools. The lack of any formal models for the supervision of teachers outside of professional monitoring of classroom practice and performance is lamentable. Understanding attachment and the principles of nurture is vital for responding creatively to the ‘behaviour’ of the most vulnerable children and young people, but so are opportunities for reflective thinking in general about ‘what is going on’ and for the giving and receiving of support around the impact that this behaviour has on the adults on the receiving end of them!

NURTURE GROUPS Nurture groups provide a robust model for translating such ideas into a wide range of practice settings. Although in origin nurture groups are an educational intervention, with a long history of success in primary schools, helping children overcome emotional barriers to learning and achievement (Cooper & Whitebread, 2007), the principles that underpin their operation have been successfully adapted for work with older children in secondary schools (Colley, 2009) and in settings with young offenders (Bourne, 2008). There are now over one thousand nurture groups in schools across the United Kingdom and a growing interest overseas, notably in Canada and New Zealand.

What are Nurture Groups? Nurture groups were originally devised by an educational psychologist, Marjorie Boxall, working in an inner-London borough in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With high numbers of children at that time being referred to child

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guidance clinics or special schools, she observed that many of the children entering school for the first time, around the age of five, were not pathologically disturbed but lacking in good early experiences of nurture, which she knew were the building blocks for later learning in more formal settings such as school. Boxall came to realise that what was most effective in engaging with these children was to treat them in ways that were developmentally, rather than chronologically, age appropriate. This might mean carrying them like an infant, showing them pictures on the wall and pointing things out, above all giving them a warm, nurturing experience of a an adult who was intuitively aware of, and able to attend to their individual and emotional needs. Of course, these children also needed opportunities to learn socially acceptable behaviours and in particular the skills needed to succeed in school. Hence the development of the group model, the nurture group as it became. In what have been traditionally described as ‘classic’ groups, nurture groups are classes of between six to eight children set up in primary schools with their own room, preferably in a central part of the school. Each group is an integral part of a school’s provision, understood and supported by all the staff. Training for nurture group staff emphasises the importance of accepting and valuing each child and responding to them at whatever developmental stage they might have reached, whether they need comfort and physical contact like a baby, control like a two-year old in a tantrum stage, or repeated explanations like a three-year old at the ‘why?’ stage. A standard day in a Boxall nurture group sees the group’s children register with their ‘base’ class. Collected by group staff, these children spend most of their day in the special nurture group room, keeping in contact with the rest of the school by joining them for midday lunch and at playtime, and then returning to their ‘base’ class for the last part of the day. On average, children spend up to four terms in the nurture group before re-joining their mainstream class. In many primary schools there are variations on the above, usually in terms of the length of time spent in the nurture group each day or by increasing children’s involvement with their ‘base’ class in certain subject areas. With young people in secondary schools or alternative settings the delivery models for nurture groups differ widely, partly as a result of adaptation to the different demands of a secondary school curriculum and partly as a result of the different challenges involved in engaging an adolescent group. However, nurture groups always work to a set of core principles that have been refined over the years but have remained constant, even with frequently changing educational trends and the increased range of settings where they have now been introduced.

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The Principles of Nurture The success of nurture groups derives from their grounding in relational practice, which embraces a set of principles and values, that is the establishing of a matrix of relationships between adults and children in a secure and safe environment; understanding children’s needs developmentally rather than as symptoms of pathology; regarding children’s behaviour as a communication about the condition of their internal world; encouraging the use of language for the expression of emotion, reducing the need for acting out; improving children’s self-esteem through structured routines and activities that offer opportunities for achievement; recognising the importance and meaning of transitions in the lives of children and young people. With a strong and growing body of research evidence about the effectiveness of nurture groups, there can be a good deal of confidence when drawing upon the model for wider application. Nurture groups as such, however, remain primarily a school-based intervention and in many important ways this is their great strength given the generic requirement for school attendance, which carries none of the stigma that may surround a family’s involvement with social care, mental health or youth justice services. But that is not to imply that the principles of nurture groups or adaptations of the model cannot be translated into other areas; indeed there is increasing evidence to show that the principles that inform nurture group practice in schools have a real relevance for those services and agencies that are charged with responsibility for looking after most vulnerable and worrying children, young people and families. In addition, these principles provide us with critical pointers as to how issues such as policy formation and organisational structures might be more hopefully addressed. However, without significant changes to the ‘mind set’ of those who actually formulate policy, and without the enhanced development of organisational cultures to better support such very difficult work, nurturing practices have little chance of becoming mainstream. The consequence of this being that the benefits associated with the applied principles of nurture may never be experienced by the neediest of children and families, that is those who most urgently require them.

Applying the Model In a school, the dedicated nurture group classroom is designed to include features that support the adult–child relationship, with scope for activities

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that stimulate learning in a safe and secure environment. The importance of the ‘safe base’, a key element of secure attachment, is represented by the nurture room and directly experienced by the child in their relationship with the adults who lead the group. This practice is replicable in residential settings and foster care if the thinking about the nature of the adult–child relationship is rooted in the ideas of attachment and nurture. For wider social work, creating and sustaining long-term and genuinely supportive relationships with clients, even in the most complex of situations involving child protection issues, offers the best prospect for safe and containing practice. To provide this, service delivery organisations have to ensure stability and continuity for both staff and clients, with appropriate supervision and training for workers. In addition, for such practice to become a realistic organisational priority, policies that advance nurturing practices and provide the means for evaluation of effectiveness that reflect the true nature of the task must be implemented. The importance of transitions in children’s lives has long been recognised as having real significance for their emotional health and well-being. Originally, being part of a nurture group helped a child to make the difficult transition from home to school. Nowadays, with their use across all age ranges, this particular transition is not their exclusive focus. Another major transition for children is the move from primary to secondary school, and there are a number of instances where nurture groups have successfully helped children to negotiate the changes involved in this process. It is well recognised that for young people admitted to any form of secure accommodation, the first night, spent alone in a locked room or cell, presents a potentially high risk for self-harm. This is the case not only for young people who may have a history of self-harming behaviour, but for a good number of others as well who find the imposed sense of isolation simply overwhelming and frightening. All establishments pay particular attention to this aspect of their regime, whilst some have developed special ‘first night’ procedures and have identified certain items that young people may wish to have in their cells to help keep them calm and reassured about their safety, for example reading materials, a radio, and paper and pens for writing or drawing. In foster care, similar issues arise within the processes of how children and young people arrive and leave their placements. Being brought to somewhere strange, by someone you perhaps don’t know very well to stay with people you haven’t met before, with little idea as to why you are there, would be enough to disturb most adults, let alone anxious, worried children!

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Moving on from a settled foster care home to a new placement can be just as worrying and frightening. This is why it is so important that an understanding of these feelings and of what the process means to children and young people should feature as the main point of decision making in case reviews or in social work offices. Friday afternoon changes of placement and responding to a crisis just before the weekend are still an all-too-frequent scenario in social work offices and foster homes. Inevitably, there are reasons why children and young people need to move on – and whether the decision is for the child to go home or to other carers, not all of these are negative. The planning for such important transitions, however, must consider how to preserve a sense of continuity for the child, whilst positive attachment relationships with existing carers should not simply discontinue just because a child returns home or moves onto another placement.

CONCLUSION The bureaucracy that frequently occupies much of teachers’, social workers’ and other professional workers’ attention chokes creativity and in certain circumstances dangerously limits the time spent in direct contact with children and their families. Educational and training programmes for the professional workforce have been required to integrate the demands of bureaucracy with changing expectations across higher education and this has created a set of worrying, longer-term problems. Even if it were possible to see some preliminary indications of a shift away from rigid and formulaic practice, changing the wider culture of education and training and modifying the effects of what have been the dominant influences for so long, will not be achieved overnight. Relational approaches to work with families, children and young people do not rest easily in a world where the preferences are for brief therapy and solutionfocused interventions with the apparently added benefits of straightforward evaluation and cost effectiveness! Of course, any detailed research analysis shows the limitations of such approaches and the importance in complex work with children, young people and families, of allowing time for relationships to be established and sustained, whilst the processes of change, inextricably linked to the strength and depth of the therapeutic relationship, take their course. Interventions such as nurture groups are able to demonstrate their effectiveness through children and young people’s experience of adult workers providing a consistent and reliable presence over significant periods

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of time, in a structured and predictable routine of purposeful, daily activities that stimulate learning at all levels; emotional, cognitive and social. This may occur in a classroom but also in a foster home, in a residential home or even a secure unit. ‘Science’ is now showing us why this is so; clarifying the meaning of attachment relationships and helping us to understand more about the critical learning that takes place in the early years. This has become even better understood and supported by the growing knowledge and awareness that have come from studying human brain development through infancy and beyond. There are, however, real challenges that remain and must be faced if current professional culture is to be transformed. At the forefront of these is a change in the mind set of those who set policy, away from fixations on performance and towards an understanding of the value and significance of human relationships as the basis for change, allowing service organisations and educational institutions with responsibility for the professional workforce to similarly reconfigure their priorities.

REFERENCES Bourne, S. (2008). Helping young offenders to learn. Nurture, The Journal of the Nurture Group Network, 10. Retrieved from www.nurturegroups.org Broadhurst, K., et al. (2009). Performing ‘‘Initial Assessment’’: Identifying the latent conditions for error at the front-door of local authority children’s services. British Journal of Social Work, 1–19. Clouder, C., & Heyes, B. (2008). Aspects of social and emotional learning in the United Kingdom. An International Analysis of Social and Emotional Learning, Fundacio´n Marcelino Botı´ n. Colley, D. (2009). Nurture groups in secondary schools. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 14(4), 291–300. Consortium for Emotional Wellbeing in Schools. Available at www.caspari.org.uk Cooper, P., & Whitebread, D. (2007). The effectiveness of nurture groups on student progress: Evidence from a national research study. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 12(3), 171–190. Craft, A. (2005). Creativity in schools. London: Routledge. Jeffs, T., & Spence, J. (2007/2008). ‘Farewell to all that? The uncertain future of youth and community work education’. Youth and Policy, 97 and 98, 135–166. Palmer, P. J. (1998). The courage to teach. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Rose, J. (2010). How nurture protects children. London: Responsive Solutions UK Ltd.

SETTING UP A NURTURE GROUP IN YOUR SECONDARY SCHOOL David Colley ABSTRACT Secondary schools in increasing numbers have been exploring nurture group intervention as a means of reducing exclusion, promoting educational engagement and transforming troubled lives. Here David Colley, co-author of the Boxall Profile for Young People (2010), offers guidance to school staff on the key steps to setting up a successful nurture group in the secondary school.

INTRODUCTION Communities are defined by the quality of relationships that exist within them. The nurture group in the secondary school aims to build strong relationships with those students who are unable to bind into the school community in the usual way. For this small but significant number of students, the school’s pastoral system, extra-curricular activities or tutorial structures are not enough. They need something extra. A nurture group seeks to offer these students a ‘safe base’ where they can undertake a range

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 121–138 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002011

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of broad-based experiences in an environment that promotes belonging, routines and clear boundaries (Boxall, 2002). The ‘classic’ nurture group (Boxall, 1976) is a well-led and well-run facility managed by two staff, both of whom have undertaken formal training in nurture group theory and practice. The classroom itself is located on the mainstream school site and is furnished with comfortable seating, a formal work area, a kitchen area and a breakfast table. The environment promotes a homely and welcoming atmosphere and the double staffing is a deliberate attempt at replicating a home-based dyad where two adults model communication, sharing, negotiation, laughter, problem solving and the art of compromise. Students do not attend the nurture group full-time or long-term but when they do access the facility it is for regular, predictable and timetabled sessions over three or four terms. Students are formally assessed through the Boxall Profile for Young People (Bennathan, Boxall, & Colley, 2010) and clear targets are set regarding individual developmental needs. Informed by John Bowlby’s attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980) and Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs (1970), the nurture group in the secondary school is a structured educational package that acknowledges the importance of developing both personal attachments within school and attachments to school. For nurture group theory and practice, developing a sense of belonging among students who are least likely to feel embraced by the school community provides the foundation on which long-term educational engagement might be built. The nurture group can complement the continuum of care, support and provision that is already available in the secondary school by offering a unique environment in which attachment to school might be forged. Nurture groups were originally developed for primary-aged children and designed to address a variety of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) including overtly aggressive behaviour, restless behaviour and withdrawn or introverted behaviour (Ofsted, 2011). The consistent goal for the nurture group is to build up the social competencies of each student to promote a return to full-time mainstream education after a clearly defined period of time (Bennathan & Boxall, 2000). Empirical research evidence from the primary phase suggests that nurture groups represent a promising intervention in the support of children presenting with SEBD (see Cooper & Whitebread, 2007; Reynolds, MacKay, & Kearney, 2009; Ofsted, 2011; Seth-Smith, Levi, Pratt, Fonagy, & Jaffey, 2010). The success of nurture groups in the primary school has encouraged

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secondary school practitioners to begin exploring nurture group intervention in increasing numbers for one simple reason: they work. This claim has been supported by small-scale research projects already undertaken in secondary schools (Colley, 2009; Cooke, Yeomans, & Parkes, 2008) and government reports (Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), 2009), but establishing a successful nurture group in your secondary school will require a high degree of planning and preparation. To assist with this development, seven key steps might be worth considering when planning your facility and these recommendations are based on models that have already been explored on the Isle of Man and across the UK. The seven steps are not exhaustive but may help provide an initial framework for engaging those students whose troubled lives cause them to sit apart from the rest of the school community.

APPOINTING A NURTURE TEAM WITH CREDIBILITY The ‘classic’ Boxall nurture group is staffed by two adults, typically a teacher and a teaching assistant, both of whom have completed the appropriate nurture group training. Double staffing in the nurture group ensures that students have the opportunity to observe two adults working together successfully and also lowers the ratio of staff to students offering a choice of personalities with whom the students can begin to engage, trust and relate. It goes without saying that tensions between staff working in the nurture groups can seriously undermine a key message of nurture curriculum, namely, that adults can work in harmony and with good humour while modelling mutual respect and care. Nurture groups can be run successfully by two support assistants, as long as the curriculum planning and delivery is supervised by qualified teaching staff. At the heart of the successful nurture group are a team who are ‘the right people’, irrespective of Qualified Teacher Status. A vital component of the successful nurture group is the credibility that the nurture staff team have with students and their mainstream teaching and support colleagues. Credibility with students is earned through a variety of means including an unruffled response to the difficulties presented, a genuine care for students’ welfare and a willingness to ‘go the extra mile’ to resolve difficulties. Another key aspect of gaining credibility with students relates to the staff member’s possession of high-quality

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classroom management skills that have often been honed through experience in the mainstream environment. While some nurture practitioners are both skilled and effective without having mainstream classroom experience, those that have been successful in mainstream roles and elect to undertake nurture group support have an immediate advantage. The nurture staff that are comfortable in the corridors; who can manage mainstream bus duty and who can, if required, command a class of troubled Year 9 students on a Friday afternoon, will have the kind of gravitas and credibility that ensures the work of the nurture group is both respected and valued by the whole-school community. The nurture team should be seen by students as active members of the whole-school staff, supporting mainstream staff rotas and encouraging a variety of mainstream access to the nurture facility. This might involve, for example, sixth form students accessing the nurture area at times or timetabled access for all Year 7 students during tutorial periods in their first year. This access to nurture resources will reduce any sense that the nurture facility is set apart from the school as a whole. The successful nurture group in the secondary school is understood to be a whole-school resource with open availability to any student. An open door policy over breaks and lunches is another way of offering a ‘safe haven’ for students who might not access nurture in a formal sense but who appreciate the opportunity to have breaks in a supervised area. Their access to the facility at breaks again reduces any stigma for students attending the nurture group for timetabled sessions during the day because the nurture room is perceived to be just another facility in the school. The credibility quotient of the nurture team with their mainstream teaching and support colleagues is also vital and is generated through a range of skills demonstrated by the successful nurture team. Effective communication with mainstream colleagues is a central skill that ensures that all parties are clear when a student is accessing nurture support. The mainstream teacher should be party to that decision-making process and kept fully informed of targets and progress. When a student begins to demonstrate progress within the mainstream environment as a result of the nurture group intervention, the credibility of the nurture group support really begins to gain momentum. Credibility is particularly powerful when a student’s progress is noted and passed on ‘word of mouth’ in the staffroom. When mainstream staff witness an improvement ‘on the ground’ as a result of nurture group intervention, then the nurture group itself will be embraced as an important and effective whole-school resource.

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The appointment of staff to the position of nurture leaders in the school is a crucial decision. It is vital that both staff are excellent practitioners and that they are comfortable in a variety of mainstream environments including the corridors, the bus duties and the mainstream classroom. Indeed, there is a strong argument that nurture teams retain a teaching or support brief within the mainstream environments to ensure that their confidence and professional skills are not eroded through long-term nurture group placements. The nurture group is not a bolthole for weak or troubled staff, nor is it a means of shifting incompetent staff out of core subject teams. The nurture group can be the foundation stone of best practice and support to vulnerable students across the school, but it requires staff with outstanding personal and professional skills and it requires staff with credibility across the school.

ATTENDANCE ON THE ACCREDITED NURTURE GROUP THEORY AND PRACTICE TRAINING CERTIFICATE An advantage of nurture group intervention in the secondary school is that the support it offers is couched within a cohesive framework of theory and practice. The nurture group is not a couple of well-meaning people serving tea and toast to waifs and strays in the outer reaches of the schoolyard – it is a structured intervention based on explicit educational and psychological theory. Nurture groups have clearly defined assessment procedures, curriculum structures and evaluation tools while the purpose of the nurture group is also clearly articulated: to promote and maintain educational engagement in students whose SEBD would otherwise lead to disaffection and educational failure (Cooper & Tiknaz, 2007). It is important that the staff planning to open a nurture group have attended the accredited training certificate on nurture group theory and practice, available through www.nurturegroups.org. This well-established training course has recently been updated to ensure that practitioners from both primary and secondary settings receive the appropriate training. The three days of training are arranged into two consecutive days followed by a third day some weeks later. Days 1 and 2 will cover the origins, context and rationale for nurture groups; the importance of neuroscience and attachment theory; child development and learning; and the nurture group’s assessment instrument, the Boxall Profile for Young

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People (Bennathan et al., 2010). Delegates are required to complete a number of practical tasks to inform the third day of training that will take place several weeks later. On Day 3, the course recaps and reflects on the tasks completed by delegates before considering the six principles of nurture group intervention, the nurture curriculum and the assignment that must be submitted to successfully complete the course. The assignment is essentially a child study that encourages delegates to employ the skills they have learnt on the course including assessment, planning interventions and monitoring progress. Completion of the course by at least one of the designated nurture group staff will offer the secondary school the best chance of opening a nurture facility that succeeds. Ongoing links with or membership of, the Nurture Group Network will also ensure that support, advice and information will continue to be on offer to staff as they seek to establish the nurture group within their secondary school.

ARTICULATING THE SIX PRINCIPLES OF NURTURE The six principles of nurture were developed with the needs of younger children in mind, but the principles also resonate with secondary school staff who are seeking to understand the developmental needs of their own students (Colley, 2009). Full consideration will now be given to each of the six principles and their relevance to the secondary school context.

Principle 1: Learning Is Understood Developmentally Nurture group theory is based on the view that the foundations of learning are both emotional and social (Cooper & Tiknaz, 2007) and that feelings, behaviour and learning are closely inter-woven (Cefai & Cooper, 2009). Nurture groups accept that certain students attending the mainstream secondary school will have skill sets and emotional needs that are not commensurate with their chronological ages. In recognition of this, nurture staff are provided with the time, space and the environment in which they can respond to students in terms of their developmental needs, irrespective of their chronological ages. While high standards of behaviour are expected and boundaries of mutual respect are set firmly by the nurture team, inappropriate behaviours are understood to be linked to missed developmental experiences. The nurture team will endeavour to assess the nature of

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those missed experiences and to restore the experiences through the curriculum and environment of the nurture room. Having been guided through those developmental experiences with care and support that is both firm and fair, the student may be ready to make educational progress having had the developmental gaps acknowledged and addressed by the nurture group intervention.

Principle 2: The Classroom Offers a Safe Base A central aim of nurture groups is to provide students with a secure and safe environment that provides the conditions necessary for them to develop emotionally, socially and cognitively (Boxall, 2002). Bowlby’s attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980) describes the importance of the ‘safe base’ in early infancy that allows the infant to leave the safety of the caregiver and to explore the immediate environment. During that exploration, the infant will encounter new experiences but also the frustration or fear of not knowing how to manage the new experience. In secure attachment, the caregiver regulates the infant’s anxiety (by responding to the frustration promptly, consistently and appropriately) which leads to a sense of relief, success and agency for the infant (‘I survived, I enjoyed that, I will do that again’). The theory and practice of nurture groups in the secondary school takes cognisance of the need for students to feel safe and understands that without a sense of safety, the student’s exploration of learning opportunities in class cannot progress freely. The nurture group in the secondary school will provide the ‘safe base’ for specific students at a number of different levels. The ‘classic’ facility is supervised by two adults and the student numbers during formal sessions is generally relatively small (6–10 students). The nurture group has a deliberately slow moving, highly structured day that allows students to predict when activities will begin, finish and change. The staff in the nurture group will offer warm, trusting relationships and will have the time to spend reflecting on student concerns while focusing on solutions and positive responses to those concerns. Within the school environment, the nurture team become the ‘significant care giver’ that Bowlby describes as being so central to healthy growth. The fact that the individuals in question may be 14 and not 4 is irrelevant. If the developmental need is there to feel safe and secure, then that need must be met before the student can engage with the most natural inclination of all children that is to learn, to succeed and to grow.

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Principle 3: The Importance of Nurture and Self-Esteem Research has found that a common feature of students with SEBD is low self-esteem (Lund, 1987; Margerison, 1996; McKeon, 1994; Reynolds, 1980), and the link between self-esteem and success in school has also been the focus of much research (Coopersmith, 1967; Lawrence, 1988; McCall, Evahn, & Kratzer, 1992). Environments that are supportive of student autonomy have been found to be associated with higher self-esteem (Deci & Ryan, 1995; Hoge, Smith, & Hanson, 1990), and nurture groups seek to encourage student choice and co-operative learning. Quayle and Holsworth (1997) found that students with low self-esteem valued a structured, wellcontrolled environment and the need for planned success, warmth and personal contact has also been highlighted in research (e.g. Greenhalgh, 1997). The nurture group’s emphasis on routine, a slow pace, quality relationships, student engagement and positive self-regard is perceived to be at the heart of high self-esteem (Lucas, Insley, & Buckland, 2006), but selfesteem is not something that can be given to students; they must seize it for themselves. The role of all involved in education is to offer students opportunities that fully engage them in activities where their abilities are being used to the utmost in pursuit of something they value (Dweck, 2000, p. 4). With this available, self-esteem will follow.

Principle 4: Language as a Vital Means of Communication The theory and practice of nurture groups pays particular attention to the crucial role played by language development in promoting quality relationships and the expression of feelings, be they positive or negative (Lucas et al., 2006). Research by Colwell and O’Connor (2003) that was confirmed by Bani (2011) suggests that the verbal and non-verbal communications made within the nurture group were more positive than in the mainstream and more likely to enhance the self-esteem of students. In nurture groups, the informal opportunities for talking and sharing are as important as the more formal lessons teaching language skills. Words are used instead of actions to express feelings, and opportunities are created for extended conversations or encouraging imaginative play to understand the feelings of others. Language skills are assessed and developed in all aspects of the nurture curriculum at the appropriate level of the student. Nurture staff are happy to share feelings and articulate feelings both with the students and with the

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other adults in the classroom. Students are encouraged to explore language in a variety of ways, and the nurture breakfast provides a relaxed social context in which to develop self-expression through natural conversation and interaction. The nurture breakfast is a key activity in the classic nurture group. The sharing of food together is a profound and symbolic activity as food sustains and offers pleasure while generating a sense of care, protection and emotional warmth. Students joining the nurture breakfast are encouraged to engage in discussions with staff and peers that project into the future or reflect on past experiences, stories and anecdotes. Listening, judging interactions, responding, evaluating points of view and reading cues (while developing vocabulary and fluency) are all part of the hidden curriculum of the nurture breakfast. In the nurture group, ‘everything is verbalised’ (Bennathan et al., 2010) with an emphasis on the adults engaging with the students in reciprocal shared activities, for example play, meals, reading, talking about events and feelings. Televisions, mobile phones and even computer screens are discouraged in the secondary school nurture group to ensure that the primary activity within the nurture environment requires human interaction, social contact and the associated development of language.

Principle 5: It Is Understood That All Behaviour Is Communication When a student is presenting with negative or challenging behaviour, it is important to maintain the boundaries of acceptable behaviour firmly and this may involve applying sanctions that are part of the whole-school behaviour policy. But of equal importance is the separation of the challenging behaviour from the student. We must remain positive about the student as a developing young person while seeking to understand the underlying messages contained within the troubling behaviours. Challenging behaviour may be understood through a variety of psychological perspectives but, in nurture group practice, staff will regard all behaviour as a form of communication and will remain vigilant as to the causes and drivers of problem behaviour. Nurture staff will ask, ‘given what I know about this student and their development, what is this student trying to tell me?’ (Bennathan et al., 2010). While at one level a student’s angry, verbal outburst might appear extremely clear as to what the student wishes to convey, the nurture team will look beyond the initial outburst to understand the experiences and circumstances that have precipitated the behaviour.

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Understanding the messages being communicated through a student’s behaviour helps staff to respond in a firm but non-punitive way while refusing to be either provoked or discouraged. If the student can sense that their feelings are being understood, this can help to diffuse difficult situations as they perceive that the adult is seeking to make a link between the student’s external and internal worlds. A variety of strategies will then be employed by nurture staff to de-escalate challenging situations and behaviour will be ‘understood rather than judged’ (Lucas et al., 2006).

Principle 6: The Importance of Transition The transition from primary school to secondary school represents a major step for even the most confident of 11 year olds. Faced with the size of the new school environment, the range of staff, the new curriculum and the company of older students, Year 7 students are presented with a range of experiences that can, in some cases, overwhelm the new arrivals. Nurture groups in secondary schools can provide an important ‘safe base’ during this transition period and have been found to be particularly effective in supporting vulnerable Year 7 students during their initial autumn term (Colley, 2009, p. 295). Less-obvious transitions also occur as part of the secondary school day with students arriving and leaving school and moving from one lesson to the next through lunch and break times. But nurture theory and practice recognises that such transitional periods represent a particular challenge to certain students and staff will go to great lengths to plan for such transitions in a careful and detailed way. This might involve working with the students to ensure that they are clear on directions, locations, equipment needs and expectations in the classroom. Visual timetables and maps might be developed and language games undertaken to ensure students can articulate the changes in the day, thus reducing their anxiety. In this way, the careful preparation for school-based transitions can maximise the opportunities of success for all. An additional area of transition that might involve the nurture group in the secondary school relates to the small but significant number of students who may be struggling to make the transition back into school following long-term absence, illness or school refusal. Research has found that the nurture group in the secondary school can offer a safe and supportive entry back into the mainstream school system for students with these difficulties (Colley, 2009, p. 294).

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Following the training certificate in nurture group theory and practice, the nurture staff should endeavour to display the six principles of nurture within the nurture group environment and should also be able to articulate and expand upon the principles without reference to notes. This is important because the six principles represent the starting point for any meaningful discussion with secondary colleagues and parents about the purpose of nurture group provision within the school. Being fluent, clear and articulate about the six principles will reflect well on the provision and also the team’s professional, pedagogical knowledge.

IDENTIFYING A NURTURE ROOM WITH APPROPRIATE RESOURCES The ‘classic’ Boxall nurture group is located in a discrete classroom on the mainstream school site with furnishings that convey a homely, comfortable atmosphere. A formal work area is situated within an environment that also includes a kitchen area, a creative area, a dining table and a sofa area with soft furnishings. However, not all secondary schools are in a position to provide a dedicated room for the delivery of nurture group support. According to Cooper, Arnold, and Boyd (2001), a nurture group that does not offer this dedicated and permanent space should not be described as such and would in fact be a ‘variant’ on the nurture group theme. However, Colley (2009, p. 297) describes a secondary nurture group that delivers successful intervention in three different locations during the school week. Significantly, this intervention involves the same staff with the same students in the same three locations and the predictable nature of this established routine would appear to ameliorate the potential difficulties. On balance, however, a permanent room was the preferred option for this nurture team despite the relative success of the intervention in three temporary settings. Ideally, the nurture team would work from a permanent classroom within the bricks and mortar of the school. Colley (2009, p. 293) describes a secondary nurture facility that is integral to fabric of the SEN provision of the school, sitting as it does alongside the learning support facilities, the SEBD facilities and the special unit facilities. While a mobile classroom away from the main site has some advantages in that it may offer a quieter location, there are also the potential disadvantages of being perceived as the ‘bolt-on’ facility or an isolate intervention. This can be overcome through the efforts of the nurture team to open the facility to mainstream access at breaks and the contact that mainstream staff, students, Sixth formers and

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Year 7 tutor groups are encouraged to have with the nurture group over the course of the year. Investment in the setting up of the nurture room with appropriate resources and furnishings has clear financial implications. The dining table with chairs, the kitchen area with fittings and appliances, the sofa area with soft furnishings, the display areas, craft resources, books and materials will all require setting up costs. Once established, the nurture team will need access to a petty cash account to fund the consumables that feature on a daily basis within the nurture room. There is no question that the school and the senior management team (SMT) will be required to invest in nurture provision from their annual school budget but the returns will be significant. With fewer exclusions, higher attendance and less funding required for ‘alternative educational solutions’, the nurture group is likely to repay that investment many times over (Bennathan et al., 2010).

SECURING THE SUPPORT OF THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM To be successful, the nurture group in the secondary school must be understood and supported by the head teacher and the SMT. To achieve this, the nurture staff team may make a presentation to the SMT following their training course, and they may be supported in this by an informed member of the LEA, by nurture staff from a neighbouring school or by a representative of the Nurture Group Network. Ideally, the nurture group should be seen as an additional resource within a continuum of care, support and provision made by the school for all its students. All secondary schools differ in their support structures, staffing levels and school ethos, but levels of provision already in place in a secondary school ripe for nurture group intervention might include the following:    

high-quality learning experiences within the mainstream classrooms a pastoral system that identifies concerns or needs quickly and effectively an SEBD/behaviour team to support challenging cases an SEN manager that coordinates the range of interventions available to the school.

Typically, the nurture group in the secondary school would complement the support on offer at a pastoral level rather than taking on the higher level

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and challenging needs of severe SEBD students. This kind of support might be on offer from an alternative structure such as an SEBD team or PRU. While there may be some overlap with support for students experiencing severe SEBD, a balance of student needs within the nurture group must be prioritised and a ‘sin bin’ for behavioural difficulties runs completely against the stated aims of the nurture group. Ideally, the nurture group in the secondary school would serve to offer a safe base for specific students with a variety of needs. This might include students requiring support following their transition from primary school and might also include students causing concern to mainstream staff at a relatively low level. The aim for the intervention with these students would be to act proactively with social and behavioural programmes that aimed resolve difficulties before they escalated. If the SMT are clear about the role of the nurture group within the school – its limits and its potential – then getting started and establishing the facility is likely to encounter fewer barriers.

ESTABLISHING A CLEAR REFERRAL SYSTEM Access to nurture group support must be regulated by a school-based referral system that is fair and balanced. This will ensure that the nurture group is not inundated with unmanageable numbers of students and that the facility is understood to be a dynamic and positive intervention and not a ‘sin bin’ for poorly behaved students. A variety of referral systems exist, but typically a mainstream teacher or pastoral head with concerns regarding a student will complete a referral form and submit this to the SEN manager for consideration. Often, the SEN manager will oversee a variety of schoolbased support options that might include SEBD support, learning support, special unit provision and ASD provision. Many schools also have developed access to counselling services, OT services, youth justice services or youth work services as part of their continuum of care and support. The SEN manger will consult with the SEN provision leaders (including the nurture team) over the referral list at a weekly team meeting where assessment information is reviewed. For students referred for nurture support, assessment through the Boxall Profile for Young People (Bennathan et al., 2010) will be required. The Boxall Profile for Young People (BPYP) assessment can be completed by mainstream staff and the results displayed onto the BPYP histograms. This assessment information

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will indicate clearly whether the student requires nurture group support and will also suggest priority areas for intervention. Where the nurture team are not integrated into a broader SEN team, direct referrals to nurture must be managed with a similar referral system that protects the interventions currently in place while prioritising future cases. Support from SMT with this process will be essential to ensure that the workload for staff and the balance of student needs within the group are maintained. Where a referral is accepted, targets and programmes of intervention can commence.

ASSESSMENT, INTERVENTION TARGETS, EVALUATION AND RESETTLEMENT The BPYP is but one source of assessment information that the nurture team can draw upon to plan targets and intervention for specific students. Formal and informal feedback from mainstream staff, interviews with parents, interviews with the student, classroom observations, functional behavioural analysis, self-reports, sociograms and screening instruments such as the Goodman’s Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997) are all possible sources of information. When beginning work with a student displaying a wide range of troubling behaviours, the assessment information allows the team to prioritise target areas and to at least make a small but significant start. Tough decisions need to be made when prioritising target behaviours. This might include ignoring foul language and work avoidance, while the nurture team focuses intensively on a specific target area such as reducing a student’s unsafe behaviour in leaving the classroom and leaving the school site. Having established target area such as this, the nurture team will employ a variety of strategies to encourage the student to meet the target. The target will be made explicit to the student and his family and this will be shared with mainstream staff and the SMT. Reward systems will be developed that reinforce the safe behaviours that the school wish to encourage, while the nurture team will undertake a variety of activities with the student that promote attachment to the staff, attachment to the nurture facility and attachment to the school community. A sensitive dialogue around the target behaviour will be ongoing with staff discussing with the student the dangers of leaving the school site, the triggers for such a reaction and alternatives to that behaviour when the anxiety levels begin to rise. Such discussions can take place during the many

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social activities built into the nurture curriculum such as the nurture breakfast, the reflection sessions or the art and cookery sessions. At the heart of the discussion there is the constant reassurance from the staff to the student that the school as a community wishes that the student remains on-site and that the community cares; that the student matters; that the student belongs. If the planned interventions based on the priority target have succeeded, with the student maintaining his placement within the classroom over a significant period of time, the nurture team can then begin to target the next problematic area. It is interesting to note that once a positive step is made by a student in one area of concern through nurture group intervention, progress can often be observed in other seemingly unrelated areas of behaviour, conduct and attitude (Bennathan & Boxall, 1998). Formal evaluations of student progress are undertaken through a return to the assessment materials that originally brought the student to the attention of the nurture team or SEN manager. BPYP assessments are repeated a term after the initial referral along with the SDQ, staff feedback forms, parental interviews and student self-reports. Where sufficient progress has been made towards educational engagement and success in school, a student may return to a full-time mainstream timetable. A common barometer employed within nurture is to ask the student directly whether they feel ready to return to the curriculum area that they are missing to attend nurture. This approach places trust with the student and a sense of autonomy. Students rarely take advantage of this responsibility for, whatever the nurture group can offer, a student in good mental and physical health will always prefer to be with their friends in the ‘normal’ mainstream environment. Where significant concerns persist, an additional term of nurture support and intervention may be required or alternatively an intervention from the behaviour support team might be recommended. Nurture groups cannot draw every problematic student back from the brink of educational failure, and for the most challenging behaviours at Key Stages 3 and 4, nurture group intervention may be inappropriate. The strength of the secondary school nurture group is the early intervention it offers before behaviours become extreme and entrenched. The nurture team have the time and training to respond to emerging difficulties and to resolve the underlying developmental delays that may represent the fundamental barrier to learning. With a sense of safety and a sense of belonging, nurtured by their experiences in a small and supportive group, the students will leave the

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nurture group and embrace the learning opportunities presented by the mainstream curriculum with renewed energy and enthusiasm.

CONCLUSION If the vibrant secondary school community understands that learning and educational engagement begins with a student’s sense of belonging, then achieving that goal should be the school’s priority. For most students, the natural friendship groups that exist, the curriculum, the relationships with mainstream staff and the extra-curricular activities will naturally bind them into the school community. But for a significant number of students this will not suffice. They are the challenging, the restless, the unsettled and the easily missed. The nurture group offers a unique approach and framework that attends directly to the needs of secondary school students requiring a temporary safe haven as they struggle to make sense of demands of the secondary school. This uncertainty can emerge at the point of transition or may be precipitated by a particular experience or trauma in the young person’s life. In any event, the nurture team is ready and able to respond to the needs of the student in a professional and structured way. By building strong relationships and explicitly teaching social skills through developmentally appropriate experiences, the nurture team can promote a sense of belonging to the school community through a framework that is founded on sound educational and psychological theory. Empirical evidence from Key Stages 1 and 2 suggests that nurture groups are an effective intervention for students exhibiting SEBD (see Reynolds et al., 2009; Seth-Smith et al., 2010), and Ofsted’s survey of nurture group provision (July 2011) concludes that nurture groups can make a considerable difference to the behaviour and social skills of students who might otherwise be at risk of exclusion. Nurture groups can also make a significant contribution to the continuum of care, support and provision made in secondary schools and if the seven steps to setting up a nurture group are followed, their introduction might prove particularly promising.

REFERENCES Bani, M. (2011). The use and frequency of verbal and non-verbal praise in nurture groups. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 16(1), 47–67. Bennathan, M., & Boxall, M. (1998). The Boxall profile: Handbook for teachers. London: Nurture Group Network.

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Bennathan, M., & Boxall, M. (2000). Effective intervention in primary schools (2nd ed.). London: David Fulton Publishers. Bennathan, M., Boxall, M., & Colley, D. (2010). The Boxall profile for young people. London: The Nurture Group Network. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Volume I: Attachment. London: The Hogarth Press. Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Volume II: Separation anxiety and anger. London: The Hogarth Press. Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Volume III: Sadness and depression. London: The Hogarth Press. Boxall, M. (1976). The nurture group in the primary school. In M. Bennathan & M. Boxall (Eds.), Effective intervention in primary schools (2nd ed.). London: David Fulton Publishers. 2000. Boxall, M. (2002). Nurture groups in school. Principles and practice. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Cefai, C., & Cooper, P. (2009). Promoting emotional education. Engaging children and young people with social, emotional and behaviour difficulties. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Colley, D. (2009). Nurture groups in secondary schools. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 14(4), 291–300. Colwell, J., & O’Connor, T. (2003). Understanding nurturing practices – A comparison of the use of strategies likely to enhance self-esteem in nurture groups and normal classrooms. British Journal of Special Education, 30(3), 119–124. Cooke, C., Yeomans, J., & Parkes, J. (2008). The oasis: Nurture group provision for key stage three pupils. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 13(4), 291–303. Cooper, P., Arnold, R., & Boyd, E. (2001). The effectiveness of nurture groups: Preliminary research findings. British Journal of Special Education, 28(4), 160–166. Cooper, P., & Tiknaz, Y. (2007). Nurture groups in school and at home. Connecting with children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Cooper, P., & Whitebread, D. (2007). The effectiveness of nurture groups on student progress: Evidence from a national research study. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 12(3), 171–190. Coopersmith, S. (1967). Parental characteristics related to self-esteem. In The antecedents of self-esteem (Chapter 6, pp. 96–117). San Francisco, CA: Freeman. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1995). Human autonomy: The basis for true self-esteem. In M. Kernis (Ed.), Efficacy, agency, and self-esteem (p. 3149). New York, NY: Plenum. Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). (2009). Learning behaviour: Lessons learned. A review of behaviour standards and practices in our schools. London: Stationery Office. Dweck, C. S. (2000). Self theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press. Goodman, R. (1997). The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 581–586. Greenhalgh, P. (1997). Emotional growth and learning (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. Hoge, D. R., Smit, E. K., & Hanson, S. L. (1990). School experiences predicting changes in self-esteem of sixth and seventh-grade students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 117–127. Lawrence, D. (1988). Enhancing self-esteem in the classroom. London: Paul Chapman Publishing.

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Lucas, S., Insley, K., & Buckland, G. (2006). Nurture group principles and curriculum guidelines. Helping children to achieve. London: The Nurture Group Network. Lund, R. (1987). The self-esteem of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Maladjustment and Therapeutic Education, 5(1), 26–31. Margerison, A. (1996). Self-esteem: Its effect on the development and learning of children with EBD. Support for Learning, 11(4), 176–180. Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd ed.). London: Harper and Row. McCall, R. B., Evahn, C., & Kratzer, L. (1992). High school underachievers. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. McKeon, M. (1994). The role of science in the reversal of the trend of failure in children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Therapeutic Care and Education, 3(1), 68–71. Ofsted. (2011). Supporting children with challenging behaviour through a nurture group approach. Retrieved from www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/supporting-children-challenging-behaviourthrough-nurture-group-approach Quayle, W., & Holsworth, J. (1997). Self-esteem groups at the Eleanor Smith School and Primary Support Service. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 2(2), 21–24. Reynolds, S., MacKay, T., & Kearney, M. (2009). Nurture groups: A large-scale, controlled study of effects on development and academic attainment. British Journal of Special Education, 36(4), 204–212. Reynolds, W. M. (1980). Self-esteem and classroom behaviour in elementary school children. Psychology in the schools, 17, 272–277. Seth-Smith, F., Levi, N., Pratt, R., Fonagy, P., & Jaffey, D. (2010). Do nurture groups improve the social, emotional and behavioural functioning of at risk children? Educational and Child Psychology, 27(1), 21–34.

PREVENTING TEACHER BURNOUT: EXPLORING THE PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS FOR CHILDREN WITH SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES (SEBD) IN THAILAND Saengduean Yotanyamaneewong and Sham Juhari ABSTRACT Some researchers argue that teachers of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) have one of the most stressful occupations in the modern world. As pointed out by this research, high-stress jobs can lead to the phenomenon of ‘burnout’. When teachers suffer from burnout, it affects not only them, it also brings about negative consequences to the organisations that they are members of and more significantly, the students that they teach. Nonetheless, no teacher can be said to experience the same level of burnout. Some, in fact, are able to avoid

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 139–160 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002012

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feelings of burnout altogether. Researchers suggest that an investigation of teachers’ perceptions of their jobs should be carried out before formulating initiatives aimed at preventing teacher burnout. The main aim of this chapter is to explore similar perceptions of Thai teachers of children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). Educators, who present low levels of burnout based on the Job Burnout Inventory, were interviewed in order to explore their perceptions. The chapter discusses their responses with regards to their professional work, particularly areas relating to what they see as the positive aspects of teaching children with SEBD as well as the coping strategies that they applied to manage stressful situations.

INTRODUCTION The quality of teaching has always been an important theme in education and educational research. Chan (2005) argues that quality of teaching does not imply only the qualifications, knowledge and competence of teachers but also their enthusiasm, dedication and commitment in teaching. Teachers who are motivated and passionate in performing their duties will not only be effective in getting students to be enthusiastic learners, they will also be able to inspire them to achieve excellence in their studies. A number of authors argue that teaching is a stressful occupation (Bachkirova, 2005; Blase´, 1986; Claxton, 1989; De Nobile & McCormick, 2005; Kyriacou, 2001). In the same light, an argument can also be made that teachers of children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) have an even more stressful occupation. This makes them potentially more susceptible to burnout (Billingsley, 2004a; Fore, Martin, & Bender, 2002; Male & May, 1997; Platsidou & Agaliotis, 2008; Stempien & Loeb, 2002; Talmor, Reiter, & Feigin, 2005). When teachers experience high burnout, it affects not only them, but also brings about negative consequences to the organisations that they are members of. More significantly, it affects the children they teach (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). For example, teachers who experience high levels of burnout are more likely to become less sympathetic towards their pupils and display lower tolerance in the classroom. These symptoms are also manifested in increased illnesses, absenteeism and ultimately early retirement (Friedman & Farber, 1992; Pines, 2002b). However, not every teacher has the same way of responding to the stresses that could lead to burnout. Some teachers are less vulnerable to burnout

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although faced with similar work stress. Some research findings (Chan, 2006; Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980; Friedman & Farber, 1992) suggest that teachers’ perceptions of their profession can be used as a way to predict if a teacher is vulnerable to burnout. As the reader will note as this article progresses, SEN teachers in Thailand are almost always responsible for pupils suffering from more than one kind of difficulties. This is due to the fact that the National Education Act (1999) made it an imperative that ‘children with disabilities who desire to learn must be provided with opportunities to learn’ (ONPEC, 2000). As a result of this government declaration, Thai parents have since taken the opportunity to send their children requiring SEN to nearby government schools who in turn see it as mandatory for them to provide learning opportunities for this group of students. The deluge of such students in the country’s national schools may thus be potentially hazardous to these teachers’ well-being. This chapter thus explores the perceptions of teachers in Thailand who, despite indicating symptoms of burnout based on the Job Burnout Inventory (JBI), have nevertheless managed to maintain them at low levels so as not to affect their work performance. The chapter draws on an investigation of what these teachers see as the positive aspects of their teaching children with SEBD and the coping strategies they adopted when facing stressful situations in the course of their jobs. Understanding local teachers’ perceptions of the positive aspects of teaching children with SEBD and how these educators manage to deal with the stressors of their jobs may help researchers gain insights into the issue of how Thai teachers can work happily with pupils who suffer from SEBD and the possibilities of eliminating job stress that may subsequently lead to teacher burnout.

PARTICIPANTS All the participants in the study were teachers of children with SEBD in Chiangmai province, Thailand. To gather data relating to the experiences of teachers who are able to maintain low burnout indices, a purposive sampling method was used to recruit participants. Four conditions however were established as criteria for the selection of the sample: the teachers must currently be teaching children with SEBD; they have been teaching these children for a period of at least one year; that these teachers indicate they have been suffering from burnout for at least the past six months; and that the indicators reflect that these have been kept at minimum levels based on

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the JBI devised by Samantrakul (2006). From the initial group of participants recruited for this study, the JBI identified 16 participants as attaining the criteria. They were subsequently invited to participate in the research.

METHODOLOGY Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data on these respondents’ perceptions of the positive aspects of teaching children with SEBD and the coping strategies that they undertook in their attempts to deal with difficult situations. Each interview lasted between 45 and 90 minutes depending on each participant’s responses. The respondents were encouraged to talk for as long as they wanted and though all the interviews were audio recorded, the researcher nevertheless took notes of different key issues that required further investigation. Subsequently, these interviews were transcribed and the subject-matter coded using keywords. Based on this method of data analysis, similarities and differences across the transcripts were identified and subsequently categorised according to relevant themes.

FINDINGS The findings from the study can be presented in three sections. The first section focuses on the respondent’s profile – general teaching experience, experience in teaching children with SEBD, number of children with SEBD under their supervision, type of manifested SEBD supervised (based on the nine types set by the standard Thai screening test for children with special needs), and the presenting emotional and behavioural difficulties. The second section details these teachers’ perceptions relating to the positive aspects of them teaching children with SEBD while the final section describes the coping strategies initiated by these respondents when faced with difficult situations during the course of their duties. As can be seen from Table 1, the majority of participants (12) have had more than 10 years of teaching experience. Contrastingly however, the majority of these same participants have only 1–5 years of SEN teaching experience. Three respondents nevertheless had more than 10 years of experience teaching children with SEN. In addition, eight of the teachers are supervising or had supervised groups of 5–10 children with SEN while seven of them are managing or had managed less than five children in their classes.

Z10

Z10

Z10

Z10

Z10 6–10 Z10

1–5

1–5

1–5

Z10 Z10 Z10

Z10 Z10

Z10

A1

A2

A3

A4

A5 A6 A7

A8

A9

A10

A11 A12 A13

A14 A15

A16

11–15

o10

W10

1–5 1–5

1–5 1–5 1–5

1–5

1–5

1–5

6–10 6–10 1–5

Learning difficulties

r5

5–10

r5 5–10

Learning difficulties Learning difficulties, SEBD Severe learning difficulties, learning difficulties, autism Learning difficulties Visual impairment difficulties, severe learning difficulties, learning difficulties Severe learning difficulties, learning difficulties

Learning difficulties

r5

5–10 r5 5–10

Learning difficulties

Severe learning difficulties, learning difficulties, SEBD Learning difficulties, SEBD Learning difficulties, speech difficulties Learning difficulties

Severe learning difficulties, learning difficulties, SEBD Severe learning difficulties, physical difficulties, learning difficulties, speech difficulties, SEBD Learning difficulties, SEBD, multiple difficulties

Types of Learning Difficulties Experienced by Pupils

r5

5–10 r5 5–10

5–10

5–10

o10

1–5

r5

Number of Pupils with SEN Supervised

6–10

Year of Teaching Pupils with SEN

Stealing Withdrawn, antisocial behaviour, inattentiveness, hyperactivity, lack of confidence Inattentiveness, hyperactivity, other symptoms (talking to own self, indiscipline)

Psychosomatic complaints, fighting, antisocial behaviour, inattentiveness, hyperactivity, impulsivity Fighting, antisocial behaviour, inattentiveness, hyperactivity, impulsivity, lack of confidence Fighting, antisocial behaviour, truancy, inattentiveness, hyperactivity, impulsivity, lack of confidence Withdrawn, truancy, inattentiveness, hyperactivity, impulsivity, lack of confidence Withdrawn, lack of confidence Psychosomatic complaints, lack of confidence Psychosomatic complaints, truancy, inattentiveness, hyperactivity, Truancy, inattentiveness, hyperactivity, lack of confidence Truancy, inattentiveness, hyperactivity, lack of confidence Truancy, inattentiveness, hyperactivity, lack of confidence Inattentiveness, hyperactivity Fighting, inattentiveness, hyperactivity, impulsivity Inattentiveness, hyperactivity, lack of confidence

Specific SEBD Experienced by Pupils

Demographic Details of the Participants Interviewed.

Note: Z means greater-than or equal to; r means less-than or equal to.

Years of Teaching Experience

Code

Table 1.

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Only one participant in the study reported that she teaches a group of 11–15 children with SEN. Based on the official screening process (Education, 2005), children with SEN are divided into nine categories comprising children suffering from: visual impairment, hearing impairment, severe learning difficulties, physical difficulties, learning difficulties, speech difficulties, autism, multiple difficulties and SEBD. All 16 participants reported that they are currently teaching children exhibiting at least one of the nine SEN categories. For instance, six teachers stated that they are teaching children with severe learning difficulties. Another six admitted to teaching children with SEBD. Two teachers have taught children with speech difficulties. The remaining four teachers are supervising children respectively suffering from a combination of physical difficulties, multiple difficulties, autism and visual impairment. Even though only six teachers specifically reported they are teaching pupils with SEBD, all the respondents in this study nevertheless described their SEN students as additionally presenting behavioural and emotional difficulties. In fact, when further asked to categorise their pupils’ difficulties according to the screening process designed to focus on specific behavioural and emotional difficulties, the following symptoms cropped up: thirteen teachers described frequent instances of their pupils showing inattentiveness and hyperactivity, nine teachers reported their pupils as lacking in confidence, six reported cases of truancy, five cited impulsivity in behaviour or emotions while two groups of four teachers each highlighted cases of fighting and antisocial behaviour. In addition, three teachers reported that their students often complain of psychosomatic illnesses, two teachers mentioned examples of withdrawal and a teacher stated that she has had to deal with a pupil’s frequent acts of theft while another mentioned other behavioural problems such as a student’s disruptive conversations with himself and the accompanying indiscipline.

RESPONDENTS’ VIEWPOINTS ON THE POSITIVE IMPACTS OF TEACHING PUPILS WITH SEBD In response to queries pertaining to what they see as the positive aspects of their teaching children with SEBD, the participants’ answers were subsequently grouped into one of six categories. At this point, it is important to note that these responses are spoken in the Thai language and translated by one of the authors who is a native Thai.

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Self-Fulfilment According to Talmor, Reiter, and Feigin (2005), a sense of self-fulfilment in the context of work develops when the individual feels that her or his job has special significance resulting in a feeling of real achievement with the act of performing her or his tasks. In consequence, the individual will be less likely to suffer from burnout. Joy in Teaching Children with SEBD Ten of the sixteen Thai teachers stated that they find personal joy in teaching children with SEBD and are subsequently happy with their current professions. A3 declared that ‘Working (with SEN children) makes me happy’. Another teacher, A8, displayed sincerity in saying that ‘We teach them from the heart and we are happy to help them’. Several teachers claimed that another positive aspect of teaching children with SEN lie with the challenges that the job provides. For example, while admitting that teaching children with SEN can be very demanding, A6 nevertheless made up her mind to enter the profession even thought she had the opportunity to choose other vocations earlier on in her life. She elaborated, ‘I knew then that teaching is a very demanding job. However, in spite of this knowledge, I still desired to be a teacher and an educator of young children as I wanted to be happy by doing something good with my life’. Satisfaction Derived in Helping Children with SEBD Being in a position to help pupils with SEN was reported by eight respondents as the most enjoyable aspect of their teaching careers. In A4’s words, ‘I can help children and that makes me feel proud’. A5 provides consensus to this when she added, ‘I can help them to lessen their feelings of inferiority’. Rise in Self-Esteem Resulting from Pupils’ Development Progress seen in their pupils’ development plays an important role in increasing the teachers’ sense of self-esteem. Seven participants perceived positive aspects of teaching children with SEBD after witnessing their pupils’ mental, physical, social and academic development. For example, three participants stated that When I teach, I often receive positive feedback from parents of my pupils. This gives me the motivation to continue teaching. More significantly, witnessing my pupils’ achievements makes me feel so proud of them and myself. (A2)

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At the beginning they were totally illiterate – unable to read and write. However, under our tutelage, they became transformed into learners who are able to read and write. (A12) Now my motivations (to teach) are far beyond mere salary. As a matter of fact, I am striving to be an asset so that the quality of teaching in this school can be further developed. The pupils in this school can then compete with pupils from the other schools. (A5)

A16 was in fact enthusiastic in providing this tribute for her past and present SEN students, ‘I’m delighted to see them living well as part of society’. This implies that she sees herself positively as an educator teaching children with SEN by not only by looking at the students’ academic progress but also in their social development. Sense of Attachment The respondents’ sense of self-fulfilment can also be detected when they highlighted their ability to bond with children under their care as another positive aspect of being a teacher for children with SEBD. A6 described the process of forming close and positive relationships with her pupils as such They (the pupils) grew to love us and as a result, we developed a greater sense of attachment with them. We’d play games or prepare fun learning activities for them and they loved it. Sometimes, they’d ask me to read to them and I’d playfully say, ‘I’m not sure if I can read this book properly, can you help me?’ and then they’d start to read it with me y

A13, a senior teacher who is still single, even rationalised that her sense of attachment with her students kept her busy preventing her from being overcome by moments of loneliness in her life. She even explained why she has never thought of retiring If we retire, there would be nothing to do. I don’t want to be lonely and bored. So long as you are busy working (for these children), you won’t feel that you’re wasting your time.

Personal Growth The next positive aspect that the respondents perceived in teaching children with SEBD relates to the theme of personal growth. Albert (1977, cited in McFarland & Alvaro, 2000) suggests that people have a basic desire to perceive progressive improvements in themselves. He elaborates that perceptions of personal growth will allow people to maintain an integrated sense of self and thus enhance their self-esteem. Based on this perspective,

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the participants related that in teaching children with SEBD, they were able to learn more about themselves and this had led to greater mastery over their own character and personality. Self-Development According to A11 I feel y that there has been an improvement in my self-perception. Instead of feeling like an employee who merely works for the sake of earning an income, I now feel like a respected teacher ready to offer the best that I have to these children. That’s the difference! Such emotions have turned me into a more generous and merciful person. I have also become more empathetic towards people.

A3 added I also feel that I am in a position to understand myself better. I used to be a self-centred person. I wanted everything to be in the way that I expect them. However, since I started teaching children with SEN, I have learned that I cannot have everything the way I want it to be. In other words, I am now more flexible in my expectations and am more confident with my work.

These sentiments indicate that these respondents have not only shown improvements in their perceptions of the community around them, but also of their inner selves. Enhancing Personal Effectiveness Other responses concerning the positive aspects of teaching children with SEBD involved the development of personal skills relating to their working environment. For instance, five teachers provided the following statements which are indicative of this A2: They (the pupils) have become my ‘teachers’. They are now my sources of learning. They represent the many things I still need to know and they ‘teach’ me. So, I learn many things from them.

A3: We gained a better understanding of children. We gained more knowledge. In the past, we used to be upset with children and we often misunderstood them but now we understand them better.

A8: It (being a teacher) gives me purpose in life. It provides me with experiences and knowledge. We are learning whilst we are working.

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A14: The more I deal with the children, the more knowledge I gain.

A9: It (teaching pupils with SEBD) improves my job skills in terms of my management of my responsibilities. It improves my work in terms of enhancing my teaching skills. After all, we have to keep improving ourselves in performing our jobs, right? For example, when we develop our lesson plans, we have to constantly come up with different activities in order to sustain the attention of the children under our care.

Another response pertaining to the issue of personal effectiveness was reflected when respondents acknowledged that teaching allowed them to put into action skills or knowledge they gained during their studies. This is evident when A1 and A13 respectively mentioned that I can apply the knowledge I have learnt at university. (A1) We are able to impart our own knowledge to pupils through our teaching. (A13)

Contribution to Society Four teachers provided feedback that they see benefits in teaching children with SEN with the realisation of the positive impacts resulting from their efforts on the larger society. By perceiving themselves as mediums which act as a means of channelling knowledge to children under their charge, they inevitably see mainstream society as benefiting from their contributions. A16 echoed this when she said that ‘I think we’re doing something good for the society. We use our knowledge to benefit the society’.

Financial Security Financial security is perceived as a positive aspect of teaching children with SEN by seven of the sixteen respondents. It is clearly reflected when participants discussed issues relating to their salary. A1 voiced her appreciation that ‘I get a job which enables me to earn enough money so as to have a decent standard of living’. A12 explained that teaching is a profession that has enabled her to take care of her family. She further highlighted that ‘Working as an SEN teacher provides me with a recognised

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profession. It also enables me to earn a stable income. With it, I’m more confident of taking care of my family’. These comments thus made it clear that the salary provided by their profession offers them a sense of financial security. A4 stated that ‘My life is secure because of the salary that I earn from being a teacher. Even though it is not a lot of money, it is enough to live on if we manage it carefully’. Religious Belief The participants in this study also brought up the issue of religious beliefs during the interview sessions. Being Buddhists, the act of teaching is seen as being very much in line with the need to collect merit (‘boon’) in their lives. Three of them indicated this when they proudly announced that the service of teaching is religiously valued and is considered a prized act of charity. A15 pointed this out when she mentioned that ‘Teaching is a religious accomplishment. We educate children, we give them love and we make them happy’. Another statement given by A8 highlighted that ‘As Buddhists, teaching is an achievement in that it brings happiness around us’. Social Status A13 added that being in the teaching service provides her with a sense of social prestige as she feels that she is respected by the people in her community. She made this clear when she said that ‘it (teaching) is seen as a noble profession. People in our community have very high respect for the educator’.

COPING STRATEGIES When the respondents were asked how they handled moments of stress during the course of performing their jobs, these teachers of children with SEBD showed that they are able to apply a wide variety of strategies to cope with negative situations that take place in the classroom. These coping strategies can be presented according to the following seven themes. Self-Reinforcement of Sense of Responsibility Self-reinforcement of their sense of responsibility is an important coping strategy based on the participants’ feedback. Eight of the teachers voiced

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this as an approach which they initiated when faced with problems while teaching. Four teachers in fact provided this similar experience: When sometimes faced with difficult situations in the classroom, they may end up getting so frustrated that they would walk away from classroom. However, this lasted only for a brief moment as they tend to came back in after a few minutes. At the offset, this seemed to be more of an impulsive reaction than a strategy. However, it can also be argued that the act of coming back to teach after having walked away from a stressful situation reflected a strong sense of responsibility. A15 said, Yes, I walked away from the classroom on a few occasions because I couldn’t take it anymore. During those short moments, I let the children to carry on with their work. Walking away from the classroom helped me to calm down while telling myself that this situation is part and parcel of my work and that I must be strong for the sake of my students. This then gave me the strength to turn around and return to the classroom.

Three of the participants reflected on how their sense of responsibility kept them motivated to continue teaching. At the end of the lesson they (children) came up to me to show me the picture they have drawn and asked me ‘Miss, is it beautiful?’ When I see my children happy, and always eager to learn, I feel a deep sense of responsibility and get really empowered with the spirit of teaching. Any feelings of burnout then disappear. (A6) I think what drives us is a common kind of sense – a sense of responsibility. (A7)

A1’s feedback not only indicated a sense of personal responsibility as educators but also implied the responsibility of being a government officer. She revealed that All my siblings are government officers. I always tell my family that we must work hard. We are government officers, we work for the King. Being a government officer means that we should focus on our work and do our best.

Greater Management of Tasks and Responsibilities Some participants were able to cope with stressful situations by managing more carefully their tasks and responsibilities. Some of them stated that they are consistent workers. Others claimed that they try to adopt various work management strategies to cope with their responsibilities. A9 supported these strategies with the following statements. No, I do not feel exhausted. No matter what they ask me to do, I am always up for it because I am able to properly plan and manage my time. Most teachers feel

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overwhelmed and claim that they cannot keep up with additional tasks brought about by administrative work. For me these are not burdens which are overwhelming. If we plan our time and keep our focus on the task at hand, I will be fine. But if you do things at the last minute, it will pile up and cause unnecessary stress.

A8 supported these sentiments when she mentioned that I try to organise my work. For example, some jobs are better if it is distributed to others who can do them better. As for the others, I work on them step-by-step or try to complete the easy ones first and then the difficult ones later.

Thinking Positively A1 highlighted the power of positive thinking. She stressed that We must always adopt a positive attitude. There are problems in every organization. We have to understand and deal with these problems with a very open mind. We must realise that if we refuse to take on the challenges which is part of our work, then our colleagues will end up not trusting us to perform our duties. We may even end up altogether losing trust with each other. So we must instead see each other as sources of strengths.

Three participants reported on what they see as an effective coping strategy. Instead of placing blame on pupils whenever something goes wrong, these teachers instead see it as a valued learning opportunity where they can focus on how they could have handled the situation better. A5 said I noticed that some teachers blame their pupils whenever problems occur. As their teacher, you should start by looking inwardly at yourself. You should look closely at the reasons why particular children fail to learn in the same way as the rest of their classmates. Are there possible ways of resolving these problems? Teachers should always remember that to constantly place blame on their students without looking at themselves will never solve the problem.

A2 reported on two strategies that she initiated when dealing with stressful situations that occur in her classroom. She stated that although it can be very challenging, she nevertheless sees value in teaching with SEN. She emphasises, I don’t care what people say about SEN children. These children are precious to me. I will try everything I can to teach them. She adds that ‘It (teaching pupils with SEBD) has been a pleasure for me. I have taught many pupils over the years. And as long as we have special pupils coming into our classes, it is our responsibility to teach them and make their future lives better!’

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To Avoid and Not to Confront Another coping strategy highlighted by the respondents is that of conflict avoidance. Three teachers mention that they will try to walk away if they see a long term stressful situation. A14 stated admitted that If I am feeling frustrated at work because of a situation caused by a colleague, I will just walk away. I won’t take the trouble of nagging or complaining. If they (the colleagues) don’t want to do the work, then why should I do it?

Another respondent however has taken the extreme measure of quitting her post. A12, who indicated that she had been suffering from high-stress levels said that being the head of an academic section was too demanding for her. In the end however, she decided to relinquish her designation instead of discussing her problems with her superiors.

Consoling Oneself The act of consoling themselves was another coping strategy mentioned by two respondents. A13 for instance, said that she used this technique to suppress her anger towards her students. She elaborated ‘Sometimes, I get really angry. But I kept telling myself that they (the pupils) are just kids and that they are still immature. That is the reason why they did the things they did. Thinking like this made me feel better’.

Involvement with Activities Which De-Stress A16 involves herself with non-work related activities whenever she feels that she is becoming too overwhelmed by work. She explained ‘I really feel exhausted sometimes. When I feel exhausted with work, I go out for shopping or travelling. I also play golf a lot’. (A16)

Adopting Religious Beliefs Another teacher (A11) who previously experienced depression from the loss of her husband due to a road accident began to be more active in practising her Buddhist beliefs especially in the concepts of the cycle of life – birth, old age, suffering and death – to deal with her grief. She displayed calmness of

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being when she espoused that ‘I have to let it go. We have to understand and accept, right? And we have to understand nature, understand that it is a cycle of life. Nobody can avoid it’. Similarly, whenever she was faced with stressful situations in her job as an SEN teacher, she manages to calm herself by relying on these beliefs.

DISCUSSIONS Positive Aspects in Teaching Children with SEBD The findings indicate that five out of the seven themes can be associated with the actual teaching of children with SEBD while the rest relates to issues pertaining to social interaction or other non-teaching duties. The majority of teachers in this study agree that they enjoy being a member of the teaching service. According to these teachers, there are several reasons for such positive feelings. The main factors relate to the fact that they find fulfillment in the knowledge that they are helping their pupils lead more fruitful lives. Another motivation which was mentioned is the opportunity for self-development brought about by the challenges in teaching children with SEBD. Others pointed out to the opportunity to build good relationships with their pupils and being able to see these pupils progress and. These findings agree with previous studies (Cockburn, 2000; DEST, 2006; Kyriacou & Coulthard, 2000; Wright & Custer, 1998) highlighting teachers’ feedback that having the opportunity to work with children and nurture their learning as the most pleasant aspect of the job. Other respondents highlighted the fact that teaching is not only a profession that enables them to develop children, it also provides them with the opportunity to contribute to society. As a result of their efforts, it is more likely that these teachers will earn the respect of the society at large. Some research (e.g. Farber, 1991) has argued that dealing with disruptive children or children with emotional and behavioural difficulties appear to be the cause of job stress among SEN teachers. However, the findings of this study indicate the contrary as the respondents’ feedbacks reflect that they find enjoyment specifically in teaching children with SEBD. An explanation for this phenomenon can be made based on an existentialist perspective. Pines (2002a) explains that people need to believe that the things they do are important and meaningful. In the case of teachers, this is reflected in the shared sentiment that among their duties, the most important and significant is that of educating their students, inspiring

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them to enjoy learning and to subsequently shape their personality (Pines, 2002a). Although most of the teachers in this study have only between 1 and 5 years of experience in teaching children with SEN, the majority of them have nevertheless accumulated a total of at least 10 years of teaching experience. It can therefore be argued that they have garnered sufficient working knowledge to make them develop or become aware of such sentiments. Therefore, when they ventured to specialise in teaching children with SEBD, they would have already been made aware of the challenges associated to teaching students with learning difficulties and would have been prepared to face up to them. Platsidou and Agaliotis (2008) support this claim as their research on special education teachers in Greece reveal that these teachers are more satisfied with their jobs as compared to teachers in charge of the regular curriculum. The authors rationalised that since these teachers are already aware of the difficulties of their jobs and the challenges that they are expected to face when they made the career choice to work in the area of special education, they were subsequently prepared to face up to the accompanying emotional burden and workload. Another feedback on the positive aspects of teaching children with SEBD can be related to the respondents’ perception of themselves. The participants argued that teaching children with SEBD enhanced their personal development by improving on their teaching skills and further developing their characters. Some teachers explained that because of the challenges that they faced, they had begun to adapt their teaching methods in order to deal with children suffering from SEBD. In the process, they inadvertently improved their attitude towards working with these young individuals. While they admitted that it was hard at the beginning, they found that the process had indeed helped them to positively develop their teaching experiences and their personalities. As Billingsley (2004b) concluded, the opportunity for professional development can be a factor which accounts for teacher retention in the education service. The next positive feature highlighted relates to material rewards, specifically teacher remuneration. Given an equitable but sufficient means of income, SEN teachers in Thailand will be able to maintain a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. The Hierarchy of Needs introduced by Maslow (1968) identifies basic human needs such as food, clothing and shelter that has to be satisfied before moving to the next set of requirements. In modern society, such needs will usually be fulfilled through financial means. A study focussing on job expectations of Taiwanese undergraduates by Wang (2004) found that favourable income and job security is perceived as the more significant components which will attract

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these would-be job-seekers. Studies by Cockburn (2000) and DEST (2006) also show that while the passion to teach can be the main reason why individuals enter the profession, material rewards such as salary comes in as a close second. Teachers, just like any other professional, require sufficient income to support their living expenses. Though idealists may dismiss these notions, it is important to recognise that real life makes it necessary for financial concerns to play an essential role in teacher recruitment and retention (Cockburn, 2000). The final aspect seen as providing benefits resulting from teaching SEN pupils is that the profession is seen as fulfilling the teachers’ religious beliefs. Buddhism is the religion of the majority in Thailand. It dominates the everyday lives of the locals. Buddhist doctrine believes in the concept of Karma (action) which is the understanding to do with cause and effect. It influences the everyday actions of the believer by invoking the notion that those who do good will receive ‘good’ (positive merit or ‘boon’) (Naemiratch & Manderson, 2009). According to Buddhist beliefs, teaching is an act of doing good which deserves positive merit (boon). As Buddhists, such perspectives thus reinforce their motivations in wanting to pursue a career in teaching children with SEBD. Teaching is not only seen as a profession which enables them to earn a living but also as an opportunity to attain merit.

COPING STRATEGIES The study suggests that Thai teachers for children with SEBD are able to apply both active as well as inactive coping strategies when confronted by stressful situations during the performance of their jobs. The categorisation of these two strategies was made by Pines and Aronson in their article ‘Career Burnout: Causes and Cures’ (1988). According to the authors, ‘active’ strategies refers to ways of dealing with the issue by confronting or attempting to change oneself or the source/s which is causing the stress. Inactive strategies refers to the various ways undertaken to decrease the stress by physically or cognitively avoiding or denying its presence. In the case of the respondents of this study, active strategies are manifested by selfreinforcement of their sense of responsibility, finding solutions to neutralise the source of the stress, adopting a positive attitude as well as strengthening their religious’ beliefs. Inactive strategies are manifested when the respondents busy themselves with other non-teaching related activities, as well as actions intended to avoid and/or suppression of their sources of stress.

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The findings of this research however is similar to studies by Leiter (1991), Anderson (2000), Changpinit, Greaves, and Frydenberg (2007), and Antoniou and Kotroni (2009) in that coping mechanisms more frequently initiated by SEN teachers involved the use of active strategies rather than inactive strategies. In addition, these studies found that the use of active strategies is more effective in overcoming feelings of stress among teachers. For example, Leiter (1991) found that mental health workers who initiate cognitive and/or physically active control strategies to cope with the difficulties at work are less likely to succumb to exhaustion and thereby acquire more positive assessments of their personal accomplishments whereas the worker who resort to escapist means tend to experience greater levels of emotional exhaustion. In contrast, coping strategies which hinge on avoidance or denial may be less effective in coping with stressful situations. Anderson (2000) found that workers who adopt coping strategies which emphasises denial of problems or the avoidance of thoughts or actions which focuses on the stressful events result in an increased level of emotional exhaustion. These findings are aligned with the study presented by Griffith, Steptoe, and Cropley (1999) which indicate that strategies to cope with difficulties such as disengagement and suppression of competing activities correlate with higher ratings of work stress which may eventually result in dysfunctional attitudes and negative performance. Nevertheless, these studies do not imply that avoidance strategies should be totally discarded when faced with stressful situations. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) point out that avoidance strategies, such as escapist behaviours, can be initiated when one is faced with a situation with no possible solutions. In addition, Blanch, Aluja, and Biscarri (2003) conclude that some difficult situations are just beyond the control of teachers. Thus, a combination of using active and avoidance strategies may help teachers to achieve a greater sense of psychological well-being despite being confronted with difficult-to-solve situations. The results from this present study also suggest that on most occasions, teachers appear to initiate coping strategies at the personal and individual level. Several studies however claim that such coping strategies are less effective when compared to those involving others in the organisation or even society at large. For example, Shinn, Rosario, Morch, and Chestnut (1984) as well as Pines, Aronson, and Kafry (1981) argue that most coping strategies initiated at the individual level will have limited results and may possibly still end up with burnout. Shinn et al. (1984) found that individual coping strategies may be less effective in

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reducing strain because some situations are just beyond individual control. On the other hand, Schaufeli and Buunk (2003) who examined intervention methods to deal with burnout asserted that individualfocused strategies such as cognitive-behavioural interventions and multimodal programmes, for example a combination of cognitive-behavioural interventions and relaxation training do show positive effects in overcoming burnout. In particular, cognitive-behavioural interventions and multimodal programmes are found to be more effective than mere relaxation training. It is interesting to note that the participants in this study, being local teachers who adhere to Buddhist doctrines fall back on their faiths as a means of coping with stressful situations. As previously mentioned, Buddhism greatly influences the Thai way of life. In line with the belief in the Karma (i.e. the concept of cause and effect), Buddhists are expected to take responsibility for their actions. To quote the saying of Lord Buddha, ‘you yourself must make an effort. The Tathagatas (Buddhas) are only preachers’ (Dhammapada, v. 276). As a result, when the Thai teachers in this study were faced with difficult situations, most then undertook coping strategies which involved dealing with the problem by themselves instead of immediately approaching other sources assistance.

CONCLUSION In its essence, this study shows that the main positive aspect of teaching children with SEBD relates to feelings of satisfaction in teachers seeing themselves as ‘enablers’ and subsequently seeing their pupils’ develop and progress. In the process, they were able to establish close bonds with these children. The next perceived benefit involves the opportunity for self-growth as well as the chance to enhance their teaching skills and experience. The final item surfaced by the respondents was the satisfactory remuneration package offered by the vocation. In terms of coping strategies, teachers in this study initiated active strategies such as better work management, self-reinforcement of their sense of responsibility and adopting positive attitude to their work. However, some respondents also highlighted that they do adopt inactive strategies, for example avoidance, suppression and escapism especially by involving themselves with other non-work related activities. The study also finds that most of the respondents used active strategies at the individual level to cope with difficult situations.

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This chapter has provided some details which help to understand local Thai teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of teaching children with SEBD and the way they cope with the difficulties in the course of performing their duties. It is important to note that the sample in this study is relatively small and comprise only female Thai teachers. Therefore, caution should be taken when applying the results of this study on groups which may not align themselves according to the profile of the participants in this research. Despite its limitations, this study will be useful in providing a clearer and deeper understanding of Thai teachers’ perceptions of their profession and how they were able to consequently cope with their job stress. This knowledge will enable stakeholders to formulate initiatives designed to eliminate job stressors in teaching that may subsequently lead to burnout among these teachers of children with SEBD.

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Pines, A. M., Aronson, E., & Kafry, D. (1981). Burnout: From tedium to personal growth. New York, NY: Free Press. Platsidou, M., & Agaliotis, I. (2008). Burnout, job satisfaction and instructional assignmentrelated sources of stress in Greek special education teachers. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 55(1), 61–76. Samantrakul, P. (2006). Validity evidence and reliability of job burnout inventories for primary school teacher in Bangkok Metropolitan. M.Ed. dissertation, Srinakhariwirot University. Schaufeli, W. B., & Buunk, B. P. (2003). Burnout: An overview of 25 years of research and theorizing. In M. J. Schabracq, J. A. M. Winnubst & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), The handbook of work and health psychology. West Sussex: Wiley. Schaufeli, W. B., & Enzmann, D. (1998). The burnout companion to study and practice: A critical analysis. London: Taylor & Francis. Shinn, M., Rosario, M., Morch, H., & Chestnut, D. E. (1984). Coping with job stress and burnout in the human service. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(4), 864–876. Stempien, L. R., & Loeb, R. C. (2002). Differences in job satisfaction between general education and special education teacher: Implications for retention. Remedial and Special Education, 23(5), 258–266. Talmor, R., Reiter, S., & Feigin, N. (2005). Factors relating to regular education teacher burnout in inclusive education. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 20(2), 215–229. Wang, H. H. (2004). Why teach science? Graduated science students’ perceived motivation for choosing teaching as a career in Taiwan. International Journal of Science Education, 26(1), 113–128. Wright, M., & Custer, R. (1998). Why they enjoy teaching: The motivation of outstanding technology teachers. Journal of Technology Education, 9(2), 60–77.

THE INTEGRATION OF SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED PUPILS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC: A QUALITATIVE VIEW ON A QUANTITATIVE PHENOMENON$ Jirˇ ı´ Neˇmec and Lenka Gulova´ ABSTRACT The term ‘‘socially disadvantaged pupils’’ defines those children from family environments that have low social and economic standards and are potentially endangered by socially pathological phenomena. Romani children make up the largest such group in the Czech Republic. Whereas in the 1991 census 33,489 Romani declared their Romani nationality, only 11,746 did so in the 2001 census, representing only approximately 0.3% of the total population. In fact the actual numbers are higher, as many hesitate to declare their Romani nationality for various reasons. NGOs estimate there are about 275,000 Romani, which represents approximately 2.7% of the total population. Czech law forbids public administration institutions $

The presentation of findings was supported by a project (MUNI/A/1024/2009) – Socially handicapped pupils research.

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 161–173 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002013

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(which include schools) to maintain evidence of national minorities, or to obtain, administer or make use of personal data that is somehow related to national minority inclusion. The authors attempted to analyze the circumstances of Romani pupils both in schools and families. The data was gained through all involved parties: Romani assistants, as well as teachers and students tutoring Romani families during the course of the Home Tutor project. This approach allowed us to view the problems of Romani pupil education in its natural background. The analysis is presented in the form of open coding; it describes key categories that were identified, using longer text analysis

PURPOSE STATEMENT Considering the research strategy, we focused on a target that could be summarized as follows: To learn the maximum and explain the details of Romani educational processes in a social context that includes school (classroom) environment and home (family) background (see Fig. 1). The two spheres were engaged using three complete research probes; each having had its research strategy (goal, methods, analysis, and interpretation)

LEARNING PROCESS

EDUCATION REALITY

LEARNING PROCESS

Romani pupil education 1. FG - HT, students 2. Parent interviews 3. Case study FG - focus group HT - home tutor

SCHOOL teachers assistants FAMILY parents HT students

1. FG teachers of preparatory classes 2. teacher interviews 3. FG teacher assistants

EDUCATION REALITY CONTEXT ANAYLYSIS OF THE INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUPS

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS REALITY

Fig. 1.

Design of the Methodology and Research Methods.

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linked to the research, enabled us to triangulate the research object. It seems obvious by checking the research design (see Fig. 1) that the circumstances of Romani students were dealt with in the full scope of possible inquiry. The triangles that fit into each other suggest an interaction between family and school environments. We can further imagine the ‘‘closeness’’ and ‘‘openness’’ that serve as intensity markers of the relationships between the two. The triangles that are closed stand for compact rectangles symbolizing an ideal level of the education system, while open (distant) triangles suggest the family and school are separated. To understand the whole process in a more useful way and define the optimal strategy of education, we focused on the interaction between mutual analogies.

ON THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND THE SELECTION OF METHODS The research in the field of social pedagogy is characterized by the complex nature of the subject. Research features are difficult to measure, for example, creating the relationship, social and cultural context, and experiencing the decision making. They are loaded by instant interactions with their surrounding contexts that are, at the same time, the focus of the research. All features are variable over the course of time and change according to the human experience and characteristic features of the subject. Should we be able to perceive a human experience that is well hidden from recognition (mostly from our visual senses), we must deploy a narrative that allows us to learn more about the way we experience, make decisions and so on. We relied on interviews while collecting data and also used focus group methods, even though we are well aware of the limits of these methods. The focus groups method allows us to learn a great deal about various social features that could hardly be studied or described using any other method, but on the other hand there are some limits to be aware of. Morgan (2011, p. 17) defines the focus group in a broader sense, an inclusive sense, as a research technique that collects data using the social interaction evoked by discussions led by the researcher. Even though the definition underlines a key element of the focus group, such as member interaction, it does not define any other attributes, for example, particular characteristics of the members and the work of the moderator. These include their reflections linked with the topic, ergo with the research object that is to be studied in comprehensive detail.

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ANALYSIS AND DATA INTERPRETATION As it is already clear from the research design, we worked with three focus groups that differed by the character of the participants: students, home tutors, teachers of preparatory classes, and Romani teacher assistants. We further conducted individual interviews with five teachers at the primary level of the basic school. All teachers had classes with Romani pupils. All groups were defined on purpose, to gather as much qualitative data as possible to learn about the education process and, at the same time, use the data to support the triangle of the research. Particularly identified categories were not only repeated, but at the same time enriched by the data gained by other participants in the focus group. Using the interviews, we strove to understand the relationships among them and explain the processes of Romani pupils in a context of social and cultural determinants.

INTERPRETATION OF MAIN CATEGORIES Reasons for Problems in Schools and Educational Strategies In the process of the edification of Romani pupils, we are able to identify several reasons for their lack of success in schools. Therefore, effective education that enhances that goal can only be provided by identifying and understanding these limiting factors. One dominant problem that occurs at the very beginning of school attendance is insufficient knowledge of the teaching language, which is typical for most Romani.1 Especially prior to 1989, Romani children who came to schools from environments with low language standards failed significantly at a very early stage. So they were transferred to special schools, with the explanation that they had showed lower intellect.2 Today, the existing education policies dictate that as many children as possible be included in the mainstream educational system.

The Czech Language, Terms, and Meanings Before they begin to attend school, these children have fewer possibilities to familiarize themselves with the Czech language, due to the strong influence of their families, especially via mutual Czech–Romani influences.

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Therefore, one of the reasons for their failure in schools is that they lack sufficient knowledge of the Czech language, as well as the formal language of school and are unable to interpret the meanings of terms. The inability to think in the teaching language can be misinterpreted by teachers as a lower intellectual level of the child. Transitive classes play an irreplaceable role in this regard. They not only help children to develop their vocabulary but also teach these children how to understand classroom instruction and use it in specific situations.

Values of Romani Families and the Value of Education Romani children grow up in environments where their value systems differ from those of the general population. A significant ongoing phenomenon is relatively early motherhood (the birth of the first child) occurring between the ages of 16 and 20, which is early compared to the population majority as well as recent trends. The value of motherhood (more children in a family) is linked to the value of health in a Romani family and vice versa. Children who are born to older mothers are perceived as something unhealthy and strange by their ethnic community. The value system of a Romani family does not expect a woman to further educate herself, since her key role is that of preparation for the role of mother. Generally speaking, the value of education is very low on their list of values. However, this has been changing lately in many families, especially those in which the parents support the project known as the Home Tutor. The project is based on home teaching children by students in a family atmosphere. The Faculty of Education has been participating in this project, as have many citizens’ associations in the Czech Republic. The low level of education among the Romani population can be seen in Table 1. The research took place in 2001 and included 836 respondents.

Time Perception and Daily Routine A Romani child usually grows up in a family where both parents are unemployed and, therefore, the structure of its day is not as strictly defined as it would be in families in which the parents work for most of the day and he or she thereby differentiates between ‘‘obligated’’ and ‘‘leisure’’ time. This fact is one of the main reasons why these children fail to develop a

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Table 1.

The Level of Education of Romani Population.

Level of Education

Percent

None Special school Elementary school (incomplete) Elementary and apprentice (incomplete) Apprenticeship, no graduation Apprenticeship with graduation diploma Vocational high school, no graduation Vocational high school, with graduation diploma University Total

2.9 15.8 10.1 40.6 20.7 2.4 3.6 2.2 1.7 100

Source: Navra´til (2003, p. 136).

notion of time sequence that structures more normal daily routine. The basics of any perception of a sequence of certain activities provide the conditions for acquiring simple rules. Money The child grows up in an environment in which money is handled in an altogether different manner from the general Czech population. Qualitative research performed by Neˇmec (2005) proved that Romani preschool children think that money is created and obtained at post offices, where parents go to collect their social security benefits. The value of money is not in any way connected to work. If the family has money, it is spent very quickly and the family fails to plan the process of spending across a longer period of time. Romani families experience times of relative prosperity, alternately replaced by periods of poverty, providing an opportunity for loan sharks to step in. There are engrained habits in these families. If a mother cannot give her child lunch money, she decides not to send the child to school, in order that he or she does not feel bad for not having it. The Perception of Difference Sooner or later, nearly every Romani child encounters a situation in which he or she realizes his or her skin-color difference. Skin-color difference

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complex appears via a type of ‘‘sudden realization’’ in a person who has thus far lived in his or her own environment and community. It also occurs within the majority of a society in which there is no place to recognize any signs of social or physical appearance that might make him or her different. He or she is made aware of the difference by their peers, who belong among the majority and that realization is characterized by dejection and humiliation. Evidence of the existence of the aforementioned complex comes by means of stories from adults, who recall this day as a key event that significantly determined their self-awareness process from that day onward. One story that we entitled ‘‘She is ashamed of her skin color’’ is explained as follows: I have a friend who has a daughter. The daughter has dark skin. She went to school and she came back crying. Her mother saw her in the bathtub. ‘‘What are you doing?’’ she said. The girl had a brush and kept brushing herself, saying that she was ashamed of her skin color. So the kids suffer through this. And the teachers do not want to hear any explanation. This is humiliating for us. Children will experience it constantly as they grow up.3

Skin-color difference complex not only causes social exclusion but also contributes significantly to problematic education and edification issues in relation to Romani children, especially their aspiration levels in relation to school tasks. Educational Strategies and Framing Educational Programs The Framing Educational Programs for elementary education as a longterm educational goal define the integration of pupils from different cultural and socially disadvantaged environments. At the same time, it refers to the protection of their minority culture and assistance in their success among the majority society. It stresses the importance of teacher and student bodies to accept the nationality, ethnicity, or system of values of all of their pupils. The school education system cannot only pay attention to Czech language knowledge acquisition but must also focus on familiarization with the Czech environment and its cultural habits and traditions. On the other hand, these pupils should be given (pursuant to the Education Act) the chance to acquire such information within the process of school attendance, enabling them to select those items of information that help them develop their identity

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CONDITIONS AND STRATEGIES FOR THE EDUCATION OF ROMANI PUPILS AND STUDENTS The Framing Educational Program also explicitly defines conditions to be fulfilled by the administrator of the school, or the school itself, in order to realize specific educational strategies (cf. education of pupils with special needs). Aside from these conditions, we can observe other educational strategies within the Czech education system. Transitive classes, Romani Assistants, and Cooperation One educational strategy in the process of educating Romani children at the very beginning of their school attendance (but in the preschool stage as well) is the transitive classes project. The creation of the atmosphere of a team of children within a transitive class is only possible by a decent familiarization with the natural environment of Romani children – their families. To acquaint Romani children with the concept of rules and order, cooperation with their parents is essential. If cooperation with families works well and if the particular family communicates with the teacher and teaching assistant on a regular basis, then their child’s acceptance of values, rules, and order is more effective. The influence of the teacher on the child in this way (with the help of the family), as well as on the family as such (with support from the child), works most successfully. An atmosphere of trust is further promoted via cooperation with a Romani teaching assistant who is a member of the community and cooperates closely with the educator. Natural Interest, Games, and Moral Behavior Games are a natural activity for a child. In the case of preschool children, topical games dominate, inspired by the world of adults and they recreate their experiences in group games. Teachers attempt to ‘‘show the world’’ to children through games; they try to explain how the world works. A teacher is capable of very good insight into the lives of specific families and thus he or she can make themselves familiar with the Romani environment (in the lifestyle context of children), and also with their values and methods of communication among individual family members. Games are an extremely valuable tool for the development of social ties among children. Children play various roles in these games, teaching them

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to communicate from various positions (social statuses) by which they indirectly develop social ties with their classmates. A good atmosphere promotes responsibility awareness in the case of each pupil. ‘‘Showing the way’’ to every child’s self-awareness is a key value in the process of edification. Thus, it’s necessary that this value be promoted in preschool and during the early stages of elementary education.

Social Assistance and Promotion of Self-Confidence Success in handling simple tasks also guarantees success in other activities and the reinforcement of the knowledge that one’s abilities can be expressed by the following mantra: ‘‘I believe in myself!’’ It is the lack of selfconfidence and repeated failure of elementary school pupils that creates basic ‘‘knowledge gaps’’ and also causes a lack of understanding of more complex contexts and new knowledge. The strategy that promotes the acquisition of ‘‘basic knowledge upon which we can build further knowledge’’ is expressed by the term ‘‘social assistance.’’ Debates on the significance of social assistance once again suggest what a new education paradigm might look like: one which moves from an evaluation of general quantity to the observation of individual quality. Romani pupils cannot be evaluated against general standards (e.g., when it comes to the ability to read), but rather against individual standards that reflect the will and abilities of each individual. An adequate level of aspiration is one of the key prerequisites for the successful school attendance of Romani pupils and students. This is formed via the fulfillment of simple tasks that are age specific and adequate for their appropriate abilities. Through these activities, the complexity of which has been gradually increasing, children begin to believe in themselves more and are able to work individually. The low self-esteem of children is not caused by their ethnicity as an eventual reason for social exclusion (cf. the chapter on the perception of differences). In this regard, the role of the teacher and the teaching assistant (who themselves are members of a minority) is irreplaceable.

The School Class as a Community A school class with a good social atmosphere, through which children can socialize well, is a particular form of a community, a smaller sample of the world of the majority in which certain order and rules apply. Teachers who

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E) MORAL BEHAVIOR D) ORDER C) RULES B) ACQUISITION OF SIMPLE ROUTINES A) UNSTRUCTURED TIME IN THE FAMILY A. The parents are unemployed, do not get up in the morning to go to work, and there is no difference between a work day and a holiday. The time flies with no need to follow it, the key day being the day on which unemployment benefits are paid. B. Fixation of regular activities that recur, “we will wash our hands before our afternoon snack, shoes will be stored in the shoe rack”, etc. C. The rules of the game that become more structured and complicated with age: “If you want to say something, you must raise your hand, we will address one another by first names, we observe the rules of the game”. Goods things are those that are done by the rules. We create the rules together. D. The rules of the games and other school and extracurricular activities are gradually internalized and transferred from the world of games to real life. E. A child behaves according to rules and it is necessary that such behavior be encouraged by the teacher, by saying such things as “I noticed you helped your friend find his slippers”, or “It is nice that you shared your snack”, etc.

Fig. 2.

Rules Acquiring Process.

are in charge of transitive classes face problems that stem directly from the fact that the Romani population is unable to acquire a specific ‘‘work day routine.’’ Children are generally tardy, since their parents often ‘‘lose the sense of time’’ that ‘‘white’’ families have. They see little value in education, since they did not need it themselves for their own life in society, etc. Therefore, it is the school life within a community of other children where children learn in a nonviolent form to acquire the simple rules necessary for the acquisition of more important rules – moral ones. This process is explained schematically in detail in Fig. 2.

Teaching Assistant and Transitive Classes The teaching assistant works in transitive classes for children from socially disadvantaged environments and in schools with a multicultural focus, as well as in preschool (kindergarten) facilities.

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Transitive classes have at least 10 pupils. Usually, the number is 13–15 and pupils enroll for as long as the limit of 15 allows. Upon enrollment and when the knowledge and abilities of a child are diagnosed (which is usually done by a teacher in cooperation with a psychologist), the teacher prepares an individual study plan for each pupil and the parents are familiarized with it. Transitive classes are usually established upon the decision of either the schools, which want to prevent education and edification problems in their prospective pupils, or the administrators of the schools – municipalities – which want to solve the issue of the integration of socially excluded families through their children. Transitive classes are established in elementary schools (or kindergartens) in regions in which Romani populations live in large numbers. In daily reality, this means that these classes are usually created in older city suburbs with balcony access houses, low-income and social housing and minimum dwellings, etc. in which mostly Romani live, or in suburbs where pupils in schools are 70–90% Romani. Transitive classes provide enough space for the educational activities of the teaching assistants. The creation of this position logically complements the stated goal of helping children from different cultural environments. Those children may not know the teaching language well (or at all), share different values, and/or have problems adapting to class work (cf. Romani pupil entry). The teaching assistant usually understands the environment that the pupils come from very well (not just the Romani community, but particular families as well), and he or she can be of very valuable help to the education and edification work of the teacher. He or she can also serve as a socialization mediator between the teacher (who represents the majority) and the parents (who represent the minority).

‘‘Home Teacher’’ Project The students of Masaryk University visit pupils directly in their families or at basic schools, where they tutor them in fields that might be qualified as difficult for them. The project is also significant for the students themselves, as they learn about Romani mentality and culture and have a chance to reevaluate their positions. A student involved in the project is not only a tutor but also represents a person who really cares about the child. In many cases, they are in a position to influence the family background of the child, communicate with parents,

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and advise them on the education of their child. They are also able to help parents understand how to deal with their child in the most positive way. Further, they often also provide hints on improvements in their negative social background.

CONCLUSION All education strategies suggest ways in which to integrate Romani pupils into the main education stream. Intervention, with the help of preparatory classes, Romani assistants, and home tutors, seems to be an adequate solution in long-term education strategies. To make the suggested strategy fully functional, it should reflect positively at the legislative level and, at the same time, at the level of the practice itself.  In preparatory classes, it is necessary to solve the difficulty with the two levels of preparation classes and kindergartens. The system of early education exposes huge discrepancies between Romani pupils prepared for education and those left unprepared.  The terrain social workers, working directly with families and schools or with Romani assistants are not sufficiently linked. The legislative approach links school attendance with social benefits (used against the parents), but in reality the system is not administered well.  The efficiency of Romani assistants will increase hand in hand with their level of education, but they should be accepted well by the school and its teachers. Their job description and use differ dramatically within different schools.  The home teacher project brings many positive effects to selected families. But even in that field we miss the systematic coordination of all those activities that are occasionally organized by various public societies or various institutions. The work of home tutors depends solely on grants.  At the level of methodology, we can argue that qualitative research based on the focus group method brings some relevant key facts required for describing the experience of teachers, assistants, and students. The description is enriched by the interpretation of the researcher and is mostly useful for explaining the string of factors that create social and cultural determinants. The explanation, taking into account its complicated background, allows us to suggest optimal strategies for Romani education.

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NOTES 1. Cf. Qualitative research: Neˇmec (2005). 2. This phenomenon was frequent prior to 1989 and to this date has been the subject of many legal disputes. 3. Quoted from the life story of one of the women that was featured in the research on the emancipation and activation of Romani women (Gulova´, Neˇmec, & Sˇteˇparˇ ova´, 2006).

REFERENCES Gulova´, L., Neˇmec, J., & Sˇteˇparˇ ova´, E. (2006). Bud’te ra´di, zˇe ma´te romske´ zˇeny, aneb romska´ zˇena v zrcadle vypra´veˇnı´ . In H. Hasˇ kova´, A. Krˇ ı´ zˇkova´, & M. Linkova´ (Eds.), Mnohohlasem. Vyjedna´va´nı´ zˇensky´ch prostoru˚ po roce 1989. Praha: Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Morgan, L. D. (2011). Ohniskove´ skupiny jako metoda kvalitativnı´ho vy´zkumu. Boskovice: Albert. Navra´til, P. (2003). Romove´ v cˇeske´ spolecˇnosti. Praha: Porta´l. Neˇmec, J. (2005). Vcˇela ma´ pilu aneb Prˇı´pravne´ trˇı´dy pro deˇti ze socia´lneˇ znevy´hodneˇne´ho prostrˇedı´. Brno: Faculty of Education, Masaryk University.

ELECTIVE HOME EDUCATION : SUPPORTING ACCESS TO EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITHIN THE GYPSY, ROMA AND TRAVELLER COMMUNITY Rebecca Clavell-Bate ABSTRACT This chapter reviews the interaction between local authority services and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community with a primary focus on Elective Home Education (EHE). A small-scale case study is presented, based around semi-structured interviews with members of the GRT community and educational professionals in order to identify factors influencing the uptake of EHE within the GRT community. Analysis of the primary qualitative and secondary quantitative data suggests that Learning Mentors have had some impact upon the uptake of education and there appears to have been fewer referrals to the Children Missing Education (CME) team. However, the GRT community seems entrenched in its view

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 175–191 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002014

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of not accepting formal school education as appropriate for its teenage members, particularly young women. The GRT community is considered a patriarchal society, with women having culturally defined roles from an early age. The cultural value placed upon education often limits access to educational opportunities for most secondary aged GRT young people and this historical attitude is likely to continue through future generations. This study indicates the need for further research in several areas; alternative educational provision for GRT young people, the need for a more flexible approach to education by schools, the inclusion of GRT parents in their children’s education and the involvement of more agencies to offer support to the GRT community.

INTRODUCTION This chapter is based on a research project undertaken in one specific geographical locality of the Local Authority (LA) by the writer whilst working as an Elective Home Education (EHE) Support Officer for the Local Authority Education Inclusion Service (LAEIS). The primary role of the writer was to monitor the amount and quality of educational provision being provided for children within the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community. There are many reasons why GRT families opt for education other than at school and these will be discussed in more detail throughout the chapter. In the experience of the writer, many of the teenage girls registered on EHE have expressed a wish to go to college, however, this often does not reach fruition due to funding issues (the LA will not provide funding for children registered on EHE and in many cases, families do not have the means to fund college placements independently) and the negative cultural expectations in relation to further education that are placed upon these girls from a young age. In the writer’s experience, many GRT secondary aged children registered on EHE do not appear to take their education seriously and do little or no work at all. From 2007 to date, the LAEIS and the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Achievement Service (GRTAS) have worked in partnership within this authority to bring about a change in attitude towards education amongst the GRT community. Strategies were identified as means of improving the situation, including the modification of paperwork sent to families, based

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upon examples of good practice from other Local Education Authorities. In an attempt to offer support and encouragement to secondary aged pupils on EHE and to facilitate more positive engagement in education, in September 2007, the GRTAS created the role of Learning Mentors. This original initiative was piloted by the GRTAS in just one geographical locality of the LA. The Learning Mentors often provided support over and above that required by their job descriptions, regularly providing children with one to one support sessions, learning resources, helping children to understand and complete work and closely monitoring their progress.

OVERVIEW OF ELECTIVE HOME EDUCATION At the time of research, the then Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), described parents’ decisions to educate their children at home instead of school as EHE (DCSF, 2007a). This is different to home tuition provided by a LA or education provided by a LA other than at school; parents can either teach the children themselves or choose to employ private tutors. Parents opt for EHE for a variety of reasons: distance or access to a local school, religious, cultural or philosophical beliefs, dissatisfaction with the system, bullying, a child’s unwillingness or inability to go to school, special educational needs or parents’ desire for a closer relationship with their children (Davenport, 2008). Parents are required by law to ensure that children of school age receive an appropriate full-time education. The legal grounding for home education is located in Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 and states that y The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable – (a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and (b) to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. (Education Otherwise, 2010)

There is currently no legal definition of ‘full-time’ education, although in England children normally attend school for between 20 and 25 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year (DCSF, 2007a). The educational activity that a child on EHE engages with can be varied and flexible. However, it could be considered reasonable for a LA to expect the provision made by parents to include consistency of a parent or carer, recognition of the child’s needs, aptitudes and aspirations, opportunities for the child to be stimulated by the experience and access to resources/materials to provide that education.

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Parents who choose to educate their children at home must accept full financial responsibility, including the costs of any public examinations, for example GCSE’s. This can be a negative aspect of EHE for many families, often the cost of providing a broad and balanced education is not considered thoroughly before the decision to home educate is made. Through experience of visiting families who have chosen this route, the writer has often found that parents cannot afford to buy resources that are required to provide a wide range of educational experiences. The monitoring and support of children being educated at home under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 is a responsibility of the LA, which has a duty to ensure that children of school age are receiving a ‘suitable’ education. The terms ‘efficient’ and ‘suitable’ are not defined in the Education Act 1996 but are described in terms of education by the Lancashire County Council (2009) as, An education which achieves that to which it set out to achieve y it is also supposed to be an education that equips the individual for life within their community but does not restrict them from becoming part of another community if they would wish to do so in the future. (p. 11)

This description of ‘suitable’ education makes it difficult for the LA’s EHE Team to make sound judgements about the overall well-being of any child with whom they are engaged, especially in travelling communities, where the emphasis upon education appears to be more culturally based and children are often working within their family trade. This particular LA’s EHE policy outlines clear steps, including the involvement of the CME team, to ensure efficient monitoring and safeguarding of children, including guidelines on issues such as school attendance orders, children with special educational needs and legal aspects of EHE.

OVERVIEW OF KEY LITERATURE The literature review that was undertaken as part of the research proved to be both challenging and interesting. There are many books and journal papers written about the GRT culture and there is increasing information being published about EHE, however, there appears to be limited literature available about GRT children who are educated at home. Access to mainstream education for Gypsy, Roma and Travellers is often very difficult due to the historic mobility of families and their cultural beliefs. The nomadic lifestyle restricts opportunities for social inclusion and integration in a society that is largely structured to meet the needs of an

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immobile population (Tyler, 2005). Children often attend mainstream primary school, however, once they reach secondary age many tend to opt for EHE as a result of their cultural beliefs, values, attitudes towards education and in particular, the subject matter that is taught in high schools. Issues such as bullying, access and information relating to drugs, fear of gang culture and a fear of the girls mixing with non-Traveller boys means that many families prefer not to send their children to high school. Recent research investigating the situation of GRT children and EHE was completed by Ivatts (2006). It identifies concerns about the access to education of this ethnic minority group, especially secondary aged pupils which have also been identified in the findings of this research. Ivatts (2006) also noted that there appears to be a growing trend amongst GRT families to opt for EHE, especially for secondary aged children and that many are not getting a suitable or appropriate education for various reasons. In the Overview and Scrutiny of EHE published by the Lancashire County Council (2009), it was noted that a common experience of EHE Officers visiting Traveller sites was to find children registered as being home educated doing work in the community or looking after families rather than undertaking a ‘traditional education’. The LAEIS monitors the number of children registered on EHE in the LA and records show that this number is increasing year on year. The OFSTED, HMI 455 (2003) report identifies the number of GRT secondary aged pupils remaining in formal education as worryingly low, with an estimated 12,000 secondary aged GRT children not registered at school. It is suggested that a total of nearly 3,000 GRT children are registered in the United Kingdom as receiving EHE and that the number of secondary aged children is approximately 2,100 (Ivatts, 2006). Research completed by Ivatts (2006) reflects some of the arguments put forward in the report published by OFSTED, HMI 455 (2003), outlining several serious concerns about EHE and GRT families, including concerns about adequacy and balance of the curriculum, achievement and progress, availability of appropriate learning resources and the genuineness of parental commitment to education at home. Bhopal (2004) has studied the relevance of the relationship between the Traveller Education Services and the GRT communities and identified positive values and examples of good practice. Bhopal (2004) supports the writer’s research by underpinning the fundamental ethos to positive engagement between the Learning Mentors and the GRT families. Other key points for good practice when considering the education of GRT young people are discussed by Wilkin, Derrington, Foster, White, and Martin (2009). The discussion is focussed primarily around young people educated

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in a school setting; however, the points that are stated could also be related to young people educated otherwise than at school. It is argued that partnership working, especially between Traveller Education Support Services (TESS) and school is essential, for purposes such as appropriate class placement, language support and school practice and culture. Wilkin et al. (2009) believe that a school’s support for distance learning could be a key element in maintaining links whilst travelling, facilitating access to education. In a neighbouring LA for example, access to appropriate educational provision is facilitated via the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) through use of a laptop and wireless internet access. Logging on daily to the VLE allows children to gain an attendance mark. It could be argued that if more schools were willing to offer support in this way then more GRT young people may opt to stay in mainstream education, rather than withdrawing from the state system altogether to do EHE. Wilkin et al. (2009) go on to argue that schools that ‘broadened out’ their reach, through the provision of family learning opportunities, the use of ICT and adult literacy and numeracy classes, were more likely to develop positive relationships with parents and overcome their negative experiences of school and education. The employment of GRT community members in the school, who acted as advocates, was also considered as being effective in creating a way forward for school and parents. Considering the research completed by Ivatts (2006), it is possible that an increasing number of secondary aged children do not attend mainstream school for a variety of reasons and alternatively opt for EHE. It could be suggested that if more local schools offered family learning opportunities to GRT communities, some of the negative perceptions that GRT parents have surrounding high school and education could be overcome. Wilkin et al. (2009) also discovered that schools that were more flexible in their approach to education, for example by offering a work-related curriculum that is more relevant to GRT lifestyles, distance learning packages which would support learning with more mobile families or even through flexi-schooling, were found to be effective in engaging GRT pupils. The flexibility of approach to meeting the specific needs of the GRT young people was a key element to their success. Flexi-schooling is currently a legal option and is referred to in Section 444(3)(a) of the 1996 Education Act, with arrangements made between the head teacher and the parents. The child is registered at school as normal, however, only attends part time and is educated at home for the remainder (Home Education Website). In addition, Badman (2009), in his review of EHE in England, made several recommendations with regards to

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flexi-schooling, with the intention of encouraging Local Authorities, in collaboration with schools and colleges, to support home educated families in light of requirements placed upon them by legislation, community engagement and extended services in schools. Extended Services is a means for schools to enhance their capacity to deliver the Every Child Matters agenda by offering, or signposting, a range of activities/support to young people, their families and community members (DCSF, 2007b). Badman (2009) suggests that opportunities for flexi-schooling be extended and made more available, with access to school libraries, sports facilities, specialist facilities, music tuition, work experience and post-14 vocational opportunities. It could be considered that flexi-schooling may be a way forward in attempting to ensure that the educational needs of the GRT young people are being met, whilst respecting cultural values and beliefs. The right to education is paramount for all children of compulsory school age in the United Kingdom and as such, the Scottish Traveller Education Programme (STEP, 2003) believe that peripatetic teachers and staff who work with GRT families play significant roles in supporting the rights of the child to an education. They argue that direct and regular contact of staff with families in their homes is a key factor in building trust and changing perceptions and often this is done in a way that does not undermine family values. Staff that specifically work with GRT families, such as those employed by the GRTAS, offer information, support and advice to families on a wide variety of subjects, often outside the remit of education. The quality of relationships that staff develop with families over time is considered crucial to their role; a positive relationship is more likely to enable access to homes and important information about children and families to be gained. The availability of support from the education authority and schools can make a significant difference to the quality of young learner’s experiences (STEP, 2003). Links with community police, voluntary organisations, LA services, Connexions or Young People’s Services can be advantageous in the development of successful multi-agency working and the enhancement of social inclusion. Tyler (2005) argues that partnership is important for effective responses to mobility and that working closely with TESS to examine policy, joint planning and review characterises good practice. Through the support offered through the TESS, in conjunction with support from other agencies, it could be argued that possible barriers to education could be overcome and therefore access to and inclusion of GRT children in education could be improved. The findings of this research appear to support this.

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METHODOLOGY The overall approach in this research took the form of a case study, looking in detail at the processes and strategies involved in addressing the issues of facilitating access to EHE of secondary aged young people within the specific locality of the LA. The research examined the multi-agency partnership and the effect this has had upon the development of the monitoring and support of young people on EHE. The nature of the research required some flexibility and also opportunity to relate the research to context; contextual information such as historical factors, cultural diversity and family circumstances enables the reader to understand ideas more clearly than just presenting them with abstract ideas or principles (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2000). A case study is a well-established research strategy where the focus is on a case in its own right, taking its context into account (Robson, 2002). The argument for use of case study rather than any other method of research for this study is that case study can observe effects in real-life situations and considers the cause and effect in relation to contextual factors. Case studies allow the use of interviews and semi-structured interviews are widely used in flexible designs, often alongside other methods of research (Robson, 2002). Structured interviews are more likely to be used with fixed designs, whereas unstructured interviews are considered difficult for the novice researcher as they may involve non-standardised or open-ended questions and lengthy responses (Robson, 2002), leading to complicated analysis and transcription. It is for this reason that semi-structured interviews were considered most appropriate to this study. Semi-structured interviews allow greater flexibility than structured ones and can be conducted within the context of the participant observation, for example homes or offices. Using face-to-face interviews as means of collecting data is chosen over other means of personal information gathering such as email or internet conferencing because with the latter two methods, issues of information security, time and cost come into account. Face-to-face interviews can be tape-recorded or even videoed and the tapes can be replayed many times for analysis and transcription. Through the writer’s experience, conducting face-to-face interviews with families is considered the better option as many parents are illiterate and would not have the skills to read questions or write responses to surveys. In addition, it was more likely that the necessary information would be gained through conducting an interview in person with a GRT family, with whom the researcher has an established trusting and positive relationship.

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ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS The respondents for this research were approached personally to obtain informed consent. The main reason for seeking verbal consent as opposed to written consent was due to the uncertainty of the levels of literacy of the respondents; a higher rate of success was possibly achieved by seeking permission verbally than by sending a letter that may not be read or understood. Interviews were conducted with parents, children and educational professionals who work within the GRT community. For purposes of confidentiality, during the interviews participants’ names were changed so they could only be identified by the researcher. The recorded interviews were transcribed for analysis.

RESEARCH FINDINGS ‘Cultural Education’ Concerns Analysis of the transcripts reflected many of the key themes identified through the literature review and also highlighted some new and interesting points. It is believed by some of the educational professionals interviewed that GRT families have the same opportunities and access to education as any non-Traveller children, they are offered mainstream schools to attend but in the majority of cases they choose to opt for EHE. Several of the educational professionals interviewed felt that the families do not want to access formal education and in circumstances where special provision had been arranged between themselves and the families to support the children, it was not seen by the families as a priority or important. Meetings were often missed altogether or attended irregularly. It was felt that the families do not understand the greater educational remit that they should be offering to their children when they opt for EHE, for example subjects such as science or modern foreign language are rarely considered. Children whose families are generally mobile may have only had a couple of months’ formal continuous education during a school year. Interviews identified that some families do want an education for their children but as a result of full classes and lack of school places at their nearest local schools, children reluctantly stay at home. One view expressed was that parents do not always have the skills to appeal for a place or the ability to drive their children to a school further away.

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‘A Growing Trend’ Analysis of the results showed that some of the parents interviewed stated that they chose EHE instead of sending their children to secondary school because that was what they did in their culture. This meant that the children could help out at home and still do some learning. In the writer’s personal experience, this has often been the case. Children of secondary school age, more notably males, are often encouraged to learn the family business and go out ‘to work’ with their fathers or other male family members. This is considered by the Travelling community to be education that will secure the child’s future, albeit without formal qualifications or ‘traditional’ styles of learning. The females however, in the writer’s experience, are more likely to continue with a ‘traditional education’, often completing activities in literacy and numeracy workbooks for example, alongside helping to look after their families.

A Cultural Approach to Education Ivatts’ (2006) research supports the argument put forward by Bhopal and Meyers (2009), reflecting the view that EHE allows the parents to provide a ‘cultural’ style of education and that the feelings of being culturally misunderstood have contributed towards parents’ decisions to educate their children at home. Other parents stated that they chose EHE because their child would not go to school or did not like it and one parent stated that she felt that her child would learn more at home as the teachers in school often use words that the children don’t understand. The results of this research suggest that EHE allows for a cultural education to take place, however, possibly at the expense of the learning of basic functional literacy and numeracy skills. Discussion with the Learning Mentors revealed that in their experience children experience difficulty completing work independently because they struggle to read the questions in the textbooks and often there is no one at home to help. The children often rely on the Learning Mentors to support them with tasks such as reading texts, understanding questions and problem solving. The Learning Mentors also help the children find appropriate work and encourage a learning routine.

A Family Learning Experience Several difficulties experienced by parents in supporting their child with their education were identified in the analysis. In particular, the feeling that

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so much has changed since the parents were at school that they found it difficult to understand the content of modern textbooks and so could not support the child. In the writer’s personal experience, some non-GRT families also experience this, with parents stating anxieties about their own lack of subject knowledge being a restriction when supporting their child’s education. It could be argued that in order for parents to be more effective in meeting their child’s educational needs, a more inclusive approach to learning in the GRT community is needed. Data analysis identified the view of an educational professional who argues that through encouraging the parents themselves to become engaged in education their children’s learning would improve – empowering parents and child to learn together. This argument is supported by Wilkin et al. (2009) who believe that family learning opportunities are more likely to help parents overcome their negative experiences of school and education.

GRTAS Support Thirty three per cent of parents interviewed stated that they felt that their child was missing out on social activities or activities such as sports or food technology by not going to school; however, this did not affect their decision about opting for EHE. The support of Learning Mentors in the specific area has meant that some of the serious concerns about the adequacy and balance of the curriculum are being addressed through regular contact with parents and continual encouragement to engage in learning activities through the Youth Club or local Library Services. One educational professional stated that although the expectations and requirements of EHE are discussed with the parent and the parent is in agreement, unfortunately it is not always carried out. The Learning Mentors have offered support to families generally in the areas of literacy, numeracy and ICT, either through individual support sessions, use of a laptop, visits to the local library with computer access and access to worksheets or textbooks. The Learning Mentors were highly valued by the parents, who felt that their children listened to them and learned through their support. All parents interviewed stated how they believed the Learning Mentors had been useful as often they struggled to get their children to engage in learning. One parent stated how she felt about her children working with the Learning Mentor: They were learning more things and they listened to them, they were doing well with them.

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All parents interviewed requested more sessions with Learning Mentor for their children, reflecting the research conducted by Bhopal and Myers (2009), in which families questioned suggested they would like to see more support from the LA for delivery of EHE. Interviews with the children themselves identify that the Learning Mentors have helped them most with their learning, alongside attending the local Youth Club to engage in activities provided there. One of the child’s responses when asked if it helped going to the Youth Club was Yeah you cook and you talk about your life and everything, and you (inaudible) on computers.

One of the children interviewed stated that he had made most progress with his reading and that was because of the help given to him by the Learning Mentor, The Learning Mentor’s helped me a lot y y She’s like good, she’s getting me reading good, just about five minutes ago I was doing a typing things, like she, you have to read it and memorise it and then write it down, so that was good.

Economic Barriers Data analysis highlighted the belief by some educational professionals that there is an economic barrier to learning within the specific geographical locality. Parents are encouraged to buy books and resources as a necessary part of EHE; however, experience of those working with the children and families has led to the opinion that high levels of poverty in the area have affected the attitude of parents towards purchasing such resources. The question of priority of spending is raised – it is argued that some GRT families do have money; is it just that they choose to spend it on things that have more value to them than an education that is not culturally valued? If education is valued within the GRT culture, then it could be argued that families would want to spend money buying resources in order to provide a broad and balanced curriculum that enhances learning opportunities.

Changing Attitudes Bhopal (2004) argued that many GRT families were beginning to realise that their cultural way of life was diminishing as a result of difficulties finding work and as such, attitude towards education is changing as pressure

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is now placed upon the children to find employment outside of the GRT community. Interview analysis identified that all of the parents think that education is more important for young people nowadays and that times are changing, that society is changing and that the children need more of an education than they would have done years ago.

The Importance of Relationships Bhopal (2004) researched the relevance of the relationship between the Traveller Education Services and the GRT communities and identified examples of good practice and positive values. The educational professionals interviewed identified several points supporting Bhopal’s (2004) argument; it is considered important to build up successful relationships with the children and the parents to encourage engagement in learning. Support for the families in accessing resources or activities for their children with other agencies is also considered important in facilitating learning and opportunity for social skills development and support with integrating with the wider community through positive activities such as coffee mornings or organised outings.

A Flexible Approach to Education Kendall and Atkinson (2006) suggest that there should be a more flexible approach to education, for example by accepting more part time placements or an increased range of vocational educational courses. Children interviewed stated they enjoyed going to the local Youth Club, organised by the local Young People’s Service (YPS), to join in the practical activities, for example cooking and using the computers. The educational professionals interviewed felt that some mainstream schools do not have a proper understanding of the cultural needs and values of this ethnic group and are not adequately supported in schools. The Learning Mentors also work closely with schools, offering support and advice on how best to meet the needs of GRT children on roll. In some cases, the Learning Mentors support the children in the classroom for some lessons, or at times of the day in which they experience difficulties. It has been highlighted through this research that there is a need for schools to offer a meaningful curriculum to GRT children, especially for the boys, who from the age of 14 years onwards start to think that they are too old for school and go out with their fathers. The curriculum, as it is presently offered in secondary schools, is

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considered irrelevant to GRT families in helping them in their everyday working lives.

Supporting the Rights of the Child STEP (2003) argue that staff and peripatetic teachers who work with GRT children and families in their homes play significant roles in supporting the rights of the child to an education. Interview analysis finds that this argument is supported by this research. The regular monitoring and feedback of EHE by both GRTAS and LAEIS is argued to have improved the quality of learning and has given EHE a greater status within the GRT community. Regular contact with the Learning Mentors and the LAEIS EHE Support Officer has emphasised to families that the education of their children is important and is taken seriously. However, an opposing view to this argument was highlighted during the analysis, stating that by providing such support and indirectly encouraging EHE, one is naturally excluding children from the wealth of opportunities afforded to other children.

Joint Working The input of multi-agency workers such as the LAEIS, GRTAS and the YPS is believed to have been very successful for the GRT families; however, it was identified that there is a need for more agencies to get involved in providing some appropriate social skills development opportunities. Joint working is thought by all the educational professionals interviewed to have been beneficial to the families, demonstrating to parents that all those involved want the best for the children and are working together to meet their needs. However, parental interview analysis has only highlighted the value placed upon the support of the GRTAS. The sharing of information between GRTAS and LAEIS has been successful in preventing families who continually fail to provide a suitable education for their children from playing one professional off against another in an attempt to avoid facing up to their responsibilities.

CONCLUSION This study has shown that the issues surrounding GRT and EHE are varied and affected by complex historical and cultural values. Although this

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research has found that attitudes towards education seem to be changing, it also appears that GRT families will always want to educate their children at home as they see this as a means of maintaining their culture, as in many cases, schools fail to recognise their ethnicity. Often it is a clash of cultures and considered behavioural norms regarding issues such as punctuality, attendance, child/adult boundaries and values, which regularly cause problems for GRT children in schools. The continued historical cycle of mistrust that occurs between the GRT and the non-GRT community makes breaking down cultural barriers an ever-challenging task. Attempts to overcome these challenges, for example through the development of the GRT History Month, go some way towards achieving this. The GRT culture does not sit easy in this modern world as they strive to hold onto traditional values. This research has found that there is a need for dedicated professionals who are able to take on board the cultural needs of the community, are able to foster productive relationships with members of the GRT community and advocate for the changing rights and needs of the young people within the GRT community. Such professionals are required to broker the needs of the community with the needs of the education services. It could be considered that this is a need for all ethnic minority groups, not just the GRT culture. Through the development of positive relationships and increased education, the leaders of the GRT community could be encouraged to help remove stereotypical barriers and views to participation in mainstream education. However, if a community cannot be persuaded to change its views of the wider community, particularly with respect to education, then the quality of support and provision for EHE must improve. Considering the cultural and historical attitudes towards education, the LAEIS and the GRTAS have facilitated the access to education of GRT children who are educated at home in a variety of ways, however, cultural attitudes towards education make inclusion of the GRT children and young people very challenging for educational professionals. Differences placed upon educational values allow EHE to remain the natural choice of many parents for their children. The building of positive relationships with families has undoubtedly been a key factor in gaining access to homes and engaging with children. Face-to-face meetings and regular contact with families strengthens relationships between professionals and the GRT community and allows for important information to be gained with regards to educational provision and how this may be affected by family circumstances or mobility. Close inter-agency working between the GRTAS, LAEIS and the CME teams has meant that information has been shared more readily and

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professionals have worked effectively together. The sharing of information via face-to-face contact and, for example access to reports, has enabled a cohesive multi-agency approach to supporting GRT young people and families. Threats of referrals for non-compliance that were followed through by LAEIS and CME have sent a strong message to the GRT community that EHE is to be taken seriously and education of their children is not optional. Regular family visits and liaison between Learning Mentors, EHE Support Officer and other agencies has meant that engagement in learning is thoroughly monitored. The mobility of families is readily acknowledged and information regarding potential risk factors during home visits is shared accordingly. The use of the GRTAS Learning Mentors have been effective in engaging secondary aged pupils in education by encouraging consistency in quality and quantity of work amongst families. It has been highlighted in this research that families often experience difficulty finding appropriate work for their children and in such cases, the Learning Mentors have taken resources or encouraged parents to purchase textbooks. The inclusion of the GRT young people into the wider community has been encouraged through the promotion of Youth Club activities and liaison with Youth workers and other services such as Connexions. The activities on offer the Youth Cub encourage the development of social interaction skills and also opportunities to engage in new and exciting learning experiences. Integration into the wider community through positive learning experiences reinforces the removal of stereotypical barriers and encourages the development of positive community relationships.

REFERENCES Badman, G. (2009). Report to the secretary of state on the review of elective home education in England. London: The Stationery Office. Bhopal, K. (2004). Gypsy travellers and education: Changing needs and changing perceptions. British Journal of Educational Studies, 52(1), 47–64. Bhopal, K., & Myers, M. (2009). A pilot study to investigate reasons for elective home education for Gypsy and Traveller children in Hampshire. Hampshire, UK: Hampshire County Council. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000). Research methods in education (5th ed.). London: Routledge Falmer. Davenport, M. (2008). Elective home education in the local authority (local authority education inclusion service INSET document), unpublished. Lancashire County Council.

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DCSF. (2007a). Elective home education. Guidelines for local authorities, DCSF. London: HMSO DCSF. (2007b). Extended schools, building on experience. The Stationery Office. London: HMSO. DFE. (2003). Every child matters. Green Paper, CM5860. The Stationery Office. London: HMSO Education Otherwise Website. (2010). HE and the law. Retrieved from www.educationotherwise.org. Accessed on 27 July 2010. Hamsphire Ethnic Minority and Traveller Service. (2009). Additional report compiled by Hampshire Ethnic Minority and Traveller Service (EMTAS) to accompany ‘A Pilot Study to Investigate Reasons for Elective Home Education (EHE) for Gypsy and Traveller Children in Hampshire’, Hampshire County Council, Hampshire, UK. Home Education Website. (2010). Legal-guide (England and Wales). Retrieved from www.home-education.org.uk. Accessed on 1 August 2011. Ivatts, A. (2006). Elective home education, research and advice commissioned by the department for education and skills; The situation regarding current policy, provision and practice in elective home education for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children. London: DfES. Kendall, S., & Atkinson, M. (2006). Some perspectives on home education. Slough: NFER. Lancashire County Council. (2009). Elective home education. Overview and scrutiny review. Preston: Lancashire County Council. OFSTED. (2003). Provision and support for traveller pupils, HMI 455. London: HMSO. Robson, C. (2002). Real world research (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. STEP. (2003). Inclusive educational approaches for Gypsies and Travellers within the context of interrupted learning: Guidance for local authorities and schools. Dundee: Learning and Teaching Scotland, STEP. Tyler, C. (2005). Traveller education: Accounts of good practice. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books Ltd. Wilkin, A., Derrington, C., Foster, B., White, R., & Martin, K. (2009). Improving outcomes for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils: What works? Contextual influences and constructive conditions that may influence pupil achievement. Research Report DCSF – RR170. Berkshire: National Foundation for Educational Research.

EXPERIENCING PHYSICAL EDUCATION THROUGH THE FILTER OF SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES Richard Medcalf ABSTRACT This chapter explores issues around children’s voice, physical education and social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) in England. Research has previously highlighted the physical, social, effective and cognitive benefits of participation in physical education (PE) (Bailey, 2006). Furthermore, practical, physical and expressive creative experiences in education have been cited as being an important constituent when educating children with SEBD (Cole & Visser, 1998). However, research has yet to address the experiences of the child with SEBD alongside the ideological benefits of their participation in PE. After a period of sensitisation to the field, in a number of pilot schools, a total of 24 weeks were spent immersed in the cultures of two mainstream schools in the West of England. After six weeks of local familiarisation, during which field notes and research diaries were kept, weekly interviews with each of six case Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 193–210 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002015

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study participants commenced. This process resulted in an intensely interactive and personal process of engagement (Sparkes, 1994) which was at times magnified when working in a PE environment. In this research, a PE environment afforded opportunities to spend time and build trust through coparticipation in the negotiation of socially constructed roles in the subject. The six case study participants whose experiences have been studied make reference to, amongst others, their affinity towards the physical nature of PE, the perception of it being a subject allowing for freedoms not found elsewhere in the curriculum and one which cemented both the positive and negative social systems in relation to their relationships with peers. Inductive processes of analysis utilising constant comparison methods between data sources have generated data which shows signs of both the idiosyncratic nature of multiple truths and some common ground in their experiences.

INTRODUCTION In this chapter, the views and experiences that are of interest are those of children and young people, as they negotiate their own personal routes through the subject of physical education (PE), whose content and inherent pedagogies have been widely acknowledged to stimulate a multiplicity of benefits. Research has, in the past, neglected to devote a proportionate amount of time to how pupils who have some form of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) experience such benefits. When research has acknowledged both special educational needs (SEN) and PE, it has commonly discussed the two fields from the perspectives of those with a physical disability of some kind. Coates and Vickerman (2008) re-affirm that the majority of research that examines the PE perspectives of children with SEN do so from the perspective of a physical disability, and ‘as such may not prove representative of the full sphere of special educational needs’ (p. 170). The neglect that has been paid to other subsets of SEN, namely SEBD in this instance, results in a paucity of research that references the potential differences that these varying subsets can evoke. Furthermore, such research has not extended to the study of how the children with SEBD themselves perceive PE.

STUDENT VOICE AND SEBD Research relating to children’s ‘voice’ is based upon the notion that children and young people are active agents in their own learning, and, thus, are

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entitled to democratic participation in research pertaining to their interests (Ravet, 2007). Evidence has accumulated that documents the importance of the development of such voice, in that it facilitates the inclusion of the views, perceptions and experiences of young people. Not only is the participation and voice of the child advocated within the many diagnostic processes in which children and young people are involved (Travell & Visser, 2006) but it is also embedded in the ideology that it enables participants to bring themselves, their interests, energies, hopes and experiences (Lensmire, 1998) to their work and also to the research in question. Lord and Jones (2006) indicated the growing number of research articles concerning pupil voice. Amongst the themes identified by them as those most often studied in research pertaining to student voice were relevance, enjoyment, teaching and learning, subject and activity preferences, assessment, achievement and ability. As with other fields of participatory ‘voice’ research, there are a growing number of studies, which recognise and facilitate the involvement of children with SEN, specific learning difficulties, and SEBD. Cooper and Shea (1998) have done just this, studying the perceptions, which children and young people hold of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The highly complex nature of their responses ‘indicates the poverty of simplistic responses’ to the situation (p. 47). The experiences of ‘John’ and Cooper (2006) provide yet greater depth in understanding the ‘personal dimensions’ of SEBD (p. 11). Such insights are of use in our understanding of the realities which are faced by those given the label of SEBD, and provide useful context in the discussion of the antecedents that contribute to their behaviours. Wise (2000) studied ‘the hidden words of (her) pupils minds’ (p. 9). Her work with pupils described as having SEBD gives an insight into the ways in which children and young people might perceive the factors which contribute to their behaviours, including both their individual psycho-physiological response and the wider sociocultural contributors. However, it is wrong to assume that there is any kind of homogeneity in what is placed under the broad and crude heading of SEBD (Cooper, 1999a). The varied and diverse number of theoretical bases which are used to conceptualise SEBD (Ayers, Clarke, & Murray, 2000; Norwich, Cooper, & Maras, 2002), coupled with the localised disparities which continue to occur in regard to prevalence and support for SEN in general (Mooney et al., 2010), further emphasise the importance of the individuality of student voice. Children and young people with SEBD experience notable difficulties in learning (Cooper, 1999b). Consequently, it could be postulated that the

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ways in which they experience National Curriculum Physical Education (NCPE), and in particular the way in which such a population ‘voice’ these experiences, would differ to those of a generic cohort of students. The traits that are inferred through this label result in a group of case study participants who differ from any other study of PE experience.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SEBD For the purposes of this study, the definition of PE provided by Bailey (2006) is to be adopted that describes the subject as ‘that area of the school curriculum concerned with developing students’ physical competence and confidence, and their ability to use these to perform in a range of activities’ (p. 397). As a statutory ‘core’ subject of the National Curriculum in England and Wales, the subject ‘helps pupils develop personally and socially y to work as individuals, in groups and in teams, developing concepts of fairness and of personal and social responsibility’ (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2007, p. 189). There have indeed long been claims of the multiple discourses at play in PE and, more specifically, the breadth of learning that it is invariably claimed that the subject develops, or is concerned to develop, in pupils (Penney, 2000). Talbot (2008) speaks of the place of PE within an ‘integrated curricula’ that recognises its’ ‘distinctive contribution’ (p. 8). This is a reflection on the perception that the subject is one of few National Curriculum areas, whose inherent motives, structures, pedagogies and content lend themselves to the opportunity for a holistic and developmental programme of activities, which go some way in fostering social attributes. PE has, in the past, been recognised as having many distinctive features within the educational process with characteristics, which no other learning or school experience shares (Talbot, 1999). Historically, the inclusion of PE as a curriculum subject has been justified on the basis of broad and diverse goals of physical, social, and moral development (Sallis & McKenzie, 1991). The subject is now also often seen by many as playing an important role in achieving broader educational objectives other than just its traditional physical competency foundation, including outcomes that potentially appear demonstrable of a cathartic effect (Medcalf, Marshall, & Rhoden, 2006). PE has the potential to make significant contributions to the education and development of all children and young people in many ways, most of which are not reproducible through other areas of the curriculum, or

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through other sporting or physical activities (Bailey & Dismore, 2004). Bailey (2006) has provided a wide-ranging scientific summary of the many benefits, which have been shown to occur. Whilst sounding a note of caution that these benefits are by no means automatic, Bailey (2006) recognises that PE has potential to contribute to the education and development of children and young people in many ways. Bailey et al. (2009) developed this summary into a further review, which showed that ‘there is a prevailing belief that engagement in physical education and school sport is, somehow, a good thing’ (p. 15). The great ranges of difficulty, which can attest to a description of SEN, are most regularly spoken about, within PE, alongside the literature discussing inclusive practice. In meeting the inclusion statement of the NCPE, ‘teachers will need to actively review the pedagogical practices in order to ensure they meet the statutory requirements to facilitate entitlement and accessibility to inclusive activities for all pupils, including those with SEN’ (Vickerman, 2007, p. 58). It is regarded that, in addressing these requirements, there are many pragmatic and conceptual difficulties (Robertson, Childs, & Marsen, 2000). Such difficulties are a product of what Smith and Thomas (2006b) perceive as being the diametrically opposed policies of inclusion in its broadest sense, alongside the emphasis within PE on raising standards of practical achievement. In this regard, Morley, Bailey, Tan, and Cooke (2005) recognised that the ‘conflict’ inherent in a subject area that seeks to promote equity and excellence simultaneously is potentially magnified through needs that are physical in nature. In turn, the challenges facing inclusive discussions in PE are most often spoken about within the remit of a physical need. Consequently, in the most part, the majority of attention in published literature is paid to the physical nature of some forms of SEN. The benefits of active participation in PE are reconciled by individuals’ reciprocity to the subject. Their affinity will undoubtedly be affected by the provisions made to address the additional needs of individuals. Most often, research has in the past concentrated predominantly upon the application of inclusive practices of teaching regarding the additional somatic needs of those with a physical disability, and has negated to recognise the distinctive subset of SEN, which is SEBD. In contrast to this, worryingly, Morley et al. (2005) and Smith and Thomas (2006a) conceptualised the fact that, actually, teachers often perceive difficulties in teaching and including pupils who have SEBD, more so than other manifestations of SEN. As has been previously argued, there is much written about physical disabilities as the most visible manifestation of SEN in PE (Fitzgerald, 2006;

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Fitzgerald & Jobling, 2004). The experiences of those with such difficulties have been studied by Goodwin and Watkinson (2000), Kristen, Patriksson, and Fridlund (2002), Fitzgerald (2005) and Goodwin (2007) amongst others. However, there have been relatively few previous studies that have combined the fields of PE and SEBD, and as such very little attention has been paid to the relative importance of PE for those with SEBD. The environment in which the child is asked to learn and behave within is a vital factor to consider when discussing both the causes of, and responses to, behaviour deemed to be inappropriate. A curriculum, which concentrates on practical, physical and creative experiences, would often be more effective in meeting the needs of pupils with SEBD (Cole & Visser, 1998). On this theme, Hunter-Carsch (2006) comments how the arts permit transcendence of our routine particular roles yy for some youngsters (and perhaps particularly those with SEBD) it can be easier to work with different, perhaps more accessible forms of ‘reading’ and ‘literacy’ such as can be offered through the arts. (p. 48)

The same can be said for learning in a physical context through PE. Activities, which are physical in nature, can potentially induce many positive educational and behavioural outcomes. Historically, studies attempting to measure the relationship between physical movements, and externalising behaviours often seen in those deemed to experience SEBD, are often largely removed from the schoolbased PE environment. Luce, Delquadri, and Hall (1980) attempted to suppress excessive frequencies of verbal outbursts and aggressive tendencies through ‘contingent exercise’ as a punishment for children described as being severely emotionally disturbed. Etscheidt and Ayllon (1987) prescribed ‘exercises’ with a ‘therapist’, in place of their participants’ time in the playground. Evans, Evans, Schmid, and Pennypacker (1985) researched the potential therapeutic benefits of a physical activity intervention and found it to be of great use to ‘behaviourally disordered’ children. However, their methods neglect to consider the socially facilitative nature of physical activity in that each of the subjects exercised alone, so that social facilitation was not able to inadvertently ‘contaminate’ the effects that were shown. More recently, Silverstein and Allison (1994) researched the effectiveness of both ‘antecedent’ exercise and methylphenidate (Ritalin) in the reduction of externalised hyperactive behaviours. They described how their participant disliked the repetitiveness of the ‘exercise’ which was prescribed. Tantillo, Kesick, Hynd, and Dishman (2002) followed in a similar vein, using ‘submaximal’ exercise on exercise treadmills as their intervention. However,

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their attempt to control experimental variables by grounding their study in clinical environment has negated the many variables and mechanisms that may have an effect within a school setting. The unifying lack of ecological validity of these studies removes the conclusions that they make from being practical to the child’s educational setting. The conclusions drawn actually bear little relevance to the schooling or experiences of the participants. By removing the contextual relevance of a classroom environment, Cooper (2006) contends that many of these interventions neglect to appreciate that it may be this, (the environment), which creates the difficulty in the first place. More so, what each of those above have not considered is, as previously argued, the importance of participatory student voice. By engaging in behavioural interventions without regard for consultation with their ‘subjects’, the authors have effectively negated to offer any opportunity for social validation of their methods or outcomes. Previous studies of participants’ experiences in PE have demonstrated, (as is the case for other aspects of the curriculum), that it is a subject which has the potential to give rise to a number of varied and contextualised reactions. As such, it is necessary to further question the perceived character of a subject that seemingly provides the foreground for a number of educational experiences which could be considered as unique in comparison to the majority of other subjects. PE is an indispensable source; it can be both a justifiable and worthwhile subject in its own right, and can contribute more fully to the educational process as a whole. It is one of, or a combination of, PE’s curricular structures, lesson content, didactic practices and the environmental structures inherent and consistent in any PE class, which contribute in some way to the outcomes cited previously. Any attempt to deduce which of these forces is responsible for each respective benefit must consequently include the experiences and perceptions of those who participate in it. As part of a wider review, Bailey and Dismore (2004) obtained children’s views on the outcomes of PE and school sport, and summarised that, in their study, PE was shown to be a ‘distinctive, valued and popular subject for the great majority of students’ (p. 8). It would of course be wrong to further this claim into one that was the case for all pupils, as the nature of the subject often generates polarised experiences which are dependent on a great number of factors. These experiences are a product of a kind of negotiation of the many contributory variables which come to affect children’s time in PE. Groves and Laws (2000) spoke of experience as being interactive, and a product of negotiation; it is clear that children and young

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people’s beliefs and behaviours in PE are built through an integration of previous experiences and contextual information. Cothran and Ennis (1998) have highlighted themes that appear indicative of the attitudes and expectations of PE, which remain today. These include their findings that the non-educational aspects of PE were highly valued by participants, through to the perception that it provided a break from the other aspects of the school day. Smith and Parr (2007) found ‘near universal acceptance amongst all of the young people interviewed y that a more or less central aspect of the nature and purpose of PE was that it is a fun and enjoyable lesson in which they take part in the company of friends’ (p. 44). Whilst enjoyment may not be a primary aim of the NCPE, it may certainly be claimed to be a significant factor affecting pupil learning (Williams, 1996). Rather than being ‘enjoyment’ for its own sake, an important corollary of such feeling is the perception regarding the subject as having a cathartic function (Jones & Cheetham, 2001). Furthermore, Rikard and Banville (2006) highlighted the perceived need for variety in the curriculum to avoid the boredom of ‘learning the same thing’, the desire for game-based activities, and the appreciation of elective choice in their lesson content. Individuals’ reciprocity to different aspects of curriculum naturally results in polarised experiences in different programmes of study. Groves and Laws (2003) have shown that the complex personal relationships of participants have a profound effect upon the way in which the child functions within PE. Smith and Parr (2007) have since concluded that pupils hold an amalgam of socially constructed views, which are framed by a number of complexities contributing to the ‘ways in which young people’s views are socially constructed’ (p. 54). Dagkas and Stathi (2007) also discuss a number of such factors, which they found adolescents related as being contributory to such participation patterns, and to which they propose could explain the dominant experiences described above. Such studies neglect to consider the way in which their views might be affected by the differential and multi-faceted nature of problems exhibited by students with SEBD (Nelson, Babyak, Gonzalez, & Benner, 2003). .

VOICE, SEBD AND PE Broadly speaking, what research has yet to do is to assess the above themes, alongside the appreciation of voice, when working with children who are

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described as having SEBD, in PE. Very few studies have combined these fields. It is necessary to further question the perceived character of PE that seemingly provides the foreground for a number of educational experiences, which could be considered as unique in comparison with the majority of other subjects. Previously cited studies describe a range of contrasting experiences of NCPE. Despite providing a foundation upon which to contrast the experiences within this study, these worthy additions to the field pay little direct contribution to the potentially very different experiences of those with SEBD. Fitzgerald, Jobling, and Kirk (2003b) went some way in doing so, in attempting to work with students who have behavioural needs, when researching the PE experiences of children and young people with severe learning difficulties through student-led research. Fitzgerald, Jobling, and Kirk (2003a) furthered this with a task-based approach to the research question, which does not offer, and nor does it claim to, a longitudinal and grounded approach to the study of their views and experiences. Despite the merits of this research, the sampling of students described as having ‘learning difficulties’, and the contrast between them and those with SEBD, are worthy of recognition. The most recent and relevant review into the PE experiences of children and young people with SEN has been that given by Coates and Vickerman (2008). Without the use of primary data, the authors give a broad overview of the field, making reference to many of the studies included in this paper. Their study does not mention the subset of SEBD, reflecting the dominance of papers pertaining to physical disabilities, as is acknowledged in their discussion. It is not possible for teachers to personalise PE programmes without knowledge of the child’s needs and abilities, and it is the children themselves who know these needs and abilities better than anyone else. As such, it is necessary for researchers to consult with children with special educational needs about their experiences of PE. (Coates & Vickerman, 2008, p. 175)

The specificities of PE, in regard to its place within curricula in comparison to other subjects, are worthy of interrogation in relation to the effects upon the children and young people. These varied effects are considered as being dependent upon the situational characteristics of the learner in context. Further, such research is consequently relevant to the understanding of how those with SEBD experience the practical, physical and expressive creative elements of PE.

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METHODOLOGY The interpretative and participatory methodology employed in this study aims to gain an understanding of individuals’ perceptions through a naturalistic research design. This is achieved through methods, which afford the opportunity to watch, listen, empathise, learn about perspectives, make sense of experiences and share understanding of meaningful interpretations. Moreover, when studying the lives of children deemed to have a social, emotional or behavioural difficulty, there is the requirement for an approach that is appreciative of the highly individualised nature of their difficulties, and the highly contextualised experiences, which result from their time in PE. Hence, the methods within this research are grounded within the notions of these frameworks. This study involved three phases of design that sought to understand the construction of participants’ experiences in PE through an intensely interactive and personal process of engagement (Sparkes, 1994). A process of piloting involved gaining familiarisation with the particular idiosyncrasies and conventions evident in departments of PE, to grasp an understanding of the nuances, the language and the intricacies likely to be experienced by case study participants. Twenty four weeks were spent with participants, involving both local sensitisation and thorough case study methods. Within each of these cycles, three case studies were completed consecutively. The first six weeks of case study cycles were treated as a scaled version of pilot study familiarisation, and were recognised as an integral sensitisation part the research process. During this stage, a range of documentary sources (including archival student records) were accessed with a view to building an understanding of the school’s perception of the participant. Field notes and a research diary were maintained throughout. The first obtrusive methods of data collection did not come until after six weeks of time in school, when weekly interviews began. Across 6 case studies, 31 interviews were completed. These took place during the final six weeks of the case study cycle, once rapport was built and trust gained. These interviews were the only methods whose occurrence was a fixed and recurring element of this process.

RESULTS For a number of the boys, the physical elements of PE were its defining feature. Daniel, for example, spoke of this physicality in a number of ways.

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He described it both as a characteristic of the subject which resulted in an increase in his obstructive behavioural tendencies and also as something that led to a perceived task mastery that was often not possible elsewhere in his curriculum. These views were shared by a number of the more practically proficient and physically larger boys, including Tom and Paul. When they discussed with me the varying sports in which they participated during NCPE, they each placed a high regard on their, and others, practical abilities. Seemingly irrespective of the lesson content, they each approached lessons with an aim to demonstrate their performance capabilities. In contrast, for some participants who were not so practically able, including Jack, for example, the physical nature of PE was attributed to causing some of the difficulties which he faced in forming friendships with his peers. In this case, he instead gained enjoyment through the act of having contact with the ball. RM: What is it about tennis y or what was it about that particular lesson? Jack: It just feels nice when you hit the ball y like, because there are loads of them strings, when you hit it, it just feels nice.

He was also someone who, like many of the other cases in this study, placed a high regard on being central to the passage of play. In achieving some extent of control over their behaviours, in lessons which they were proficient and predominantly active, the boys recognised PE as having an effect upon their behavioural and cognitive states. The conscious use of PE as a tool that would help them to manage their behaviours was something that participants spoke of in a number of ways. Ben, for example, perceived that the energy expelled during his time in PE resulted in an effect that was akin to escapism from situations that would more commonly cause him difficulties. Ben: Well I like it, like if you’ve just been in a rubbish lesson it gives you chance to run it off, you think of something else and just run it off y just get to run around, burn some energy off.

Consequently, on occasions, the opportunities in PE to demonstrate exaggerated behaviours without the interference of other demands resulted in participants maintaining appropriate behaviours more so than in other lessons. For some, such as Paul, these opportunities were perceived as being acted upon within his own terms. Irrespective of the requirement of him, this perceived control over a situation, in apparently choosing when and when not to participate, resulted in more suitable actions when under direction from his teachers. This perceived control was something that, as with other

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aspects of their behaviours, the boys spoke of as being important in the eyes of their peers. The opportunities to work alongside peers, and to share common goals within their teams, were seen as a trait of PE that had a number of recognisable implications. James spoke at length about the social nature of participation, and the subsequent importance of being given opportunities to be actively involved in tasks in conjunction with his peers. James: Yeh you get to socialise with people, yeh actually you like, what you get out of, I reckon what I get out of PE is just like a time out sort of thing you get just, you get your own sort of time where you just get to like run around, just play, I dunno I dunno how to put it, just enjoy yourself.

As well as giving opportunities to work co-operatively with others, these situations were also seen by some, including Paul and Ben, as a time in which they could directly and favourably compare themselves to others through cementing their relative practical abilities within their group. When not perceived as being competent in this regard, a number of the boys (including and especially Daniel) would behave in ways that were seen as potentially threatening to others. His time in PE directly affected the relations that he had with his peers in all other subjects. Most of the boys appeared to be seen by their peers as the ones who would ‘muck about’, in each of their respective classes. PE was an environment in which this prophecy seemed to commonly occur. In practical learning environments that rewarded effort and ability with increased physical freedoms, these behavioural tendencies appeared to manifest themselves more frequently. Ben highlighted his perceived need for space and freedom, which was given to him in some elements of PE. Furthermore, James recognised PE as a time that could alleviate his boredom through the virtues of movement that he himself could determine. For Tom, the inability to control the impulses, which were resultant upon boredom elsewhere, were not an issue within his PE lessons. Rather, such impulses instead resulted in potentially disruptive behaviours that were a product of the temptations which he perceived to face. RM: Do you think that it would have been different if you’d have done that lesson in the gym? Tom: Yeh, it would have been better in the gym. RM: Why do you think that? Tom: Because you can jump off the things when Sir turns his back away yeh.

The participant’s spoke of the benefits and opportunities accrued from participation in a subject which allowed them physical freedoms, in a

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learning environment that was different to that experienced elsewhere. The subject affords a number of perceived freedoms and choices. One element of opportunity in this regard was the concept of the natural spaces, in which such perceived physical freedoms were at their peak. The environmental faculties that existed, when learning occurred through the physical, appeared to reconcile the boys’ perceived need for learning spaces that liberated them from the confines of formal classrooms. The inherent spatial opportunities that are a characteristic of PE were widely spoken about by the boys as something that met their appreciation of physical freedoms. There was, as such, recognition within each case study of the symbiotic nature of the relationships that were evident between the subject and pupils with perceived needs for space and freedoms that were not commonly afforded within the classrooms of other mainstream curriculum subjects. Ben highlighted his perceived need for space and freedom, which was given to him in some elements of PE. Furthermore, James recognised PE as a time that could alleviate his boredom through the virtues of movement that he himself could determine. The outcomes of such perceptions were deemed to affect the boys in their subsequent lessons which took place after PE. RM: Does it affect you in like the lessons afterwards? Paul: Yeh it makes me not as like, not as like naughty or stuff y so I’m just like chilled out if you know what I mean.

Each of the boys recognised that PE had inherent characteristics which defined it as being a subject that, to them, and for different reasons, was unlike the majority of others in their curriculum. Within the changeable and varying responses, the unspoken commonalities that participants shared, on a number of levels, did not hide the apparent complexities of their experiences. Consequently, it is important to recognise that there remain idiosyncrasies in their experiences, where there were times in which their responses did not agree, and their response data did not concur. These varying responses further acknowledge the context in which the individuality of experience must be recognised.

CONCLUSIONS This study has shown how children and young people with SEBD experience PE in a way that is manifestly different to that more commonly

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reported. The case studies have also further emphasised that perceptions of PE are circumscribed by an individual’s past experiences and, consequently, participation has a number of contrasting effects. The case studies have recognised the distinctive and potentially unique relationship that exists between children and young people with SEBD, and the subject of NCPE. PE has been shown to provoke complex and changeable reactions that appear to be a product of a number of factors. The changeable and complex nature of the boys’ experiences meant that, notwithstanding the aforementioned positive elements of PE, relative to other subjects, their time in PE also included some notable difficulties. There was not a linear relationship between participation and a therapeutic type response. Participation sometimes appeared to accentuate the difficulties that they had in maintaining appropriate behaviours. The outcomes of such difficulties created a hierarchy within their class, which affected the peer relationships that they each placed such a high regard upon. These difficulties had observable consequences within each of their classes, in regard to both the social implication and the effects that it had on their learning. As such, the participants’ relationship with PE education was not always the simplistic affiliation that some boys initially spoke of. Despite these sometimes unsettling effects of participation, it has been shown by this study that PE should be seen as a key aspect of the educational provision of those with SEBD. It has been shown that, in the opinions of the boys, it has the capability to contribute much to their programme of study. Their experiences highlight the perception that PE afforded opportunities for space and freedom that, irrespective of a personalised learning agenda, would not be possible elsewhere within the school day. However, there appears to be a lack of synergy between the theoretical and desired outcomes of PE, according to the National Curriculum, and those which the participants cited as being important to them. In practice, the formal learning benefits of PE appeared to be limited by the participants’ desires for the informal supplementary processes of participation. Talking with the boys invariably underlined a number of relative certainties that contributed to how they defined their time in school. If their understanding of the subject is appropriately acknowledged, then there appears to be the need to re-conceive the place of PE in their schooling. At the heart of their experiences were beliefs that PE included experiences that were greatly different from anything else that they were subject to from the National Curriculum. Prominent in their

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explanation of this interpretation was recognition of the freedoms that participation through the physical, in an environment of open spaces, gave them. It was not an aim of this study to generalise the experiences of a small collection of case studies to the wider population of students of this kind. The highly contextualised nature of the data, and the common difficulties faced when discussing the lived experiences of others in an interpretivist sense, mean that it will never be an aim of research such as this to generalise the idiosyncrasies of case study outcomes, to the wider population. Not only were their circumstances complex and many but also were also highly personal. Subsequently, their experiences are not portrayed as being representative of the wider heterogeneous population of students, who are described by their school as having SEBD, nor were they intended to be seen as such. This study makes a number of noteworthy contributions to the understanding of how children and young people experience PE. Moreover, the focus that was placed upon participants who were deemed to have SEBD has highlighted the significant gap in our awareness of how they, in particular, have a relatively unique response to PE. Consequently, and as a result of these diversities, this study has highlighted a potentially important connection between the additional needs of children and young people with SEBD and the naturally occurring effects that can be seen through participation in PE. The case studies have further emphasised that perceptions of PE are circumscribed by an individual’s past experiences and, consequently, participation has a number of contrasting effects. These effects cannot be delineated by label, location, pedagogy or activity. The extremes of the participants’ behaviours were seen to be a product of an emotive and situated response to the inherently practical opportunities which PE presents. This research has recognised that, when studying the lives of children and young people deemed to have SEBD, their experiences in PE are worthy of distinction aside to those more commonly given. The dissimilarities inherent in the particular details of participants’ experiences attest to both the variance of difficulties which are ascribed to characterise SEBD and the dynamic nature of participation in PE. Physical educationalists should consider such variance, and the subsequent inconsistencies in their pupils’ experiences, to be a matter of the individualities which define SEBD.

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Penney, D. (2000). Physical education, sporting excellence and educational excellence. European Physical Education Review, 6(2), 135–150. Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. (2007). Physical education. Programme of study for key stage 3 and attainment target. London: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Ravet, J. (2007). Enabling pupil participation in a study of perceptions of disengagement: Methodological matters. British Journal of Special Education, 34(4), 234–242. Rikard, G. L., & Banville, D. (2006). High school student attitudes about physical education. Sport, Education and Society, 11(4), 385–400. Robertson, C., Childs, C., & Marsen, E. (2000). Equality and the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs in physical education. In S. Capel & S. Piotrowski (Eds.), Issues in physical education (pp. 47–63). Abingdon: RoutledgeFalmer. Sallis, J. F., & McKenzie, T. L. (1991). Physical education’s role in public health. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 62(2), 124–137. Silverstein, J. M., & Allison, D. B. (1994). The comparative efficacy of antecedent exercise and methylphenidate: A single-case randomized trial. Child: Care, Health and Development, 20(1), 47–60. Smith, A., & Parr, M. (2007). Young people’s views on the nature and purposes of physical education: A sociological analysis. Sport, Education and Society, 12(1), 37–58. Smith, A., & Thomas, N. (2006a). Including pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in national curriculum physical education: A brief review. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 21(1), 69–83. Smith, A., & Thomas, N. (2006b). Inclusion, special educational needs, disability and physical education. In K. Green & K. Hardman (Eds.), Physical education: Essential issues (pp. 220–237). London: Sage. Sparkes, A. (1994). Telling tales in sport and physical activity: A qualitative journey. Leeds: Human Kinetics. Talbot, M. (1999). The case for physical education. Proceedings: World Summit on Physical Education, ICSSPE, Berlin (pp. 39–50). Talbot, M. (2008). Valuing physical education – Package or pedagogy? Physical Education Matters, 3(3), 6–8. Tantillo, M., Kesick, C. M., Hynd, G. W., & Dishman, R. K. (2002). The effects of exercise on children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 34(2), 203–213. Travell, C., & Visser, J. (2006). ‘ADHD does bad stuff to you’: Young people’s and parents’ experiences and perceptions of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 11(3), 205–216. Vickerman, P. (2007). Teaching physical education to children with special educational needs. Oxon: Routledge. Williams, A. (1996). Problematising physical education practice: Pupil experience as a focus for reflection. European Journal of Physical Education, 1(1), 19–35. Wise, S. (2000). Listen to me! The voices of pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. London: Lucky Duck.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THREE CASE STUDIES IN RESIDENTIAL HOMES – A HOLISTIC PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Penelope Moon ABSTRACT This chapter examines a training programme for facilitators of the ‘A Quiet Place’ project in three residential homes offering space for between 8 and 10 children up to the age of 18. It reviews the impact of a 12-month training programme which involves action learning in the trainees’ own personal development, creativity and job satisfaction. It examines the hypothesis of whether the calibre of the person working with young people with a variety of ‘labels’ is a key variable in the successful impact of any intervention. The approach outlined interventions combine the latest in modern brain research with more traditional approaches. A key component of the programme is the training of staff to be able to deliver the programmes for themselves. The trainees reported, quite soon into their programmes, that they notice personal growth; this was not

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originally an outcome of the training as such. As they noticed a change in themselves, they also noticed change in the children and young people with whom they worked. Changes in the cultures of the homes brought more benefits as one change built upon the next. The case histories trace the journey of three facilitators, the ups and downs, finally ‘getting it’ and achieving their goal with all the wonderful surprises and skills that they developed and learnt to use as part of their own lives outside work.

INTRODUCTION This chapter is an observation of an unexpected outcome of a training programme and therefore based on qualitative comments from different people involved. It follows the path of a spiral action research paradigm, in that it endeavours to improve practice using existing and on-going knowledge and learning to inform future practices. It is an observation rather than a formal piece of research planned beforehand. However, all ‘A Quiet Place’ (AQP) programmes have a rigorous but flexible structure; therefore, it is easy to reflect on different aspects of the programmes. We endeavour to use both ‘emic’ and ‘etic’ (see commentary below) accounts as well as triangulated outcomes with key partners in order to maintain accuracy and a thoroughness that is second to none despite the fact that at present there is no longer formal research.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT The purpose of any training is to improve the capacity and capability of the workforce to do the job efficiently and effectively. Work that involves human beings requires a different set of skills. According to the Department for Health, the outcomes are to  focus on encouraging workers to safely develop skills and competencies through observation and participation, learning to applying theory in practice;  equip workers with the basic portfolio of knowledge and skills to work generically across the range of promotion, prevention, assessment, treatment, therapy and care.

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The A Quiet Place Emotional Intelligence (Emotional Quotient) EQ Diploma enables the Facilitators to deliver the AQP programmes to children and young people in their care. Essentially they are assisting in the delivery of Tier 1, 2 and 3 services in Children’s Homes. 1. Tier 1: Universal services provided by non-specialist staff, for example GP’s, teachers. They offer general advice for less severe health problems, promote mental health, aid early identification and refer to specialist services. 2. Tier 2: Support for tier 1 by specialist practitioners in a universal service way within the community setting. 3. Tier 3: Services usually provided by a specialist multi-disciplinary team working from specialist clinic – severe, complex or persistent disorders. 4. Tier 4: Services for most serious problems include day units with highly specialised outreach teams working in patient units which serve more than one area.

AUTHENTIC LEARNING/TRAINING In order that the training be meaningful and practiced under the AQP ethos, the trainees must experience the same programmes that they are going to deliver with the children and young people. Whilst they are training initially ‘on the job’ with the minimum amount of instruction as to the background and documentation, this will enable them to deliver each session safely during the first 6 weeks. The rest of the year is taken up with completing the different parts of the programme as well as reflecting on and writing up their experiences. It does not matter in which order they complete the individual elements, only that they do so. The weekly supervision/training sessions make sure they are kept on task working safely and following the scripts. In other words, they are doing the sessions alongside the children/young people to whom they are delivering. Thus, the training is both relevant and meaningful with real opportunities for experiencing what their students are experiencing. They are able to work at an emotional level that is genuine. This does not mean that we always have to have the real life experience to teach someone about something, for example we don’t have to have gone to a volcano to teach about how volcanoes erupt. However, when we are working at an emotional level with students, the difference between understanding with the head and intellect, and the inner knowing that comes from real experience will make a very real

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impact on the outcome. It is very difficult when working at this level to ‘pretend’ to be understanding and empathetic. When students are suffering emotionally they are often highly sensitised to the fact that the facilitator does not have even a taste of their experience and is only listening with their head and not their heart. In other words, the development of compassion in the trainee is crucial to success. The course was intentionally written to allow people with little formal educational background to complete it successfully. The most important element, reflecting the content and the process of the programmes, means that learning and teaching comes from the heart, informed by the intellect and not the other way round. Some people naturally ‘have it’, others can learn and some will never be able to do so. There is a minimum requirement for IT skills but the written work is minimal with tutorials available. This means that if the work is completed, it is impossible to fail as they will have instant feedback before handing in their work! Authentic training takes on the characteristics of authentic learning in any sphere.  It is centred on authentic tasks that are real and meaningful reflecting the programmes they are delivering to the children and young people.  They are engaged in exploration and inquiry about themselves.  Learning is holistic; that is, it includes the wider community, culture, organisation, family as well as themselves, physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.  Learning is connected to real practical outcomes applicable in the everyday situation. It is educational not forensic and therefore offers empowering techniques rather than ‘treatment’ that will be helpful in external situations throughout their lives.  Students become emotionally engaged in the process, with rapid success bringing about a real feeling of effectiveness and hope to continue the process. They become competent fairly quickly with some techniques and the explicit documentation/benchmarking is designed to see immediate success and where to build upon.  The monitoring, evaluation and report are excellent evidence of all the hard work and success that they have achieved. This goes to the head, principal and governors as appropriate to the organisation and underpins the annual report as well as informing their Self Evaluation to impress the Ofsted inspectors!  Feedback from all trainees informs future planning and delivery of services so they feel participants in the AQP process.

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 There are opportunities for discussion on a one-to-one weekly basis as well as 2 days per year where all come together for a training day. Howard Gardner’s book Multiple Intelligences stresses the importance of individual learning styles in the achievement of successful outcomes for learners of all ages and abilities. Differentiation, using these intelligences, makes all the difference as to whether the brain learns naturally and builds on success or places barriers of failure and lack of confidence for future learning. This applies across the board at whatever stage learning is taking place. When learning is both relevant and meaningful, it becomes easier and more enjoyable. Gardner (1991) indicates that many of today’s students do not actually understand what they learn. For many students, education has become nothing more than drill and response; there is no relevance for the materials the students are expected to learn (Gardner, 1991). As a result, teachers are accustomed to students inquiring, ‘Why do I need to know this? When will I ever use this?’

GLOSSARY – KEY WORDS AND DEFINITIONS  Paper means to present an academic paper which is generally assumed to be based on research at a university. It could be said that all research, when related to human beings, has got to be questionable if using the apparent holy grail of research, the ‘control’ group. No two humans are alike in their physiological make up or in their upbringing and cannot be kept in a laboratory under control conditions, therefore all research will, at best, be flawed!  Learn means to gain knowledge, all humans have different learning styles, some are faster than others, this does not necessarily mean better, just different! It is commonly said that if someone takes away one skill from a day’s training then applies it in the workplace, then this can be considered to be a successful outcome.  Train means to instruct and tends to be thought of more as application of specific knowledge, learning a particular skill, etc. For example you can train to be a car mechanic in order to mend broken cars.  Reflection means to observe oneself and think about one’s behaviour, considering its impact on self and others.  Authentic means to be genuine, authoritative and true, in other words to take ownership of something.

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WHAT IS THE TRAINING? Year 1  Educational Therapeutics 3-day programme with underpinning research about the holistic approach and ethos  Effective Therapeutic Communication 2-day programmes with basic listening skills with a T.A. slant  One-to-one induction face to face  Rigorous documentation/benchmarking  Monitoring, evaluation and report  Questionnaires plus comments – see appendix  Reflective diary and essays  Tutorial – one per term  2 days per annum CPD-update on developments and meeting other facilitators, staff and body workers  Weekly supervision/training specific to children going through the programmes face to face or by telephone  Sessions on each part of the initial protocol, for example:  Models of the world  Bio feedback programmes  Books list  Guided visualisations  Massage  Personal psychotherapy Year 2 – Completion of the Diploma    

Additional three programmes to add to the initial protocol Bio feedback 2 training days Regular supervision/training Year 3 – CPD

 2 training days  A Smooth Guide to Inner Landscapes – reflective diary with monthly relaxation/guided visualisation as seed, email tutorial and retreat (optional)

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SUMMARY Therefore in order to be successful in building capacity and capability in the field of emotional services training must reflect that area authentically and be:  Relevant and meaningful to practice  Be differentiated to individual needs  Have time to embed with on-going support or there may inevitably be ‘drift’  Have enough room within the structure for differentiation and personalisation  Have external support to keep on track and refresh  Have feedback that is both real and participative for all partners  Have evidence to show success  Have on-going supervision/training

LIMITATIONS An action learning programme, by its very nature takes time which is always precious in organisations. It is essential that support comes directly from the top to value and prioritise time that is needed and make sure staff are not taken off to do ‘other’ tasks in the organisation. It must also be made very clear to trainees that there will be a commitment from them to occasionally work within their own time in order to complete the Diploma. Drift, into doing one’s own thing: There is a tendency in all aspects of life for people to drift from the scripted programmes that provide the evidence base. This can be for a whole variety of reasons. AQP Diploma requires weekly supervision/training to keep trainees on task with a rigorous documentation process that maintains the structure whilst being flexible enough to be able to be differentiated for the individual. In order that they do not become overwhelmed with paperwork, it is deliberately designed to be a part of the therapeutic process and a useful way to engage everyone in the partnership for change. Retention of staff-trained and annual leave: Staff who complete the Diploma may find new posts, this is an inevitable part of life, as confidence grows so does self-esteem and interest in application of new learning.

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CONCLUSION In general much CPD training is offered over a short period of time with no follow-up time to support the combination of application with the individual learning styles. Therefore, a high percentage often remains on a shelf gathering dust whether that description is real or metaphorical. It is said commonly that individuals pick up one piece of information on a oneday training course that they can add to their skill base, therefore by implication that means lots more information is bypassed either deliberately or unconsciously. This is the nature of learning. AQP designed the training to be real and meaningful in both time and application. The supervision/training is key and offers quality assurance as well as safe guarding for both child/young person and the Facilitator. It means that the inevitable growth of the Facilitator during the programme will impact on their confidence and empathy in quality delivery of the programme. We have been delighted by the unexpected outcome of personal development within its staff. With this new found confidence, there has come a deepening of commitment to their work and their ability to make real and effective change within their client group!

CASE STUDIES 1. Trainee A: Female was very reticent about her verbal and written abilities Supervisor interview and comments: J. was trained and felt professionally able to do her job, she didn’t recognise that she wasn’t self-aware and on reflection felt her work was more of an unconscious process. She now feels very conscious of how she works and feels that A Quiet Place process has been a gift to her. J. now feels she can challenge the young people she supports, feeling much more confident in her work. A Quiet Place diploma has empowered her with her own well-being, enabling her to manage situations in both her private life and in her work. In the main she talks about her approach to certain situations and how she manages them better. J went on to say she is grateful for all the support and intervention she has received over the last years from A Quiet Place. The training programmes she has been involved in have been extremely useful and especially welcomed connecting with her tutor throughout the diploma. Also she mentioned how she had felt heard and supported throughout her supervision and the peer sessions with two other colleagues who were also training.

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Tutor: J. was always willing to contribute in discussion and clearly working hard with a strong commitment to her work with the young people. J. was always very involved in the ‘activity’ of her work, finding solutions for herself for any problems that arose. Over time she became more reflective and thoughtful, taking time to consider the many different options and skills that she knew would offer effective support for her clients. J., despite struggling initially with the written work, was able to provide evidence of these important developments. Manager: J. has made a massive leap finding herself first through developing feelings of self-worth and confidence. She now recognises her own personal growth and taken full ownership of the programmes and their application to all young people in the many different sets of circumstances she finds herself. 2. Trainee B: Male, quite confident with obvious potential Supervisor interview and comments: In his personal life he feels more consciously aware of his own feelings in a much more positive way. In his work he has a better understanding of the young people’s behaviour, and now feels he works better with team members. He was confused about the expectations of the course in the beginning, then began to have a deeper understanding of the ethos from which he has greatly benefitted and continues to practice in all aspects of his life. He feels more aware and conscious of what he is doing and is more serious about how he is supporting the young people in his charge. Others have noticed that he is better organised than he used to be. He feels a great sense of achievement at completing his Diploma and now has the confidence to go on and get a degree. His supervision helped him greatly with his practical work, both in the homes and privately. He felt the tutorials benefited him enormously and the support was invaluable. He feels he manages issues now much better in all aspects of his life. He is much more self-aware and has great empathy now for the young people he supports. His communication skills are also much improved. In conclusion he went on to say that he keeps the ethos going, encouraging A Quiet Place way of managing in all aspects of his life. Tutor: He was very tentative at first about his ability to write. Orally he appeared very confident with evidence of reflection, a willingness to learn and a total commitment to his clients. After sending short pieces for feedback initially he went on to write reflective and pertinent essays that

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showed a real empathy and understanding of his clients and the process of development that he was involved in with them. Manager: He already had quite a high sense of self-confidence and the training has extended that process. He has a genuine respect for the children and young people and become quite passionate about his work. 3. Trainee C: Male quiet and ready and open to learn new approaches Supervisor interview and comments: He felt the course enabled him to do his work in a more structured way and to be conscious of emotional intelligence. He is far more aware of the elements of emotional intelligence and now feels more confident to focus in the area the young person needs the most support. He hasn’t had any feedback on the changes he feels he has made, but now wants to ask them! He feels he has had many sparkling moments with the young people and especially in the creative arts. In particular with one young boy who has been through the 6 week programme, C feels that he has a much better idea of his needs now; this youngster’s resilience has improved greatly. He feels that all the training has been a huge help and source of support, but in particular the effective therapeutic communication course, which he says gave him an insight on how he interacts with others, enabling him to make positive changes in his own behaviour. Also he has noticed how he is better at reflecting how his behaviour impacts on others. He feels it is a great shame it isn’t carrying on and felt he could have completed the programme with a lot more children had he been able to work in a school for a day. He has enjoyed the experience as well and will continue to use the ethos. Tutor: I found him to be extremely quiet and disconnected initially, over time he blossomed into both a communicative and committed learner, producing reflective written work with sensitive insights and evidence of development. Manager: The training simply allowed further options for his development as he is a quietly confident man. He gained a real understanding of the young people he worked with and was confident that the AQP programmes could help the individuals with their self-control. He is a committed champion in the programmes and a fine role model for the young people.

COMMENTARY 1. Emic and etic are terms used by anthropologists and by others in the social and behavioural sciences to refer to two different kinds of data concerning

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human behaviour. In particular, they are used in cultural anthropology to refer to kinds of fieldwork done and viewpoints obtained.  An ‘emic’ account is a description of behaviour or a belief in terms meaningful (consciously or unconsciously) to the actor; that is, an emic account comes from a person within the culture. Almost anything from within a culture can provide an ‘emic’ account.  An ‘etic’ account is a description of a behaviour or belief by an observer, in terms that can be applied to other cultures; that is, an ‘etic’ account is ‘culturally neutral’ (Pike, 1967). 2. The Department for Education and Skills in 2003 required that there be a balance of service provision in order that all levels of need can be met as required. Within primary level services (Tier 1), those in contact with children need to be able to have sufficient knowledge of children’s mental health to be able to: identify those who need help; offer advice and support to those with mild or minor problems; and have sufficient knowledge of specialist services to be able to refer on appropriately when necessary. Child mental health workers (Tier 2) need to be available to support, train, liaise with, consult to and provide direct work with other agencies providing services for children. Specialist multidisciplinary teams in all localities should be able to provide: specialist assessment and treatment services – services for the full range of mental disorders in conjunction with other agencies as appropriate – a mix of short-term and long-term interventions and care according to levels of complexity, co-morbidity and chronicity. A full range of evidence-based treatments – specialist services that are commissioned on a regional or multi-district basis, including in-patient care.

REFERENCES Gardner, H. (1991). The unschooled mind: How children think and how schools should teach. New York, NY: Basic Books. Pike, K. L. (1967). Language in relation to a unified theory of the structure of human behaviour (2nd ed.). The Hague: Mouton. [First edition in three volumes, 1954, 1955, 1960].

A NORTH EAST PUPIL REFERRAL UNIT’S RESPONSE TO THE CHALLENGE OF NEETS Crispian Woolford ABSTRACT This chapter discusses the issue of those young people who upon leaving compulsory education at age 16 in England do not progress into further education, training or employment and are known as NEETs. It elucidates possible causes of NEETs and the characteristics of those classed as NEET. A particular intervention programme, Learning Independence for Future Transition (LIFT), is described as developed and implemented in a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) and some evaluative comments offered.

INTRODUCTION In May 2009 the North East of England had the highest figure for young people aged 16–18 classed as Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) being 9.8% of those young people leaving compulsory education at age 16. Broom Cottages Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) Key Stage 4 is based in County Durham where the figure for NEETs is at a higher rate of 10.8%.

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Although there is very little data on how many young people with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) maybe NEETs, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) claims:    

16-year-old boys are twice as likely to be NEET than girls; persistent absentees are seven times more likely to be NEET; 39% of those with no GCSEs are NEET at 16 compared to 2% with 5 A–Cs; young people with learning difficulties and disabilities are twice as likely to be NEET;  20,000 teenage mothers are NEET. Most of these statistics reflect characteristics of the PRU population. Several strategies have already been introduced over the last 3 years including two transition workers and improved Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) delivered by staff. In response to a national conference in reducing the number of NEETs, a new initiative was launched within Key Stage 4. Learning Independence for Future Transition (LIFT) involved developing an index for level of vulnerability for transition at post-16. It involved a collaborative construction of a new reward system called Cottage Cash, a more vocational based ethos within the school and extended support during transitional phases within the school.

NEET The term NEET was devised by the government in 1999 to classify a group of young people who from the age of 16 are not engaged in any form of employment, education or training. The number of NEETs has been an issue for well over a decade, and although there have been slight improvements, the figure nationally has remained much the same at roughly 10%. Hodgson, Spours, and Stone (2009) state that: ‘Despite ten years of policy attention and investment, the problems facing disadvantaged groups of young people have not been overcome’. There have been numerous studies to identify the characteristics of NEETs and their barriers/attitudes to post-16 activities. The Youth Cohort Study (DCSF, 1999) identified 10 factors that corresponded with the NEET participants of the study, which included: 1. no/unknown/not stated qualifications; 2. excluded from school in years 10 or 11; 3. persistent truant in year 11;

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parent’s occupation being unskilled manual; neither parent in full-time employment; living with neither parent or father only; living with their own children; living with a partner; parents living in rented accommodation; having a disability or health problem.

Although 10 factors were identified, these were not exclusive, and it was found that they might not be independent of each other. The DCSF (1999) also showed that these factors increased the chance of being NEET. At each age, the probability of being in the NEET group rises as the number of factors present increases. For example at 17, just over 3% of those with none of the factors were NEET. The percentage rises to merely 9% with one factor present and further increases to 19 and 45 with 2 and three or more factors present respectively.

These figures suggest that the chances of becoming NEET at 17 increase significantly if the young people have an increasing number of poor social circumstances. When asked what prevented them from participating post-16 those who had identify themselves as NEETs the responses included:           

Need more qualifications or skills Looking after home/children/family Poor health or disability Housing situation Family situation Transport problems Would be worse off in work/on a course Drugs/alcohol problems Criminal record There are no decent jobs or courses available Have not decided what sort of job to do

(DCSF, 1999)

Although conducted 11 years ago, the DCSF is equally relevant today and highlights the factors that prevent engagement at post-16. As Spielhofer et al. (2009, p. 42) suggest: ‘Most of these factors paint a picture of disadvantage, and can be condensed into the following categories:  Education/learning disadvantage  Personal issues  Structural factors’

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In terms of educational disadvantage, there is evidence that poor academic achievement is linked to the increased probability in becoming a NEET. In a recent study by the DCSF (in Spielhofer et al., 2009), it was shown that of the students who failed to achieve any GCSE passes 39% became NEET. This compares to only 2% of those who achieved 5 A–Cs. Poor academic achievement is only one element of education disadvantage, and other studies by Sims et al., Golden et al. and Barnados (in Spielhofer, 2009) comment that many young people felt they have been let down by their teachers and school. They also stated that they felt they were treated like little kids or with a lack of respect that in turn meant that they became unhappy with school. Other information provided by the DCSF (1999) found that one-third of NEETs at 17 had been excluded in years 10 and 11. When this is looked at on a national scale, Pring et al. (2009, p. 28) suggest that 1% of the school population in both England and Wales is permanently excluded which is approximately 9,000 students every year. What is even more concerning is that the number of students within this group who have Special Educational Needs (SEN) is rather disproportionate. Although they only represent 1% of the total school population, the DCSF (2009a) report that 72% of permanent exclusions are for young people who have SEN with the majority of them having being School Action Plus on the Special Needs Register. These exclusions have remained roughly the same, which suggests that schools may actually be part of the problem in terms of delivery and motivating the disaffected and those with greater social and emotional needs. Further from an answer to a parlimentary question featured in the Independent, 10 April 2007 (Pring et al., 2009), shows that y permanent exclusions from the largest secondary schools with 1500 pupils or more having risen by 28% since 1997. And temporary exclusions are now 10% of pupils in schools with more than 1000 children, compared with 3% in schools with 1,000 or fewer pupils.

It suggests that students with SEBD, who are at real danger of being excluded, thrive better in smaller schools where relationships with staff are crucial in preventing students from being excluded. Apart from relationships young people mentioned the relevance of the curriculum delivered to them. This appears to be an issue for some young people particularly from some social backgrounds as Spielhofer et al. (2009, p. 42) write ‘The young people sensed a ‘‘lack of fit’’ between their

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‘‘working-class’’ identities and a predominance of what they saw as middle class language, school ethos and staff’. Tackling this attitude and mindset has long been a priority for the government and strategies like Assessing Pupils Progress (DCSF, 2009b) have been rolled out nationally with an attempt to raise academic achievement and expectations of young people who are from particular social and economic backgrounds. Other more recent changes to the curriculum include the introduction of the Key Stage 4 Engagement Programme (QCA, 2006) and Foundation Learning (Department of Education, 2010) in attempt to make more courses accessible and relevant with a firmer emphasis on progression at post-16. Out of the three categories of factors increasing the risk of becoming NEET, perhaps the most relevant to the North East of England are structural factors. These are described by Spielhofer et al. (2009) as elements of life which the young person has very little control over and are related to the political and social-economic climate as well as the opportunities presented to the young people. They were grouped into the following headings:  Labour market factors  Financial poverty issues  Quality of pre-16 IAG Of these factors perhaps the most important one is the labour market factors as they have such a massive influence on the prospect of a young person becoming a NEET. As Spielhofer et al. (2009, p. 45) write: For example the North East of England has the highest proportion of young people recorded as NEET, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West of England. The issue, at least in part, is related to a historic decline of manufacturing industry in former British industrial centres and a reduction in the number of related manual occupations.

Before this decline, a manufacturing job with or without training would have been a viable post-16 destination. The availability of these types of jobs has dwindled considerably and young people are now encouraged to continue with their education post-16. Yet in some areas where manufacturing jobs have been lost, they have not necessarily been replaced with new ones or with jobs requiring a higher degree of skill levels.

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WHO ARE THE NEETS? Young people who have been categorized as NEET do not represent just one single sector of the population. They are not always NEET either and often dip in or dip out of activity. Spielhofer et al. (2009) describe the NEET population as not forming a coherent group but as: y individuals engaged in activities as diverse as: caring for an elderly relative, parenthood, engaging in criminal activity, coping with a serious physical or psychological illness, searching for suitable education and training provision, travelling or being on a ‘gap’ year.

When attempting to identify those young people who are classed as NEETs, Spielhofer et al. (2009) categorized them into three groups by their attitudes to education and future employment as well as the chances of reengaging them. These were classed as those who were open to learning (41%), undecided (22%) and sustained (38%). Those NEETs classed in the open to learning category tended to have higher levels of qualifications and a positive attitude to education. They were more likely to re-engage. The group defined as sustained NEET consisted mainly of young people who had a negative experience of school. They had higher levels of truancy, exclusion and had lower levels of attainment which are common factors facing students who have SEBD. Lastly the undecided group was populated with young people who had similar levels of attainment to those in the opento-learning group but dissatisfied about what was on offer and frustrated about not being able to access what they wanted.

WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF BEING A NEET? Being NEET greatly increases the young person’s propensity for being dependent upon the welfare state. The Princes Trust (2007) suggested that a lack of educational achievement impacted on youth crime and mental health and calculated that the total cost of this to the UK economy could be d18 billion. With 5% of young people leaving school with no formal qualifications, this meant that a considerable number of young people became unemployed and consequently they became more at risk of being involved in crime. The social inclusion unit (in Princes Trust, 2007) estimated that two-thirds of young offenders were unemployed at time of arrest. This can have a significant cost with a custodial place in a secure

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training centre costing d130,000 per year and a Young Offenders Institution costing around d47,000 per young person per year (these are 1997 figures). Princes Trust (2007) indicated that mental health can also be affected and estimated that depression caused by educational underachievement could cost between d11 and d18 million. The cost to the State may be high, but the cost of underachievement educationally is devastating for individuals.

THE CHALLENGES FACING COUNTY DURHAM County Durham is a large rural county with a population of approximately 505,000. It has some concentrated urban areas such as Durham City, Easington, Peterlee and Newton Aycliffe, but the vast majority of the county is rural, which presents many challenges. Durham like some of the North East’s other counties and local authorities has never really recovered from the collapse of the coal mining and heavy manufacturing industries during the 1970s and 1980s. Once these industries were lost, very few new jobs were created. The last Durham County Council census in 2001 estimated that approximately 30% of jobs in Durham were involved in construction and manufacturing. The next largest sector that employed residents from Durham was public services including police, education and health and social care. The long-term cost of unemployment has taken its toll, and in terms of social-economics, data collated by the Department of Health (2009) suggests that nearly a third of residents live in the most deprived areas of England, whilst 10% live in the least deprived. The number of adults smoking who live in Durham is higher than the national average as is the number of adults who binge drink or who are overweight. The number of students eligible for free school dinners provides further evidence of social deprivation in Durham. In total, 18.8% of white school children are entitled to free school meals, which is higher than the national average of England. In some respects, Durham is a very insular county. Its population is predominately white working class, and despite being a rural county with a lot of seasonal work relating to agriculture, it has not seen an influx of working migrants from other parts of the European Union, unlike counties such as Norfolk and Lincolnshire. Neither is there a large tourism industry, which would also provide tourism jobs for working migrants. This means that there is very little migration of people into the county. One of the reasons for this lack of movement of people might be due to a lack of

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employment opportunities, as well as a lack of identity nationally, as the County Durham Economic Partnership Newsletter April 2009 states: ‘Durham is an ‘‘invisible city’’. Surveys show that national broadsheet journalists cannot accurately place Durham on maps of the UK’. This is also reinforced with a lack of movement of people out of the county. A lot of the old pit villages have grandparents, parent and grandchild all living in the same village. This not only provides a support network within family groups but also has led to a high level of dependency and in some respects the whole of the county has become dependent. With unemployment rate of approximately 4%, there is a level of dependency of people living on the welfare state, and according to Durham County Council, April 2010 there were 12,752 people claiming Job Seekers Allowance. This is the highest level of claimants compared to other local authorities in the North East. With the high levels of ill health mentioned earlier, there is also a high level of dependency on the National Health Service. This high level of dependency also applies to the management of school pupils within the county. In 2009, 48.7% of students gained five GCSEs A–C including English and Maths. This is slightly lower than the national average, which was 50.9%. Whilst these young people reflect the successes of Durham schools, there are still more than half of school students in Durham who do not achieve grades of this level. There are also those who are either permanently excluded; statemented for SEBD; attending one of three SEBD Special Schools or attending Impact, an alternative provision where students attend at centres elsewhere but are still on their roll for their referring schools. The combination of these different settings provides both schools and the county with a safety net that in turn they have become dependent on. The most recent figures published by DCSF (2009a) demonstrated that Durham is one of the highest excluding counties in the North East, and in 2007/2008 there were 110 exclusions, which represented just under a third of all permanent exclusions in the North East of England and the 13th highest in the whole of England. Northumberland, a rural county similar to Durham, excluded 60 young people.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF BROOM COTTAGES PRU Broom Cottages PRU is an establishment situated within County Durham. It provides education for those who have either been permanently excluded from mainstream schools or have been referred through Crisis Response.

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Broom Cottages Key Stage 4 was opened in September 2006 and replaced an Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) establishment that was closed. Its aim was to raise the achievement of the young people who had been permanently excluded at Key Stage 4. Historically, these young people did not have statements of SEN and were put on a work-based placement within the County. The level of attainment for these young people varied considerably and was very reliant on the quality of provision at different external work providers. At Broom Cottage there are currently 15 staff and 32 young people on roll. Since opening in 2006, Key Stage 4 has seen an annual increase in the number of pupils on roll and in the academic year 2009–2010 saw the provision at its largest with 42 students attending their final year of schooling. Any young person referred has been permanently excluded at least once, sometimes twice, so they have at least one factor leading to becoming a NEET, and some individuals who have more complex needs may have actually up to five factors. This makes them considerably more at risk of becoming a NEET than students who may attend mainstream school. Since 2007 there have been two Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) at Broom Cottages who have worked in unison as transitional workers. Their role was to assist young people in applying for college placements, obtaining identification in order to open bank accounts, accompanying them to both Connexions (careers) and college interviews and extending their support until December after leaving Broom Cottages. A review of current practices by the head teacher led to the introduction of a more creative approach in order to improve attendance, motivation, behaviour and post-16 participation. This approach became known as LIFT.

LIFT Using the Special Needs Assessment Profile (SNAP) behaviour tracker as a diagnostic initial assessment, it was discovered that the majority of students had a significant weakness when it came to their independent learning and social skills. Evidence suggests that this is linked to their poor educational self-esteem as well as an overdependence on adults. As a staff team it was felt that the provision worked successfully to improve the students’ educational self-esteem, and indeed some of the students had progressed significantly enough to start university. Yet to

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prepare students to be more independent learners, LIFT was devised and involves:  implementing a new vulnerability index which would identify those at significant risk of being NEET;  introducing a work-based ethic within the unit;  introducing a bonus scheme rewarding effort and achievement;  developing independent travel;  introducing DARE club;  encouraging Building Learning Power strategies. The initial phase of LIFT was to establish a method of identifying who was more at risk of becoming NEET. Knowing and understanding the factors mentioned earlier, a vulnerability matrix was created. During the Capita NEET Conference in 2009, Stoke-on-Trent presented a pilot vulnerability matrix. Their intention was to use it with pupils from year 9 to identify which students were most at risk of becoming NEET. An index including factors such as attendance, level of attainment, SEN status and care status provided a total score with the highest showing highest level of risk. It was decided that to further support the students, additional factors such as substance misuse or involvement with the Youth Engagement Service (YES) would be assessed. These assessments provided staff with invaluable information, which could provide the focus for a direct intervention using a multi-disciplinary approach. The second phase of LIFT was to readjust the ethos of Key Stage 4 at Broom Cottages. Originally when Key Stage 4 was established, it adopted the same ethos of the other existing Key Stages at Broom Cottages. Through the social curriculum, students are taught that it is okay to make mistakes but they need to try and put things right. At Key Stage 4 it was decided that rather than treating it like a school, that Broom Cottages Key Stage 4 main ethos should be vocationally orientated. The idea being that by treating the young people in a more mature fashion and adopting procedures and protocols similar to a work environment, it would be less of a shock once they left school. Central to this was establishing a different dialogue with them. Rather than being passive learners, using a solutionfocused approach, the emphasis was placed on them taking responsibility for their own learning and achievement. This approach meant that as Selekman (1997) states, it empowers the young people by giving them a voice in their own life. All students were given a school- or work-based contract outlining their rights and responsibilities, which they were asked to sign. Once their

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contract had been signed, it allowed them to access the bonus scheme. Developed with the students, Cottage Cash allowed students to collect virtual cash that could be collected and then traded in for particular rewards. These started from a selection of items in a lucky dip box, McDonalds lunch, vouchers for CDs, etc., to trips out with the largest amount of cash used for a group trip. During consultation with the young people, it was their suggestions for the rewards that were used, and producing an Argos-type catalogue of rewards expanded upon this. It was also their suggestion that if behaviour had been negative, then there should be consequences and students should be fined a nominal fee depending on what had happened. Other changes were very subtle, for example instead of having weekly assemblies, the school would hold a group meeting where they were invited to discuss issues that concerned them. Daily form meetings were now team meetings and reviews became performance management reviews. The year 2011 also witnessed the launch of Dare Day which was created to provide enrichment opportunities for the young people to try things that they have never done before and take them out of their comfort zone. By doing this in a supportive environment, it is believed that the young people will continue to develop their resilience and creative problem solving skills. Another element of LIFT was the independent travel scheme. Currently, all of our young people are transported to the PRU by taxis because of their home locations and the location of the PRU. Once students have left Broom Cottages, a lack of confidence in using public transport can be another factor that reduces the level of participation at post-16. Most of the post-16 provision is within the urban areas, and there are some distances between them. Public transport can also be sporadic, particularly between rural settlements. As part of LIFT, young people have been able to develop their independent travelling skills. This has included them planning out and travelling on their local bus routes to potential post-16 destinations. Building Learning Power has also been introduced to the young people as part of LIFT. Part of the dialogue with the young people has been about taking responsibility for their own learning as well as improving their learning skills to encourage life-learning skills. As Claxton writes (2002) The evidence is: helping students learn more or better does not necessarily help them become better learners. But if you help students become better learners their achievement rises. And they will take away from school not just a few certificates, but greater confidence, competence and curiosity to face the uncertainties that life will surely throw at them.

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This has been delivered through timetabled LIFT sessions and by introducing it within cross-curriculum subjects. Other opportunities have included Creative Curriculum Days. To date there have been two and these have been very successful with student directed learning and peer learning solving problems with students collaborating from Key Stages 1–4.

EVALUATION LIFT was introduced in January 2010 and July 2011 saw a cohort of 32 students moving on from Broom Cottages at the end of year 11 having experienced the new initiatives established through LIFT. On initial assessment, the most common issues facing the population included explosive anger 64%, implosive anger 61%, overdependence on adults 56% and having an educational self-esteem deficit 75%. During this time, improvements had been made in all these areas with the largest improvement in overdependence on adults 40% and educational self-esteem deficit 61%. There had also been a reduction in the number of major incidents requiring physical intervention from 15 to 8 during the year LIFT was introduced. Most of this can be attributed to the Cottage Cash scheme that has proved to be extremely successful with students, encouraging motivation and self-regulation to avoid being fined. During this time there had also been a change in government and a great deal of changes were made under the Coalitions ‘austerity measures’. The abolition of Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) as well as a withdrawal of support services including Connexions has made transitions at post-16 even more challenging. It is against these public sector spending cuts and the highest level of unemployment in 17 years that the last cohort of year 11 has made transitions into post-16 destinations. In October 2011, 3% of the cohort were NEET. This has been a significant decrease from an average of about 11%. Of the post-16 destinations, the majority of them have progressed onto college with 63%, 13% have attended training providers and 6% have progressed into apprenticeships. There has also been a higher than previous number of students going into paid employment with 15% of them doing so.

CONCLUSION From this brief outline, it is clear that young people with SEBD have an increased risk of becoming NEET, and it is crucial for any similar

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establishment to have an understanding of their local context and of their pupils. The issue of dependency will be equally valid with any establishment working with young people with SEBD. Their success often relies on the relationships they have with the determined, creative and resilient staff that work with them. That in itself can be a problem that can hinder successful transition particularly when it is time for the young people to move on. If youngsters with SEBD are to be prevented from becoming NEET, it becomes our duty to provide them with all the tools to succeed.

REFERENCES Claxton, G. (2002). Building learning power: Helping young people become better learners. Bristol, UK: TLO Ltd. Department of Health. (2009). Health profile 2009 County Durham. Retrieved from http:// www.apho.org.uk/resource/view.aspx?RID¼71179. Accessed November 2010. Department for Children, Schools and Families. (DCSF). (1999). Youth cohort study: Education, training and employment of 16–18 year olds in England and the factors associated with non-participation. Retrieved from http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/ files/pdf/b022000pdf.pdf. Accessed November 2010. Department for Children, Schools and Families. (DCSF). (2009a). Permanent and fixed term exclusions from schools in England 2007/2008. London: HMSO. Department for Children, Schools and Families. (DCSF). (2009b). Getting to grips with assessing pupils progress. Retrieved from http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/ eOrderingDownload/Assessing_pupils_progress.pdf. Accessed January 2011. Department of Education. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.education.gov.uk/16to19/ qualificationsandlearning/foundationlearning/a0064167/foundation-learning. Accessed January 2011. Durham County Council. (2001). Census 2001. Retrieved from http://content.durham. gov.uk/PDFRepository/Census2001SummarySheets2003WardsCounts.pdf. Accessed November 2010. Durham County Council. (2010). Monthly unemployment circular May 2010. Retrieved from http://content.durham.gov.uk/PDFRepository/10MayUnemployment.pdf. Accessed December 2010. Hodgson, A., Spours, K., & Stone, J. (2009). Tackling the NEETs problem: Supporting local authorities in reducing young people not in employment, education or training. LSN (2009). Retrieved from http://www.ioe.ac.uk/TacklingNEETs.pdf. Accessed November 2010. Princes Trust. (2007). The cost of exclusion: Counting the cost of youth disadvantage in the UK. Retrieved from http://www.princestrust.org.uk/PDF/Princes%20Trust%20 Research%20Cost%20of%20Exclusion%20apr07.pdf. Accessed January 2011. Pring, R., Haywood, G., Hodgson, A., Johnson, J., Keep, E., Oancea, A., y Wilde, S. (2009). Education for all: The future of education and training for 14–19 year olds. Routledge.

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QCA. (2006). 14–19 White paper advice key stage 4 engagement programme template. Retrieved from http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/idoc.ashx?docid ¼ a754ffbf-c1a9-437f-93380ae478a866c9&version¼-1. Accessed December 2010. Selekman, M. D. (1997). Solution-focused therapy with children. Guildford Press. Spielhofer, T., Benton, T., Evans, K., Featherstone, G., Golden, S., Nelson, J., & Smith, P. (2009). Increasing participation: Understanding young people who do not participate in education or training at 16 or 17. Department for Children, Schools and Families.

PEER MASSAGE IN THE CLASSROOM Jean Barlow ABSTRACT This chapter begins with a review of the theoretical basis for using peer massage in the classroom. Reference is made to the early work of John Bowlby (1956) and Abraham Maslow (1943) as well as recent ideas about the importance of schools’ nurturing pupils’ social and emotional development. The second part of the chapter describes how peer massage works in the classroom and school setting. Finally, there is a review of several studies which have evaluated the impact of peer massage and a suggestion that further, more in-depth evaluation is needed.

INTRODUCTION Peer massage is a classroom initiative based on the use of positive touch experiences, individual pats, kneading and soothing strokes to the hands or head and shoulders or back. It has been introduced into many different educational settings and is relevant to early years children through to secondary aged pupils. It is used particularly in nursery and infant and primary schools and in secondary schools operating a nurture group, learning support or pupil referral unit. Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 237–249 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002018

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CONTEXT Within recent years, schools have increasingly focused on the context in which pupil learning occurs, aiming to create the ‘right atmosphere’ for learning to flourish and where there are positive relationships between pupils and pupils/teacher. This renewed focus on pupils’ social and emotional development is based on early research by Abraham Maslow (1943) and Bowlby (1956), each suggesting that children need a sense of belonging and security before they can begin to learn. When the child’s physiological needs, safety, value and sense of belonging within the classroom are optimal the teaching and learning relationship is high (Maslow, 1943). When the child is disengaged, unwell or has spasmodic attendance, the learning is greatly impeded and stress increased. John Bowlby emphasises that all children’s needs should be met appropriately at the right time, so that a sense of emotional connection is made. Developing attachment within the class provides an emotional security, and has a direct influence upon their well-being and their capacity to achieve their potential, academically and socially. These ideas are emphasised by more recent writers, for example Boyatzis and Goleman (2000) who suggest that children are best served by nurturing methods that promote a sense of acceptance, respect and predictability, which is seen as vital for the emotional growth in young children. When a child is able to understand himself, and his actions, then he has the capacity to manage situations and free himself from conflict. The child becomes empowered, can cope and thus take control of events and outcomes (Goleman, 1998). Taking control reduces his anxiety and helps to reduce stress. The importance of each of the children in class, knowing and recognising their own feelings, builds the capacity for progress and change, and can be seen as an important step forward in a child’s personal learning (Reid, 2005). Raising the children’s awareness, improving their emotional and social competence enables greater autonomy in class. It is empowering and builds self-confidence. All children deserve the opportunity to achieve their full potential y to achieve this, children need to feel loved and valued and be supported by a network of reliable and affectionate relationships. (Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2006)

Peer massage activities create the opportunities for building positive relationships within the classroom; they help build a classroom where emotional attachment is strong. Children are working in pairs or small

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groups, they are sharing an experience that brings discussion between them and they work together. The scripts used develop agreement between partners or group; the children ‘take turns’ and respond to each other’s requests. This social activity provides ‘greater opportunities for deeper communication and understanding between children, because of thought sharing’ (Goleman, 2006). Peer massage activities have a clear structure, with an emphasis on making positive choices about taking time to relax and respecting other pupils wishes, for example by ‘asking permission’. This encourages children to take personal responsibility to protect their own and the rights of each other, in the classroom setting and so relates to recent initiatives such as ‘Rights Respecting Schools Award’ (UNICEF) and ideas about citizenship (Human Rights Act, 1998; Curriculum, 2000). Using peer massage activities to strengthen pupil relationships, enhancing social cohesion within the group may reduce negative behaviour in the classroom, so reducing the likelihood of bullying. This is perhaps especially more relevant at a time when children are facing considerable stress and pressure (Palmer, 2007). According to the Consensus Paper, ‘Mental Health in Youth and Education’ (Jane´-Llopis & Braddick, 2008) one-fifth of children and adolescents suffer from developmental, emotional or behavioural problems and one eighth have a mental health disorder. There is some research evidence that the massage activity itself has a positive effect on children. This relates to the hormone oxytocin, the ‘feelgood factor’, which is released in the body when massage occurs. For example, Oxytocin can be released by various types of non-noxious sensory stimulation, for example by touch and warmth y This means those positive interactions involving touch and psychological support may be health-promoting. The social interaction of daily life, as well as a positive environment, continuously activate this system. (Uvnas-Moberg, Ingemar, & Magnusson, 2002)

The massage activities may help to reduce stress. When in a stressed state, the sympathetic nervous system takes only a few seconds to invoke the body into flight, fight or freeze response. The adrenalin, cortisol and corticosteroids are flooded into the blood stream to provide strength to the muscles for increased ability to run away. This ‘hormone rush’ may remain in the body for up to half an hour, continuing to impact on the body after the crisis has passed, until the hormones are fully dissipated. Massage precipitates the parasympathetic nervous system to activate and thus speeds up the dissipation of the stress hormones that are released during crisis. Children living in chaotic and stressful, unpredictable circumstances

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are likely to have higher levels of the stress hormones in their bodies. Regular massage provides greater levels of beneficial hormones and improves the balance and well-being of those same children. By delivering peer massage regularly, the feel good factor (oxytocin) levels in the children’s bodies become more constant. ‘Oxytocin administration reduces stress induced corticosterone release and anxiety behaviour’ (Neumann, 2008). In other words, massage activities may increase the threshold at which a person will become stressed and anxious and improve the feeling of well-being generally. For example, Tiffany Field, Director of the University of Miami’s Touch Research Institute (2011), describes a study in which children who received massage twice a week showed decreased amounts of depression. They also had significantly less anxiety than the study’s control group. According to Diego et al. (2002) aggressive adolescents who had received five weeks of massage were reported to be less aggressive, to have had less anxiety and less hostility, and were reported to have been less hostile by their parents. No significant differences were noted by another group, which was given other relaxation techniques over the five-week period. Although this research relates to therapeutic, what may be called ‘deeper’ massage, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence and unpublished research from UK schools to suggest peer massage activities may reduce those feelings that can lead to negative interactions in the classroom and playground (Tomkins, 2006; Woolfson, Campbell, Banks, & Woolfson, 2005). In addition, oxytocin in the blood causes the blood vessels to become relaxed and increases blood flow to the brain. A greater flow of blood to the frontal lobe means that there is an increased potential for concentration (Woolfson et al., 2005) leading some schools to timetable peer massage sessions at the beginning of the day. Other schools deliver peer massage after break or lunch or after PE sessions in order to calm and settle the children. A benefit of using peer massage is that children are introduced to the idea of ‘safe touch’. It highlights the differences between nurturing touch and less welcome touch at a time when it is vital that children grow to be assertive to protect themselves from unwanted attention and touch. The teacher encourages the class to learn to take responsibility for their own bodies and teaches them how to say, in an assertive and respectful way, that they want to be touched or don’t want to be touched. The teacher makes the children aware of the kinds of touch that are good and those that are not. That way, any child may discern whether they are giving or receiving respectful touch from someone and can communicate assertively with them. This makes peer massage a very powerful protection tool for children,

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especially on the playground and at unsupervised times. One comment from a little girl, heard whilst crossing the playground of a small rural school was: ‘You can’t touch me like that! You haven’t asked my permission!’

PEER MASSAGE IN PRACTICE Peer massage is a series of classic massage strokes put together to make a short routine of nurturing touch experience. It is delivered fully clothed on the hand and arm or on the back and head. A routine may take around five minutes to give and is done as a paired activity – ‘child to child’. It can be carried out by children in school, in clubs or at home and is relevant to any age range. Peer massage can be delivered as a session, a game or can have a subject-based focus. It can be done in groups, chains, circles, pairs or even on oneself. Each time children are asked to choose whether they wish to take part in the daily session and their choice is acknowledged and respected. The routines can be adapted to the age range, beginning with simple strokes or touch games constructed around stories and nursery rhymes. Strokes are put together to make up regular massage routines. Pupils begin by being taught how to touch in a respectful, nurturing way, using their own bodies and are then invited to pair with another child and to try the strokes on either the hand or back, using massage strokes they have learned. In devising a routine, the students are given names for the strokes and the children who are receiving the massage say how they like to have the strokes performed, for example, firm and slowly, with hands flat and fingers spread out or together. To help pupils identify the different strokes, the routines are given recognisable groups of names. Animal names, for example, are used because visualising the animal helps pupils to remember the particular strokes and routine. Peer massage is a versatile tool in the way that it can be used in the classroom. As a daily practice at the beginning of the school day it forms a calm start to the day, bringing the children into a balanced state. It can also be used to form the introduction to lessons by having a ‘fun’ element. Thinking and communicating through touch is game-like. It can be used as a reward for completing work or after tidying the classroom. The nature of peer working makes it possible to be used in small groups within the classroom or in other areas. Children are the resource so they can be called upon to take part in activities in rows, circles, groups of three or more as well as in pairs.

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Children can also use the practice as a tool to help them achieve their selfmanagement programmes where targets are agreed for certain types of positive behaviour. A conversation with the student identifies the types of behaviour that is required. The student recognises times when he feels in control and confident. He is asked to notice what is happening when that feeling is being replaced by other feelings – the ones that tend to get him into difficulties. He is asked to describe what he thinks he might be able to do to overcome the poor feelings and replace them with good ones. He is asked what he thinks he can do for himself to maintain control; what might need to happen in the space around him, what others might do to help him. He will have targets with easily recognised goals and rewards. After he has managed the situation he will be asked to assess whether he has been successful and identify the indicators of his success. He will have written those indicators down so that he was able to refer to them. When he has been successful then he is encouraged to reward himself in an agreed way and share that with the people who are helping him achieve. Peer massage is often used by individual children to help them with successful self-management. Children can be positioned to participate at the desk or on the carpet. Children can be partnered using several methods, for example register order; friendships; or partners can change every week or every session, according to different children’s ideas, such as those children with the same colour of hair or eyes. The routines begin with the pupils in pairs agreeing who shall be first to ‘give’ and the first to ‘receive’. They position themselves (with the one who will give sitting if doing the hand routine, or standing behind the partner, if doing the back and head routine). This child will ensure that their partner is comfortable and that there is enough space to allow movement to perform the activities. Asking permission ‘Please may I massage your hand?’ or ‘is it okay if I touch your back?’ is the beginning of a shared experience. During the session the children speak only to their own partner and in a very quiet voice. This ‘rule’ about communication encourages strong working partnerships. Children explain to each other what they feel about the stroke and how they like the stroke done. If they do not like the particular stroke they can ask for still hands to be placed on the shoulders in a back massage and with a hand massage they would ask for the previous stroke to be continued until it is time for the next stroke that they like. Over time children gain

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confidence to speak about the strokes they wish to have omitted before the start of the routine. This conversation is brief, assertive and respectful. The request is always granted and this helps to build improved relationships. The children learn the strokes quickly from visual prompts, watching each other, listening and following the teacher and teacher assistant, who are the facilitators and instructors. They soon pick up the actions and gain confidence delivering the strokes to partners. All the class learn the strokes at the same time and are encouraged to talk about the strokes as they practise them. It becomes an active social occasion in which all pupils participate. Children with additional needs can function alongside their classmates in exactly the same way. Those with disabilities can be assisted by the use of massage tools or support from a teacher assistant, as they would in other lessons. The teacher or teacher assistant who leads the session will initiate the partnerships when the peer massage work is first introduced but before long the children are encouraged to share their ideas about partnering. However, over time it would be important to introduce some random partnering so that it becomes another fun element within class. It is the random partnership that helps break down the barriers and promote friendship and encourages discussion around similarities and differences in choice and preferences during the routines. Every session begins with each child being given the choice of participation in the massage activities. They are taught to recognise the need to be calm and quiet in readiness for learning. They are made aware of a range of different ways to relax during the introduction to the peer massage. The element of choice around participation is very individual and almost unique in the classroom setting. Very few opportunities are provided for children to make the choice about participation in a lesson or activity. Even when children are not joining in the massage, they are still participating in the session because they are using a preferred way of practising their own relaxation and reflection techniques. Quiet, respectful conversations and silences are more noticeably featured within this session in the normal school day. The children are encouraged to regularly discuss their observations during and after each session, teaching children to self-reflect and also to notice what happens around them when people are able to follow their respected choice. Repetition of the sequences on a daily basis gives predictability and security. The teacher sets the classroom in a preferred way according to the age of the children and the restrictions of the classroom.

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Once the children are used to the routines and format of the session, they can be instrumental in organising their own peer massage sessions, the choice of background music, lights on or off, position of children in the room and their partner for the massage. Having a rota for making choices around the sessions also provides for turn taking, children having different personal preference, each child able to practice and to model shared respect, autonomy and leadership. Children are made aware of taking care of their partners. They are asked to be vigilant. Before carrying out any peer massage session the environment is made safe. As a class they are invited to be proactive in ‘taking care’ to look and consider the position of chairs and tables, other children and space to move around their partner. Often the room has a notice on the door requesting people not to disturb the session. The classroom atmosphere is safe and quiet. There is movement, focus and a calm environment as it would be in class when pupils are doing writing or maths lessons. The difference is in the shared mood of the class, which tends to be relaxed and calm. Pupils enjoy the activities, helping to develop the right positive ethos for the classroom. The children find it fun to do and the use of games to reinforce the learning during the introduction or plenary of a lesson, makes learning more memorable. The kinaesthetic experience for the class helps those children who find remaining still difficult. Peer massage is different to most other activities done in the classroom and does not rely on skill or academic knowledge. Children will participate when they think they are playing a game and they are more than eager to help remind their partner about order and sequence of strokes because there is a vested interest in the partner getting things clear. It helps create a happy, relaxed environment, providing children with opportunities to manage stress and anxiety, and there is added enthusiasm for something ‘different’ to do towards the end of a lesson. The children choosing not to take part know that during the session the class is still focusing on relaxation. They must remain part of the class and will do so by making themselves comfortable, sitting comfortably and being quiet. They are able to use any other kind of relaxation method, such as following a breathing technique, meditation, reflecting on their work, or simply listening to the music that plays in the background whilst the routine session is going on. Those students choosing not to participate in the activities still benefit from the atmosphere of calm and stillness. They also benefit from the release of ‘oxytocin’ within the room and will, themselves, be emitting the hormone because of the body’s automatic response to its presence. Therefore, they also will have the ‘feel-good factor’ too. They

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might imagine that it is because they have been able to choose not to participate and instead have been allowed to sit quietly whilst the others were following the routine. That might also be true as having one’s choice accepted gives a child a sense of empowerment.

EVALUATING PEER MASSAGE Peer massage is a relatively recent piece of work to feature in the classroom. There have been few academic studies to evaluate the work. All the studies have been over a few weeks, between six and eight weeks. However, the anecdotal evidence coming from the different types of school that are currently using peer massage seem to have similar things to say about it. One of the benefits of peer massage is said to be an improved social cohesion within the group, with more friendship links formed which reduce negative peer behaviours. When children feel isolated, with few or no friends, bully/victim behaviour may happen. It is important that all pupils feel emotionally attached and valued. There is some evidence to support the view that peer massage activities do strengthen friendships. The author organised a Circle Time project in a primary school in Rochdale with three classes (Barlow, 2002). Two of the classes followed the Circle Time structure but the third class, where the majority of the pupils spoke little or no English at all, followed peer massage routines. There was an outer circle and an inner circle. The children looked inward for their partner and the activities were randomised by the outer circle moving to the right and the inner circle remaining in their place. Touch games where customs and greetings from different ethnicities featured at the start of the sessions. A peer massage routine took place in the middle and an affirmation and thanking activity ended the sessions. This was called the ‘Touching Circles Class’. Before the project started, a ‘Who Do You Play With?’ sociogram (Newcombe, Bukowski, & Pattee, 1993) was given to all the classes to understand the classroom friendship patterns and each class completed a second after the Circle Time project finished. The results showed that all classes benefitted from the Circle Time activities but the biggest gain in friendship links took place in the ‘Touching Circles Class’, which had used peer massage. In fact, every child in this group reported playing with other peers – no child was isolated, without a friend, in this class, whereas before the activities there were half the class who had only one friend or no friends.

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Although this was a small-scale study it does seem to suggest a positive outcome by using peer massage routines. The idea that friendship links are strengthened is backed up by much anecdotal evidence from pupils themselves, teachers and parents. One child with autism in a school in Bolton said during the second week of introducing peer massage in his class. ‘I now have lots of friends!’ A girl of ten from a primary school in Widnes said, ‘I like peer massage because you are making a good friendship with other people. I think Ibrahim does it best because he isn’t too hard or too soft. It is just right. I like the back massage best’. Peer massage activities are also said to help settle the class, ready for learning, and improve concentration levels. There is some tentative research to support this. For example, a study was made by the Renfrewshire Educational Psychology Service (2005) of the impact of peer massage in a primary school. The focus of the review centred on two factors that are claimed to improve following participation in the Massage in Schools Programme, namely on task behaviour and self-esteem. One class experienced peer massage and a control group did not. Their findings report: comparison of on-task behaviour of both groups indicated a significant difference between the treatment and control groups, when pre-intervention levels were taken into account. On-task behaviour was significantly higher for the children in the treatment group following the six-week intervention. This suggests that the massage element of the MISP has a positive impact on the concentration of the primary school children. (Woolfson et al., 2005)

The class teachers of the intervention and the control groups both completed Behavioural Indicators of Self-Esteem (Burnett, 1998). Analysis showed a significant increase in both groups. The authors report: therefore it is not possible to conclude that the MISP in particular has a significant impact upon the self esteem of primary school aged children. Indeed, this result could indicate that non- massage factors, such as extra attention and opportunity to work with others, may positively influence a child’s self-esteem, regardless of the task in which they are engaged.

Other changes in behaviour, such as aggression, cooperation, sensitivity and improved social skills, were not found to be improved. However, the peer massage was considered by the majority of children, teacher and parents, to be a positive initiative with ‘all involved expressing a desire to continue participating in the activity’ (Woolfson et al., 2005).

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A survey conducted by Cornwall Children’s Fund (Gander, 2007) also reported that there was an improvement in ‘Learning Readiness’. The teachers noticed that the children seemed calmer and more respectful towards others and particular children seemed to benefit significantly, far more than others. Several evaluative studies report that individual pupil behaviour can be changed by peer massage experience. A report to the author from a primary school teacher in Rochdale referred to promoting on-task behaviour by using peer massage as a reward at the end of a lesson. There is also evidence of impact on individual children. A head teacher reports from a primary school in Salford how one pupil with challenging behaviour became confident using peer massage and that his behaviour began to change: A Year 4 child at risk of permanent exclusion was introduced to peer massage with a friend. The class teacher chose to use the pair to demonstrate the massage strokes to the class, to help everyone to learn the routine at the same time. The youngster found that he was very good at delivering the peer massage, but he also liked it when his partner performed the routine on him. He thought that it would be a good idea to have a ‘friendship stop’ in the playground where he and his partner could offer peer massage to anyone who was feeling sad or was angry or just felt like they wanted a massage during playtime. This has now been happening for several terms. The children take it in turns to deliver to those children seeking some relaxation at break time. As a consequence, the number of playtime incidents has diminished and the student has remained in school. The student no longer exhibits behaviour that causes concern.

A third study, Peer Massage in Buckingham Middle School (Tomkins, 2006) highlighted a benefit of peer massage as helping pupils relax and leading to a calmer classroom. These findings are based upon pupil questionnaires received from years 4, 5, 6 and 7. In fact 51% of pupils reported that the massage activities made the class less tense/argumentative/ aggressive. Pupils reported ‘If some people are in a bad mood, it makes them feel better and not as bad’. ‘No one is stressful afterwards – our teacher is not cross – it makes her relaxed just watching us!’ ‘It gets rid of your negativity and anger’. ‘It helps us to relax when we’re tense with our work’. ‘It’s helpful because everyone is relaxed instead of angry’. ‘I think it is helpful because it relaxes us and reduces stress’. Overall 97% of pupil responses were positive about ‘receiving a massage’ and 92% of pupil responses were positive to ‘giving a massage’.

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The safe touch aspect of peer massage, the idea of a distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ touch was highlighted by some teachers.

SUMMARY This chapter began with a review of the educational research on which peer massage is based. Reference was made to attachment theory, social learning theory and the importance of pupils having emotional and social intelligence. This was followed by a description of how peer massage works in the classroom. The impact of peer massage activities was reviewed in the final section. The overall impact of peer massage on individual pupils, classrooms and schools is difficult to ascertain as there have only been a small number of evaluative studies, although they are from schools of different sizes, cultural mix, ages and from across the United Kingdom. In addition the existing studies often involve a small sample size and time constraints. It is difficult sometimes to qualify the different variables that may come into play in such a dynamic environment as a classroom. A consideration, for instance, is that the ‘massage’ given and received in peer massage sessions is not ‘therapeutic’ in the true sense of the term. It may be that the benefits come from the children’s positive response to one another rather than the physical effect of massage. The studies reviewed in this chapter do suggest, however, that there are clear benefits from peer massage activities which relate to improved friendship patterns; calmer more relaxed classrooms; more ontask pupil behaviour leading to ‘readiness for learning’. Pupils certainly seem to enjoy giving and receiving a massage. ‘The touch’ is about children’s kindness, nurturing, showing gentleness and reassurance to one another and engaging in a shared activity. A larger scale study over a longer period of time is needed to further evaluate the benefits of peer massage in the classroom.

REFERENCES Barlow, J. (2002). Unpublished paper delivered at Massage in Schools Association (MISA) Conference, Manchester 2008. Bowlby, J. (1956). The growth of independence in the young child. Royal Society of Health Journal, 76, 587–591. Retrieved from www.psychology.sunysb.edu/attachment/online/ independence.pdf

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Boyatzis, R. E., & Goleman, D. (2000). Clustering competence in emotional intelligence: Insight from the emotional competence inventory (ECI). Retrieved from www.eiconsortium.org/ clustering_competences. Accessed in June 2011. Burnett. (1998). Measuring behavioural indicators of self-esteem in the classroom. Journal of Humanistic Education and Development, 37(2), 107–116. Curriculum. (2000). Available at http://curriculum2000.co.uk Diego, M. A., Field, T., Hermandez-Reif, M., Shaw, J., Rothe, E., Castellanos, D., & Mesner, L. (2002). Aggressive adolescents benefit from massage therapy. Adolescence, 37(147), 597–607. Field, T. (2011, June). University of Miami, Touch Research Institute. Retrieved from http:// www.miami.edu/touch-research. Accessed in June 2011. Gander, M. (2007). Unpublished paper presented at the MISA Conference, Manchester 2007. Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing. Goleman, D. (2006). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships. London: Bantam. HMSO. (2004, November). Every child matters: Change for children. London: HMSO. HMSO. (2006). Working together to safeguard children. London: HMSO. Human Rights Act. (1998). Human Rights Act 1998. Retrieved from www.legislation.gov.uk/ ukpga/1998/42/contents Jane´-Llopis, E., & Braddick, F. (Eds.). (2008). Mental health in youth and education. A consensus paper. Luxembourg: European Communities. Maslow, A. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370–396. Neumann, I. D. (2008). Brain oxytocin: A key regulator of emotional and social behaviours in both females and males. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 20(6), 858–865. Newcombe, A. F., Bukowski, W. M., & Pattee, L. (1993). Children’s peer relations. Psychological Bulletin, 113(1), 99–128. Palmer, S. (2007). Toxic childhood. London: Orion. Reid, K. (2005). The implications of every child matters and the children act for schools. Pastoral Care in Education, 23(1), 12–18. Renfrewshire Educational Psychology Service. (2005). Retrieved from www.renfrewshire.gov. uk/ilwwcm/publishing.nsf/content/ Tomkins, C. (2006). Unpublished paper delivered at Massage in Schools Association (MISA) Conference, Manchester 2008. Uvnas-Moberg, K., Ingemar, A., & Magnusson, D. (2002). The psychobiology of emotion: The role of the oxytocinergic system. International Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 12(2), 59–65. Woolfson, R., Campbell, L., Banks, M., & Woolfson, L. (2005). The Renfrewshire massage in schools programme (MISP): An evaluation of its impact in a primary school. Unpublished research paper, Department of Psychology, University of Strathclyde, Strathclyde.

‘IT WASNAE (ONLY) ME’ – THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-REGULATION AND SELF-RESPONSIBILITY IN PUPILS EXPERIENCING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES Joan Gaynor Mowat ABSTRACT This chapter argues that, if pupils experiencing SEBD are to be able regulate their behaviour, it is essential for them to be perceived as being able to exercise agency, no matter how their difficulties are conceptualised. It also makes the case that, if we are to effect lasting change, it is necessary to impact at the level of values and beliefs, helping young people to come to an understanding of themselves and their relationships with others. The focus of the chapter is a case study evaluating a group work approach (Support groups), designed and implemented by the author, to

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 251–271 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002019

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support such pupils within a Scottish secondary school, situated in an area of multiple deprivation. The chapter examines the extent to which pupils participating within the intervention developed the capacity to regulate their behaviour with good judgement in a range of contexts, identifying variables which fostered or impeded progress. The study is principally qualitative but draws also from quantitative data. It focuses upon four cohorts of Support group pupils (N ¼ 69), inclusive of six case studies. The findings indicate that the intervention had impacted positively upon the capacity of the young people to self-regulate their behaviour, if to varying extents, and that pupil outcomes were highly context related. A range of factors came into play in effecting improvements in selfregulation in young people, such as the capacity of the Support group Leader to ‘see the good’ in the young person and hold onto them through difficult times. The quality of relationships between pupils and their Support group Leaders emerged as key as did the ethos of the group, providing an emotionally safe environment in which pupils could communicate without fear of reprisals.

INTRODUCTION ‘It wasnae (only) me’ and its variants are a common refrain in classrooms throughout the West of Scotland. The degree to which young people can be held by others to be responsible for their behaviour (and to be able to exercise agency upon it) is likely to be influenced by the conceptions which are held of the ‘the problem child’. As described by Macleod (2006, p. 159) (drawing from Lloyd & Norris, 1999; Tait, 2003 and Parsons, 2005) – are they bad? (predicated upon individual deficits within the child – the child chooses to misbehave because of an inherent personality defect); mad? (the child is construed as being ill – his/her behaviour is, at least in part, determined – it has a biological basis) or sad? (arising from structural inequalities in society). Macleod (2006) claims that, whichever perspective is adopted, the degree to which pupils are able to exercise agency is limited. She advocates that a welfare perspective requires to be balanced with the ‘need to hold on to the notion of individual agency’ (p. 162), a view shared by Visser (2005). Whilst much of the controversy pertaining to the provenance of social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD) has arisen within the context of the discourse pertaining to the ‘social’ and ‘individual, medical, deficit’

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models of disability (Macleod & Munn, 2004), from the perspective of this discussion, what is important is the degree to which, inherent within these explanations, are conceptualisations of the agency of the child. As highlighted by MacLeod (2006), The sad victims of circumstance are not to blame for their behaviour, and the mad require medication to control their behaviour. Although the bad are held responsible for their behaviour, this translates into them being construed as ‘irresponsible’ and thus not able to effect positive change. (p. 162)

If pupils are to be able to regulate their behaviour with good judgement in a range of contexts, they need to be able to accept responsibility for their behaviour – to move beyond, ‘It wasnae (only) me’ and its national variants; to have sufficient self-awareness in order to be able to reflect upon their behaviour, exercise judgement and identify the ways in which they need to improve upon it; the motivation to wish to improve upon it; a sense of selfefficacy in goal achievement (a mastery mindset; Dweck, 2000) and the metacognitive capacities to be able to forward plan and monitor progress towards achievement of their goals. Without being able to exercise agency, these goals cannot be achieved. Whatever the explanation provided for pupils’ behaviour, it is not helpful for children to be cast in the role of an inanimate object with no control over their lives, whilst recognising that, for some, the barriers to exercising agency may be great. Yet, approaches to school discipline which seemingly give a high priority to the choices which pupils exercise in relation to their behaviour may impede the child’s capacity for self-regulation and for self-discipline. Khon (1996) describes this dilemma as ‘Heads you win, tails you lose’ (p. 48). Drawing from Canter and Canter’s Assertive Discipline Programme, he quotes this advice given to teachers: ‘The way you teach kids to be responsible is by telling them exactly what is expected of them and then giving them a choice’ (Khon, 1996, pp. 48–49). However, he describes this as ‘pseudo choice’ – the equivalent of ‘Do as you are told, or else!’ Is it really the case that the best way to teach children to be responsible is to ‘tell them exactly what is expected of them?’ Might it not be the case that to help children to reach their own understandings, based upon a moral perspective and an understanding of the needs of others, and the modelling of prosocial behaviour by significant adults, may prove to be much more fruitful and lead to more sustainable changes in behaviour? (Mowat, 1997). By this means, young people are able to develop the capacity to make considered choices and to exercise judgement – concepts central to the development of self-regulation and the development of self-responsibility.

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Khon (2008), however, casts a critical eye over the concept of selfdiscipline as being universally a ‘good thing’. He argues on psychological, philosophical and political grounds for the need to be cautious in its advocacy. He draws attention to the dangers of over-regulation in squashing spontaneity; the need to consider that, rather than it being considered as a trait situated within the individual, it may be context related (being advantageous in some situations and detrimental in others); and argues for moderation and flexibility in it use (p. 171). These are very important points for all people working with young people experiencing SEBD in that they highlight the need to be sensitive to context and the need for the young person to exercise judgement. Further, he claims that the subjectification of the concept of self-discipline as residing within individuals diverts attention away from the structures (political, economic or educational) which shape human actions. Within the classroom, the question then posed is, ‘What’s the best way to teach kids self-discipline so they’ll do the work?’ rather than, ‘Are these assignments really worth doing?’ As Khon (2008) states, ‘to identify a lack of self-discipline as the problem is to focus our efforts on making children conform to a status quo that is left unexamined and is unlikely to change’ (p. 175). Khon (1996) argues for ‘community’ rather than compliance: a community characterised by values such as kindness, fairness and responsibility. Likewise, Cooper and Cefai (2009) argue very strongly against coercive approaches to discipline on the premise that they tend to lead to similar social styles reproducing themselves in children and on the basis that, if young people consider that those responsible for them have their best interests at heart, they are more likely to be responsive to their guidance (p. 93). Within this introductory section, the provenance of SEBD has been discussed and, in particular, the degree to which children and young people can be held responsible for their behaviour by others. Further, approaches towards discipline which, whilst appearing to be in the best interests of the child, have come under scrutiny and alternative perspectives forwarded. This chapter places this discussion within the context of the evaluation of an intervention (Support groups, Sg), devised by the author, to support young people experiencing SEBD within a Scottish Secondary school situated in an area of multiple deprivation (SENSP, 2003a). The study focuses upon 69 pupils (drawn from four cohorts of Secondary 2 (S2) (13–14 year olds) who participated within the intervention in the first four years of its operation, tracing their progress from the commencement of Secondary schooling until the end of S3/S4, in comparison to wider comparator groups. This chapter

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examines the degree to which Sg pupils were able to regulate their behaviour with good judgement in a range of contexts.

THE CONTEXT Over the past two decades, school discipline has increasingly come to the attention of policy makers and this has manifested itself in a range of policy initiatives across the United Kingdom, informed by research studies commissioned by the respective governments (DfES, 2009; Dunlop et al., 2008; Humphrey, Lendrum, & Wigelsworth, 2010; Munn et al., 2009; Reid, 2008). Within the United Kingdom, initiatives such as the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning programme (DfES, 2005) have sought to further the five outcomes of ‘Every Child Matters’ (DfES, 2004) and, within Scotland, the Positive Behaviour Team take forward the policy, ‘Better Behaviour – Better Learning’ (SEED, 2001).

THE INTERVENTION The aims of the Sg approach were to enable pupils to develop further, intrapersonal (‘the capacity to understand oneself, to have an effective working model of oneself – including one’s own desires, fears and capacities – and to use such information effectively in regulating one’s own life’) (Gardner, 1999, p. 43) and interpersonal (‘capacities to discern and respond appropriately to the moods, temperaments, motivations, and desires of other people’) (Gardner, 1993, p. 240) intelligences. The desired outcomes were that pupils would develop the capacities to regulate their behaviour with good judgement in a range of contexts; to form and maintain good interpersonal relationships; empathy, self-esteem and confidence and positive dispositions towards learning. The research questions, which drove the study, examined the extent to which these outcomes had been achieved and sought to explore the variables which affected pupil outcome, extrapolating from this lessons which could be learned about the inclusion of pupils experiencing SEBD. The approach was designed using the ‘Teaching for Understanding Framework’ (Perkins, 1998) which was integrated with the ‘Activating Children’s Thinking Skills (ACTS) Framework’ (McGuinness, 2006). Insights were also drawn from theories of motivation and from those relating to how children develop a sense of identity and morality.

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Whilst Gardner’s work on multiple intelligence theory (Gardner, 1993, 1999) has been embraced by many educationalists across the world (Gardner, 2009), it has also been heavily contested on a range of fronts (Barnett, Ceci, & Williams, 2006; White, 2006). However, the concept of the personal intelligences is still a valuable lens through which to conceptualise the Sg approach with its focus upon understanding as being key to the development of both intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences. Pupils were nominated by their class and pastoral care teachers on the basis of two criteria, the first being that the child was considered to be experiencing difficulty in coping with the constraints of school life and the second being that the nominee considered that the child might benefit from the approach. Pupils and their parents were then consulted about the child’s potential involvement and parents invited to an information session. Thereafter, pupils were grouped into sets of four-to-six pupils who met for half of the school year for one hour per week with a Support group Leader (SgL). The setting of individual targets by pupils, negotiated with and supported by SgLs, is an essential aspect of the approach. These targets are set weekly and monitored daily by class teachers, the SgL and parents. Targets are framed in positive terms and are incremental, leading from small, clearly specified, steps such as, ‘Arrive on time for class’ to those which are more holistic and more abstract, ‘Behave with respect towards teachers’. As such, the approach encourages self-responsibility. Pupils engage in collaborative activities designed to promote reflection and discussion to achieve the aforementioned aims. The activities take a variety of forms but a common feature is that there are no worksheets. One such activity asks pupils to reflect upon a past experience in which there was conflict and to identify the gains and losses which arose from the situation and then to respond to the question, ‘What would you do differently if you were faced with the same situation again?’ A transcript derived from this group activity (derived from video-camera footage) illustrates how the SgL would work with pupils in this exercise. Scenario: Pupil (David (pseudonym)) describes a situation in which he was showing off in front of his friends. SgL:

David, once you had time to calm down, what did you lose from the situation? David: Confidence. SgL: Why did you feel less confident? David: Don’t know.

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SgL: Did you feel less good about yourself? David: Mm. SgL: And that led to a lack of confidence. Why did you feel less good about yourself? David: Because I’d done bad things. SgL: So you recognised that you hadn’t behaved as you should have done. David: I’ll admit this. I know I’m no’ a pure angel in XXXX but I can behave when I want to behave. SgL: So you know that you’re capable of behaving but on this occasion you let yourself down y It made you feel less good about yourself and made you feel less confident about your ability to handle yourself. The SgL, after having explored the situation with the individual, would then draw the other members of the group into the discussion, probing beneath the pupils’ responses, helping them to think at a deeper level and to come to an understanding of the forces upon their behaviour and how such understanding can inform future behaviour, fostering the transfer of learning (Perkins & Salomon, 1998). In addition, pupils complete a Support group diary (which may be undertaken as a verbal exercise) which, through a series of questions and prompts – ‘how were you feeling before it happened?’, ‘what effect did it have upon other people?’ – leads them through experiences, once again fostering the transfer of learning and encouraging them to think of the impact of their actions upon themselves and others. SgLs were all volunteers drawn principally, but not solely, from pastoral care and behaviour support staff. The principal criterion for selection was their empathy with young people and their capacity to work effectively with them. SgLs received a high degree of support including training and mentoring from the author, acting in the capacity of both SgL and Project Leader. In the 7-year period over which the groups operated, 150 young people were supported and 16 members of staff volunteered their services. Of these young people, the first four cohorts of pupils who participated within the programme (69 pupils in total) participated within the study, representing the full Sg population at that time. Almost all of these pupils completed the programme and no pupils were asked to leave it. There was a two-thirds/one-third gender mix, favouring boys. Data were gathered on these pupils from the commencement of their Secondary schooling (S1) (one year prior to intervention) until the end of S3 (one year after intervention) and one-third of the pupils were followed up during S4 and interviewed by the author.

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THE STUDY A mixed-method, case study approach was adopted because of the opportunity it provides for an in-depth exploration of a phenomenon within its natural location. The study draws principally from qualitative methodology. In order to be able to provide a more in-depth account, six case studies, selected by means of a multi-phase stratified sample and drawing upon the perspectives of the pupil, parent and SgL, were conducted. Due account was given to ethical considerations and, in particular, the principles outlined in SERA (2005) guidelines pertaining specifically to practitioner research. Informed consent was obtained from all participants within the study and confidentiality and anonymity ensured. Benchmark measures were established in respect of attendance, discipline sanctions, attainment and pupil perceptions (on a range of measures, measured by means of a semantic differential scale). The data so obtained were compared to those derived from wider comparator groups – the school, local authority and national cohorts. SgLs, after having received training, played an active role in the design and implementation of research tools. Data were gathered principally by means of open- and closed-questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Interviews were scribed rather than recorded with responses being authenticated either by providing a synopsis of responses during the course of the interview or passing back transcripts to interviewees. Data were analysed by thematic analysis with the categories arising from the data. All research tools were issued to the full cohort of Sg pupils to whom they were applicable, with the exception of the retrospective interview based upon a sample of pupils (selected by means of a randomised stratified sample). Research tools were piloted with my own Support Groups. A range of methods was used to analyse quantitative data. Nonparametric testing (in particular, w2 tests) was the principal means of establishing statistical significance as parametric testing could not be used due to the skewed nature of the distributions. Discipline sanctions were controlled for pupil attendance by converting raw data to unit measures.

Limitations One of the criticisms which is directed towards the case study approach is the difficulty in generalising from the findings (Bassey, 1999). Whilst these difficulties are more acute for the practitioner researcher, by giving careful consideration to issues of subjectivity and objectivity within the design of the

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study (through processes such as triangulation), these difficulties can be minimised.

ESTABLISHING THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM: BENCHMARK MEASURES Nomination to the Support Group The most frequently observed aspects of pupil behaviour which underlay nomination to Sgs were  defies teachers and/or refuses to obey rules (70% (frequently)/25% (sometimes))  argues with teachers (64%/31%)  deliberately does things to annoy other pupils (58%/28%)  blames others for his/her own mistakes (53%/25%)  loses temper (36%/22%)  is angry, resentful, spiteful or vindictive (36%/19%)  is touchy or easily annoyed by others (31%/28%). Scrutiny of comments in support of nomination highlights the serious nature of some of the referrals, extending beyond the norm: ‘Different kettle of fish altogether – we somehow need to tackle his ‘‘problem’’ and apparent inability to recognise appropriate sexual behaviour’. Others draw attention to difficult home circumstances: ‘Mother in hospital again (mental health problems) y (pupil) is in y (Children’s Home)’. The reasons for which pupils were nominated varied considerably from case to case and also varied in the degree of concern expressed. For at least some of the pupils referred, a multi-agency approach was required – 51% of Sg pupils were referred to the Joint Assessment Team within the school and 30% attended the Behaviour Support Base.

Exclusion Statistics In comparison to their peers within the year group, Sg pupils (N ¼ 61, 81% of Sg pop), prior to intervention, accounted for 46% of all referrals to Senior Management for indiscipline; 56% of occasions on which pupils were suspended and 53% of all exclusion openings and yet represented only 9.5% (on average) of their cohorts. The differentials between the prospective Sg population and their peers within the year group in respect of discipline

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sanctions (after being controlled for attendance) were of high statistical significance in relation to all three measures examined, as illustrated in Table 1. In examining the grounds for which Sg pupils, prior to intervention, had been suspended from school, it became evident that what characterised the SG population most was persistent disruptive and aggressive/abusive behaviour directed primarily towards teachers but also manifested in behaviour towards peers (cf. Fig. 1). It should be noted also that whilst few in Table 1. The Statistical Significance of the Differentials Between the Prospective Support Group Population and Their Peers Within the Year Group in Respect of Discipline Sanctions.

Referrals Frequency of suspensions Total no. of days (duration) of suspensions

w2 Value

p

3543 1105 1205

o.001 o.001 o.001

A B C D E F G H I A B C D E F G H I

Fig. 1.

Persistent Disruption 35.5% Aggressive Behaviour Towards Staff 26% Aggressive Behaviour Towards Other Pupils 13% Defiance 8% Racist Remarks/Behaviour 5% Insolence towards Staff 5% Setting off fire alarm 3% Theft (of knife) 1.5% Not recorded/indecipherable 3%

The Reasons for Suspension for Prospective Support Group Pupils in S2.

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number some of these behaviours fell within the category of criminal offences. In comparison, for those pupils in S2 who had not been referred to the Sg, the most frequent reasons for suspension were fighting (33%); aggressive/abusive behaviour towards staff (18.5%) and defiance (11%), but as only 27 suspensions were occasioned by this group, too much reliance cannot be placed on these percentages. However, a note of caution is required – it is important that the population of pupils in question (and pupils perceived as ‘having’ SEBD in general) is not perceived as one homogenous group. At one end of the scale (around 50%) were pupils who had clearly been nominated on preventative grounds and who, to that point, had few referrals and no suspensions (classified as being of ‘little concern’) in contrast to a small number of pupils who had been suspended from school on more than a quarter of their potential days of schooling (after controlling for attendance). Around 30% of pupils fell within the mid-category ‘concern’, and the remainder within the categories ‘high’/ ‘extreme’ concern.

Pupil Perceptions of their Behaviour as Measured on a Semantic Differential Scale Table 2 illustrates the findings from the self-assessment pre-intervention questionnaire as they pertain to the development of self-regulation in Sg pupils and the comparator group (as previously described). The disparity in perceptions between Sg pupils and the comparator group is stark, and Table 2. Comparison Between the Response of Support Group (Sg) Pupils (N ¼ 46) and a Comparator Group (CG) (N ¼ 110) to a Series of Indicators of Behaviour-Related Statements on a Semantic Differential Scale.

I I I I I I I

behave well in school am happy and relaxed about how I behave can’t control my behaviour when under pressure don’t understand why I behave in the ways that I do can’t control my behaviour when I want to want to improve my behaviour am concerned about how my behaviour affects others

% Sg

% CG

w2 Value

p

11 11 41 30 22 85 57

85 75 6 4 1 60 41

75 55 29 23 22 9 3

o.001 o.001 o.001 o.001 o.001 o.01 NS

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indeed, the two statements heading the table, ‘I behave well in school’ and ‘I am happy and relaxed about my behaviour’ delineated them most out of the 27 indicators on the questionnaire.

THE FINDINGS The findings are drawn from a wide range of stakeholder accounts. Fig. 2 illustrates the responses of Sg pupils to the post-intervention self-assessment questionnaire (N ¼ 43, 63% of Sg pop) completed on the last day of intervention. This indicates whether pupils felt more positively, more negatively or had no change in perceptions since the inception of the intervention. What can be inferred from the data is that some progress has been made towards improving behaviour and developing self-regulation, as perceived by the pupils themselves, although some areas proved to be particularly intractable. SgLs considered that the majority of pupils (58%) could be regarded as having developed the capacity to regulate their behaviour with good judgement in a range of contexts to at least some extent. The factors cited

Post-Intervention pupil responses 100% 80% 60%

-vely

40%

no change +vely

20% 0% A A B C D E F G

Fig. 2.

B

C

D

E

F

G

I behave well in school I am happy and relaxed about how I behave I can control my temper when under pressure I understand why I behave in the ways that I do I can control my behaviour when I want to I want to improve my behaviour I am concerned about how my behaviour affects others

Support Group Pupil Responses to the Post-Intervention Questionnaire.

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most frequently as influencing outcome related to the degree to which pupils developed self-responsibility/in maturity and were motivated to improve upon their behaviour; the degree to which pupils were aware of and understood the nature of their difficulties; and context-related factors, such as liking of subject or teacher. Whilst cited infrequently, the extent to which pupils had faith in their capacity to improve, and frustration in trying to cast off a reputation are worthy of note – ‘I have the impression that y has lost heart and does not genuinely believe that he can change for the better y.’ Class teacher responses, in respect of both pupils’ general attitude and behaviour and responses in potential conflict situations, were very variable indeed, highlighting the highly context-specific nature of pupil behaviour. This variability is reflected in teacher comments – ‘Its like walking on egg shells – y has good days and bad days’. Positive outcomes are associated with pupils being described as generally less aggressive and confrontational; calmer, more willing to accede, listen to and accept their teacher’s point of view; and able to accept responsibility for their behaviour – ‘On the odd occasion on which he is told off in front of the class, he accepts it without argument’. In contrast, pupils who have not achieved these outcomes were described as rude, resentful, angry, agitated, argumentative, bad-tempered and/or confrontational – ‘Any situation like this results in a tantrum from y.’ The perceptions of Sg pupils, however, were more positive. Seventy-eight per cent (N ¼ 52, 75% of Sg pop) reported improved behaviour in some classes and 80% considered that they were getting into trouble less often. Seventy-one per cent said that they could control their anger better and many pupils identified that they were more able to accept blame when at fault, to think through their behaviour more, regretted losing their temper, could learn from experiences and could apologise genuinely for mistakes made than in the past. In respect of pupils’ capacities to exercise control in situations of conflict, a range of responses emerged but all are positive to at least an extent: ‘I still lose control but after it I felt sorry. And next time I try to get out of (the) situation’. For some, the insights gained extended beyond the confines of the classroom – ‘I’d talk to other people now before going into a fight – give them a chance to apologise’. In retrospective interview (based upon a sample of pupils (N ¼ 22, 32% of Sg pop)), two-thirds of pupils considered that these positive changes had been sustained. Sixty per cent identified that participation within the intervention had exceeded their expectations. Many pupils reported that the target-setting process had increased their motivation to succeed, increasing both their focus upon behaviour and learning (the latter to a lesser extent).

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A few pupils cited the pupil diary as helping them to gain insight – ‘When you (SgL) told us it takes a man to fight but it takes a bigger man if you can walk away’. Parental involvement and the pupil’s feelings of self-efficacy were mentioned by a few pupils. The most significant factors affecting outcome (positively or negatively) were relationships with the teacher (mentioned by 35% of respondents) and liking for the subject (31%). The influence of other pupils in the class, the type of activity in which the class were engaged and the degree of flexibility of the teacher were also important factors for some pupils. Parental responses need to be treated with caution because of the relatively low response rate (N ¼ 23, 33% of Sg pop). They were generally positive – 65% of parents had observed improvements in the behaviour in their children – ‘We are delighted with the progress y has made y has seen that the harder he tries, the more positive encouragement he gets’. Some parents were a little less sure of the outcome – ‘I’m not certain – he could still do better – he needs a shove y Family had a long talk with him’, the latter stressing the importance of school and family working together to the same end. The vast majority (83%) considered that the intervention had helped their children to become more focussed upon what they needed to do to improve their behaviour, and the target-setting process was cited as being particularly helpful in this respect – ‘The target card was very positive – let me see at the end of each day how he’d been in class’. One parent simply stated, ‘The best thing for kids’. The view was expressed that, without intervention, prospects would have been poor – ‘Without it things would have gotten much worse. So in that light, I think it was most worthwhile’. The principal theme to emerge from the analysis of reports compiled by the Depute Head (S3) was that pupil progress had been variable. Some pupils had been able to maintain or build upon the improvements they had effected in S2, whilst others had deteriorated. The Behaviour Support Teacher observed that Sg pupils, in S3 and beyond, were referred less frequently to the Support Base than otherwise might have been expected.

FINDINGS DERIVED FROM QUANTITATIVE DATA Quantitative data indicates that, in general, Sg pupils had, over the course of the intervention, developed the capacity to regulate their behaviour within the school setting to a statistically significant extent. In comparing

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data recorded in the first term of S2 (pre-intervention) to that recorded in the final term (post-intervention), whilst there was minimal impact upon the frequency of suspensions, there was a reduction in the frequency of referrals and in the duration of suspension both of which were of high statistical significance (cf. Table 3, columns 2 and 3), indicating that the severity of the problem had lessened. Further, in measuring performance at the end of S3 in respect of the latter (columns 4 and 5), whilst there had been some reduction in the differential, it still remained of statistical significance. Unexpectedly, during the initial period of intervention the performance on all three measures continued to decline, only for the trajectory to change mid-way through intervention. If this finding was to be replicated more widely, this would have implications for determining the duration of interventions, one of the factors to which Humphrey and Brooks (2006) gave consideration in their evaluation of cognitive-behavioural anger management interventions. Examination of statistics for ‘other’ indicated an opposing trend (deterioration) which was also of high statistical significance for all three measures (ranging from w2 values of 4.53 (p ¼ o.05) (duration of suspensions) to 20.18 (frequency of suspensions)) which widened further as they progressed into S3 (w2 values of 42 and 32, respectively). The differential in performance on all three measures between the Sg pupils and ‘other’ which had been observed in benchmark measures (cf. Table 1), whilst still of high statistical significance, reduced to a considerable extent, as reflected in the w2 values (cf. Table 4). This finding brings into question the assumption that if improvements can be effected in the ‘difficult few’, this will impact positively upon all. ‘Other’ followed the

Table 3. Statistical Significance of the Differential Between the Performance of Support Group Pupils on Two Discipline Measures, Pre- and Post-Intervention, Measured at Two Intervals. S2 (Pre-) – S2 (Post-) Intervention

Frequency of referrals Frequency of suspensions Total no. of days of suspension NS: Not significant.

S2 (Pre-Intervention) – S3

w2

p

w2

p

10.14 0.38 9.59

o.001 NS o.001

— 0.01 5.4

— NS o.05

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Table 4. The Statistical Significance of the Differentials Between the Support Group Population and ‘Other’ in Respect of Discipline Sanctions, Measured Pre- and Post-Intervention (S2). S2 Pre-Intervention

Referrals Frequency of suspensions Total no. of days of suspension

S2 Post-Intervention

w2 value

p

w2 value

p

3543 1105 1205

o.001 o.001 o.001

1481 394 957

o.001 o.001 o.001

national trend of deterioration in behaviour from S2 to S3 (suspensions peak in S3 and S4) (SENSP, 2003b). On all three measures, of those pupils who had been categorised as being of ‘little/some concern’, the majority (up to 75%) remained within this category; those who had been categorised as being of ‘concern’ demonstrated more variable outcomes; and of those who had been categorised as being of ‘high’/‘extreme concern’, the majority demonstrated improvement (although it varied in extent from measure to measure), some of whom to a significant extent. For example, one pupil who had averaged one day of suspension per week prior to intervention had an almost 10-fold reduction in suspensions (after controlling for attendance) in the term following intervention. Thus, it can be seen that deterioration was stemmed for the vast majority of pupils and improvements gained for some.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS Whilst the findings indicate that, in general, the desired outcomes in respect of the capacity of Sg pupils who participated within the study to regulate their behaviour with good judgement had been achieved, there are many shades of grey. SgLs, pupils and parents were more positive in their perceptions than class teachers, and it could be argued that class teachers observe pupil behaviour first hand. On the other hand, class teachers, particularly within Secondary schooling, are less likely to ‘see the pupil in the round’ and, for some, their contact with pupils is very limited. As previously highlighted in discussion, the dangers of stereotyping and labelling abound (and, indeed, some would argue that the intervention in itself might have served to perpetuate this process). This was a danger of

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which the author was very aware and great care was taken in how the intervention was presented not only to the pupils, parents and teachers most directly involved within the intervention but also to the wider school community. However, pupil, parent and SgL accounts indicate that some pupils found it very hard indeed to turn around ‘reputations’ – once formed, they proved to be intractable. This proved to be the case with one of the case studies (the pupil whose suspensions reduced almost 10-fold) when many of his teachers noted ‘no change’. Perhaps one of the most important findings to emerge is the contextspecific nature of pupil response which is particularly reflected in teacher and pupil accounts. This highlights the importance of environmental factors in the prognosis for pupils experiencing SEBD and, in particular, as previously identified, the quality of relationships between teachers and pupils emerged as key as did the opportunity which the Sg afforded for the development of respectful and trusting relationships, providing a forum in which pupils felt emotionally safe and able to communicate, dissipating some of their anger and frustrations (Mowat, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010a, 2010b, 2010c, 2011). Whilst there has been an increasing focus upon children’s rights and, in particular, the ‘pupil voice’ (reflected in legislation and a growing literature in this area), the voice which is often missing is the child on the margins (Deuchar, 2009). Indeed, the case is often made that these children do not deserve to be heard – they have forfeited their right to be treated with respect and listened to (Hammill, Boyd, & Grieve, 2002). It is evident from stakeholder accounts that the Sg had encouraged pupils to take responsibility for their behaviour and fostered selfresponsibility. However, it is also evident that outcomes were individual to each pupil and the extent to which these were in evidence varied from pupil to pupil and from context to context. The target-setting process was cited by both pupils and parents as facilitating this process. Likewise, the pupil diary had fostered self-reflection in some pupils, encouraging them to learn from their experiences, thus fostering the transfer of learning and encouraging them to develop an understanding of their own learning processes (metacognition). This proactive approach to learning is that which is forwarded by Zimmerman (2008) in his description of selfregulation as being concerned with pupils as ‘ y active participants in their own learning processes’ (p. 167). To many, the concept of behaviour is a social construct, embedded within culture. What might be construed by one individual as unacceptable behaviour might be construed by another as normal. Behaviour which might

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be acceptable in one context (the playground) might not be acceptable within the classroom. This plays itself out not only in the school arena but also in society at large where social norms may differ from community to community (and within communities) and between (and within) cultures. Thus, the capacity to exercise judgement is crucial. This is true for all people but it is of the essence for adolescents, still in a stage of development, and particularly for those experiencing SEBD. As described by Bowers (1995) and Humphrey and Brooks (2006), emotional difficulties (which may manifest themselves in disturbed behaviour) often arise from disturbed thinking. In order to exercise such judgement, it is essential that one has a solid bedrock of understanding – of self (intrapersonal intelligence), of others (interpersonal intelligence) and of context – and the capacity to draw upon a range of thinking skills and dispositions. It is evident from stakeholder accounts, from pupil self-evaluations and from statistical data that Sg pupils, in general, were beginning to develop this understanding and judgement, although some pupils were still struggling to exert self-control, particularly in situations of potential conflict, and some to understand the origins of and motivations underlying their behaviour. Cooper (1993) identifies the importance of the process of re-signification in the self-actualisation of young people: the means by which they begin to form more positive self-images – a mirror image of the process by which pupils gain negative reputations. This study indicated that a range of factors came into play within this process – the quality of the relationships which formed between SgL and pupil; the capacity of the SgL to ‘see the good’ within the pupil and tenacity in holding onto him/her through the inevitable low points (Lloyd, Stead, & Kendrick, 2001); the recognition within the child for the need for change (Humphrey & Brooks, 2006); the positive feedback obtained through the self-monitoring (target-setting) process; the support of parents and the wider family; and the degree to which the pupil is affirmed through these processes, leading to a sense of self-efficacy (amongst other factors). The SgL plays a crucial role in fostering these capacities and self-beliefs and must communicate clearly their faith in the child. However, the discussion which was previously raised about the nature of schooling is an important one – do schools serve to foster compliance or community? If the initiative had served solely to ensure that pupils ‘did as they were told’ (no matter the context and set of circumstances) rather than emphasising the moral and ethical nature of what it means to be a member of the school community (and, ultimately, society), it will have achieved little. Perhaps it is best summed up in the words of a pupil:‘We got to the

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grass roots of why I was behaving the way I was. It taught me respect for people around me’.

ADDITIONAL NOTE Subsequent to this study, a research and development grant was awarded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation to develop the work within two Scottish local authorities and into the upper Primary. This work can be accessed at www.usingsupportgroups.org.uk and the author can be contacted at [email protected]. Joan is very happy to undertake consultancy work for schools and local authorities.

REFERENCES Barnett, S. M., Ceci, S. J., & Williams, W. M. (2006). Is the ability to make a bacon sandwich a mark of intelligence? and other issues: Some reflections on Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. In J. A. Schaler (Ed.), Howard Gardner under fire: The rebel psychologist faces his critics (pp. 95–114). Chicago, IL: Carus Publishing Company. Bassey, M. (1999). Case study in educational settings. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bowers, T. (1995). The forgotten ‘E’ in ‘EBD’. In P. Clough, P. Garner, J. T. Pardeck & F. Yuen (Eds.), Handbook of emotional and behavioural difficulties (pp. 83–102). London: Sage. Cooper, P. (1993). Effective schools for disaffected students: Integration and segregation. London: Routledge. Cooper, P., & Cefai, C. (2009). Contemporary values and social context: Implications for emotional wellbeing of children. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 14(2), 91–100. Deuchar, R. (2009). Gangs, marginalised youth and social capital. Edinburgh: Dunedin Press. DfES. (2004). Every child matters: Change for children in schools. London: Department for Education and Skills. DfES (2005). Social and emotional aspects of learning [SEAL] y improving behaviour y improving learning. Ref. No. DfES0110-2005G. London: Department for Education and Skills. DfES. (2009). Learning behaviour: Lessons learned: A review of behaviour standards and practices in our schools. London: Department for Education and Skills. Dunlop, A.-W., Lee, P., Fee, J., Hughes, A., Grieve, A., & Marwick, H. (2008). Positive behaviour in the early years. Edinburgh: Scottish Government. Dweck, C. S. (2000). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press. Gardner, H. (1993). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences (2nd ed.). London: Fontana Press. Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st century. New York, NY: Basic Books.

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Gardner, H. (2009). Multiple intelligences across the world. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Hammill, P., Boyd, B., & Grieve, A. (2002). Inclusion: Principles into practice: Development of an integrated support system for young people (SEBD) in XXXX. Glasgow: University of Strathclyde. Humphrey, N., & Brooks, G. A. (2006). An evaluation of a short cognitive-behavioural anger management intervention for pupils at risk of exclusion. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 11(1), 5–23. Humphrey, N., Lendrum, A., & Wigelsworth, M. (2010). Research brief. DFE-RB049. October 2010. Khon, A. (1996). Beyond discipline: From compliance to community. Columbus, OH: Merrill Prentice Hall. Khon, A. (2008). Why self-discipline is overrated: The (Troubling) theory and practice of control from within. Phi Delta Kappan, 90(3), 168–176. Lloyd, G., & Norris, C. (1999). Including ADHD? Disability and Society, 14(4), 505–517. Lloyd, G., Stead, J., & Kendrick, A. (2001). Hanging on in there: A study of inter-agency work to prevent school exclusions in three local authorities. London: National Children’s Bureau and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Macleod, G. (2006). Bad, mad or sad: Constructions of young people in trouble and implications for interventions. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 11(3), 155–167. Macleod, G., & Munn, P. (2004). Social, emotional and behavioural difficulties: A different kind of special educational need? Scottish Educational Research Journal, 36(2), 169–176. McGuinness, C. (2006). Building thinking skills in thinking classrooms. In Teaching and learning research briefing (Vol. 18). London: Teaching and Learning Research Project. Mowat, J. (1997). Promoting positive behaviour. Retrieved from www.scre.ac.uk Mowat, J. (2007). Using support groups to improve behaviour. London: Sage. Mowat, J. G. (2008). Teaching for understanding within the affective field. Ph.D. thesis, The University of Glasgow, Scotland. Mowat, J. (2009). The inclusion of pupils perceived as having social and emotional behavioural difficulties in mainstream schools: A focus upon learning. Support for Learning, 24(4), 159–169. Mowat, J. G. (2010a). The inclusion of pupils perceived as having SEBD: Affordances and constraints. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 14(6), 631–648. Mowat, J. G. (2010b). Towards the development of self-regulation in pupils experiencing social and emotional behavioural difficulties. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 15(3), 189–206. Mowat, J. G. (2010c). ‘He comes to me to talk about things’: Supporting pupils experiencing social and emotional behavioural difficulties – A focus upon interpersonal relationships. Pastoral Care in Education, 28(3), 163–180. Mowat, J. G. (2011). The development of intrapersonal intelligence in pupils experiencing social, emotional and behavioural difficutlies. Educational Psychology in Practice, 27(3), 189–206. Munn, P., Sharp, S., Lloyd, G., Macleod, G., McCluskey, G., Brown, J., & Hamilton, L. (2009). Behaviour in Scottish schools 2009. Edinburgh: Scottish Government. Parsons, C. (2005). School exclusion: The will to punish. British Journal of Educational Studies, 53(2), 187–211. Perkins, D. (1998). What is understanding? In M. S. Wiske (Ed.), Teaching for understanding: Linking research with practice (pp. 39–57). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Perkins, D., & Salomon, G. (1998). Teaching for transfer. Educational Leadership, 51(5), 22–32. Reid, K. (2008). National behaviour and attendance review (NBAR Report). Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills. Cardiff: Welsh Assembly Government. Scottish Educational Research Association. (2005). Ethical guidelines for educational research. Retrieved from http://www.sera.ac.uk Scottish Executive Education Department. (2001). Better behaviour – Better learning. Edinburgh: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication. (2003a). Scottish indices of deprivation 2003. Retrieved from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/social/siod-00.asp Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication. (2003b). Press release: Exclusions from schools 2002/2003. Retrieved from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/0023400.asp Tait, G. (2003). Free will, moral responsibility and ADHD. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 7(4), 429–446. Visser, J. (2005). Working with children and young people with social and emotional behavioural difficulties: What makes what works, work? In P. Clough, P. Garner, J. T. Pardeck & F. Yuen (Eds.), Handbook of emotional and behavioural difficulties (pp. 225–244). London: Sage. White, J. (2006). Multiple invalidities. In J. A. Schaler (Ed.), Howard Gardner under fire: The rebel psychologist faces his critics (pp. 45–72). Chicago, IL: Carus Publishing Company. Zimmerman, B. J. (2008). Investigating self-regulation and motivation: Historical background, methodological developments, and future prospects. American Educational Research Journal, 45(1), 166–183.

THE CHALLENGE FOR THE SQUARE PEG AND THE ROUND HOLE: A SENSE OF BELONGING TO SCHOOL Polly Sills-Jones ABSTRACT Since the start of formalised education for all, there has been much discussion about the nature of the bond between pupil and school. The school holds particular functions for society: to credential, to contain and to shape the citizens of the future. One much discussed function is the influence of school on the morality and behaviour of young people. With the bond to school – as a conforming institution – being claimed as essential for controlling delinquent drives, this chapter explores from a different perspective the dimensions of the nature of the bond between pupil and school and how it affects behaviour. The chapter integrates academic paradigm and theory as well as professional practice in previously separate fields: criminology, education and psychotherapy. Sociological concepts such as Hirschi’s bond to conformity (1969) are revisited from a psychotherapeutic standpoint, thus leading to an expansion of the concept to incorporate pupils’ perceptions of the bond. This is defined as a sense of belonging. Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 273–288 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002020

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INTRODUCTION I started working with children with challenging behaviour when I first started teaching. I found that rather than seeing what many teachers see when a child misbehaves, that the child is violent, aggressive, destructive or hostile, I saw a child who didn’t know how to communicate. My approach for dealing with such challenging behaviour is sometimes at odds with the status quo of the school ‘how things are done’. For policy procedures (e.g. child protection), I work to rule, but where I am able to use an alternative approach to resolve a conflict, I do so and the outcome is usually considerably more positive. My attitude and approach arises from my family and professional background that offered me a different perspective on human psychology and behaviour. Subsequently, I interpret communicative interaction, particularly between the school (via the teacher) and the pupil, in a more psychotherapeutic way. What is more, my teacher training somewhat surprised me in how little time was spent on these aspects of child development, psychology and behaviour management. I believe that children and young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties are not equipped with the tools to communicate their situations and frustrations and so tend to employ unappealing ways (to school and society) to change their predicament. I feel that more often than not, the challenging child’s behaviour seems to elicit in others (in particular teachers) the opposite of what they really need. This chapter explores why although most children exist easily and positively in school, some seem unable or reluctant to do so. I have tried to integrate criminological and educational literature with a psychotherapeutic position. This is no small task. Considerable examination of the separate areas generated extensive theory and empirical research, with emerging themes such as theories of delinquency, links between school and delinquent behaviour and exclusion literature as well as evaluations of initiatives for addressing disaffection, the significance of school climate and Hirschi’s (1969) control theory and bond to school. There are, sadly, a handful of children who have been extremely damaged by their early experiences and therefore need intensive and specific intervention to manage the impact of this on their adolescent and adult lives. However, there is considerable evidence across academic, practice and anecdotal fields that, for the vast majority of children who misbehave in school and display delinquent behaviour, the self-recognition, self-control and self-esteem that might be lacking, can be fostered by strengthening the bond to school.

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The intention of this chapter is to address the dynamic relationships between pupil and school. It is hard to capture or measure the fluidity of the relationships and transactions that exist but the malleability of the bond is accepted and even relied upon by practitioners. I propose that the exploration of this area in this way will enable schools to acknowledge and reflect on their school culture just as we expect challenging pupils to do during positive intervention. A term that I use throughout this chapter is ‘transaction’. This is a specific term, central to Transactional Analysis, articulated by Berne (1961) and Stewart and Joines (1987). It expresses the dynamic interaction between individuals, encapsulating the individual role identities in the specific moment and context. What follows is a contextual overview of the concept of a sense of belonging to school and the research undertaken to support it, then a discussion of the approaches employed to address the bond between pupil and school – or include the excluded. However, the crux of this chapter is a discussion of the concept of a sense of belonging and the implications for schools arising from the findings of the author’s doctoral research.

CONTEXT When a child misbehaves in school or anywhere else, a psychotherapeutic perspective requires that we assume that there is something wrong. That child is trying to communicate using impulsive, thoughtless or actively hostile behaviour. This may be a long-standing, repeated behavioural response (learned early and reinforced) or a here and now reaction to a specific situation. Either way the child is expressing himself. Finding the ‘root cause’ of delinquent behaviour (or in the context of schools, misbehaviour) has long been a sociological question. There are numerous ideas as to the causes of such behaviour, and these can generally be traced to three accepted ‘theories of delinquency’: Strain Theory, Cultural Deviance Theory and Control Theory or a combination of these. Theories of delinquency exist in a sociological context and attempt to explain or mitigate behaviour. This chapter focuses on Hirschi’s Control Theory (1969). It is the underpinning framework for the cause of delinquency, deviance or misbehaviour. It is the idea that the bond to conformity controls our natural delinquent desires. Control or Bond Theory centres on the relationship between an

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individual and a conforming institution – such as school. Therefore, it is integral in supporting this exploration of how the nature and extent of a pupil’s bond with school is fundamental to the development of appropriate or inappropriate behaviour. However, what control theory is unable to meter is the bi-directional nature of the bond. In essence, I propose that it is the teacher’s and pupil’s perceptions of the unfolding relationship that create the sense of belonging. A new term might incorporate the child’s perceptions of the school and of the others within the school. I have called this a sense of belonging. I suggest that it includes not only the elements of Hirschi’s (1969) bond, but also the expectations and perceptions of the pupil. It also borrows significance from the term derived by Maslow (1943) of belonging as fundamental in an individual’s hierarchy of need. I have defined belonging as being made up of three elements; 1. Perception of one’s own bond to school – ‘self’ 2. Perception of the school’s bond to the child – ‘school’ 3. Perception of the bonds between school and peers – ‘others’ It is the sense of belonging that I believe holds the key to behaviour and deviance. It acknowledges the multifaceted, dynamic nature of the pupil’s bond to school. Specifically, it highlights how the repeated, dynamic and variant transactions, and furthermore the pupil’s perception of these transactions, link together to form a pupil’s ‘fit’ to school, or sense of belonging. For example, a child who has had a difficult morning feels envy at seeing another child praised for his work, he becomes frustrated and demanding, he experiences a sense of injustice and self-doubt. He questions his own sense of validity and value. The experience reinforces his not belonging, he becomes challenging. The teacher’s likely action at this point is negative, a scolding or a sanction. An alternative option for the teacher might be to positively respond to the attention he is seeking, although once he is demanding, praise is counter-intuitive and confusing for the child, the teacher and the other children and risks reinforcement of the behaviour. Rather he needs his yearning attended to. ‘You got your work done and then you shouted at me y are you shouting because you wanted me to tell you that you had done well? y Can you think of another way that you could get me to praise you?’ A dialogue, an interaction in the here and now might enable the child to address his behaviour and his sense of self.

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APPROACHES TO INCLUDE THE EXCLUDED Schools have a fundamental influence on a child’s life chances both in terms of academic outcomes and also of the establishment of acceptable behaviour (Hayden, Williamson, & Webber, 2007). This widely accepted view has led to considerable research and interest into the link between school and delinquency that ultimately falls into two schools of thought: 1. Pupils are already likely to be delinquent due to external non-school factors that schools are unable to correct for (Graham, 1988; Hayden, 2003; Hayden et al., 2007; Rutter, Maughan, Mortimore, & Ouston, 1979; West & Farrington, 1973). 2. The ‘criminogenic’ school, the idea that the school itself through its structures and processes creates delinquent behaviour (Hawkins & Lishner, 1987; Power, Benn, & Morris, 1972). Both positions highlight the significance of a school culture. Furthermore this is shaped by wide-ranging and varied external influences; for example historical and political factors, local and national cultural factors. These are factors that influence the culture of the school and the transactions within it, be the school positive and communal (Payne, Gottfredson, & Gottfredson, 2003) or negative and potentially criminogenic (Power et al., 1972). Thus the school culture shapes the pupil’s sense of belonging to the school. Extensive literature and research seeks to explain how and why this is the case, for example through school climate (Sprott, 2004). When seeking to address behaviour and inclusion or improve or enrich a school culture, most approaches focus on changing measurable features such as policy and procedure. This section proposes that changes to these features do not necessarily strengthen a pupil’s sense of belonging. Menzies (1960) was referring to health settings and hospitals in particular when she asserted that systems were used as a defence against anxiety. In her research, Menzies (1960) was describing the defence mechanisms used by nurses when looking after the ill and dying. She saw that the nurses rejected the vulnerabilities in others, instead putting systems in place to control against the fear of vulnerability of their own self, such as strict rules about uniform, the correct way of making beds, the hierarchy of duties, etc. A shutting off of emotions ensued, sternness or lack of relationship and caring became manifest in the interactions. I suggest that teachers might employ a similar reliance on systems and procedures to defend against anxiety in schools, where there is increasing pressure on staff and pupils due to class size, political factors and constantly changing legislation and

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direction. Teachers are not counsellors but are required to act as social pedagogues, in that ‘they promote the personal development, social education and general well-being of the child alongside or in place of parents in a range of educational and social care settings’ (Kyriacou, Ellingsen, Stephens, & Sundarama, 2009). Yet the time and attention required to support the child as a preventative measure is considerable. As a result, teachers who find their systems challenged increasingly rely on a referral to another specialised individual or agency to take on the issue. For many pupils displaying deviant behaviour in school, school-related or educational issues are rarely the only problem. So a multi-agency approach can prove positive and effective. However multi-agency working has its problems. Information sharing and professional jealousy can get in the way of successful outcomes (Ball & Connolly, 2000) added to issues of inflexible organisations, ‘deep set’ professional ideologies, lack of drive, resource constraints, pressures of competitive bidding for funds, budget inflexibility (Pearce & Hillman, 1998). Predictably, the reconciliation of different practices, language, resources and disciplines can be daunting (Malloy, Cheney, & Cormier, 1998) and funding and resources are the constant saboteur to the success of multi-agency working. Whether the ‘problem child’ has been ‘cared for’, ‘punished’, ‘educated’ or ‘treated’ has often been a matter of chance depending upon which individuals in which agency happened to pick up his or her case. A child’s placement often depended on where the vacancies were when the child was perceived by particular professionals to have reached crisis point or when funding became available. (Visser, 2003)

However, the answer for schools need not be outsourcing the issue. Munn, Lloyd, and Cullen’s (2000) exploration of the approaches for inclusive schools examines a range of alternatives: in-school units, learning support assistants/teaching assistants (LSAs/TAs), parental involvement, ‘bought in’ professionals. However, each ‘solution’ holds its own challenges and Munn et al.’s observations (op. cit.) highlight how easy it is to get it wrong when the approach is not fully supported by school. For example, opting for untrained LSAs as a cheap alternative to trained staff; or inviting the involvement of parents but only after an exclusion has occurred; or the misguided expectation of a cure through the involvement of an external professional. Inevitably much of the literature that is in search for what training or approach might be useful to schools instead criticises what is not. Attitudes to school-based positive intervention have changed considerably over the last 30 years. For example, Hawkins and Lishner (1987) cynically stated that

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most things don’t work – counselling, tutoring, mentoring etc. – insisting that although there may be a short-term effect in school, this type of intervention does not affect on-going behaviour. Now, soft intervention and talking therapies are routine and supported, but even advocates of individual support for individual pupils recognise the unpredictability of both delivery and outcome. Furthermore it is imperative that the whole school embrace an approach and this involves educating the school. For example counselling can only be useful if the benefits are understood and respected by the institution, and this includes when (and not) a talking therapy is appropriate. For example, in Munn et al.’s (2000) study one head teacher listed counselling between a verbal warning and isolation as a possible intervention. With numerous studies looking at the implementation of approaches or school-wide policies for tackling inclusion and exclusion (Bagley & Pritchard, 1998; Eber, Sugai, Smith, & Scott, 2002; Lovey & Cooper, 1997; Munn et al., 2000) an approach that is not embedded in the philosophy or ethos of the school leads to alienation and further disaffection within the school (Eber et al., 2002; Lovey & Cooper, 1997). But the general consensus is for changes to policy or practice with the purpose of addressing the bond between pupil and school.

THE BOND TO SCHOOL A body of literature has sprung from the search for the quality of the attachment or bond between pupil and school. The attachment a child has to school is generally considered as the result of academic attainment (instrumental) or relationships (emotional) (Battistich & Hom, 1997; Fergusson, 1997; Hawkins & Lishner, 1987; McEvoy & Welker, 2000; Sprott, 2004). Research findings suggest that these can exist in various combinations. Sprott (2004) explored classroom climate in these terms of relationships and academic support, and found a lower level of emotional support tended to lead to physical, violent or aggressive behaviour and lower academic support to property theft and damage. Another view is that the question of whether the issue is academic or emotional does not signify. The pupil does not identify the difference; it is the relationship between pupil and teacher that is important (Battistich & Hom, 1997). Failure at school and delinquency are significantly linked. Thornberry (2003) found low academic attainment weakened the school bond leading to delinquency and high attainment was associated with resilience. Likewise,

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Fergusson’s Christchurch study (1997) saw low ‘attainers’ twice as likely to offend as high ‘attainers’. Maguin and Loeber (1996) found low achievement giving rise to onset, frequency and persistence of offending, independent of socio-economic status. Furthermore, intervention to increase achievement resulted in a decrease in delinquency. Although the association is repeatedly confirmed by studies, there are few studies that start to discuss how academic failure is linked to delinquency. Stephenson (2007) proposes a school failure theory, and labelling theory that may also go some way to attend to the psychological influence of academic attainment on behaviour. This potentially interesting area of discussion is widely ignored as the research findings resulted in schools and researchers concentrating on academic support rather than emotional attachment and relationships (McEvoy & Welker, 2000). It may well be that academic intervention has an effect on social skills and relationships. Literacy improves general communication and nurtures a way to express emotions appropriately – the development of the sought after ‘emotional literacy’ (McEvoy & Welker, op. cit.). Yet in almost all literature exploring the link between attachment and delinquency, the emotional support is subsidiary to the academic attainment. Embedded in this idea that academic attainment is a measure of a more emotional and psychological development in the pupil, are concepts that place responsibility with the school. For example, coercive cycle behaviour proposes that the school both starts and promotes a negative cycle. From the pupil’s perspective, the school is not reinforcing any positives. Sanctions take the form of exclusion that reinforces an aversion to school, more tests or extra work, which reinforce failure, or punishments that reinforce antipathy. Those at risk of antisocial conduct ‘are more likely to be punished, excluded, and controlled than to have their problems addressed in a therapeutic manner’ (Walker et al., 1996, p. 197).

A SENSE OF BELONGING My notion of a sense of belonging, is an extension of the concept of ‘the bond’. Although I came to the idea of ‘the bond’ through Hirschi’s (1969) work, the concept was already in sociological usage. Indeed, Durkheim (1961) commented that we must learn to cherish these social bonds that for the unsocial being are heavy chains. We must learn through experience how cold and pale the pleasures of solitary

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life are in comparison. The development of such a temperament, such a mental outlook, can only be formed though repeated practice, though perpetual conditioning. If, on the contrary, we are invited only infrequently to act like social beings, it is impossible to be very interested in an existence to which we can only adapt ourselves imperfectly.

But it was Hirschi (1969) who consolidated the idea of the bond and the significance of the bond to behaviour. Hirschi’s theories underpin a wealth of literature and research exploring the subtleties and dynamics of the bond between pupil and school. His definition of the bond as having four constituent elements has facilitated the process of researching this. He posits that a strong and healthy bond incorporates Attachment to, Commitment to, Involvement with and Belief in the conforming institution. For example, Jenkins (1997) is one of several who have attempted to investigate the independent effects of the four elements of Hirschi’s bond on crime concluding that certain components are more important than others. Jenkins’ findings (1997) suggest that the bond elements of commitment and belief do have an inverse association with crime, but attachment and involvement have no significant independent effect on crime. However, all four bond variables are inversely associated with school misconduct with commitment having the most impact. The significance of commitment reinforces the idea of a sense of belonging as it is the active response to one’s perception of the bond to school. Belonging is not a new concept but has not been considered in this way previously. There is indeed literature relating to the need for belonging to the school community (Osterman, 2000) but it describes belonging as a sense of community (Furman, 1998; McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Belonging also features in research into gangs (Burnett & Walz, 1994), student learning (Combs, 1982), educational participation (Finn, 1989) and motivation (Goodenow, 1993) and research with case studies into dropping out of school cited belonging as a direct cause (Fine, 1991). There is a growing field of literature discussing school connectedness ‘the belief by students that adults in the school care about their learning as well as them as individuals’ (CDC, 2009, p. 3). Furthermore, there have been a number of recent studies by McNeely, Nonnemaker, and Blum (2002), McGraw, Moore, Fuller, and Bates (2008) and Hayden (2011b) which find school connectedness to be associated with a range of behaviours such as substance abuse, early sexual activity, bullying or carrying weapons. Loukas, Ripperger-Suhler, and Horton (2008) linked connectedness to school conduct in a mutually reinforcing cycle.

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Another linked term is school membership, defined as being [School membership is] rooted in identity theory and is defined as the possession of social bonds with a social network of school members through which a highly salient selfidentity and high levels of commitment as a member of the school are internalized. (Boccanfuso, 2009)

Seemingly, the ability for a pupil to feel connected, a member or have a sense of belonging is both manifest in and shaped by his or her identity. Identity theory posits that identity is constructed from our environment and the influence of our perception of our environment. Burke (2003) defines our having multiple identities as being held in a salience hierarchy that operate from three bases; personal identity, role identity and social identity. There is also further writing regarding social identity theory where one evaluates oneself against others in a group. This theory addresses such social and emotional issues as prejudice, discrimination, normative behaviour, conformity, organisational behaviour, leadership and cohesiveness. All identity theory is attempting to address the complex concept of how the sense of self in created in relation to the environment; one’s sense of agency in response to the structure. There are numerous terms and concepts used in the identification of agency and sense of identity and self: self-motivation, self-concept, selfworth, resilience. All these terms have subtle and nuanced definitions and all have interlinking relationships with an individual’s achievement, motivation and engagement. Self-concept refers to generalised self-assessment incorporating self-worth and general feelings of competence. Self-esteem is affective and refers to judgements of self-worth including self-concept and the possession of attributes and how well or not they are valued by society (Zimmerman & Cleary, 2006). Mone, Baker, and Jeffries (1995) compared self-esteem and self-efficacy to ascertain the better predictor of goals and performance. Self-efficacy was found to be a distinctive predictor of academic outcome compared to selfesteem. There has been considerable research into self-efficacy as a measure of agency. Although parent and teacher assessment is important, it is the pupil’s perception, the self-imposed assessment of self-efficacy that is important. A child’s self-efficacy is influenced by factors such as prior accomplishments and experiences as well as through vicarious experience (Bandura, 1997). Attribution theorists contend that a student’s perception of the causes of their success or failure determines their expectancies for future performance (Weiner, 1985).

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Our perception of the world around us arises from our experiences within it. This is a widely recognised principle. However the way in which the relationship between structure and agency has been theorised has varied, with sociologists and others giving priority to one, the other or, alternatively, as Giddens argued, an interactive relationship between the two. Giddens’ ideas were developed by Archer (2003) who wrote about Agency, Structure and Internal Conversations, identifying the construction of identity from the transactions we have, continually being shaped by and shaping the external conversations. Wittgenstein neatly forecasts Archer’s principles in the 1950s with ‘the limits of my language mean the limits of my world’. Furthermore, the relationships that are cultivated and nurtured in school alter and reinforce the child’s experience of relationship and belonging within society. A ‘school included’ or ‘belonging’ child will have the internal and external conversations to engage with societal relationships throughout life. It does not follow that the school should be ‘fluffy’, permissive or weak; rather it is fundamental that the transactions in school are authentic and foster a sufficient level of acceptance to allow even those children who don’t seem to fit, to belong.

CASE STUDY To test and evaluate the concept of a sense of belonging and how this affects behaviour, I took a ‘snapshot’ of a cohort of pupils (n ¼ 189) in a case-study comprehensive secondary school. This sample was 92 per cent of a year eight (age 12–13) of mixed gender. I asked them to anonymously self-report deviant behaviour, then to respond to over eighty questions exploring their perceptions of school, self and others. I also carried out a series of interviews with pupils to expand and elaborate some of the findings. From the data collected I was able to compare responses exploring school attachment, attitudes, expectations and belonging criteria (Sills-Jones, 2011). This extensive quantitative and qualitative research indicates that the bond between pupil and school is more complex than previous literature suggests and that the pupil’s perception of the bond is highly significant. Data analysis indicates that there is indeed a significant link between a pupil’s sense of belonging and misbehaviour in school. These findings support and furthermore elaborate on findings linking belonging to academic attainment (Anderman, 2002; Rostosky, Owens, Zimmerman, &

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Riggle, 2003) and delinquent behaviour (Brookmeyer, Fanti, & Henrich, 2006; Rice, Kang, Weaver, & Howell, 2008). The bond between pupil and school is complex and multilayered. The most significant strands of belonging are ‘school’ and ‘others’, that is the pupil’s perception of the school’s bond to him/her and that of the school and other pupils. The pupil’s perception of his/her own relationship with school is not as important a dimension. This supports findings by Anderman (2002) who found that teacher–student relationship measures were more significant that student-teacher relationship measures. Belonging both generally and also when separated into the three individual strands (the perception of the bonds of ‘self’, ‘school’ and ‘others’) has a significant effect on misbehaviour against persons. The link is less established for the link with property misbehaviour. These findings contribute to and elaborate on simpler findings that assert that low academic attainment is linked to offences against property and low emotional attachment to offences against the person (Sprott, 2004).

IMPLICATIONS It is evident from the findings – indicating a link between belonging and behaviour – that there is a need for change in some schools to support pupils with a weak or absent sense of belonging. Addressing the pupil’s perception of the school’s attitudes towards them is not an easy task. However, there are two key features that arise from this research which suggest that the sense of belonging be put at the centre of the relationship between pupil and school. These arise from interviews with pupils that elaborate on quantitative findings. The first significant feature is the importance of recognition. Pupils had a desire to be seen and recognised by others (both peers and staff). This sense of recognition was identified in the interviews as being an acknowledgement by others that the pupil in question was ‘different’ or ‘unique’ amongst the norm. Those pupils who ‘belonged’ had a strong sense of self. They felt recognised, or seen, in terms of their identity in school and therefore I propose that this enabled them to adhere to expectations and norms of the school. The school helped shape the pupil’s sense of belonging through recognition of the pupil and his developing sense of self. It seems that for those who did not possess this sense of belonging, had not had their identity acknowledged or accepted by the school had no such allegiance to the school. Misbehaviour seems to arise in an effort to be seen

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and recognised. The findings regarding recognition are supported by Berne’s (1961) earlier work where he details the three human hungers; stimulation, recognition and structure. To help these pupils belong, all three need to be satisfied. The second feature related to the school’s efforts to make space for pupils who do not have a sense of belonging. There seemed to be a fear of the weakness of a pupil with a negative sense of self, a negative identity or vulnerability associated to lack of belonging, similar to the Menzies research (1960). As asserted in the introduction, a pupil’s challenging behaviour seems to elicit in others the opposite of what they need. The ironic truth for the pupil who does not have a sense of belonging – and misbehaves – is that whilst he desires to be seen and accepted – in order to develop a healthy sense of self and identity in relation to the school – he is in reality shunned, ignored or rejected.

CONCLUSION This chapter has laid out a new concept that develops existing theories around the bond between pupil and school. This is pupil’s sense of belonging. Through an integration of criminological, educational and psychotherapeutic fields, it puts in the foreground the importance of the pupil’s perceptions of the relationships and transactions that exist in school. Why one child storms out and another is pacified is related to a child’s perception of the context and situation. This is of course due in part to perception of the ‘real-time’ transaction with the teacher but it is also due to the pupil’s perception of all the transactions he experiences and observes both inside and outside school. The pupil develops his perception of the school culture and his place in it in response to the transactions he experiences as well as those he observes, this in turn informs and shapes his sense of self, his sense of belonging and subsequent thinking, feeling and behaviour. Certainly, individual interactions, transactions and relationships might be inclusive and positive and foster a sense of belonging. However, these transactions may not compensate for the perception of the cultural milieu. It is for this reason that a pupil is able to say that he likes teachers and school (as the vast majority of the case-study sample reported) but that he still misbehaves as his perception is that he does not belong. In this case his perception of the school culture is exclusive, negative and reinforcing of rejection. The establishment of a healthy sense of self is highly significant and can go a considerable way to ameliorate for the influence of the school culture.

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In other words, this chapter proposes that a pupil’s experience and perception of school culture influences his/her behaviour. Therefore, a school that attends to how it is perceived is not only more likely to enable more pupils to meet the school and social expectations, but it will also change the experience of the pupils in its charge, potentially for short- and long-term behavioural outcomes. These findings reinforce the powerful influence of school culture in shaping the pupil’s sense of belonging. They highlight the challenges for both pupils, and indeed for schools, in the inclusion of all pupils and in the nurturing of a sense of belonging.

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MAKING SCHOOLS FITTING PLACES FOR ALL: A CREATIVE APPROACH FOR GIRLS EXCLUDED FROM MAINSTREAM EDUCATION Melanie Nind, Georgie Boorman and Gill Clarke ABSTRACT Little has been published in relation to girls and SEBD. This chapter examines outcomes from a project between university academic staff and a specialist provision for girls excluded because of behaviour difficulties. Particular focus is upon the development of identity via engagement with creative projects involving prose, poetry and the visual arts. The chapter provides vivid illustrations of the potential of girls labelled with SEBD to be so much more than that. Furthermore, it illustrates how schools can creatively form themselves to be a good fit for their students. As adults working with young people, it is as well to remember that we need to create opportunities within learning communities to review identities in transition and to capture the dynamic sense of self. The authors concur with Carrington (2007) that developing the opportunities and skills ‘with which to participate and transform one’s life path’ is central to social inclusion. This applies to all young people particularly those caught up in specialist BESD/SEBD provision. Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 289–307 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002021

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INTRODUCTION In the United Kingdom, girls have been identified as the ‘emblem of educational success’ (McLeod & Allard, 2001, p. 1), one possible explanation for their success being that girls are suited to the current education system or vice versa. Girls who fall outside this expectation are little understood, their experiences of education under-researched and as a consequence they are poorly catered for. Girls make up approximately one-fifth of permanent school exclusions in England (DCSF, 2008) and for them it could be said that the schools ‘don’t fit the students’ (a phrase borrowed from Deschenes, Cuban, & Tyack, 2001). The response of placing them in boy-dominated pupil referral units or schools for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD or BESD in English policy) can lead to an even poorer fit. This chapter reflects on a collaborative Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) which brought us together as university academics with the staff and students of Kahlo (a pseudonym) a new school for girls excluded from mainstream provision following behavioural difficulties. One partnership goal was to develop a holistic curriculum to fit the girls’ educational and social needs. This involved interrogating evidence on ‘what works’ with girls with a label of SEBD, gathering and analysing the views of stakeholders, particularly the girls themselves, and action research with the school community to understand and enhance the emerging curriculum. Making use of the established knowledge base was challenging for as FletcherCampbell and Wilkins (2003, in Russell & McGuigan, 2007) argue only 25 of the 300 innovations for this category of learners reported in journals they reviewed were supported by evidence. Further, most of this evidence is based on boys’ experiences making the relevance for the 16 Kahlo girls (aged 12–16) highly questionable. Therefore, we placed more emphasis on generating new evidence and in this chapter we focus on what we learned about the role of creative approaches for developing identity and fit in educating girls seen as having SEBD. Methodologically, while there is a continued position adopted in the literature on SEBD that ‘gold standard’ evidence relates to randomised controlled trials (Evans, Harden, Thomas, & Benefield, 2003), the action research and case study approach and methods in our work with Kahlo reflect our recognition of the complexity of multiple interacting factors influencing students and teachers. We sought a detailed understanding of the lived experience of a small number of people in their school context. Learning through case study, as with ‘authenticated anecdote’, is ‘grounded’ and

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‘credible’ and offers ‘insight into the idiosyncratic nature of particular events and experience that cannot be captured by other means’ (Simons, 2009, p. 77). Like Squire (2008, p. 47) we regard ‘spoken personal testimony [as] y strong currency’ and for this reason we include the voices of staff and students throughout the chapter. Although newly established, Kahlo was already operating with emergent practices based on a combination of values, experiential knowledge and the girls’ responses to interactions and learning opportunities. Working with this, we generated a curriculum model that articulated the ethos encircling the school and binding the community together, the fundamental foundations underpinning all school activity, the core practices informed by and compatible with these foundations and the learning experiences based on all of these. One core practice and accompanying learning experiences that we identified as significant was creativity in teaching and learning, based on a valuing of the teachers and learners as creative beings. We sought to understand this better and to examine the fit with the research evidence and why this approach met the girls’ and schools’ needs. In the chapter, we discuss evidence of the role of creative learning in inclusion through engaging pedagogies and alternative spaces (Noyes, 2008) that afford different communicative and relational patterns. We explore the potential of creative work as identity work (Miles, 2007a), disrupting self-image and creating new and positive relationships.

ASSESSING THE NEED FOR, AND AVAILABILITY OF, CREATIVE SOLUTIONS IN EDUCATION For some young people labelled with SEBD, their experience of education is, Miles (2007b, p. 280) argues, associated with feelings of being ‘packaged as units to be assessed rather than as agents being prepared for active engagement with the world that awaits’. One of the students at Kahlo reflected on how as a student in mainstream, unless you achieve higher grade passes in standardised assessments, or represent the school in dramatic performances or sports, your worth to the school is limited and ‘the teachers ain’t even acknowledging’ your hard work. As such, the aims of school for such students and requirements of them while at school were mismatched to both their capacity to respond and motivation to do so, hence the relevance of the notion of schools that ‘don’t fit the students’. A consequence of a poor-fitting school for the student can be that a labelling process is instigated whereby the young person becomes

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pathologised, which in turn has an impact on their attachment to education (Cooper, 2008). When the label is BESD/SEBD, the outcome is an increased likelihood of punitive discipline rather than support for their inclusion (Jull, 2008). A further consequence is that efforts to listen to the voices of the students may actually reduce (see Cefai & Cooper, 2009) and the students’ own narratives and expectations for the future are deleteriously influenced. To turn this around – such that the school becomes a better fit for the students, and so that the students can re-story their experiences and their identity, find means of expression and form attachments – requires considerable creativity on a number of levels. Probing the literature, and considering this alongside evidence from Kahlo, helps to explain why such a school might seek to foreground creativity. Schools and learners wanting to reject the negative consequences of labels can find a better fit with process-focused rather than product-focused approaches. Craft, Chappell, and Twining (2008, p. 42) describe how including creative processes in schools draws attention to processes rather than just outcomes and to learners as involved in ‘constructing unique meaning whilst engaged with others’. Focusing on creativity can involve finding the most appropriate media for young people to express their voices, as stressed by Cole and Knowles (2008). The instigation of creative partnerships designed to have an impact on pedagogies and result in wholeschool changes have encouraged environments to be more inclusive as well as to look at creative solutions (Thomson, McGregor, Sanders, & Alexiadou, 2009). Globally there have been assertions about ‘creative learning as a form of inclusive education’ (Miles, 2007a, p. 505) and as such an ‘avenue to participation and social inclusion’ (Carrington, Allen, & Osmolowski, 2007, p. 107). Being creative can be about freeing oneself of pre-existing ideas and limitations. Creativity, Gauntlett (2007, p. 23) argues, is enabled by individuals who have ‘extended the borders of the domain by adding new dimensions, and challenged the field to see in a new way y played provocatively on the margins of accepted knowledge’. Gauntlett (2007, p. 19) identifies ‘commonplace’ creativity, as a type of creativity which is ‘not limited to certain exceptional individuals, nor to certain memorable products y [but] can include everyday ideas, writing, making, management, self-presentation and even creative speech and thought’. He addresses the importance of interactions between the individual and others, and the individual with the content of the activity, identifying this as a ‘creative triangle’. Troman and Jeffrey (2011, p. 79) similarly include an awareness of both content of subject matter and interactions with others in the delivery

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of learning experiences; they see creative teaching as involving ‘ownership of knowledge y incorporated in their [children’s] own life-worlds’. Further, they observe that relevance of the content within the learning experiences is best identified by those with a real knowledge of the students themselves. In effect, teachers involved with creative learning experiences are involved with forming bridges – across people, domains and ideas (see Csikszentmihalyi, 1997, in Gauntlett, 2007). They seek to promote educational experiences of school that are engaging, meaningful, ‘relevant, challenging and dynamic’, and that prepare individuals for future investment and contributions to society (Thomson & Sefton-Green, 2011, p. 1). Troman and Jeffrey (2001, p. 79) highlight Brehony’s (1992) association between creative teachers and ‘person-making’, identifying this as ‘about communicating, relating, mutual respect, working together, emotional wellbeing, knowing oneself and knowing others’.

CREATIVITY AT KAHLO SCHOOL Hall, Jones, and Thomson (2011) differentiate between schools which aim to develop teachers’ understanding of creative approaches, schools engaging in a large-scale collaborative production, schools that use creativity as applied to enterprise and schools employing external artists. We focus on creative approaches at Kahlo as understood and taught by teachers; we look at the application of the curriculum and ‘iDentity poetry’, and at the larger scale collaborative production by the staff and students at Kahlo of an art exhibition marking the end of the KTP. Creativity at Kahlo was not simply an addition to the existing curriculum; it permeated the curriculum. The staff team sought to integrate creative approaches in various ways including by viewing the world as the girls do, seeking their interpretations and using their views and opinions to increase the relevance of the content and delivery of learning opportunities. Staff identified the abstract division of academic learning into discrete subjects as problematic, and worked instead on establishing and encouraging links between subjects in an integrated approach to the curriculum. For example, in maths a module on perspective and optical illusions based on shape was used to introduce perspective, challenging not only the ‘reality’ of visual perception but also the students’ perceptions of the identity of maths, as boring, irrelevant, and limited only to sums or numbers. Staff worked to create alternative learning spaces (to traditional lessons) which, as Noyes (2008) argues, afford different communicative and relational patterns. Hall

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and Thomson (2007, p. 323) cite a student who comments that ‘an ordinary lesson feels like you’re at school. When you compare it to the art lesson, the art lesson feels totally different’. At Kahlo, many of the integrated curricula spaces felt different to formal spaces in which the girls had previously experienced failure and rejection and in which they had actively communicated dislike. The art teacher was passionate about the potential of the space he created in his lessons for the girls ‘to express themselves, to build confidence, to learn new skills’; he reflected, ‘I find art relaxing, and I think the girls do’. He was acutely aware that to enable engagement the curricular activities had to link in with the girls’ cultures: ‘It needs to be fun and it needs to look good y a lot of things in these kids’ lives is about looking good’. Arts-based processes were seen as a means of expression in the school and much of the work focused on the girls’ communication of their identities. Through this teachers and learners were negotiating their identities in relation to each other, enjoying their work and creating engagement sustained partly by a dynamic of peer enthusiasm. One teacher explained: yit’s so important for these young people to be proud of something they’ve produced, as it gives you so much confidence; we’re working with people with lower self esteem than I could ever imagine possible y and when you see the little twinkle in their eye or a little smile because they’re proud of something it spurs both them on and you on y You can see the confidence and you can see their enthusiasm build.

As Miles (2007a) has argued, creative education affords alternative arenas for success and removes fear of failure resulting from dichotomous right or wrong responses. A student cited by Hall and Thomson (2007, p. 323) sums this up as, ‘in art you can’t get anything wrong really’. We could see process and product combining at Kahlo to have a ripple effect, influential beyond the individual learner into more positive and dynamic interactions, relationships and the social environment. During our involvement with Kahlo, we saw how the creative role that technology and digital media could play in transforming educational experience was being explored. The classrooms were well equipped with display screen equipment, interactive whiteboards, internet access and Apple Macs or touch-screen PCs. These afforded choice for the students, facilitating ‘what they wanted to do, rather than saying you have to do this’ (teacher). They enabled the girls to make connections across their different worlds. One teacher described plans for an activity making a podcast ‘which they can then load onto their iPods for their friends and pass around to their

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friends about anything really y where they can tell a story, but the story can have like a deeper meaning and help them to get things out that they’ve been bottling up inside’. This was one of many examples where the academic, social and therapeutic domains were creatively intertwined, developing links between educational environment and the students’ lives beyond school. Technologies were used to optimise the link for the girls between appearance and engagement: when the girls walk into my classroom, they see four pristine, shiny looking Apple Mac computers and not four tatty old PCs. It wakes up something in them, and they want to have a go on it, and they want to learn more, and they want people to know that they can use them, and have used them, and use them all the time. (teacher)

The care (and cost) in resourcing these facilities resulted in the girls matching that investment, or at least reciprocating in part with their active engagement. Using ICT meant that the girls did not identify tasks immediately as work and therefore did not present resistance at the outset. One teacher described how ICT was a creative ‘way in’, from where they could ‘start to delve a bit deeper [until] y it captures their imagination and you’ve got them, and then you can use it for so many different subjects’. Often a topic was introduced using an alternative communication mode to worddominated activities to help to remove the feelings of pressure and to disrupt the expectations of work. The girls had some awareness of this and spoke somewhat admiringly of staff ‘blagging’ them into working, and being ‘sneaky’ with their attempts at engagement. Digital media were used powerfully to give feelings of success, which in turn influenced future engagement and challenged some of the girls’ assumptions in relation to their identity as learners. Digitally they could produce with ease something that looked good, professional and imaginative that they could be proud of. Echoing Passey (2006, p. 151), staff saw the power of ‘visual stimulation’ and they used this to support the development of a sense of belonging to a community; for instance, at community events or gatherings, or lunch times, the social space of the Hub would include technology-enabled slideshows of photographs of the community and activities. At a Caribbean Cultural Day this method captured and enabled the sharing of the activities the girls had undertaken, reflecting the sense of community through what Bloustein (1998) refers to as the media mirror.

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POETRY Miles (2007a) argues that creative approaches to learning can be seen as ‘identity work’ supporting processes of locating the self in the environment and identifying a position for oneself in the world where previously this may not have been possible or imaginable. The cross-curricular theme towards the end of our two-year engagement with Kahlo was ‘iDentity’ and this included poetry which brought each learner’s biography ‘closer to the centre of the learning environment’ (Miles, 2007b, p. 279). For the girls this was writing for a purpose, developed through stages. As one teacher explained, sometimes ‘the only thing often we can relate to is our own experiences, what’s in our head or who we are, it’s all in your head’. Adams et al. (2008, p. 11) explain that such internal processes present a challenge when they are unconnected to the broader environment; learning therefore can be about making connections if ‘it presents opportunities for placing themselves at the centre of their own learning, by drawing on personal experience, and referencing issues which emerge from their lifeworlds’. At Kahlo, as one teacher described, ‘the girls had made a word list about what identity means to them, and the words they were coming out with were personal to them, like passport, journey. It was related to them, and all their poems and the poetry they’ve written is about themselves’. The girls worked outwards from their lists of words to write poetry representing their identity. For the school this represented work in academic, social and therapeutic domains. Stacey, in her poem, introduced the issue of her identity as located in time: My past is like a tree all locked up as far away As it could be but my future feels bleak to me I may be a loud mouth but that’s just me My family and friends mean the world to me I’m also a funny person to be We see here how the assumed consequence of a removed past, and an unwelcoming future would be a heavy investment in the present, as Devadason (2007) argues this is common among young adults. Stacey’s poem includes a deterministic approach to being a loud mouth (or trouble maker) as being ‘just me’. Stacey was one of the few students to mention family positively in her poetry, and interestingly she ended her poem on a strengths-based positive expression of enjoyment at being who she is.

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Harriet’s poem expressed a sense of self as challenging to others, referring to herself as ‘annoying’ and referring to the ‘difficulties’ or deficit discourse typical of her past educational experiences. Her poem recognises the way the past exerts an influence on the present, with reference to her past which seems to ‘catch up’ with her and as such is never left behind. Yet Harriet expressed no agency or control in escaping, or attempting to escape the past. The transient nature of relationships is important to her, and she sees the potential for positive and negative in relationships: I can be annoying but that’s just me My past always seems to catch up with me I get upset when people mess up my head But changes will come with each passing day People will come and people will go Some of them I hope I get to know. Some will bring happiness some will bring tears The future holds many fears Some will make my life complete These are the ones I can’t wait to meet For Harriet, the future was identified simultaneously as impending and ominous and as offering the possibility for wholeness – to feel complete. Relationships are the central thread throughout the poem despite their transience and her lack of personal responsibility for the nature of her interactions with others. This results in an understandable apprehension regarding the future, with such relationships beyond Harriet’s control, but central to her experience. For Ellie, there was a sense that identity, where evidenced through behaviour, is contingent on the person being related to, thus the partner in interactions holds significance for how she behaves. I’m helpful when I’m at school. I’m helpful when I’m at home. But when I’m not helpful people always moan. People say I’m pretty But I say I’m ugly I always have an attitude

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But that’s just me I’m sometimes proud of my work And my teachers say it too I can be a bit random sometimes But that’s just me too Variability is indicated by Ellie’s use of the word ‘can’ in reference to her behaviours. There is also an expressed awareness of the reciprocal nature of people and their behaviours on each other. Ellie’s identity poem referenced many strengths and positive behaviours, sometimes immediately countered with sarcasm, thus withdrawing the positive. She moved beyond simply the behavioural domain, referencing also affective, attitudinal, cognitive and physical appearance characteristics. She identified dissonance between her self-perception and external judgements which did not match the less positive evaluations of her appearance. As with Stacey, Ellie’s writing reflects resignation and acceptance of traits as beyond her control, but also, however, a sense of agency over environmental conditions. She showed real pride at the stage of printing out her poem following its composition, and the school was a potential site for enabling achievement and related positive affect. Bethany’s poem showed her frustration at the guidance she felt she needed to adequately develop her identity which was not appearing: I’ve been here for time but there’s still no sign, I dunno what I’m looking for or wot I may find, Oh well I guess I’m just wasting time, I better leave now or get left behind The present emerges in the poem as identity in limbo, and current inaction is ‘wasting time’. Usually difficult to engage, Bethany engaged particularly well with this activity. It linked with her life beyond the school. During the writing, she removed herself from the classroom to a private space, free from distractions, people and judgements and where she could engage in verbal planning and rehearsal without distracting, and being distracted by, others. Through addressing their identities in poetry, time became an important theme for the girls for contextualising their thoughts, behaviours and experiences and understanding the interactions between past, present and future. Beattie (2007) argues the importance of cohering past, present and future and the girls provide support for the use of poetry as a medium

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for enabling this. They could look back on their pathways through education and to some extent at the role of their own characteristics (Ellie’s ‘attitude’ and Stacey’s ‘loud mouth’). They could review the social aspects of relating to significant, unknown and absent others, which contributed to behaviour and affect and enabled a sense of identity. As Gergen (2001, p. 146) argues ‘identity can be created and recreated in relationships’ and poetry gave the girls a medium for exploring this; the poems represented key spaces for individual transformation (McLeod & Wright, 2009) but also opportunities/possibilities for relational change.

THE EXHIBITION During our period of engagement with Kahlo, we became aware not just of the creativity at work but also the absence of an appropriate forum for the sharing that creativity beyond the school community. A final element of the action research therefore became the decision to mount an art exhibition to showcase the girls’ work on the iDentity theme. This would allow for holistic representation of themselves from their own perspective, in contrast to the fragmented selves they experienced in respect to service provision. Further, they would be able to control what was shared about them and their identity as well as the medium of communication. A Community Arts Centre was chosen to host the exhibition as it offered an accessible site, facilities for audio-visual media and the throughput of an audience who would be sensitive to our goals. It was important to us to expand the safe spaces within the school out into the community in that, as Miles (2007a, p. 506) argues, ‘the value of creativity lies in its value in developing spaces, both physical and emotional, in which young people can develop a sense of belief in themselves’. The process of preparing the exhibition enabled the girls to demonstrate their sense of pride in the achievements of themselves and their peers, and this was seen by the staff as ‘massively important’. The high standard of the work produced was recognised more widely and there were even requests to purchase some of the art. This boost to everyone involved had the potential to raise aspirations by providing a sense of what else they might be able to achieve in their lives (Miles, 2007b). An important aspect was the collaborative experience and cumulative effort and creativity involved. The work of Miles (2007b) had alerted us to this potential, and in the staff team briefings a frequent refrain was, ‘Together, Everyone Achieves More’. Working together on the exhibition relationships were

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built ‘that allow[ed] the individual to claim resources possessed by the collectivity’ (Dika & Singh, 2002, p. 33). The group dimension involved in the exhibition was not at a cost to the girls’ individual identities, but rather supported them. They could be at once independent within the group and connected to it. As with other projects of this kind the girls ‘understood it and appreciated it as a corporate endeavour, inclusive of everyone’, this was truly ‘identity work which celebrated difference’ (Hall & Thomson, 2007, p. 322). The girls produced something on behalf of the school community, and as Hall and Thomson (2007, p. 324) suggest, this public expression could function to support ‘critical thinking about how their selfrepresentations would be read by others in the public context’. The fact of their work being viewed enabled the girls to apply a reflexive stance to their identity and experiences. In reflecting on their identity through the exhibition, the girls had the opportunity to review themselves and their self-presentation, and to communicate this as they choose, to the wider world. They had ‘the value of using other people’s experience to reflect on their own’ affording an alternative perspective (Miles, 2007b, p. 279). Together the girls were undergoing a change of role: a teacher cited by Adams et al. (2008) describes this process well: ‘They are becoming artists y whereas normally they were doing things for us, and if they do it wrong we tell them off. There is none of that now’. They could use the feedback to continue to reflect on and adjust their roles within the exhibition as they increasingly became ‘agents of learning with creative authority’ (Miles, 2007b, p. 281), able and empowered to share their tools, techniques and processes with others. The process of making different pieces of artwork allowed for real variation and personalised interest to develop into diverse outcomes, retaining both a feeling of community and of individuality. The waiting and preparation times involved in, for example, the making of papier-maˆche´ masks added to the girls’ appreciation of what they were creating. In the activity ‘My Label: But not in a labelling way’, the girls sought shapes in the local environment to photograph to use to spell out their names. The message was that our names identify us, ‘but not in a labelling way’, and that they may be adapted or altered and the process used to stress our potential to change the ways that we look at things. In ‘Skin Deep’, the girls worked on visually representing the past, present and future (imagined or predicted) through symbolising key moments as tattoos on plaster casts of their arms. They selected transitional objects, people or representations of people, places or emotions. The teacher explained this ‘was their chance to show something about themselves, their future, their past, rather than seeing

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it from someone else’s point of view and being told what to think about it. They could do it themselves’. Keeping the girls safe is central to the ethos of the school, and the majority of the work was undertaken within the safe space of the school under the watchful eye of the staff. The girls could test expressions of identity within this space which provided important opportunities for review. However, they also undertook some artwork publicly at the launch of the exhibition, challenging them further in a ‘celebration of participation and risk-making’ (Miles, 2007a, p. 516). The professionally produced exhibition catalogue meant that much of the artwork was captured permanently in paper format for the girls to retain. The catalogue comprised artwork from the girls’ own pieces and every student was identified as an ‘artist or contributor’ in the list of contents. These were visual and tangible reminders to the girls of their achievement. They were also powerful indicators of what the girls could achieve, thus disrupting some of the negative messages communicated to and about them. During the evening of the exhibition launch, and on the following day, the girls recorded their perspectives on the exhibition, including their feelings, describing a mixture of emotions ‘weird’, ‘scary’, ‘good’ and ‘proud’ capturing the excitement and anxieties associated with a public display of work. They identified the importance of the public space to display for their work, as it was, ‘cool being here’ (Helen), ‘everybody can see it’ (Claire), and ‘it looks better now that it’s all together and it’s all up’ (Hayley). Bethany commented, ‘It boosts our confidence up a bit, makes us want to do it – I’d willingly be more involved in art now’. When asked whether she felt any different as a result of the art exhibition, she responded, ‘No, it’s just an art exhibition innit!’, while her grin indicated otherwise. The importance of the space, the collaboration and the wider audience was appreciated by the students and staff alike. One member of staff observed, ‘when you come here and it’s actually set up, it looks awesome’, and another that ‘[the girls] got the sense that their work’s not just going to be stored in a classroom somewhere on a shelf, it’s valuable and people are interested in it’. Professionals beyond the school community who visited the exhibition commented on its ‘power and presence’ (university staff) and the remarkable standard of the work and the sense of the ‘voyage of discovery’ (business consultant). On listening to the girls’ poetry, a placements officer commented, ‘When you put your earphones on and listen to the girls talking you suddenly realise what a huge insight they’ve got into their own lives’.

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ISSUES OF CREATIVITY AND IDENTITY Thomson and Sefton-Green (2011, p. 7) sum up: ‘Creative learning then can stand for a type of learner, a mode of pedagogy, a form of institutional organisation, an ideological rallying cry, or simply an attempt to be different’. The importance illustrated in this case study school is the opportunity it afforded to those students excluded from the mainstream. The potential sites of creativity identified by Thomson and Sefton-Green (2011) included learning experiences, assessment, student voice and the role of staff; we now use these to organise our reflections on what can be learned from the school about creativity and identity. The learning experiences at Kahlo engaged the girls best when they creatively centred on, and built from, their biographies as a way of connecting and bridging with the learning task. The creative ways in which the curriculum subject content was integrated brought about new and different spaces which disrupted the students’ sense that they were unable to contribute or gain from planned learning experiences. Care in the delivery of tasks limited the gap between learner and content of learning experience – a part of the triad identified by Gauntlett. Hence, the girls were motivated to become embedded in a community of belonging such that learning tasks almost emerged as secondary to engagement with staff and peers. While the students were aware of this element of ‘blagging’ to get them active as learners, they seemed to welcome the way in which this bypassed the usual need for resistance by them. The girls could experience success, achievement and positive feedback without explicitly knowing or having to recognise that the task in which they were engaged was a planned learning experience. Dual goals of enjoyment and learning were creatively combined in single activities that could result in multiple gains across academic, social and therapeutic domains. This contrasted their previous repeated experience of exclusion within and from schools where they lacked a sense of belonging and a positive role. Assessment at Kahlo was flexible in the way that the pedagogical methods did not dictate a single right answer or expected outcome. The students were attributed agency as learners, given choice and able to produce work which enabled both individuality and community belonging and achievement. Tangible products often resulted from their investment in learning activities, whether comic strips, podcasts or papier-maˆche´ plaster cast arms. They had evidence of their achievement, of success resulting from engagement, with its ability to challenge cognitions of

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failure or lack of success in learning activities. They were able to produce something they could be proud of. As a consequence, in their role as learner, they were producing for themselves, not necessarily for a teacher or examiner. This could support a shift away from identity within school as ‘packaged units for assessment’ – they were in control of their own learning, and were responsible for it. Ownership shifted from staff to students. The need to present as competent limits risk taking and engagement in learning (McWilliam, Dawson, & Tan, 2011). Drawing on Dweck’s (2000) identification of performance goals (which prioritise achievement and success) and learning goals (which prioritise trial and mastery of new skills), McWilliam et al. (2011) stress that students who prioritise assessmentfocused performance goals will engage far less with novel media, and display less curiosity in new learning opportunities. Staff used their understanding of the girls’ desire to avoid producing responses that were incorrect, inappropriate or work that appeared poor and how this could limit learning experiences. They adjusted this focus, rebalancing towards learning goal orientation, creating spaces in which it was ‘ok’ to make mistakes, creating opportunities where they would make mistakes and move on from their mistake. Positive assessment at Kahlo became linked with engagement with learning experiences, of minimising fear in errors or mistakes. As such, they were liberating their learners from fear of evaluation and opening up new roles with them. Student voice at Kahlo emerged as a key theme in the research. The ethos was about building relationships between staff and students which would enable the girls to feel able to access and participate in education. Central in this was the focus on voice for the girls – encouraging participation in learning and in the school community (Clarke, Boorman, & Nind, 2011). Efforts were made to understand the students’ perspectives, to recognise and articulate behavioural triggers and not to pre-judge. Emphasis was placed on the attention needed to know the student and by becoming listeners, readers and viewers in relation to the students as narrators (Reissman, 2008, p. 9) the staff connected with their worlds. Students identified feeling known by staff and valued the investment and time taken by staff. According to Thomson and Sefton-Green (2011), creative methods afford students greater authority in articulating their perspectives, especially where there are a range of media available through which to communicate. At Kahlo the use of digital technology, poetry and art all provided new media to explore with voice, space, audience and influence (see Clarke et al., 2011; Lundy, 2007).

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The role of staff at Kahlo was reflected in some of the girls’ poetry. They gave voice to the importance of significant others in their lives, highlighting the influence of these others on their own moods and feelings. Through their creative endeavours and their supportive relationships with staff, the girls were engaged in what Goffman (1969) has identified as the construction and co-construction of identity. They took risks in trying out new ways of being in relation to others, secure with the staff to do so.

CONCLUSION Creative learning is not simply about the benefits of a positive educational experience. It is about educational experience that puts identity work at its very core. (Miles, 2007b, p. 283)

The practices at Kahlo were in part based on awareness of the potential of creative learning to both create a positive educational experience and to learn about oneself. We have represented some of their opportunities we saw there and how we came to understand the importance of creative learning through individuals who were not content with schools which are of poor fit to students. These individuals did not lay the blame for this lack of fit with the student or the labels they embodied. Instead they invested in creating more effective learning spaces, transforming interactions and thereby sharing responsibility for barriers to learning and to removing such barriers. One such barrier is the mental scripts held by students and teachers, and transforming these was central to transforming the girls’ identities as learners. The case study provides a vivid illustration of the potential of girls labelled with SEBD to be so much more than that. Furthermore, it illustrates how schools can creatively form themselves to be a good fit for their students. Identities are constantly evolving (Spiteri, 2009), never finished (Weedon, 2004) and as educationalists we do well to remember this – to create opportunities within learning communities to review identities in transition and to capture the dynamic sense of self. We concur with Carrington (2007, p. 113) that developing the opportunities and skills ‘with which to participate and transform one’s life path’ is central to social inclusion. This applies to the young people caught up in BESD/SEBD schools and also to their schools, which can alter their identities through creatively developing an alternative ‘community of practice’ (Spiteri, 2009).

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Evans, J., Harden, A., Thomas, J., & Benefield, P. (2003). Support for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties in mainstream primary school classrooms: A systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions. London: EPPI-Centre & NFER. Gauntlett, D. (2007). Creative explorations: New approaches to identities and audiences. London: Routledge. Gergen, K. J. (2001). The saturated self: Dilemmas of identity in contemporary life (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books. Goffman, E. (1969). The presentation of self in everyday life. London: Penguin Books. Hall, C., Jones, K., & Thomson, P. (2011). Snapshots and portraits: The re-presentation of case-study research findings about creative learning and change. In P. Thomson & J. Sefton-Green (Eds.), Researching creative learning: Methods and issues (pp. 126–142). London: Routledge. Hall, C., & Thomson, P. (2007). Creative partnerships? Cultural policy and inclusive arts practice in one primary school. British Educational Research Journal, 33(3), 315–329. Jull, S. K. (2008). Emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD): The special educational need justifying exclusion. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 8(1), 13–18. Lundy, L. (2007). ‘Voice’ is not enough: Conceputalising Article 12 of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child. British Educational Research Journal, 33(6), 927–942. McLeod, J., & Allard, A. C. (2001). Young women ‘on the margins’: Representation, research and politics. In J. McLeod & A. C. Allard (Eds.), Learning from the Margins: Young women, social exclusion and education. London: Routledge. McLeod, J., & Wright, K. (2009). The talking cure in everyday life: Gender, generations and friendship. Sociology, 43(1), 122–139. McWilliam, E., Dawson, S., & Tan, J. P. (2011). Less elusive, more explicit. The challenge of ‘seeing’ creativity in action. In P. Thomson & J. Sefton-Green (Eds.), Researching creative learning: Methods and issues (pp. 113–125). London: Routledge. Miles, S. (2007a). Feeling 10 feet tall: Creative inclusion in a community of practice. British Journal of Sociology in Education, 28(4), 505–518. Miles, S. (2007b). ‘Different journeys at different speeds’: Young people, risk and the challenge of creative learning. Journal of Youth Studies, 10(3), 271–284. Noyes, A. (2008). Using video diaries to investigate learner trajectories: Researching the ‘unknown unknowns’. In P. Thomson (Ed.), Doing visual research with children and young people. London: Routledge. Passey, D. (2006). Technology enhancing learning: Analysing uses of information technologies by primary and secondary school pupils with learning frameworks. Curriculum Journal, 17(2), 139–166. Reissman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human science. London: Sage. Russell, T., & McGuigan, L. (2007). An exploration of digital creativity used to engage and motivate ‘hard to reach’ learners in BESD schools. Retrieved from www.becta.org.uk. Accessed on 1 May 2009. Simons, H. (2009). Case study research in practice. London: Sage. Spiteri, D. (2009). Forging an identity over the life course. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 14(3), 239–249. Squire, C. (2008). Experience-centred culturally orientated approaches to narrative. In M. Andrews, C. Squire & M. Tamboukou (Eds.), Doing narrative research (pp. 41–63). London: Sage.

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DEVELOPING PREVENTATIVE RESPONSES TO DISRUPTIVE AND HIGH-RISK BEHAVIOURS Martha J. Holden, Jack C. Holden and Sandy Paterson ABSTRACT Disruptive and potentially unsafe classroom behaviours such as threatening, bullying, verbal and/or physical assaulting present challenges not only for teachers, aides and other students in the classroom, but potentially for all others in the building as well as the families of those students/pupils involved. These behaviours can greatly influence a student’s ability to achieve academic success as well as place undue stress and risk on others in the milieu. Discovering the cause for the behaviours and then developing a plan to help these young people succeed emotionally will greatly increase the probability for improved academic achievement. This chapter will examine the core principles of the Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Schools (TCIS) programme and present a range of evidence-based responses designed to help build upon and further develop staff skills in preventing disruptive behaviours, de-escalating potential disruptive

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 309–322 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002022

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behaviours, and teach students how to develop less disruptive and more appropriate responses to their lack of or inability to self-regulate. This chapter will contend that the foundation for all interventions and responses presupposes an accurate assessment of risk for the youth(s), the adults, and the environment. That any risk assessment must consider the internal (effects of trauma, ability to self-regulate, cultural issues) and external (organizational culture/climate, level of restrictiveness, caring community, quality of instruction) setting conditions for the youth. The TCIS programme is embedded in the five domains for effective crisis management; leadership and building support, social work and clinical services participation (social workers, psychologists, therapists, nurses), building administration and post crisis response, training and competency standards, and data-driven incident monitoring and feedback.

INTRODUCTION Disruptive and potentially unsafe classroom behaviours such as threatening, bullying, verbal and/or physical assaulting present challenges not only for teachers, aides, and other students in the classroom, but potentially for all others in the building as well as the families of those students/pupils involved. These behaviours can greatly influence a student’s ability to achieve academic success as well as place undue stress and risk on others in the milieu. Discovering the cause for the behaviours and then developing a plan to help these young people succeed emotionally and behaviourally will help provide a safe learning environment and greatly increase the probability for improved academic achievement (Cowlings, Costin, Davidson-Tuck, Esler, Chapman, & Niessen, 2005; Kohn,1999, 1996; Luiselli, Putnam, Handler, & Feinberg, 2005b; Stewart, 2002). Is discipline the answer? What is meant by discipline? Is discipline only punitive or can it also be the proactive teaching of expected behaviours? Discipline takes on many meanings; however, for schools the most common meaning is ‘efforts on the part of adults to control behaviour of children’ (Goodman, 2007) (such as submission to rules and/or reliance primarily on control, deterrence, and punishment to maintain order) and ‘furthermore school discipline is sometimes administered prejudicially to those students who may be most vulnerable’ (Cameron, 2006, p. 219). For students with emotional and/or behaviour difficulties, discipline in this

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context may actually increase the disruptive and potentially high-risk behaviours. Further, Goodman (2007) hypothesizes that if discipline is to succeed, there must be buy-in to the goals of the discipline by the students. There is a litany of behaviours that frustrate teachers and classroom assistants from the ones mentioned earlier, including off-task, noncompliance, refusing to follow directions, attention seeking, vandalism, and ‘class clown’ classroom disruptions. A seemingly natural tendency for teachers and classroom staff is to apply a punitive reactive approach such as verbal reprimands, office referrals, detentions, in class and out of class suspensions, and loss of privileges to the less severe behaviours. However, strict school conduct policies, severe conduct codes and security measures, and strong punitive approaches seem to have the effect of increasing the behaviours rather than decreasing the behaviours the methods were designed to address. Luiselli, McCarty, Coniglio, Zorilla-Ramirez, and Putnam (2005a) performed a meta-analysis of more than 800 recent studies concerned with ‘discipline problems and challenging behaviours’ in schools and found the research clearly indicates that social skills training, system-wide behaviour intervention, and academic curricula modifications to be at the heart of addressing discipline and challenging behaviour problems. Luiselli et al. acknowledge there are many procedures to affect behaviour change, however, the most important components are: 1. Setting consensus-driven behaviour expectations 2. Teaching critical interpersonal skills 3. Providing systematic positive reinforcement for meeting and exceeding performance criteria 4. Monitoring intervention efficacy continuously through data collection and analysis 5. Involving all stakeholders in the formulation of discipline practices (students, teachers, administrators and parents) 6. Reducing and eliminating reactive, punitive and exclusionary strategies in favour of a proactive preventative and skill-building orientation (p. 185). Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) is a crisis prevention and management system developed by Cornell University’s Residential Child Care Project in the early 1980s. The aim of TCI is to assist residential child caring organizations in preventing crises from occurring, de-escalating potential crises, managing acute physical behaviour, and reducing potential and actual injuries to children and staff (Holden & the TCI Instructors of the Residential Child Care Project, 2009; Nunno, Holden, & Leidy, 2003).

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The Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Schools (TCIS) is an adaption of the TCI system that has been modified to address many factors for effective behaviour change whilst focusing on creating a safe learning environment with a goal of reducing disruptive and high-risk behaviours in schools.

THE DOMAINS FOR A SYSTEM-WIDE PREVENTION OF HIGH-RISK (CRISIS) BEHAVIOURS The TCIS programme is embedded in the five domains for effective crisis management (Holden et al., 2009): (1) Leadership and building support (2) Social work and clinical services participation (social workers, psychologists, nurses) (3) Building administration and post crisis response (4) Training and competency standards (5) Data-driven incident monitoring and feedback It is important to note that these domains constitute the basis for a system-wide behavioural intervention approach as discussed in the Luiselli article. Leadership and Building Support For schools, the leadership commitment begins at the local education authority level of leadership who in turn provides the school principal and senior staff with guidance and support to implement the crisis management system (Ryan, Robbins, Peterson, & Rozalski, 2009). When leadership is fully informed about the TCIS Crisis Prevention and Management System and understands its foundation, leaders can support the necessary components that are integral to its implementation and maintenance (Holden et al., 2009). Policies, procedures and guidelines that are clearly written and communicated, assist all staff members in knowing and understanding the main mission of the school and what to do when confronted with potential crises. One of the most important aspects of crisis prevention is the culture of the organization. A clear and unambiguous statement supporting crisis prevention over high-risk crisis interventions sets the tone for the school.

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School policies should clearly state that the school will promote students’ emotional well-being, improving their ability to achieve their full academic potential and that the school will provide a range of positive interventions to support adaptive and pro-social behaviour and foster dignity. Staff members throughout the building are fully trained to know how to prevent, de-escalate, and contain a young person’s aggressive and acting out behaviour in line with school guidelines. As part of the school policies, it is important that parents and guardians are provided with a description of the school’s safety strategies and interventions to prevent, de-escalate, contain and manage aggressive, selfdestructive or violent behaviour that presents an imminent danger to self or others. After any incident in which safety interventions have been employed, parents and/or guardians should be informed as soon as possible. With an organizational culture that establishes an environment where students can learn in a positive, trauma sensitive, and strength-based climate and with appropriate programming based on the needs of individual students, schools can decrease their reliance on punitive and coercive interventions and reduce the number of high-risk disruptive behaviours (McAfee, Schwilk, & Mitruski, 2006).

Social Work and Clinical Services Participation The foundation for all interventions and responses presupposes an accurate assessment of risk for the student(s), the adult(s) and the environment. The risk assessment considers the internal (effects of trauma, ability to selfregulate, cultural issues) and external (organizational culture/climate, level of restrictiveness, caring community, quality of instruction) setting conditions for the student. Individual Crisis Management Plans (ICMPs) (Holden et al., 2009) are developed for each student who exhibits disruptive and/or unsafe classroom behaviours with specific responses and strategies (learned in TCIS) for the classroom staff to employ at each stage of escalating behaviours. Social work and clinical support services play an important role in overseeing and monitoring student’s responses to crises. For schools, it is important for Individual Education Plan (IEP) teams developing behavioural and educational plans to develop ICMPs for any student who is likely to exhibit high-risk behaviours. These plans are most effective when developed with input from the classroom team, the student and the student’s

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family, and are written in clear and concise language so that the classroom staff can implement the plan. When a student is enrolled in a school, a risk assessment of the student’s propensity to engage in high-risk behaviours and the conditions that have provoked these behaviours in the past can provide valuable information. Key questions to address are: (a) How can high-risk behaviours be prevented? (b) Is there a need for an ICMP? (c) What intervention strategies should be included if an ICMP is necessary? When it has been determined that an ICMP is necessary, a plan is developed for the student that includes the following elements: (1) safety concerns (any special emotional or medical conditions that might place the student at risk during a physical intervention); (2) current issues (any personal, family or social issues that might currently be triggers for the student); (3) high-risk behaviours (any behaviours that might put the student or others at risk of injury and described as specifically as possible, such as hitting, biting etc.) and (4) intervention strategies (specific strategies for the student based on knowledge of the student and developed for each stage of escalation for the students potential high-risk behaviour(s) beginning with the potential setting conditions for the student and the triggering event) (Holden et al., 2009). The ICMP is a dynamic working document designed to assist the classroom staff working directly with the students by providing these staff with specific prevention, emotional co-regulation and intervention strategies that provide immediate environmental and/or emotional support to the student to reduce stress and risk. It then becomes an expectation that all staff members will use the de-escalation and interventions strategies indicated on the student’s ICMP.

Supervision and Post Crisis Response School principals and senior staff who are fully trained in all of the assessment, prevention, de-escalation and intervention techniques can provide effective supervision, coaching and monitoring of their staff members. Fully trained and effective building administrators are ones who have reasonable expectations and, with agreed realistic time frames and schedules for staff, can ensure staff members can accomplish tasks and respond to student’s needs in a thoughtful and well-planned manner (Holden et al., 2009).

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This is an area that is commonly dismissed or given lesser importance due to the difficulty and perceived time concerns of getting staff together to discuss specific issues of student’s disruptive behaviour. In the TCIS programme, this issue of time management must be addressed in order to ensure the appropriate support for all staff involved in high-risk and disruptive behaviours. The multi-level post crisis response system ensures that all students and staff receive immediate support and debriefing following a crisis as well as a brief medical assessment (Bullard, Fulmore, & Johnson, 2003; CWLA Best Practice Guidelines, 2004; Farragher, 2002; Holden et al., 2009; Huckshorn, 2006; Miller, Hunt, & Georges, 2006; Murphy & Bennington-Davis, 2005; NASMHPD, 2003; Nunno et al., 2003; Petti, Somers, & Sims, 2003; Ryan, Peterson, Tetreault, & Van der Hagen, 2008). Building a discussion of crisis incidents regularly into staff meetings helps staff learn from these situations and provides accountability and support at the highest level. The post crisis response should at the very least include some formalized immediate response to check the physical and emotional well-being of the student and staff. Once assured that everyone is unharmed, the staff member who intervened with the student (was involved in the incident) processes with the student in order to (1) return the student to baseline so they can successfully return to the classroom; (2) help the student make sense of the event and understand how their feelings and behaviour are connected; (3) repair or restore any difficulties in the relationship between the staff and student as a result of the incident and (4) help the student identify and practice new coping skills. Once the immediate response and the student process debriefing are completed, the documentation should be completed. As soon as possible, the supervisor/ administrator conducts a process interview with the staff member(s) involved in the incident to provide support and review intervention strategies. This process debriefing is a reflective practice strategy and aimed at assisting staff members in deconstructing serious incidents and developing new and alternative strategies for the next time a similar situation occurs. The last step in the Post Crisis Response System is the team review which is conducted with the entire team in order to promote learning, review and perhaps revise the ICMP, and increase the team’s effectiveness (Holden et al., 2009).

Training and Competency Standards Schools that keep staff informed and updated on the special needs of the students in their classrooms can enhance academic success and improve

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student outcomes. A comprehensive classroom staff development training agenda includes prevention, de-escalation, and management of crises, trauma sensitive interventions, and individual and classroom behaviour support strategies (Bullard et al., 2003; CWLA Best Practice Guidelines, 2004; Donat, 2005; Farragher, 2002; Holden et al., 2009; Holden & Curry, 2008; Huckshorn, 2006; Murphy & Bennington-Davis, 2005; NASMHPD, 2003; Nunno et al., 2003; Paterson, Leadbetter, Miller, & Crichton, 2008; Petti et al., 2003; Ryan et al., 2008; Thompson, Huefner, Vollmer, Davis, & Daly, 2008). Training in crisis intervention, especially training that includes physical restraint, should be closely monitored. Only staff who have successfully completed approved crisis management training may conduct physical restraints. All staff involved in an incident of physical restraint must have successfully completed the training programme which has been fully endorsed and implemented in the school, been assessed as competent in the use of physical restraints, and have successfully completed a skills review within the previous six months. Participants need to be assessed for adequate skill performance within the training class and then again with regular follow-up refreshers that provide opportunities for staff to work with relevant situations based on the current issues from incident reports. There should also be re-testing of the participants’ knowledge of the core curriculum as well as an evaluation of all physical skills (Holden et al., 2009). Staff in schools that do not use physical restraint or staff who are not trained to perform physical restraints should still receive training in crisis prevention, de-escalation as well as safety concerns and documentation related to crisis incidents.

Data-Driven Incident Monitoring and Feedback Documentation, data analysis and feedback to all levels of staff teams are an important part of the prevention efforts (Bullard et al., 2003; Carter, Jones, & Stevens, 2008; CWLA Best Practice Guidelines, 2004; Donat, 2005; Farragher, 2002; Holden et al., 2009; H.R. 4247, 2010; Huckshorn, 2006; Miller et al., 2006; Murphy & Bennington-Davis, 2005; NASMHPD, 2003; Nunno et al., 2003; Petti et al., 2003; Stefen & Phil, 2006; Thompson et al., 2008). A school-wide committee, appointed by leadership, with the authority and responsibility to enforce documentation requirements and track the

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frequency, location and type of incidents, as well as any injuries or medical complaints that occur in the school helps to monitor the effectiveness of the TCIS system (Holden et al., 2009). This documentation and monitoring system allows the school to review incidents and make decisions about individual and organizational practice and recommend corrective action. The data should be shared in some form with all members of the teaching team from which the data was drawn. This will allow for better decision-making at the classroom level and provide for a more collaborative approach.

THE CLASSROOM MILIEU Student’s social, emotional and behavioural difficulties are often caused or exacerbated by inconsistent, unpredictable, inflexible and chaotic environments, as well as severe conduct codes and security methods (Cameron, 2006). The stability of the classroom milieu, the opportunities to participate and succeed, and the relationships of the students and adults who work there are critical in order to provide positive corrective experiences and developmentally appropriate opportunities to offset some of the damaging experiences the young person has had (Holden, 2009). In regard to preventing disruptive and high-risk behaviours, a stable, caring and predictable classroom milieu initially provides external structure and control for the severely disturbed student who lacks adequate selfcontrol, emotional regulation and emotional competence skills, as well as the ability to form relationships. If the adults in the classroom are emotionally available, it also provides an opportunity for the student to learn better more adaptive coping and relationship skills (Holden, 2009; Rock, Hammond, & Rasmussen, 2004). ‘A lack of emotional competence places students at risk and makes them attractive targets for bullies’ (Rock et al., 2004, p. 227). An integral part of any lesson plan should include social skills and emotional regulation training. The skills to be taught include, but are not limited to, anger management, self-regulation, flexibility, problem solving, decision-making, cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, self-control, value and moral development, negotiation, and conflict resolution (Denham, Hatfield, Smethurst, Tan, & Tribe, 2006). Creating a caring and ‘in the best interest of the child’ classroom milieu involves finding a healthy balance between providing adequate structure (safety and security) and having enough flexibility to meet the changing and individual needs of the students (Holden, 2009).

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Caring Community Development Alfie Kohn (1996) describes caring community as ‘a place in which students feel cared about and are encouraged to care about each other and they experience a sense of being valued and respected and the students matter to one another and to the teacher’ (p. 101). It is within this type of classroom and school climate that students flourish and are less likely to exhibit disruptive behaviours. Effective classrooms are designed to meet the needs of individual students as well as the entire class. Although teachers are not therapists, they do have an obligation to develop a coherent understanding of the needs of students in their charge (Stewart, 2002) and design and deliver activities and lessons that meet those needs. Caring communities can only be developed and thrive when the students are an integral part of the process. ‘Incorporating a biological/ecological perspective into classroom management and shifting the focus of classroom management to that of a collaborative curricular laboratory for developing social skills’ (Sylwester, 2003) produces conditions for motivating students to participate and learn. Good relationships between staff and students will create an atmosphere of caring and support. School staff can help the group develop positive, socially acceptable norms by involving the students in decision-making around how they want to learn, work and play together in the classroom. Cooperation in developing these norms promotes a sense of belonging. Students are more likely to accept and abide by norms if they have helped establish them (Beck & Malley, 1998; Kohn, 1996). Building on Strengths Helping students develop social skills also plays a significant role in their overall development and ability to succeed. Luiselli et al. (2005a) possibly sum it up best with ‘it is perhaps reasonable to conclude that students’ success in school depends as much on social competencies as academic proficiency’ (p. 22). A student’s ability to self-regulate, develop relationships, improve behavioural and emotional adjustments, use anger management skills and decrease anxiety are all related to the development of positive social skills or reducing a possible lack of skills (Denham et al., 2006; Luiselli et al., 2005a; Maddern, Franey, McLaughlin, & Cox, 2004; Molina, Dulmus, & Sowers, 2005; Sim, Whiteside, Dittner, & Mellon, 2006). Social skills are clustered around the development of cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy and self-control.

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Given the number of children attending schools that live in adverse and extremely poor social-economic conditions it’s amazing at all that even a few, let alone the many who do succeed, are able to live productive lives in the end. In ‘Resiliency What We Have Learned’ (2004), Benard refers to ‘protective factors that support and opportunities that buffer the effects of adversity and enable development to proceed’ (p. 8) as the main force behind young people’s resiliency. Developing the litany of social skills mentioned earlier fosters resilience and results in social competence, problem solving skills, autonomy and sense of purpose (Benard, 2004). The research clearly indicates that helping students develop social skills and building on strengths is paramount to good classroom management as well as necessary for the growth of each student individually in achievement of academic goals. There are a number of successful social skills assessment instruments as well as successful social skills curricula and training programmes available that can be used in a classroom to build and/or strengthen students’ social skills.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RELATIONSHIP Lack of attachment and bonding to school can be a predictor of poor academic achievement and rule compliance. It is extremely important for educators to be focused on creating a nurturing and supportive school environment through relationship development (Conoley & Goldstein, 2004). Teachers and school staff play a critical role in the development of relationships with students in their classrooms. Although some teachers might say, ‘I’m a teacher, not a therapist’ however, teachers do have a personal obligation to develop a coherent, empathic understanding of a troubled student’s needs’ (Stewart, 2002, p. 4). Adults help students meet their basic needs and have countless opportunities to interact with students in an open, consistent and caring manner as they build relationships with students. The people who spend the most time with students have the most influence on their behaviour and growth. How adults interact with students and with other adults, how they learn, work, solve classroom problems and manage daily academic tasks present students in schools with positive adult role models. The adult can ask themselves, ‘what qualities would I seek in someone who I would want to help me?’ to increase their awareness of what might be helpful in building the relationship with a student (Greene, 2008). It is therefore important for adults to be aware of how their personal preferences and biases affect their interactions and interventions with students (Holden et al., 2009). How the

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adults behave will affect how the students in schools will behave. Good relationships with students can factor significantly in both preventing and de-escalating any potential disruptive behaviour or crisis. ‘Making sure that the relationship is appropriate and professional is also important’ (Hartsell, 2008, p. 69).

SUMMARY Most crises, disruptive episodes, and high-risk behaviours can be prevented by building caring relationships; establishing routines, lessons and activities that meet children and young people’s basic needs; providing meaningful instruction; and having adults who are emotionally competent and skilled at managing the environment. Providing a safe and predictable environment provides the foundation for helping a student learn to cope with daily frustrations and upsets in the classroom. Students rarely erupt into a full crisis state without some triggering interaction with others or the environment. Assuming that the young person’s behaviour is affected by a variety of factors, it is important to examine these factors and structure them in a way that promotes a caring community. The main factors to be considered are: the staff, the students, the group, the organizational culture, the policies and procedures, the instruction and activities, the physical environment, and the interaction of these variables. The better the school and the staff understand these variables and how they interact to promote a therapeutic classroom milieu, the better everyone can provide the structure, relationships and activities that create a safe environment and caring community (Holden et al., 2009).

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(Eds.), For our own safety: Examining the safety of high-risk interventions for children and young people (pp. 183–200). Arlington, VA: Child Welfare League of America. Cameron, M. (2006). Managing school discipline and implications for school social workers: A review of the literature. Children and School, 28(4), 219–227. Conoley, J., & Goldstein, A. (2004). School violence intervention: A practical handbook (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Cowlings, V., Costin, J., Davidson-Tuck, R., Esler, J., Chapman, A., & Niessen, J. (2005). Responding to disruptive behaviour in schools: Collaboration and capacity building for early intervention. Australian E-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 4(3). Retrieved from www.auscinct.com/journal/vol14iss3/cowling.pdf. CWLA. (2004). Best practice guidelines: Behavior support and intervention training. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, Inc. Denham, A., Hatfield, S., Smethurst, N., Tan, E., & Tribe, C. (2006). The effect of social skills intervention in the primary school. Educational Psychology in Practice, 22(1), 33–51. Donat, D. C. (2005). Encouraging alternatives to seclusion, restraint and reliance on PRN drugs in a public psychiatric hospital. Psychiatric Services, 56(9), 1105–1108. Farragher, B. (2002). A system-wide approach to reducing incidents of therapeutic restraint. Residential Treatment for Children and Youth, 20(1), 1–14. Goodman, J. F. (2007). School discipline, buy-in and belief. Ethics and Education, 2(1), 3–23. Greene, R. W. (2008). Lost in school: Why our kids with behavioral challenges are falling through the cracks and how we can help them. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc. Hartsell, J. (2008). Sisyphus and the itsy-bitsy spider: Working with children. Dryden, NY: Ithaca Press. Holden, M. J. (2009). Children and residential experiences: Creating conditions for change. Arlington, VA: Child Welfare League of America. Holden, M. J., & Curry, D. (2008). Learning from the research. In M. A. Nunno, D. M. Day & L. B. Bullard (Eds.), For our own safety: Examining the safety of high-risk interventions for children and young people (pp. 107–126). Arlington, VA: Child Welfare League of America. Holden, M. J., & the TCI Instructors of the Residential Child Care Project. (2009). Therapeutic crisis intervention, reference guide (6th ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University. Huckshorn, K. A. (2006). Re-designing state mental health policy to prevent the use of seclusion and restraint. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 33(4), 482–491. Kohn, A. (1996). Beyond discipline from compliance to community. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Kohn, A. (1999). Punished by rewards. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. Luiselli, J., McCarty, J., Coniglio, J., Zorilla-Ramirez, C., & Putnam, R. (2005a). Social skills assessment and interventions: Review and recommendations for school practitioners. Journal of Applied Psychology, 21(1), 21–38. Luiselli, J. K., Putnam, R. F., Handler, M. W., & Feinberg, A. B. (2005b). Whole-school positive behaviour support: Effects on student discipline problems and academic performance. Educational Psychology, 25(2–3), 183–198. Maddern, L., Franey, J., McLaughlin, V., & Cox, S. (2004). An evaluation of the impact of an inter-agency intervention programme to promote social skills in primary school children. Educational Psychology in Practice, 20(2), 135–155.

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McAfee, J., Schwilk, C., & Mitruski, M. (2006). Public policy on physical restraint of children with disabilities in public schools. Education and Treatment of Children, 29(4), 711–728. Miller, J. A., Hunt, D. P., & Georges, M. A. (2006). Reduction of physical restraints in residential treatment facilities. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 16(4), 202–208. Molina, I., Dulmus, C., & Sowers, K. (2005). Secondary prevention for youth violence: A review of selected school-based programs. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 5(1), 95–107. Murphy, T., & Bennington-Davis, M. (2005). Restraint and seclusion: The model for eliminating their use in healthcare. Marblehead, MA: HCPro, Inc. NASMHPD. (2003). Implementing evidence-based practices project: National review of effective implementation strategies and challenges. Notes from meeting, April 7 & 8, Concord, NH. Nunno, M. A., Holden, M. J., & Leidy, B. (2003). Evaluating and monitoring the impact of a crisis intervention system on a residential child care facility. Child and Youth Services Review, 24(4), 295–315. Paterson, B., Leadbetter, D., Miller, G., & Crichton, J. (2008). Adopting a public health model to reduce violence and restraints in children’s residential care facilities. In M. A. Nunno, D. M. Day & L. B. Bullard (Eds.), For our own safety: Examining the safety of high-risk interventions for children and young people (pp. 127–142). Arlington, VA: Child Welfare League of America. Petti, T. A., Somers, J., & Sims, L. (2003). A chronicle of seclusion and restraint in an intermediate-term care facility. In L. T. Flaherty (Ed.), Adolescent psychiatry: Annals of the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry (Vol. 27, pp. 83–116). New York, NY: The Analytical Press. Rock, E., Hammond, M., & Rasmussen, S. (2004). School-wide bullying prevention program for elementary students. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 4(3/4), 225–239. Ryan, J. B., Peterson, R. L., Tetreault, G., & van der Hagen, E. (2008). Reducing the use of seclusion and restraint in a day program. In M. A. Nunno, D. M. Day & L. B. Bullard (Eds.), For our own safety: Examining the safety of high-risk interventions for children and young people (pp. 201–216). Arlington, VA: Child Welfare League of America. Ryan, J. B., Robbins, K., Peterson, R., & Rozalski, M. (2009). Review of state policies concerning the use of physical restraint procedures in schools. Education and Treatment of Children, 32(3), 487–504. Sim, L., Whiteside, S., Dittner, C., & Mellon, M. (2006). Effectiveness of a social skills training program with school age children: Transition to the clinical setting. Journal of Family Studies, 15(1), 409–418. Stefen, S., & Phil, M. (2006). Successful seclusion and restraint reduction programs as quality indicators for psychiatric services. WebMD: Medscape. Stewart, J. (2002). Beyond time out. Gorham, ME: Hastings Clinical Services. Sylwester, R. (2003). A biological brain in a cultural classroom (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc. Thompson, R. W., Huefner, J. C., Vollmer, D. G., Davis, J. K., & Daly, D. L. (2008). A case study of an organizational intervention to reduce physical interventions: Creating effective, harm-free environments. In M. A. Nunno, D. M. Day & L. B. Bullard (Eds.), For our own safety: Examining the safety of high-risk interventions for children and young people (pp. 167–182). Arlington, VA: Child Welfare League of America. United States Congress. 111th Congress, 2nd Session. HR 4247. A Bill to Prevent and Reduce the Use of Physical Restraints in Schools and for Other Purposes. Introduced in the House, 23 February, 2010. 111th Congress, 2nd Session. GPO Access, http:// [email protected].

SCHOOL SHOOTERS: MONSTERS OR VICTIMS Marcel Lebrun ABSTRACT While extreme forms of behaviour such as the use of guns within a school setting are rare events, they have profound impacts on school communities, their staff, parents and students. This chapter sets out to place such incidents in perspective and explores these issues within an American context. Various check lists are examined with a view to providing insights into the characteristics of young people driven to such violent acts and to providing some points of reflection which could lead to prevention of them. These reflections should be based upon an understanding that these young people are a product of school systems which need to change to ensure that they mitigate the effects of poor social experiences.

INTRODUCTION The experience of young people using weapons to menace and at times kill fellow students and staff in school though rare in occurrence provokes widespread media attention. The United States perhaps because of its size and nature of its media has reported more incidents than other communities.

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 323–338 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002023

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Approximately one-third of families with children representing more than 22 million children in 11 million homes, keep at least one gun in the house. Nearly all childhood unintentional shooting deaths occur in and or, around the home. Fifty percent occur in the home of the victim, and nearly 40 percent occur in the home of a friend or relative. The gun of choice is a handgun. Unintentional shootings seem to occur outside of school when children are unsupervised (4-5pm, weekends, summer months and holidays). (www.preventinjury.com)

Staggering statistics from the Children’s Defense Fund (2009) indicated that the number of children killed by guns in 2008 would fill more than 127 public school classrooms of 25 students each. More preschoolers were killed by firearms than law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Since 1979, gun violence has ended the lives of 107,603 children and teens in America.

Law enforcement agencies and educators across the United States of America are alerting many communities of what to look for when they are dealing with troubled youth. The rest of the world can benefit from the troubling lessons and examples that are occurring in America. The unpredictability of a situation or the young person’s behaviour makes it very difficult to predict with certain accuracy that there will be a school shooting. Lists meant to screen young people for the possibility of school violence are at times ineffective because many will fulfil the criteria but will not identify intent. However, it is still imperative that educators have these lists to identify potential behaviours on the part of young people in their care and schools. Violence has become a staple of American life. Thousands of children and young people live in environments riddled with crime and violence. Their only models of survival are using violence for protection and conflict resolution. ‘Nearly 700,000 young people ages 10 to 24 are treated in emergency departments each year, for injuries sustained due to violencerelated assaults’ (CDC, 2009). ‘On average, 16 persons between the ages of 10 and 24 are murdered each day in the United States’ (CDC, 2009). ‘In addition to causing injury and death, youth violence affects communities by increasing the cost of health care, reducing productivity, decreasing property values, and disrupting social services’ (Mercy, Butchart, Farrington, & Cerda´, 2002). Society as a whole needs to make sure that violence is addressed immediately and effectively as the costs to intervene after the fact are always high. In America, Juveniles accounted for 16% of all violent crime arrests and 26% of all property crime arrests in 2008 (Puzzanchera, 2009). In 2008,

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1,280 juveniles were arrested for murder, 3,340 for forcible rape and 56,000 for aggravated assault (Puzzanchera, 2009). In a 2009 nationally representative sample of youth in grades 9–12 in America:  5.6% reported carrying a weapon (gun, knife or club) on school property, on one or more days  7.7% reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, one or more times (CDC, 2010). This phenomenon seems to be prevalent in America; however, other countries have begun to see increases in violence in their young people. In Britain, the youth crime statistics, uncovered by The Sunday Telegraph within Ministry of Justice reports, relate to offenders aged 10–17 who were either convicted in court or issued with a police caution. Total offences climbed steadily from 184,474 in 2003 to 222,750 in 2006, the last year for which figures are available – a rise of 21%. The increase in violent offending was steeper, while robberies rose even more dramatically, up 43% over the three years. By contrast, adult convictions and cautions increased by less than 1% (Sunday Telegraph, 2011). There have been increases in bullying, teacher assault and student-tostudent physical altercations (Patriquin, 2011). Violence is coming into young people’ lives indirectly and directly – indirectly by the images they see on television and directly when they have to walk through drug- and ganginfested neighbourhoods to get to school. School shooters are often diagnosed with one of the following disorders: conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, psychopathology disorders and personality disorders. Mental health is often at the root of the violence. Many of these young people experience violence in their present and past; however, the violence is not pathological behaviour but a logical adaptation to living in a violent environment (www.holology.com). Assessment of a potential school shooter can be viewed from many different angles. The quick assessment tool entitled: ‘ABC Profile of a School Shooter’ is meant as a guide to begin discussion around the behaviours of certain at-risk young people. ABC PROFILE OF A SCHOOL SHOOTER Access to a firearm, has previously brought a weapon to school Blames others for difficulties Changes in behavior is dramatic Difficulty with impulse control

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Evidence of frequent disciplinary problems Feelings of hopelessness Gives away possessions Homicidal tendencies Involved in drug, alcohol or other substance abuse dependency Joins a gang or an antisocial group on the fringe of peer acceptance Kills or tortures small animals Little or no supervision and support from parents or caring adult Mood changes and often depressed Name calling, cursing and/or abusive language Often reflects anger and frustration and the dark side of life in school writing Preoccupation with fighting, guns and other weapons Quiet and withdrawn at times, usually before acts out Reading materials dealing with violent themes, rituals and abuse Self-destructive or has attempted suicide Truant from school Uncontrollable tantrums and angry outbursts Violent threats when angry Wetting of the bed X-posed to secondhand violence Younger children are usually bullied or intimidated by these individuals Zeal for games with violent themes (M. Lebrun, 2008)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) developed a Threat Assessment Protocol Model in 2007. The model assesses the potential likeliness that the threat made by a youth will be carried out. The FBI developed the Four- Prong Assessment Model as a way to help schools and communities deal with the possibility of a crisis situation. The model helps educators, law enforcement officials, mental health practitioners and all those who work with young people to have a beginning point around whether the person making the threat has the intention, ability and the means to act on the threat. It is crucial that authorities and educators make the proper determination when they are assessing the potential risk. The model speaks about the totality of the circumstances known about the young person so that an appropriate and accurate threat assessment can be made. School psychologist, counsellor, specialist, teachers and administrator are the people on the frontlines to assess and collect information about what is happening at the moment a young person makes a threat. It is important that an assessment reveal whether the threat is low, medium or high and what appropriate interventions are at each level. One must also constantly be aware of what is happening in this young person’s life in order to determine whether he is capable and under enough stressors

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to carry out the threat. This assessment tool can be used to assess all kinds of young person in a variety of countries. There is a commonality in terms of human behaviours regardless of where a young person lives. The FBI Four-Prong Assessment Model has 4 prongs: (1) personality of the student, (2) family dynamics, (3) school dynamics and the student’s role in those dynamics, (4) social dynamics (FBI Threat Assessment Report, 2007). This assessment is based on the totality of the circumstances. It is a way to understand all the different dynamics that will be of importance or will influence the behaviour of the youth to act out. One must also understand that one of the influences or prongs may have more of an impact than the others. Throwing a large net of generalizations may not be an effective and efficient way to profile and understand the behaviour of the acting out youth. The day a threat is received a preliminary assessment needs to be done on the threat. Information needs to be gathered on who is making the threat, what the threat is and what is known about the individual, using the fourprong model. Information needs to be gathered, analysed for seriousness and identified as being high, medium or low, and proper action needs to be taken by school authorities. At times very little is known about the possible shooter or offender, so gathering as much information as possible is paramount to taking any action. This may sound like a reasonable preventive measure, but in practice, trying to draw up a catalogue or ‘checklist’ of warning signs to detect a potential school shooter can be shortsighted. Such lists, publicized by the media, can end up unfairly labelling many non-violent students as potentially dangerous or even lethal. In fact, a great many adolescents who will never commit violent acts will show some of the behaviours or personality traits included in the lists. School officials can use these checklists to begin discussion around providing the right kinds of interventions and support services. Using these checklists to diagnose a future school shooter would be unwise. If school officials have concerns around a certain student, these checklists can guide the observation process, help in the collection of relevant data and assist in determining appropriate school action (see Fig. 1). If the team working with the student finds that he demonstrates more than 50% of these characteristics, you may have an at-risk individual. Teasing and physical fighting is more frequent at age 13–14, while criminal activity generally peaks between 15 and 17 (FBI Threat Assessment Report, 2007). The age of the individual will influence the likeliness of him using violence and/or using a gun to shoot others.

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Fig. 1. Personality of the Student: Behaviour Characteristics and traits Answer Criteria: Circle yes or no to each criterion/symptom if it has been observed for the categories shown in the box below. Abbreviate (F) for Frequency, (D) for Duration, (I) for Intensity Frequency

Duration

Intensity

(a) Every 5 min

(a) 5 min

(a) Mild

(b) Every 15 min

(b) 15 min

(b) Average

(c) Hourly

(c) 30 min

(c) Extreme

(d) Daily

(d) More than 30 min

(e) Too frequent to count

(e) More than 1 hr

CHARACTERISTIC 1. Engages in strange behaviour 2. Struggles with vulnerability 3. Struggles with acceptance 4. Struggles with independence 5. Struggles with dependence 6. Difficulty with authority 7. Difficulty with coping with conflicts 8. Difficulty with disappointments 9. Difficulty with failures 10. Difficulty with insults 11. Many daily stressors encountered 12. Expresses anger and/or rage 13. Expresses frustration 14. Expresses disappointments 15. Encounters humiliation 16. Demonstrates sadness 17. Fails to demonstrate resiliency 18. Continuous setbacks 19. Encounters many failures 20. Overreaction to criticism 21. Difficulty with perceived criticism 22. Demonstrates low self-esteem 23. Inflated sense of self 24. Accurate sense of how others perceive them 25. Respects rules 26. Disrespects rules

PRESENT Yes or No Yes or No Yes or No Yes or No Yes or No Yes or No Yes or No

F-D-I (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______

(I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

(F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______

(I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______

or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or

No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No

Yes or No Yes or No

(F)_______(D)_______ (I)______ (F)_______(D)_______ (I)______

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Fig. 1. (Continued) 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63.

Follows instructions Non-compliant to instruction Compliant to authority Non-compliant to authority Expresses a need for control Expresses a need for attention Expresses a need for respect Expresses a need for admiration Demonstrates confrontation Fails to demonstrate empathy Superior attitude towards others Treats others as inferior Demonstrates empathy Many negative experiences Leakage reveals clues to feelings Subtle threats Written notes/drawings Involves others in preparations Deceives friends and family Failed love relationship Resentment over injustices Signs of depression Signs of narcissism Estranged from others Dehumanizes others Exaggerated sense of entitlement Pathological need for attention Externalizes blame Anger management problems Intolerance towards others Inappropriate humour Seeks to manipulate others Lack of trust Closed social group Change in recent behaviours Rigid and opinionated Unusual interest in sensational violence 64. Fascination with violence-filled entertainment 65. Negative role models

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or or

No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No

(F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______ (F)_______(D)_______

(I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______ (I)______

Yes or No

(F)_______(D)_______ (I)______

Yes or No

(F)_______(D)_______ (I)______

Source: Adapted from FBI Threat Assessment Report (2007); Lebrun (2009).

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Adolescents are at risk for psychosocial problems and poor developmental outcomes such as academic failure, alcohol, drug abuse, delinquency and problems with the law and violence. These other factors also play a role in the possibility that an individual will use a weapon to commit a crime. Family dynamics are patterns of behaviour, thinking, beliefs, traditions, roles and customs that exist in a family. When there is an issue with a young person who has made a threat, it is important to have some idea of what factors may be present in his family background. The dynamics perceived by the student, parents and school officials are instrumental in understanding whether the he will carry out the threat or not. Family dynamics have a way of integrating themselves into all aspects of the individual’s life; the moment that he may be the triggered will set the course of events into action (Fig. 2). If there are more than 15–20 of these indicators in a youth’s life, there is reason for concern. It is not a guarantee that a youth will become a shooter, but there is definitely family dysfunction that may lead to other behaviours. These other behaviours may take the form of petty crimes and/or property vandalism and theft. The combination of both personality and family dynamics coming together create an ambiance rich for disaster. Shooters have a tendency to resort to violence when they have nothing to care about in their lives. When there are no redeeming factors or people in one’s life, it becomes easier to shoot and kill. School dynamics are patterns of behaviour, thinking, beliefs, customs, traditions, roles and values that exist in a school’s culture. The only way to understand the culture of a school is to spend some time there. One cannot understand the structure, climate and ambiance without having been there. Identifying which values, behaviours and expectations that are valued and reinforced is part of the assessment that one must have before doing a risk assessment. Some schools do a wonderful job of explaining to students how they can be successful and get approval and acceptance from both school officials and their peers, while others are more ambiguous about how to achieve those desired outcomes. For some students, when they understand these expectations they are more able to fit in and be part of the group, while others have a much more difficult time and are more likely to become isolated or ostracized. The group that becomes ostracized and not able to fit in with the school’s values and beliefs are the ones more likely to resort to violence. Lack of connection to the staff of the school also is important in understanding the

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Fig. 2. Family Dynamics Checklist Answer Criteria: Circle yes or no to each criterion/symptom if it has been observed. CHARACTERISTICS OBSERVED OR PRESENT 1. Difficult parental relationship YES/NO 2. Recent multiple moves YES/NO 3. Loss of a parent YES/NO 4. Addition of a step-parent YES/NO 5. Expresses contempt for parents YES/NO 6. Rejects parents in his life YES/NO 7. Rejects roles of parents YES/NO 8. Violence within the home YES/NO 9. Parental reaction to behaviour is minimal YES/NO 10. Parents do not find behaviour abnormal YES/NO 11. Parents are unable to recognize or acknowledge YES/NO behaviour as a concern 12. Parents react defensively to criticism YES/NO 13. Parents confrontational with school officials YES/NO 14. Parents seem unconcerned YES/NO 15. Parents minimize reports YES/NO 16. Parents reject any reports on misbehaviour YES/NO 17. Guns are present in the home YES/NO 18. Weapons are kept in the home YES/NO 19. Explosives are in the home YES/NO 20. Weapons are treated carelessly YES/NO 21. No safety precautions taken with weapons YES/NO 22. Guns are loaded YES/NO 23. Parents model careless use of weapons YES/NO 24. Parents demonstrate use of weapons to solve conflicts YES/NO 25. Family lacks closeness YES/NO 26. No family intimacy YES/NO 27. Frequent moves YES/NO 28. Family has recently relocated YES/NO 29. Parents set few rules YES/NO 30. No code of conduct for child YES/NO 31. Parents give in to child’s demands YES/NO 32. Child insists on inordinate amount of privacy YES/NO 33. Parents have little information about friends YES/NO 34. Parents have little information on whereabouts YES/NO 35. Parents have little information on activities YES/NO 36. Parents have little information on school life YES/NO 37. Parents have little information on relationships YES/NO 38. Parents are intimidated by child YES/NO

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Fig. 2. (Continued) 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.

Parents fear child will attack them physically Parents unwilling to face emotional outbursts Traditional family roles are reversed No limits on television watching No limits on internet usage No defined times for activity with others Is secretive about computer use Plays violent games on the internet Researches violent sites on internet Researches weapons on internet Parents are unable to access child’s computer Drugs and alcohol present

YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO YES/NO

Source: Adapted from the FBI Threat Assessment Report (2007); Lebrun (2009).

system and culture of that particular school. Students and staff may have very different perspectives and perceptions on the culture and values of the school. In any type of assessment, it is important to have a very good handle on how students see their school. Discrepancy between staff and students can be keys in understanding the reasons why a school may be under attack. Fig. 3 contains a checklist of indicators that assess the dynamics of a school’s potential to experiencing a shooting crisis. These criteria are to be used to self-evaluate by school officials as well as those who may be assessing the situation at the time of the crisis. If 10 or more of these criteria are present, then the school has an environment that may make it a target. Administrators and school officials must begin the dialogue around making their school safer and more secure. In discussions with student groups and staff, these issues can be put on the table and lend itself to a proactive change in school culture and prevent the disaster of a school shooting! Social dynamics are patterns of behaviour, thinking, beliefs, customs, traditions and roles that exist in the larger community where students live. These patterns have an impact on students’ behaviours, their feelings about themselves, their outlook on life, attitudes, perceived options and lifestyle practices. If the school shooter is surrounded by drugs, alcohol, poverty and weapons, then he begins to act accordingly and will reflect in some fashion the social dynamics of the community where he lives and goes to school.

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Fig. 3. School Dynamics Checklist Answer Criteria: Circle yes or no to each criterion/symptom if it has been observed. CHARACTERISTICS OBSERVED–PRESENT 1. Student is detached from school YES/NO 2. Student is detached from others YES/NO 3. Student is detached from teachers YES/NO 4. School does very little to address behaviours YES/NO 5. School does very little to prevent disrespectful behaviours YES/NO 6. Bullying is part of school culture YES/NO 7. School authorities are oblivious to bullying YES/NO 8. Bullying interventions are inconsistent YES/NO 9. Students act in the role of a bully YES/NO 10. Student act in the role of a victim YES/NO 11. Students are bystanders to bullying YES/NO 12. School atmosphere promotes racial issues YES/NO 13. School atmosphere promotes social class divisions YES/NO 14. Use of discipline is inequitably applied to students YES/NO 15. Use of discipline is inequitably applied by staff YES/NO 16. School culture is static YES/NO 17. School culture is unyielding YES/NO 18. School culture is insensitive to changes in society YES/NO 19. School culture is insensitive to new students and faculty YES/NO 20. Certain groups of students given prestige over others YES/NO 21. Certain groups are not given respect by school officials YES/NO 22. Code of silence prevails in student body YES/NO 23. Few students feel safe to talk to staff about issues YES/NO 24. Little trust exists between students and staff YES/NO 25. Access to computers is unsupervised or unmonitored YES/NO 26. Students can use school computers to play violent games YES/NO 27. Students are allowed to visit hate and violent internet sites YES/NO 28. Poor home and school communication YES/NO 29. Poor community relationships between school and families YES/NO 30. Lack of proper security and safety precautions YES/NO Source: Adapted from the FBI Threat Assessment Report (2007); Lebrun (2009).

Within this community, peer groups play a huge role in influencing attitudes and behaviour. Information about his friends and relationships with peers and or classmates can provide clues to his attitudes, sense of identity, whether he will act out or not and whether the threat is just a threat or it is a plan of action waiting to be executed (Fig. 4).

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Fig. 4. Social Dynamics Answer Criteria: Circle yes or no to each criterion/symptom if it has been observed for the categories. CHARACTERISTICS OBSERVED–PRESENT 1. Easy and unmonitored access to movies YES/NO 2. Unmonitored access to internet sites YES/NO 3. Visits violent internet sites/violent games YES/NO 4. Individual is involved with a group that shares a YES/NO fascination with violence 5. Individual is involved with a group that has extremist YES/NO beliefs and actions 6. Extremist groups isolate individuals YES/NO 7. Individual is always with extremist group YES/NO 8. Individual becomes defensive when challenged on beliefs YES/NO 9. Individual lacks reality check YES/NO 10. Individual uses drugs and alcohol YES/NO 11. Individual expresses strong attitudes about drugs and YES/NO alcohol 12. Behaviour changes are present due to drugs and alcohol YES/NO 13. Outside school interests are focused on violence YES/NO 14. Individual has no outside interests YES/NO 15. Copycat behaviours from media are present YES/NO 16. Individual refers to other school shootings YES/NO 17. Individual worships a school shooter YES/NO 18. Individual threatens school shooting YES/NO 19. Individual has a plan of action for violence YES/NO 20. Individual has written a suicide note YES/NO Source: Adapted from the FBI Threat Assessment Report (2007); Lebrun (2009).

If there are 5–7 of these criteria met, then intervention is necessary. These societal factors will not guarantee that an individual will become a school shooter, but it is more likely that the individual may resort to some sort of violence. The issue facing educators, law enforcement agencies and the wider public is not how to predict school violence. Reliably predicting any type of violence is extremely difficult. Predicting that an individual who has never acted out violently in the past will do so in the future is still more difficult. Seeking to predict acts that occur as rarely as school shootings is almost impossible. This is simple statistical logic: when the incidence of any form of

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violence is very low and a very large number of people have identifiable risk factors, there is no reliable way to pick out from that large group the very few who will actually commit the violent act. The checklists presented do not diagnose or predict that a student will become a school shooter. These checklists are to be used to begin the discussion around the issues that may be facing certain individuals within school populations. The discussions that occur around the findings of the checklists may lead to proactive psychological and social interventions for a young person. It is a well-documented fact that young people who have been bullied, isolated, harassed, threatened and made to feel secondary have been the majority of the shooters (http://dobbsferry.k12.ny.us/dfblogs/dfblogs.htm# Cyber-Bullying%20Hits%20Home). If one analyses the psychology around the thinking patterns of the shooter, one can understand that there is a systematic sequence of events that occur in the brain from planning to execution. The shooter begins to have thoughts and fantasies about getting revenge on his tormentors. At which point it moves from fantasy to actual planning is uncertain. It may be after repeated tormenting or abuse from other young people or there is a trigger that occurs in the youth’s life around a situation or a stressor (Lebrun, 2009). One might believe that there is a catalyst for the beginning of the planning stages. The moment he makes the decision to shoot up his school or his peers is the moment the planning becomes real. He begins to scout out locations and observe routines and patterns of the school system. He begins to understand and record these observations and formulate his plan. He becomes aware of the security measures or lack thereof in the school he attends. He begins to record the schedules of when students are in class and which class and in what area large groups of students congregate, like the cafeteria or the gym. He begins to track his potential victims if his anger is focused on specific individuals. If his hate is focused on the school system, then any place and any person is fair game. Random shootings are probably the most difficult to predict as they can happen anywhere at any time. Schools are not prepared for this kind of attack. It is like a terrorist attack; the element of surprise is the shooter’s best tactic to making it successful. Prior to most school shooting incidents, others know about the attacker’s intentions and/or specific plans. Why the code of silence? If the shooter does tell others, why are the threats not taken seriously? Is it because people discount the fact that someone could actually go through with it? Is this the

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fatal mistake? Most attackers engage in some form of behaviour prior to the incident that causes concerns or indicates a need for help (www.secretservice. gov/ntac/ssi_guide.pdf). Once the individual has marked out the territory, he is better able to figure out what he needs to do. In this way he can arrive and deliver his destruction without any chance of being stopped. If a school happens to have security measures in place, he will figure out how to circumvent those measures and get his weapons of choice into the building. Some shooters only bring weapons to the site the day of the shooting, while others bring weapons on dry runs and see if they can sneak it into the school. If a shooter is successful at this, he may store back-up artillery in his locker in case of need. Most school shootings seem to occur on weekdays, mostly Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. It is almost deliberate that the shootings occur on these days. It is as if shooters want to give their peers a few days off school since they know that classes will be cancelled over several days because of the shooting. It may also be related to the youth reaching his boiling point because of an added incident, more bullying or a failing grade that triggers his going home and getting ready for the next school day (www.secretservice.gov/ntac/ssi_guide.pdf). In fact, many of the shooters do not speak at all. Very rarely will they ever engage in conversation with any of their potential or predetermined victims. Since most shooters are not marksmen, they randomly start shooting everyone they see. Bullets fly all over a classroom or designated area. Some shooters seek out their predetermined victims to make sure that they are truly dead, while others just randomly shoot all that are present. If he does not have any predetermined victims, he will enter the school and just open fire. It does not matter to him who he kills. Sometimes victims are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He shoots blindly into the crowd many more people are injured or killed. The randomness of the shooting and the bullets ends up killing many more people. Examples of this are Columbine, Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University. It is common for school shooters to commit suicide after their acts of violence. Firearms are the most common means by which school shooters end their lives. This may be related to access, since many shooters have the gun right there and are able to turn it on themselves immediately upon completion of their mission (www.preventinjury.com). The important factor in school shootings is prevention and education. There are several services and programmes available to deliver support to troubled youth (Secret Service Safe School Initiative, 2011). These programmes use

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individual therapy to teach conflict management, social skills training, prosocial behaviour curricula, skill streaming, groups for aggressive children and leadership training. The school shooter is rarely identified early on for these groups or strategies because he may be flying under the radar of educators. Peer programmes for students often will help foster positive peer culture in friendship clubs and after-school sports clubs where a youth can and will hopefully find inclusion and acceptance. Community programmes can take the form of anti-gang programmes, services that address community violence, police anti-violence programmes, parent support groups, church groups and youth groups. The way children are involved and incorporated into their community builds a bridge to protecting and respecting the individuals within that community. Teacher-based programmes are also known to be effective in changing behaviours. Teachers learn through training how to address violence in their classrooms. There are extensive programmes that target classroom management, anti-bullying programmes and academic programmes aimed at aggressors, victims and observers. There is no way of knowing if a teacher teaching this type of programme has prevented a school shooting, but the good news is that the phenomenon of school shootings is very limited (Lebrun, 2009). Successful school-wide intervention programmes have the following core implementation characteristics: They raise the awareness and responsibility of students, teachers and parents regarding the types of violence in the school. They create clear guidelines and rules for the entire school. They target the various social systems in the school and clearly communicate to the entire school community procedures to be followed before, during and after violent events. They focus on getting school staff, students and parents involved in the programme. The interventions fit easily into the normal flow and mission of the school. They use faculty, staff and parents in the school setting to plan, implement and sustain the programme. They increase monitoring and supervision in non-classroom areas (Astor, Meyers, Benbenishty, & Rosemond, 2005). In conclusion, school shooters are not monsters but victims of their environments and life circumstance. They were created by the dysfunction of our societies and schools. To end school shootings, society and in particular schools must value and save every child no matter what the costs or investment of energy and resources. Schools shootings are here to stay till schools change how they treat these at-risk young people.

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REFERENCES Astor, R. A., Meyers, A., Benbenishty, R., & Rosemond, M. (2005). School safety interventions: Best practices and programs. Children and Schools, 27(1), 17–32. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/injury/ wisqars/index.html. Accessed on 7 July 2010. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Youth risk behavioral surveillance – United States, 2009. MMWR, 59(SS-5). Child Defense Fund. (2009, September 16). Protect children not guns. Retrieved from http:// www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/protect-children-notguns-report-2009.html Federal Bureau of Investigation (US). (2007). Crime in the United States, 2005. Washington, DC: Department of Justice. Retrieved from www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius Lebrun, M. (2009). Books, blackboards and bullets. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Mercy, J., Butchart, A., Farrington, D., & Cerda´, M. (2002). Youth violence. In E. Krug, L. L. Dahlberg, J. A. Mercy, A. B. Zwi & R. Lozano (Eds.), World report on violence and health (pp. 25–56). Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. Patriquin, D. (2011, June14). Teacher assaults and bullying. Retrieved from http://www. masscitiesnews.com/news.asp?n¼892. Accessed on 27 August 2011. Puzzanchera, C. (2009). Juvenile arrests 2008. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. School Shooters and Mental Health. Retrieved from http://www.holology.com/shooting.html. Accessed on 27 August 2011. Secret Service: Safe Schools Initiative. Retrieved from http://www.secretservice.gov/ntac_ ssi.shtml. Accessed on 27 August 2011. Sunday Telegraph. Violent youth crime up a third. Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved from http:// www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1576076/Violent-youth-crime-up-a-third.html. Accessed on 27 August 2011. Unintentional firearm injuries. Retrieved from http://www.preventinjury.org/PDFs/ UNINTENTIONAL_FIREARM_INJURY.pdf. Accessed on 27 August 2011.

SEBDS AND THE MENTAL PROCESSING BIASES SUGGESTED BY SCHOOL-BASED DATA COLLECTION WITH CHILDREN AGED 8–12 IN GREECE: AN IMPORTANT FINDING AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH Christos Papakyriakopoulos ABSTRACT This chapter explores the simultaneous effects of the independent variables of social cognition (social information processing) and of self-esteem/ global self-worth on clinically and research-derived measures of problem behaviour in children aged 8–12 (dependent variables). The specific aims are to develop and test a school-based standardised model for better screening of SEBDs in Greece in children 8–12 years old and analyse

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 339–357 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002024

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in-depth the inferred patterns of mental processing of SEBD-screened children from the data collected in one-on-one interviews. The hypothesis is that groups of particular children will emerge that share similar characteristics in their social information processing styles and their proposed reactions to challenging social interactions. Evidently, these findings could lead to a suggestive discussion of school-based approaches to interventions. The study presents evidence for this hypothesis, suggesting the existence of three separate groups in the sample. The sample included 240 children assigned in two groups, the experimental and the control, each containing 120 closely matched cases. The exploratory analysis of the outcomes reveals an identified mental processing bias in attributing causality and in behaviour response selection that is consistent enough to suggest the bias may be as organised in the brain as a ‘hard-wired’ function.

INTRODUCTION Despite their sometimes extremely diverse social and economic backgrounds, all children have a common need for learning, evolving, coping, and surviving. In the course of their development, they need to adjust to the prevailing social norms, achieve acceptance, form attachments, deal with their feelings in response to a multitude of events, and develop skills for coping constructively in order to excel. However, not all children (the term refers to both children and adolescents) cope successfully. Some of them grow up and make enduring, healthy and long-lasting friendships, and show joy in learning. In contrast, other children form troubled social relationships, are caught up in unfulfilling social interactions, get into trouble and exhibit unacceptable or worrisome behaviour. In school, these behaviours take the form of defiance to teachers and authority figures, poor learning, concentration problems, loneliness, excessive shyness, or repeated acts of aggression against others and/or their possessions. If such behaviours are repeated beyond average prevalence rates, and continue in intensity, time length and complexity, they could be considered problems of a serious may be ‘clinical’ nature profiled as inattention, social problems, anxiety, depression, thought and health problems, aggression, antisocial behaviour, and hyperactivity (Achenbach, 1991; Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1986; Achenbach & Howell, 1993; Achenbach, Howell, McConaughy, & Stanger, 1995a, 1995b).

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The aetiology of these observable behaviours could be multifactorial, including biological, peri/post-natal, environmental, health and familial factors, as well as experientially acquired (Cicchetti & Hinshaw, 2002; Cicchetti & Rogosch, 1996). Despite the fact that children are exposed to the above risk factors, resilience may play a compensating or mediating role. It has been very recently suggested that resilience is composed of children’s temperamental, cognitive and socially active–reactive styles, their ‘learned’ or conditioned behaviours, and the metacognitive processing that mediates making meaning of personal experiences (Calkins, Blandon, Williford, & Keane, 2007). Through the multidirectional influences of these processes and their subsequent operative functions, children manage to shape a personal style of understanding and reacting to events and feelings. The present study focuses on investigating these styles with children presenting indications of maladjusted behaviour or SEBDs within a Greek primary school population in Athens, with the aim to identify children forming distinct groups based on both their thinking patterns and action– reaction styles or biases.

Theory Development in Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBDs) Children with SEBDs have received growing attention around the world over the last 15 years due to community sensitisation for the promotion of mental health services. In 2003, the World Health Organisation’s official year of mental health, this focus culminated in proposed actions designed to foster better understanding, assessment, intervention and prevention of SEBDs, while realising through empirical research that too many problems pass undetected, especially in school-aged children. The report (WHO, 2012) based on cross-cultural and cross-national research suggests that at any given time, only up to 45 per cent of children in need of remedial help will actually receive it (Shatkin & Belfer, 2004). This means that a large proportion of children and adolescents in need are neglected. One way to address this issue is to develop a swifter and more efficient screening process to identify problems. In the last 15 years, many studies have attempted to identify a combination of independent variables that could better predict maladjustment or psychopathology in school children. Design wise, children’s ‘maladjustment’ has been studied mostly in relation

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to either social cognitive (Downey & Walker, 1989; Pettit, Dodge, & Brown, 1988) or emotional variables (Izard, 2000; Izard, Fine, Schultz, Mostow, & Ackerman, 2001). The present study aims to be a research design exception (for another exception, see Izard, Ackerman, Schoff, & Fine, 2000). In social cognitive theory, the different stages involved in social information processing were originally formulated to work in a linear way. However, the latest strong evidence suggests that behavioural responding is not always a mere summation of different components in a sequential processing model, but rather follows a more interactive and/or parallel organisation (Crick & Dodge, 1996; Dodge, Laird, Lochman, Zelli, & CPPRG, 2002; Dodge, 2006). Emotion was largely neglected as operating alongside social information processing in the past models of social adjustment (Dodge, Murphy, & Buchsbaum, 1984; Dodge, Pettit, McClaskey, & Brown, 1986). In the last 10 years, a consistent and sizeable body of research is changing this (Carroll Izard, 2000, 2002). The present research is designed to explore a simultaneous cognition– emotion–action effect on school-based SEBDs, with the aim to inform early detection and systemic whole-school provision (Cicchetti & Hinshaw, 2002). At this point, it is useful to examine the Greek context and its particularities.

THE GREEK CONTEXT Special Educational Needs (SEN): Background Context In Greece, major changes have recently occurred relating to the organisation of special needs provision. Although these changes are not of the same magnitude as those found in northern Europe, progress has been made towards the European Union’s aim of integrating as many pupils as possible within mainstream education. Despite this being the background, in practice, much is left to be desired in terms of proper screening, assessment, special educational planning, teaching, and remedying children’s EBD problems. SEN Provision SEBDs In the Greek system, children experiencing mild to moderate behaviour and learning difficulties are only offered mainstream schooling, with specialist

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support only provided for language and reading difficulties. ‘Learning’ problems supersede behaviour problems in the provision available. Thus, regarding SEBDs, teachers and parents are left to seek professional help either in the private sector (for those who can afford it, and these are not the majority of parents whose children attend state schools) or in medical-educational centres developed in the boroughs, which are staffed by special educators, a family therapist, a doctor, clinical psychologist and child psychiatrist, and which have a long waiting list. In practice, SEBD children are dealt with predominantly through school resources by regular teachers and their parents. The Statistics Students The rate of students attending special (separate) classes or schools in Greece is approximately 1.2 per cent (Greek Ministry of Education, 2007; Education Research Centre of Greece, 2002, 2003). This number is not in accordance with the latest European Union or international figures (Costello, Egger, & Angold, 2005; U.S. Sensus Bureau, 2008) on crosscultural prevalence rates that report 10–15 per cent of children in a class having some form of special needs1 that require a degree of special needs provision. In addition, three exhaustive reviews (Canino, Bird, RubioStupec, & Bravo, 1995; Costello et al., 2005; Offord, 1995) of epidemiological surveys across several countries over 40 years suggest that at any given time, between 3 and 22 per cent of school-aged children have some type of psychiatric disorder. The question then is why are the numbers so low in Greece? The answer lies within the particularities of the Greek school system discussed above. School Units and Classes At the end of the 2007 school year, there were 312 Special Education School Units out of a total of 15,865 schools, a percentage of 1.2 per cent. There were also 1,751 special needs inclusion classes that operated within mainstream schools distributed as follows: 69% in the primary school 12% in the kindergarten 14% in secondary school 4% in special needs vocational education and training workshops 1% in special needs vocational education schools

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Developmental Psychopathology: The Taxometry of Problems or the Problem of Taxometry? Theory A growing number of clinicians, experimental scientists and theoreticians in the discipline of psychopathology are moving away from a traditional, rigid scientific perspective that has diagnosed and treated psychopathology through the use of categorical models to which it ‘fits’ individuals. Influenced by the evolution and success of post-modern and systemic scientific thinking and therapy with children, many researchers have advocated the use of continuous models of psychopathology on the grounds of philosophical, methodological, and pragmatic (real-world) principles. These opposing theoretical perspectives amongst researchers questioning what constitutes a ‘disorder’ or ‘behaviour problem’ have greatly impacted reflexivity in the design stages of the present study. The important questions are:  Are mental disorders perceived as failures of biologically predetermined inclinations (Wakefield, 1999), or are they distinct behaviour categories arbitrarily defined by social norms and values (Lilienfeld & Marino, 1999)?  Are a number of symptoms adequate to form a disorder if they are caused by a high-risk environment, or is proof of stability across contexts needed (Wakefield, Pottick, & Kirk, 2002)?  Can one truly separate environmental risk and internal tendencies as causal factors (Bremner & Vermetten, 2001)?  Does the DSM-IV platform pathologise normal behaviour (Richters & Cicchetti, 1993)? Each of these questions highlights the issues that any behaviour screening faces, for example, defining which behaviour ‘syndromes’ will be defined as ‘abnormal’. In fact, some researchers have advocated no diagnosis. The answer to these questions has lead to two distinct and opposing views of human behaviour that philosophers of science have named essentialist (i.e. the causes of mental health problems lie within the individual and are part of an ‘objective’ biological makeup that heavily impacts evolutionary fitness; Wakefield, 1999), which has been criticised for being deterministic, inflexible, and downplaying the effects of socially constructed realities in behaviour (Beauchaine, 1999; Richters & Hinshaw, 1999), and nominalist (i.e. psychiatrically described behaviour categories of deviance are demarcations from the socially constructed behaviour norms; there is no

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objective way to separate normal from abnormal behaviour; Flanagan & Blashfield, 2002). Leading away from the above debate are the more recent scientific discussions on the pros and cons of dimensional versus categorical models of psychopathology description and ‘diagnosis’. These discussions highlight the limitations and rigidity of categorical classifications of psychopathology whilst recognising the apparent utility, multicontextual and developmental information that dimensional assessment can provide (Cummings, Davies, & Campbell, 2000; Hinshaw & Park, 1999). Finally, it has been pointed out that applying dichotomous points of continuous scores on the severity of symptoms, a side effect of categorisation, hinders reliability and statistical power and may misdirect the outcome extraction in research assessing the antecedent, associated and consequential factors of psychopathology (MacCallum, Zhang, Preacher, & Rucker, 2002). For all the above reasons, advancement in theoretical, statistical and clinical thinking has empowered researchers in the field to use empirically derived assessment instruments. Such instruments, of which probably the best example to date is the Achenbach (1991) set of checklists to gather data from multiple informants, evaluate behaviour traits across multiple continuous dimensions. Symptoms are assessed through carefully worded item descriptions falling within particular factor analytically derived subscales. Children’s scores on behaviour identified through these measures of SEBD severity allow for comparisons to empirically derived norms of the same age and gender (Achenbach, 1991). Along these lines, equifinality principles propose that a particular type of maladjustment can be the outcome of various courses of behaviour actions from various contexts, and multifinality principles suggest that children in very similar high-risk environments can end up in very different end points, following dissimilar trajectories, with some of them presenting symptoms of maladjustment (Cicchetti, 1993; Cicchetti & Rogosch, 1996; Rutter & Sroufe, 2000).

METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN Ten schools of inner and outer Athens participated in the study; 850 children of which constituted the initial screening sample. Finally, 120 children received high scores on Rutter behaviour screening questionnaire to suggest possible SEBDs. These were matched one-on-one with 120 children with the lowest SEBD scores. Details are presented in Table 1.

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The 2-Stage Model of Children Selection and Their Allocation to Experimental or Control Group.

Sample

Cases

Participating pool of cases Initial cases at or above cut-off point of 9 on the Rutter scale Selected cases for the study

120 controls matched on variables

Ages

850 children 140 children (20 cases dropped) 120 children in experimental group matched with 120 children in control group 1. Same year and class 2. Same gender 3. Lowest problems, scoring on Rutter 4. Same level of parental education

Grades: 3–6 Ages: 8–12

The two-stage progression of case selection, allocation and data collection with the respective steps of data collection from multiple informants is described in Fig. 1. The Present Study’s Stories An important part of the data collection was data gathered regarding the social cognitive measures, which were part of the independent variables. These measures were presented to each child in a one-to-one interview in the form of hypothetical stories. These stories were adaptations of the seminal work of Dodge (Dodge & Frame, 1982; Dodge et al., 2003; Dodge & Pettit, 2003) and Marsh, Serafica, and Barenboim (1980) in the field.

The Dodge Stories Dodge focused his work on the fascinating field of children’s social information processing and their attribution and response biases. A depiction of his model is presented in Fig. 2. In order to investigate these biases, a Dodge-developed series of hypothetical stories presented to children of various ages was used in the present study. These stories had different outcome valences: positive,

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Screening Stage (1)

Parents’ Level of Education

RUTTER scores: 12 weeks test-retest reliability completed for 10 pupils randomly selected from each class

RUTTER scale: Teacherscored for each child in class

Processing of 1st order Data collected.

Parents’ Education: 4 categories matched 1-to-1 between Targets and Controls

Preliminary Analysis of Rutter: children matched on “Parents’ Education”, “gender”, “same grade & class” and opposite total problem score spectrum. Allocation to Target and Control groups

Diagnostic Assessment Stage (2) Both Clinical and Control groups provided data on the following measures:

Peer sociometric nominations: within each class data gathering

2 categories of pupil social likeability status: Negative vs Positive HARTER Self-Perceived Competence data collected in 1-to-1 interviews

Fig. 1.

ACHENBACH’s Teachers Report Form completed by class teacher

DODGE Causal Attribution and Proposed Response Bias stories

MARSH Interpersonal Problem Analysis

Use of Data for Establishing Experimental and Control Groups.

negative and ambiguous. The first aim was, by presenting the child interviewed with the stories (in which the self was the participant–recipient of an act), to ask them to present their processing of the situation regarding the causal intent of the child instigator involved. Secondly, the interviewee was asked to propose a response decision to suit his/her interpretation of the causality of the situation. During this sequence of processing, children evaluate possible responses to a particular situation heavily influenced by their attributions of intent of the other and the outcome intent they want to achieve from the situation. For example, if they consider a child intentionally malicious, when they see him/her holding one of their favourite personal objects in their hands, they

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Neural Dispositions

Socialization by: - Attachment - Physical abuse - Modeling - Success/Failure - Culture

Fig. 2.

Schemas

Hostile Attributional Bias

Aggressive Behaviour

The Dodge Model of the Development of Hostile Attributional Biases.

may value it more important to ‘teach them a lesson’. Therefore, it is most likely that they would aggress towards them. Dodge hypothesised that in both encoding and interpreting social cues, aggressive as compared to non-aggressive children were very different. His findings showed that aggressive children were biased towards attributing hostile intentions to peers in situations (stories or video vignettes) where the outcome was negative and the intent of the other person was unclear (i.e. ambiguous). On the other hand, in clearly interpretable outcome stories (i.e. a negative intention by peer with a negative outcome for the child interviewed) both aggressive and non-aggressive children were accurate in assessing intent and offering similar proposed responses. Furthermore, by attributing hostile intent to the instigator, children tend to respond or propose to respond aggressively. This hostile attribution bias was found to be consistent across different social environments (classroom: Dodge, 1980; Dodge et al., 2003; adolescent juvenile delinquency unit: Dodge & Pettit, 2003; Dodge, Price, Bachorowski, & Newman, 1990) and differing severity of cases. Furthermore, Dodge asserted that attribution biases could be due to processing differences in the first two steps of his model (1986) (i.e. the encoding and interpretation of social cues). The meaning of an act (i.e. hostile, accidental or benign) is dependent on the intention attributed to the actor (Bandura, 1983), which is a highly complex rule-applied procedure with components that may be species-, culture- and child-specific. Empirical evidence suggests that for both aggressive and non-aggressive boys, acts evaluated as clearly hostile are responded to aggressively, and benign ones are responded to nonaggressively (Dodge, 2006). Therefore, understanding the intent of the actor has been deemed critical.

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For the present research, the stories developed based on this model included four stories and two stages.

Stage 1: Causal Attributions of Intent Two stories with a negative outcome valence affecting the child interviewed:  First story: ‘You are walking in the playground and all of a sudden a ball hits you really hard and you see that it was kicked by childy (a) Highly positive in social likeability scoring, and (b) Highly negative. How do you think the event happened?’  Second story: ‘While sitting on a bench in the playground talking to some friends, child X comes by holding a chocolate milk carton in his hands. All of a sudden the milk gets spilled all over you and completely ruins your clothes. How did it happen?’ Two stories where the child being interviewed has to decide the purpose of another peer’s action, when the outcome valence is ambiguous:  First story: ‘Your favourite pencil/rubber/pencil case goes missing during break time; you look everywhere and on your way back to class, you see your classmate X (positive) or Y (negative) holding it in his/her hand. How do you think it got there?’  Second story: ‘You place your packed lunch on the table in the classroom, leave for a few minutes to use the washroom and on your way back, you see classmate X (positive) or Y (negative) holding it in his/her hands. What do you think he/she is trying to do?’ In the research, each story had one version with a sociometrically derived positive instigator, and one with a highly negative instigator. The stories were counterbalanced so that the first person acting was not always a child with a positive social status. The responses to the story were scored as follows: (2) (1) (0)

If the child interviewed attributed hostile or malevolent intent on the part of the instigator If he/she attributed the situation to an accident or no bad intentions If attributed to the other’s benevolent intentions

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Stage 2: Proposed Response Bias In relation to each story (four stories by two status instigators ¼ eight versions) the child interviewed was asked what he or she would really do in such a situation. The scores were allocated based on the following scale: (3) (2)

(1)

(0)

If the child proposed that he/she would retaliate, behave aggressively to ‘punish’, ‘kill’ or ‘teach the other a lesson’ If the child suggested that he/she would report or complain to an authority figure (teacher or head) with the intention of having the other child punished If he/she would refrain from doing anything negative to the other child and ask for an explanation or call his or her parents to bring a clean set of clothes If the child reacted positively in the ambiguous stories, for example ‘thank you for finding my pen or my packed lunch’

The Marsh Stories Adapted for the Present Study A different social cognitive processing in children was explored theoretically by the adaptation of a version of Diane Marsh’s et al. (1980) interpersonal problem-solving competence (IPSC) in addition to the Dodge measure. This model has been shown to have a central influence on consistent maladjustment and is aimed at screening the social analytical thinking of children for their ability to analyse and resolve problems involving other people, a direct link to the development of perspective taking, that is ‘children’s increasing ability to recognise, articulate and coordinate the internal states of others’ (Marsh et al., 1980). The measurement of such a variable is generally designed to assess the following abilities:    

Problem Definition (PD) Alternative Thinking (AT) Consequential Thinking (CT) Solution Adequacy (SA)

The above abilities were averaged across two stories. Children needed to show an ability to construct ‘effective or socially adequate’ solutions to interpersonal problems. ‘A solution was rated as adequate if it was not deceptive, benefited at least some of the parties involved in the situation, and

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went beyond the information presented in the story’ (Downey & Walker, 1989, p. 838). Scores were then generated for the proposed problem-faced stories consisting of four categories:    

Total Total Total Total

number number number number

of of of of

alternative solutions (alternatives) adequate solutions (adequate alternatives) separate consequences (consequences) relevant consequences (relevant consequences)

For each problem story, the children were asked the following questions in this order: (1)

What is the problem here? What are all the things that you need to consider here? (Problem Definition) Scoring: A 2 was awarded for defining the problem mentioning the two sides of the dilemma, 1 for one side only, and 0 for none.

(2)

What are all the possible ways you can think of to solve this problem? (Alternative Thinking) Scoring: Raw score of the total number of solutions offered, averaged against the two stories. No upper limit.

(3)

What might happen with each of the solutions you have mentioned? What are all the possible consequences for each of the solutions? (Consequential Thinking) Scoring: Raw number of all consequences added. No upper limit.

(4)

Considering all these different solutions and their possible consequences, which solution do you think is best? (Solution Adequacy) Scoring: Scoring range 0–4: 0 was scored for a child saying to the other three that their visit to the venue is cancelled and no one is going because it does not profit any of the 4. 1 was scored for telling the other three that the visit is cancelled and taking another two instead, which satisfies only the one child in question. 2 was scored for leaving two of the classmates and taking only one of them, for example best friend. 3 was scored for leaving him/herself or another child out of the group and giving the three tickets to three members of the team 4 was scored for the child selling all the tickets and making alternative plans for all the children to go somewhere else as a whole group, which satisfied all of the people involved.

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FINDINGS A factor analysis of the independent variables has reinforced the emerging findings of the study, for example, that the ambiguous outcome stories lead to different outcomes from the negative ones and seem to describe a different type of behavioural profile in the sample, as do the different Marsh variables. Central were the findings of the cluster analysis: when a two-cluster solution hypothesis was used the number of pupils forming Cluster 1 was 152 and the ones forming Cluster 2 were 88. This suggests that more than a twocluster solution is needed to account for the makeup of the sample, as there is no fit with the original design of the study with an equal number of experimental and control group children. For this reason, a three-cluster solution was undertaken as presented in Table 2.

Cluster Analysis Summary The cluster analysis revealed that a two-cluster solution was inadequate to explain all of the cases. A three-cluster analysis was more appropriate with 64 children in Cluster 1, 123 in Cluster 2 and 53 in Cluster 3. Cluster 2 accounted for almost the entire control sample. Of the other two clusters that formed the experimental sample, further analysis and detailed profiling revealed that Cluster 1 children in the negative outcome story were prone to attribute hostile intent on the other child, irrespective of instigator status. However, in the ambiguous outcome story, they did not share the same tendency, but rather were able to rationalise their proposed responses. They seemed to process and allow for hostile/aggressive attribution and response biases only to clearly negative social interactions. Cluster 3 children were prone to attribute hostile intent and react aggressively not only in a story of clear valence, that is negative outcome, but similarly and even more so in an ambiguous outcome story. This suggests a Table 2. Cluster

Valid Missing

The 3-Cluster Solution Analysis. 1 2 3

64 children 123 children 53 children Total: 240 0

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hostile/aggressive preponderance, irrespective of instigator status and story outcome. The latter could indicate a very strongly organised pattern of uniformly biased behaviour both in mental processing and proposed intentions to act, like it would be in a neuropsychological ‘hard-wired’ behaviour. The latter may be proposed due to the apparent lacking in exercised control as most if not all ‘challenging’ social situations seem to be interpreted by such a child as uniformly threatening or biased. However, since the present study was not designed to research into neurological determinants of influence, it would be more sensible to suggest an explanation based on either a neurological inclination or socially learned behaviour (hence, socially conditioned or influenced), or a probable mixture of both. Furthermore, a social information processing handicap is proposed, which appears to differentiate them from the Cluster 1 children. The Cluster 2 children, appearing to be the ‘Normal’/Control group, had no bias towards attributing hostile intent or responding aggressively regardless of the story’s outcome. Furthermore, they had more competence overall on the Harter subscales, more understanding in ‘cold’ social processing situations, a higher degree of alternative solution generation and outcome anticipation and, in particular, signs of inferred prosocial and/ or altruistic stance in their decision-making.

LIMITATIONS An alternative longitudinal or cross-sectional design could have tested the stability of the present study’s findings across a variety of children of different ages, from kindergarten to high school. The use of self-reported questionnaires also presents several limitations. For example, some interviewees have a bias to propose types of responses that present an ‘ideal self’ instead of an ‘actual self’. In addition, a higher percentage of boys in the sample were reported by their teachers as exhibiting symptoms of maladjusted behaviour. This suggests that teachers tend to observe and single out maladjusted behaviour in terms of how difficult it is to handle and needing their immediate attention. This behaviour is typical of boys, especially in primary school. An equal gender-balanced differential screening of the problem could have presented a more informative explanation. Furthermore, a sample size of 240 children is modest to carry any magnitude in generating theory. A direct observation method could have also enriched the strength of the conclusions by making the important link

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between self-reports and actual behaviour. However, time and physical resources made this task impossible in the present study, but highly desirable for future research.

IMPLICATIONS The implications of the study findings are multi-fold for pupils, teachers, policy makers, and researchers alike. They can be used to inform practitioners of the specificity of mental processes in maladjusted behaviour so that children may be taught how to ‘listen’ to their thinking, identify their biases, and better control their actions; to inform teachers’ awareness to acknowledge that children are not ‘inherently bad’ and their observed behaviour may be the consequence of their inability to regulate their negative emotions, mental processes, and context-specific expectations; to inform policy makers to value periodic screening for problems in the Greek primary school context as long as it aims to sensitise and not label children. Sensitisation can bridge the differences between professionals and enable them to synthesise the intervention programs offered to schools, which are currently absent in state schools. The experience of conducting the study and collecting the data in such a manner proved to be relatively quick (approximately 30–40 minutes per child for the two SEBD instruments) once the teachers received some guidelines of how to examine behaviour in the context of a classroom, as the pilot work revealed. Depending on the theoretical paradigm, the underlying assumptions or analyses of the findings of the present study can be associated with different causal factors of children’s SEBDs. These differences can lead to separate strategies or focused actions in respective interventions. The present research suggests that a much more complex picture needs to be mapped out to explain the variability of SEBD behaviour, one that draws on wider social, economic, class, and education factors, family interaction patterns, family role ascription, and an individual’s level of emotional literacy.

NOTE 1. Defined by consensus as including a specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, mental retardation, social–emotional–behavioural disturbance, autism, hearing impairment and visual impairment.

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REFERENCES Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Teacher’s Report Form and 1991 Profile. Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT. Achenbach, T. M., & Edelbrock, C. (1986). Manual for the Teacher’s Report Form and Revised Version of the Child Behavior Profile. Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT. Achenbach, T. M., & Howell, C. T. (1993). Are American children’s problems getting worse? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 1145–1154. Achenbach, T. M., Howell, C. T., McConaughy, S. H., & Stanger, C. (1995a). Six-year predictors of problems in a national sample of children and youth: I. Cross-informant syndromes. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 336–347. Achenbach, T. M., Howell, C. T., McConaughy, S. H., & Stanger, C. (1995b). Six-year predictors of problems in a national sample: III. Transitions to young adult syndromes. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 658–669. Bandura, A. (1983). Aggression: A social learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Beauchaine, T. P. (1999). Definitions and levels of analysis. American Psychologist, 54, 439–440. Bremner, J. D., & Vermetten, E. (2001). Stress and development: Behavioral and biological consequences. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 473–489. Calkins, S. D., Blandon, A. Y., Williford, A. P., & Keane, S. P. (2007). Biological, behavioral, and relational levels of resilience in the context of risk for early childhood behaviour problems. Developmental Psychopathology, 19, 675–700. Canino, G., Bird, R., Rubio-Stupec, M., & Bravo, M. (1995). Child psychiatric epidemiology: What have we learned and what we need to learn. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 5, 79–92. Cicchetti, D. (1993). Developmental psychopathology: Reactions, reflections, projections. Developmental Review, 13, 471–502. Cicchetti, D., & Hinshaw, S. (2002). Prevention and intervention science: Contributions to developmental theory. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 667–671. Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (1996). Equifinality and multifinality in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 8, 597–600. Costello, E. J., Egger, H., & Angold, A. (2005). 10-year research update review: The epidemiology of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders: 1. Methods and public health burden. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 972–986. Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1996). Social information-processing mechanisms in reactive and proactive aggression. Child Development, 67, 993–1002. Cummings, E. M., Davies, P. T., & Campbell, S. B. (2000). Developmental psychopathology and family process. New York, NY: Guildford Press. Dodge, K. A. (1980). Social cognition and children’s aggressive behavior. Child Development, 51, 162–170. Dodge, K. A. (2006). Translational science in action: Hostile attributional style and the development of aggressive behaviour problems. Developmental Psychopathology, 18, 791–814. Dodge, K. A., & Frame, C. L. (1982). Social cognitive biases and deficits in aggressive boys. Child Development, 53, 620–635.

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Ministry of Education of Greece & Education Research Centre of Greece. (2007). The Greek education system: Facts and figures. (V. Koulaidis, C. Papakyriakopoulos, & A. Patouna, Eds.). Offord, D. R. (1995). Child psychiatric epidemiology: Current status and future prospects. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 284–288. Pettit, G. S., Dodge, K. A., & Brown, M. M. (1988). Early family experience, social problem solving patterns, and children’s social competence. Child Development, 59, 107–120. Richters, J. E., & Cicchetti, D. (1993). Mark Twain meets DSM-III-R: Conduct disorder, development, and the concept of harmful dysfunction. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 5–29. Richters, J. E., & Hinshaw, S. P. (1999). The abduction of disorder in psychiatry. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 438–445. Rutter, M., & Sroufe, L. A. (2000). Developmental psychopathology: Concepts and challenges. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 265–296. Shatkin, J. P., & Belfer, M. L. (2004). The global absence of child and adolescent mental health policy. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 9(3), 104–108. U.S. Census Bureau. (2008). Table 186. Children Under 18 years of age receiving special education or early intervention services. Wakefield, J. C. (1999). Evolutionary versus prototype analysis of the concept of disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 374–399. Wakefield, J. C., Pottick, K. J., & Kirk, S. A. (2002). Should the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder consider social context? American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 380–386. World Health Organisation. (2012). WHO’s executive board adopted draft resolution on mental health EB130.R8: Global burden of mental disorders and the need for a comprehensive, coordinated response from health and social sectors at the country level.

EARLY FAMILY INTERVENTIONS AS PREVENTION OF ESCALATION OF BEHAVIORAL AND EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS IN INTERNATIONALLY ADOPTED CHILDREN Irene Feigin ABSTRACT Existing research indicates that internationally adopted children exhibit elevated rate of emotional and behavioral difficulties. They are explained by the effects of early trauma, disturbed attachment, institutionalized behavior, and delays in cognitive development. Early interventions, therefore, focus on medical screening and cognitive testing, while adjustment aspect of early period for the entire family is neglected. The role of adoptive family is viewed as that of rehabilitation, its role as an active agent of change is ignored or underestimated. The approach grounded in family system theory and focused on the family process is effective for resolution of child’s difficulties. This

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 359–374 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002025

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chapter demonstrates that early intervention centered on mutual adjustment of the family and the child prevents escalation of child’s emotional tension, defiant behavior, and formation of rigid patterns of family interactions and psychopathology in children. It leads to behavioral improvements, and builds a foundation for lasting relationship. Therapy for American families and their school-age adopted children from Russia was simultaneously conducted in two languages by a bilingual psychologist, a native Russian speaker. Principles of such intervention are formulated: (1) The form of intervention is a dialogue between all family members. It facilitates safe self-expression and eases overwhelming emotions. (2) Child’s behavior is understood within a framework of adjustment to a transition, associated with experience of novelty and loss. To prevent complications of unresolved grief, the child’s loss is identified and acknowledged. (3) Changes that effect existing family system (such as adoptive siblings) and cause tensions are addressed. (4) Certain problematic behaviors and their former adaptive function are reframed and thus normalized within a context of child’s culture. (5) In the process, history of child’s life unfolds, integrating the past and the present, facilitating continuity of memory, and preventing disruption of identity.

INTRODUCTION In the past, fostering or adopting foreign children took the form of rescue missions and were often matters of life and death. Therefore, the question of children’s adjustment and their emotional problems seemed to be irrelevant. Emotional adjustment of children of international adoptions of modern time presents a challenge for educated and articulated middle-class parents and has become the focus of extensive clinical and scientific research. Nearly all studies of adoption have documented the resilience of internationally adopted children of all ages (Tizard, 1991; Welsh, Viana, Petrill, & Mathias, 2007). The majority of them do not demonstrate severe or persistent behavior and developmental problems. Nevertheless, existing research suggests that adoptees are at higher risk of developing serious mental health problems in adolescence and young adulthood and more likely to die from suicide, to be admitted for a psychiatric hospital, have drug and alcohol abuse problems then population at large (Hjern, Lindblab, & Vinnerljung, 2002) and that they are overrepresented in psychiatric care facilities (Verhulst, Althaus, & Versluis-den Bieman, 1990).

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The data concerning adjustment of older children adopted from other countries is inconsistent. According to Verhulst, Althaus, and Versluis-den Bieman (1992) ‘‘The older the age of the child at placement the greater the probability that the child will be subjected to psychosocial adversities.’’ Other studies indicate no age-related difference in adjustment (Juffer & van IJzendoorn, 2005). Adoptees behavioral problems are usually explained by the effects of early trauma, disturbed attachment, institutionalized behavior, and delays in cognitive development, that is, preadoption vulnerabilities and deficiencies; they are primarily conceptualized within the framework of attachment theory. In clinical practice, transient attachment difficulties of the adoptee are often assumed to be the child’s stable dysfunctional behavioral patternsdisorders of attachment. Difficulties between parents and adopted children are corrected through attachment interventions by attuning parental response to the child’s behavioral cues. Attention is given to such factors as parents’ sensitivity and ability to read cues and miscues, and qualities of the child’ signals (Marvin & Whelan, 2003). Such studies make an assumption that adoptive parents are ‘‘presumably sensitive caregivers’’ (Marvin & Whelan, 2003). The latter researchers also suggest that parents’ extreme sensitivity to criticism is responsible for the lack of exploring their role in the disordered attachment. Yet rarely do researchers see adoption itself as a source of distress for older children, or consider relationship aspect of adjustment. The role of the adoptive family is viewed as one of rehabilitation. Recommendations for prospective adoptive parents are written in a language of psychiatry to alert them about risks of compromised early development. Suggestions are given to accelerate the adoptee’s access to mental health services and admissions. For attention difficulty and depression parents are advised to use medication (Johnson & Dole, 1999). Thus, a child becomes a passive object of necessary interventions. An insight in the complex process of adaptation provides reading of the stories of the former children of Kindertransport, a rescue operation of more then 10,000 Jewish children from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia that were brought on a brink of WWII to the Great Britain and housed with families that were willing to take them. Great majority of these children came from loving, affectionate middle-class families. Their basic ability for attachment was not compromised by developmental factors and early experiences. However, their adjustment to well meaning strangers was universally difficult. Their accounts contain memories of sadness, defiance loyalty to their families and cultures, sober assessment of the character of their

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caregivers, and episodes of explosion of repressed anger. Some of them were transferred to another caregivers (Harris & Oppenheimer, 2000).

DESCRIPTION OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES This chapter is a result of working with adopted children and their families in my private practice. To protect the privacy of the client, all identifying details have been removed from this publication. Consultations and, if necessary, therapy sessions for American families and their school-age adopted children from Russia were simultaneously conducted in two languages. Sixteen school-age children (5 boys and 11 girls) from 7 to 14 years of age who were adopted by white middle-class parents were chosen for this chapter. Three of the families adopted siblings. The majority of these children have been in the United States from three weeks to six months when I first met them. All the children were healthy with minor medical or neurological problems or slight delay of cognitive development. Practically all adopted parents reported decent conditions in the orphanages. Many children were well-liked by the caring staff. None of them described experiences that would be considered abuse in the orphanage except for one boy who was a target of bullying by older boys. The ages of their placement varied from birth to two years prior to adoption. Most of them had parents whose parental rights were terminated due to neglect (alcohol abuse was parents’ common problem); some experienced physical abuse. In all children (but one), there was evidence of strong emotional ties to friends, teachers, and caretakers. All referred children exhibited behavioral difficulty that their parents were not able to control. Parents often came overwhelmed and frustrated. One single adoptive mother acknowledged yelling at her adopted daughter, and of hitting her once. This difficult behavior included not listening to and not following directions, having violent temper tantrums, rage, running out of the house without paying attention to traffic. The children were angry. Some told their parents that they did not want to be in America, some refused to answer their questions, locked themselves their room, and listened to Russian music. Four of the families also had own biological children. All these families reported tensions between siblings: older adopted siblings ‘‘being abusive’’ toward younger ones and adoptees damaged property of their newly acquired siblings. Biological children of the adoptive parents also had

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temper tantrums. Some of the adopted children showed symptoms of anxiety: poor night sleep, fears, and checking the entrance door before going to bed.

PRINCIPLES OF THE INTERVENTION My approach to presented behavioral and emotional difficulties was informed by my clinical practice. Talking to adopted children and their parents, observing family interactions and exploring relationships helped to develop key focus for the interventions. Initial goal is normalizing difficult behavior by examining in a context of adjustment to immigration and transition, associated with experience of novelty, displacement and loss and also by inquiry in preadoption personal history and culture that shaped the child’s behavior and identity. The therapeutic work that helped to recognize, access, and unburden emotions was liberating for both parents and the adopted children and resulted in diminishing anxiety and increasing flexibility of behavior. Often most dramatic behaviors, such as rage, screaming, temper tantrums, and overt hostility quickly subsided after the single or first few sessions. The second type of intervention is a family therapy. It was needed when initial behavioral difficulties persisted. The families whose adopted children’s initial difficulties persisted or even escalated usually had preexisting vulnerabilities, and therefore resolution of presenting problem requires more intensive work. One may consider the following dynamic of reinforcing the initial distress. For some alerted parents, behavior that occurred under the influence of transient yet strong emotion may be an indication of psychopathology and a call for an intervention. The adoptive parents, alerted by recommendations and warnings about the adoptees’ deficiencies, are especially susceptible to viewing their behavior as pathological. Behavior is labeled as symptomatic. Taking something that does not belong to a child labeled stealing, hitting the adoptive sibling is a sign of violent tendencies, not telling the truth when caught and questioned is lying, and all together symptoms of reactive attachment disorder that require specific interventions. And as it often happens, chance events instead of dying out reinforced by attempts to alleviate them, children become subjects of many individual interventions that often are not effective because they are blind to the relationship nature of the behavior. Initial difficulties become rigid behavioral patterns or symptoms.

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Instead of focusing solely on the individual child, I addressed adoptee’s distress within the paradigm of family therapy. Family therapy challenges assumption of children inherent mental problems and understands human distress as a relationship dilemma (Hoffman, 1981; Minuchin, 1974). The adoptees difficulties were viewed as not an intrapsychic phenomenon, or a symptom of preexisting psychopathology, but as a manifestation of mutual adjustment difficulties of the adaptive family and the child. I find the systemic family therapy approach (Boscolo, Cecchin, Hoffman, & Penn, 1987; Hoffman, 1985; Selvini Palazzoli, Cecchin, Prata, & Boscolo, 1979), to be especially fruitful working with adoptive families because it helps them to develop new patterns of relationships in an economical and noninvasive manner. Three aspects of this approach make it particularly effective: 1. The neutral role of the therapist does not directly challenge parents’ authority. Therefore, they are more open to new ways of viewing the problem. 2. Circular questioning is a nonthreatening method of gathering information and a way of introducing new ideas about human behavior. Instead of asking why someone is upset or angry, a circular type of questioning would inquire about what other family members do when this person is upset or angry. It introduces a circular causality (rather than linear) and broadens the family focus. 3. This model of family therapy addresses one of the major issues for adoptive parents: the meaning that parents attribute to the child’s behavior. The family begins to recognize the relationship aspect of the adoptees difficulties. This recognition disrupts dysfunctional relational cycle and prevents the dysfunctional behavior from becoming chronic.

ADOPTION AS IMMIGRATION Researchers who attribute the adoptee’s difficulties to early childhood trauma or attachment disorder are often likely to underestimate the enormous challenges posed by immigration and cultural assimilation for the adopted child. The fact that international adoption is for the child immigration is rarely acknowledge by specialists and the parents alike. The older the child, the deeper is his or her experience of life’s disruption and the greater the magnitude of difficulties created by the new changes.

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The problems posed by the language barrier contribute to the child’s sense of loss. During the initial and most difficult period of adaptation, children lack the means of self-expression and communication. The inability to express their feelings often results in feelings of anger and even rage that can be easily misinterpreted as hostility. Sudden cessation of everything familiar, the profound loss of significant relationships (friends, favorite teachers, as well as social status often enjoyed among other peers) can be a major cause for experiencing sadness, loneliness, anger, feelings of loss of control, and various forms of mourning. In my clinical experience, I encountered numerous examples of behavioral manifestations of such immigration-related issues. One mother, for instance, told me with resentment, ‘‘She looks at me as if I am nobody, eats and closes the door to her room.’’ Another parents said that their adopted teenage girl spent the Independence Day family picnic in bed. Talk about their lives before adoption gives children access to their feelings and unburdens them. The experience of dislocation and mourning of the child should be acknowledged and validated by the new family. Such work at the early stage of adoption is essential for preventing depression and self-destructive behavior, both of which are common complications of unrecognized and unresolved grief. Because the picture of child’s life that parents hold in their minds is of deprivation, neglect and abuse, they often assume that leaving the orphanage will be acknowledged positively by the child and unprepared to reactions of grief and mourning that often expressed by anger. Yet children’s narratives may include themes of mastery, control, independence, and friendships. By hearing their children’s personal stories, parents often surprised to discover that older children feel that they lost their freedom and independence (in many orphanages teenagers had a significant degree of freedom of movement, took public transportation, could visit their friends and relatives alone, and were not always closely supervised). One particularly illustrative case in my practice was that of a 14-year-old girl who together with her 8-year-old sister was adopted by a caring middleclass parents in the United States. Back in Russia, when she was still with her biological parents (both of whom were alcoholics), she took care of her younger sister, fed her, and protected her from their physically abusive father. Through her repeated appeals to authorities, she and her sibling were placed to the orphanage. In the orphanage she had many friends and was a natural leader. She had a lot of freedom, could visit her friends who were not in the orphanage, and was allowed to use public transportation. Caretakers in the orphanage treated her like an adult and complained to her

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about the behavior of her younger sister and at times she was even asked to discipline her sister, as if she was her mother, and she would do so by yelling at her sister and at times even hitting her. She had to give her permission for adoption of both of them. When she started her new life, her past identity as a parental figure was unknown to her new parents. The contrast between her life before and after the adoption could be compared to that of a war veteran who showed exceptional bravery in combat but after discharge suddenly had to face civilian life full of unspoken rules and relational subtleties. After her adoption, she was suddenly returned into the role of a child, a passive recipient of parental care who had to relinquish her own role as a parent. Her defiant attitude, rebellious insistence on taking an hourlong walk to school alone instead of taking the bus, as well as outbursts of temper made sense for her adoptive parents and ceased to be signs of pathology when understood within the context of her past experience and relationships. Another problem is evident from this example: being adopted renders a parental role of the older sibling that included protection and disciplining unnecessary. Subsequent frustration can take different forms. Older sister ordered her younger brother not to sleep, to disobey adoptive parents, not to eat his dinner. Another older sister told her younger sibling that she is not her sister anymore. Younger sibling provoked his older brother by calling him names. He was hit by the latter in response and denounced him after that. His older brother was punished. Understanding history of relationship of adopted biological siblings renders such labels as abusive, aggressive, and manipulative meaningless. Parents will have more flexibility dealing instead with emotions: with sadness and anger.

PRESERVATION OF MEMORY AND PREVENTION OF COMPLICATIONS OF UNRESOLVED GRIEF Unlike children of immigrants who leave their country with parents, adopted children carry their memories alone. In sharing them and their life stories with adoptive parents, children’s life unfolds, their self-identity is clarified. Such recollections help to integrate the children’s past and present and provide for a sense of continuity of experience and offer a remedy against feelings of disruption and loss of control. By emotionally responding to their children’s stories, adoptive parents invest emotionally in their past. They not only save children’s memories from oblivion but will also make them shared memories from now on.

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Studies of children trauma indicate that memory disruption and ‘‘feeling an autobiographical void’’ is a painful psychological experience responsible for developing depression and other complications of unresolved grief (Putnam, 1997). This aspect of therapy work is particularly time sensitive. According to my own experience, children between the ages of 8 and 9 already do not remember many details of their preadoptive lives only a year or two after they are adopted. New language acquisition is one of the critical factors affecting such memory loss. Empirical facts collected in a study of more then 800 internationally adopted children reveal that they lose their native tongue faster than they acquire English. For six- to nine-year-olds, it takes several months for expressive language to lose its function (Gindis, 2005). But only much later will they possess full command of foreign language for expression of psychologically complex experiences and inner states. If the recovery of memory is not done early on, important details and circumstances that defined and shaped the children may never be known by the adoptive parents and may be lost irreversibly to the children themselves. In my own experience, described therapeutic work was liberating for both the parents and the adopted children. It diminished anxiety in both children and adults and allowed for greater flexibility and empathy and trust in their relationship.

CULTURAL ASPECTS OF BEHAVIOR Another significant culture-related issue that helped the parents to better understand the behavior of their adopted child was shaping of some important behavior characteristics by one’s culture. Certain behaviors that are considered problematic in American society are not only accepted but even valued in Russian culture. For instance, spatial proximity and physical contact are not forms of sexualized or aggressive behavior (as many parents concerned about) but part of normal communication; talking to strangers is considered acceptable; a confrontational style of conduct could be viewed as a sign of authenticity; physical aggression is not only justifiable for selfdefense but also shows bravery; on the other hand, complaining to one’s teacher or parent about other children is seen as cowardice or betrayal. By becoming aware of the cultural values and behavioral codes of the child’s native country, parents would be less likely to pathologize such conduct and would gain the flexibility needed to change their interactional patterns.

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FAMILY THERAPY When dysfunctional behavior of some children persisted or even escalated, or when clashes between them and the parents became regular, the behavioral difficulties of such children were addressed through family therapy. These families had the following common characteristics: 1. The upbringing of the parents themselves was often traumatic. 2. The parents understanding of normative behavior was polarized between right and wrong, bad and good. Therefore, they rigidly imposed rules and always corrected ‘‘bad behavior,’’ were unable to let go and show flexibility. 3. The parents had high and therefore easily frustrated expectations of both, adopted and biological children and often did not recognize nor respond to their emotional needs. 4. Their own children (if any) were diagnosed with various mental disorders: (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression). Various family members (often including the parents themselves) were on prescribed psychotropic medications. 5. The conflicts in these families were never resolved because disagreement and overt expression of strong emotions was perceived as a threat and was not allowed. In families described above, single or chance events (behaviors) are usually interpreted as intentional, malevolent, or pathological. Instead of dying out or being let go they are reinforced by a parent’s reaction to them, usually by a punishment, by imposing rules, or by initiating treatment. The adoptive parents, alerted by recommendations and warnings about adoptees deficiencies, are especially susceptible to viewing their behavior as pathological. The child becomes a subject of many individual interventions that are not effective because they are blind to the relationship nature of the behavior. The roots of the behavior are not addressed; and therefore initial difficulties persist and become rigid behavioral patterns or symptoms. Often medication is prescribed to correct them. I will illustrate how I addressed such issues in therapy with one particular family. A 10-year-old girl, adopted by parents who had two biological children – a 16-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son – was referred a year after her adoption with the following complaints: impulsive behavior, lack of respect for privacy, disloyalty, lying, hitting other children, and

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taking things that belong to her adoptive siblings. The adopted girl reacted to attempts to correct her behavior (time-outs, taking away computer, etc.) by screaming, wailing, and hitting herself. Briefly discussing with me a prospect of therapy over the phone, her mother expressed hopelessness about her family ever again being happy. At the first session, the father barely talked and did not always pay attention to the conversation in the room. The youngest boy, as if habitually, was trying to occupy his mother’s lap, while the oldest sister kept looking at her mother to see the expression of her face. Therapy with this family was based on a systemic family therapy approach in which an array of therapeutic tools was applied: circular questions (therapeutic technique based on the assumption that behavior or expression of emotion of the family member cannot be understood in isolation, but must be seen in their larger context in connection to the behavior of another family member in a circular manner rather then in the usual lineal way. Instead of asking why is somebody in distress, circular question would inquire when somebody show distress and what other people do when this happens); tracking behavior patterns; identifying sequences of events; finding ‘‘openings’’ – important and revealing facts whose significance is originally unrecognized; exploring and challenging family beliefs and reframing the problematic behavior; sharing ideas and giving feedback to the family; as well as pointing out successes and positive changes. In the course of therapeutic work with this family, the following developments could be distinguished as critical turning points toward positive change: 1. Redefining the child’s problematic behavior. Thus, such behavior as entering the room of an adoptive sibling without permission was no longer labeled as ‘‘violation of privacy’’; the act of taking another child’s toy was no longer perceived as ‘‘stealing’’; she did not care about her own belonging as well; while unwillingness of the child to tell on herself was not a mere ‘‘lying’’ but a normal response of a healthy ego. 2. Challenging beliefs within the family; in particular the notion that only the adoptee is the source of serious problems and the sole reason for dysfunctional family dynamics. The idea that other children experienced problems similar to their adopted sister was introduced and specific instances of such conduct – from temper tantrums, regular outbursts of anger, and teasing to jealousy feats – were pointed out. The oldest daughter and the father, it was revealed, took medication for depression and ADHD.

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3. Revealing the sequence of events that explained the oldest daughter’s tantrums and rage and thus helping to understand the meaning these recurrent violent outbursts of anger and stopping them. One example was the subtle manner in which the youngest brother was able to gain his mother’s attention at that very moment when the daughter wanted to talk to her mother privately. He usually entered the room and jumped to his mom’s lap. The mother would not protest and turn her attention to him. The daughter would begin screaming and hitting her sibling only to be punished for such ‘‘violent’’ outbursts by being sent to her room. 4. Examining the development of the mother–son dyad revealed that it was based on the need on the part of the mother to offer extra maternal care and comfort to her son due to gastroenterological discomforts he had in infancy. His close ties with the mother were threatened with change; and he responded by not letting her to take care of the adopted daughter when she was sick. 5. Exploring the mother’s statement that she – unlike her own parents – wants her children to be happy and to be able to offer them comfort in difficult times – a revealing ‘‘opening’’ that led me to investigate her own upbringing. As it turned out, her own parents were never home, and she was brought up by her grandmother. Memories of her childhood were painful to her since she felt unloved as a child. Once she started a family of her own, she took upon herself the task of becoming an ideal mother and creating a happy family. To safeguard against children’s difficulties, she signed them up for many after-school activities and groups for personal development. She was constantly involved in self-imposed projects and was equally demanding of her husband. Any issues and problems within the family – fights between siblings, their moodiness or bad grades in school, or arguments with her husband – were all acutely felt and considered by her to be personal failures. Since her myth of a ‘‘happy family’’ was unattainable, she experienced chronic anxiety and disappointment with herself, her husband, and her children. 6. Exploring the father’s behavior and parents’ relationship. At home he was often tired and angry and did not comply with his wife’s demands. He blamed himself and admired her efforts to run the family. Since his disagreement was unacceptable to his wife, he would get angry and shout, but was relieved that a prescribed antidepressant medication controlled his violent outbursts.

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These interventions allowed the identification of the sequences of dysfunctional behavior instead of labeling it as ‘‘personal problem’’ or ‘‘psychiatric symptom.’’ And thus enabled a break in the pathological cycle. This discovery within the family led to new-found sense of relief and allowed for tolerance to differences and disagreements. Rigid expectations about children’s behavior and development were replaced with increased flexibility. Children’s complex emotions were recognized. Mother saw a connection between her personal history and her maternal behavior. The parents began to better understand their children’s complex emotions and learned how to acknowledge them. The children, in turn, found access to their frustrations and unburdened them during therapy, which created an impulse to the development of self-understanding and confidence. Challenging rigid expectations about children’s normative behavior and development, I helped the family accept the idea that positive change requires time. While praising the mother for her caring efforts and endurance, I helped her see the connection between her personal childhood history and her current maternal behavior. In a course of 12 family sessions, the behavior of all the children improved, and the parents acknowledged that the original problems of the adoptee were resolved. Parents were also able to see that their own relationship issues hindered further progress and have to be addressed. As a result, once the behavioral issues of their children improved, they decided to terminate family therapy and seek marital counseling. A single case of therapy failure can also offer insight into the development of chronic behavior and emotional problems in adopted children. Such was the case with one family that withdrew from therapy. The family, which adopted a nine-year-old girl, belonged to a rural religious community. The biological mother’s parental rights were terminated due to mental illness and inability to take care of her daughter. The family came to me one month after adopting the child who deeply missed her mother and talked about her a lot during our meetings. The adoptive parents came with a list of therapy goals and expectations that included the following: helping the child understand that her stay in the United States is permanent and that she must become part of the family; teach her how to play with children of her age, to share with siblings, and maintain a positive attitude, as well as to help her understand the importance of school and make her feel good about her progress. The above goals were echoed in their complaints such as poor attention span, and trouble sitting still and follow directions during the daily two-hour

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English lessons with the girl’s adoptive mother. Parents began to worry when she told them that she wants to return to Russia. They were relentless in their demands and expectations of quick improvements. Their inflexibility was fed in part by a strong need to succeed for a family that was part of a closely knit community where everybody was watching them. The parents’ frustration was never expressed directly but through increasing efforts to better the girl’s behavior. They were reluctant to ease the pressure and give her more time to adjust. The girl’s growing anger was interpreted as stubbornness; the act of not sharing with her adoptive siblings was seen as typical of behavior of an only child. While her missing her mother was initially acknowledged, the parents were losing patience and felt that she already should let go. The girl grew more defiant and did not apply the required effort to learn English. She pushed the adoptive mother and made a gesture as if she was cutting her wrists. Following this episode, she was brought to a psychiatrist who has been treating her 14-year-old adoptive sister for ADHD. The girl was also diagnosed with ADHD and was prescribed psychostimulants. Her parents did not accept any suggestions hinting at their impatience, inflexibility, or problems in anybody else’ behavior, and they were reluctant to recognize her grief. The father never showed up in my office, and after the fourth meeting the family withdrew from treatment. Six years later, I received a phone call from the adoptive mother and learned that the girl was subsequently diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder and bipolar disorder due to her violent and suicidal behavior. She took medication and was hospitalized. She was then living with the neighbors with whom her behavior improved. The mother asked for my agreement to be the girl’s therapist, but never called to follow up and schedule an appointment. The onset of the cycle of problematic behavior was triggered by the lack of recognition and acceptance of the child’s distress and the depth of her grief that led to intolerance to her dysfunctional behavior. Labeling her behavior as ‘‘pathological’’ and quickly moving to eradicate it through aggressive psychiatric treatment helped to maintain the once-triggered cycle through a dynamic of escalation and treatment.

CONCLUSION The results of my work with the adoptive families demonstrate that early family-centered interventions lead to behavioral improvements, prevent

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deterioration of child’s behavior, and build a foundation for a lasting relationship. In this work to help the adoptive families, the issue of attachment of the adoptee to his/her new family was not approached directly. Attachment was viewed as a result of development of trust and mutual understanding. Successful resolution of behavioral and emotional difficulties at the early stages of adoption forms the basis for lasting attachment and will help to prevent development of chronic mental problems in children. The main principles of such intervention are as follows:  The form of intervention is a dialogue between all family members. It facilitates safe self-expression and eases overwhelming emotions.  Child’s behavior is understood within a framework of adjustment to a transition, associated with experience of novelty and loss.  Changes that effect and cause tensions within the existing family system (such as adoptive siblings) are addressed.  Certain problematic behaviors and their former adaptive function are reframed and thus normalized within a context of the child’s culture.  In the process of sharing his or her story the child’s life unfolds, integrating the past and the present, facilitating continuity of memory, and preventing disruption of identity and reactions of complicated grief.  The adoptive family’s preexisting dysfunctional relationship patterns are addressed through family therapy.

REFERENCES Boscolo, L., Cecchin, G., Hoffman, L., & Penn, P. (1987). Milan systemic family therapy. New York, NY: Basic Books, Inc. Gindis, B. (2005). Cognitive, language and educational issues of children adopted from overseas orphanages. Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 4(3), 290–315. Harris, M. J., & Oppenheimer, D. (2000). Into the arms of strangers. Stories of the Kindertransport. New York, NY: MJF Books. Hjern, A., Lindblab, F., & Vinnerljung, B. (2002). Suicide, psychiatric illness and social maladjustment in intercountry adoptees in Sweden: A cohort study. The Lancet, 360, 443–448. Hoffman, L. (1981). Foundations of family therapy. New York, NY: Basic Books. Hoffman, L. (1985). Beyond power and control: Toward a ‘‘second order’’ family systems therapy. Family Systems Medicine, 3(4), 181–196. Johnson, D. E., & Dole, K. (1999). International adoptions: Implications for early interventions. Infant and Young Children, 11(4), 34–45.

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Juffer, F., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2005). Behavior problems and mental health referrals of international adoptees: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Association, 293(20), 2501–2515. Marvin, R. S., & Whelan, W. F. (2003). Disordered attachments: Toward evidence-based clinical practice. Attachment and Human Development, 5(3), 283–288. Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Putnam, F. W. (1997). Dissociation in children and adolescents. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Selvini Palazzoli, M., Cecchin, G., Prata, G., & Boscolo, L. (1979). Paradox and counterparadox. New York, NY: Aronson. Tizard, B. (1991). Intercountry adoption: A review of the evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 32(5), 743–756. Verhulst, F. C., Althaus, M., & Versluis-den Bieman, H. J. (1990). Problem behavior in international adoptees: I. An epidemiological study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(1), 94–103. Verhulst, F. C., Althaus, M., & Versluis-den Bieman, H. J. (1992). Damaging background: Later adjustment of international adoptees. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(3), 518–524. Welsh, J., Viana, A., Petrill, S., & Mathias, M. (2007). Intervention for internationally adopted children and families: A review of literature. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 24(3), 285–311.

THE ‘F’ FACTOR: THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FAMILIES Alison Grimshaw ABSTRACT This chapter examines a development of the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) material into a programme designed to empower schools to work in partnership with parents to help children and young people to be happy and successful in school. It provides evidence to suggest that the programme called Family Works has a significant impact on children’s learning and consequently their attainment. There is also evidence that children’s behaviour improves across all contexts and that there are positive gains in the development of social and emotional skills of the children engaged in the programme. Aspects of the programme are described in action within primary schools.

INTRODUCTION Wanke (2008) points out that parent involvement has been shown to be an important variable that positively influences children’s education. Similarly

Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 375–388 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002026

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Harris and Goodall (2007) state that parental engagement is a powerful lever for raising student achievement in schools. Where teachers and parents work together to improve learning, the gains in achievement are significant. The importance of working in collaboration with parents and carers is recognised by many Local Authorities including Nottingham County Council who state on their Web site (2010) that engaging and working with parents is one of the most vital parts of providing children with an excellent education. There are two programmes of Family Works, one that is recommended for the lower end of primary and a secondary programme that can also be used with parents and children in year six. Both of these programmes focus on the development of the SEAL and can have a significant impact on learning, behaviour, attendance and the development of the social and emotional skills that lead to academic and life success in children of all ages. In the National Evaluation of Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning in Secondary Schools Humphrey, Lendrum, and Wigelsworth (2010) acknowledge the importance of involving parents and carers and recommend that greater engagement with parents/carers should be an essential component of any future initiative in this area. Likewise, Desforges (2003) states when parents come into school and take an interest in their child’s learning it is more powerful than:    

Family background Size of family Level of parental education And in primary years, it has more impact on attainment than the school itself!

CONTENT OF FAMILY WORKS Family Works consists of an initial taster workshop followed by a series of seven workshops. Each workshop focuses on the promotion of one of the following skills:       

Self-esteem Motivation Attention Working together and co-operation Understanding and managing feelings Empathy Social skills

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The workshops involve a presentation with a variety of interactive activities covering the range of learning domains identified by blooms’ taxonomy of learning. Thus aiming to cover the needs of all learners and providing parents and carers with practical and useable skills to use in the home environs. The structure of the programme enables schools to share why each of the social and emotional skills are central to a child’s success and what strategies are used in school to help their children to develop these important skills. Parents are encouraged to explore, discuss and share how they can work in a consistent way with school so that their child maximises their potential. Each session is then extended by a related family activity which the parents enjoy with their children. This activity also enables the parents to see the strategies modelled whilst providing an opportunity for parents to practice new strategies within a safe environment. These sessions are fun, relaxing and informal which afford the added bonus of breaking down barriers. The relationships formed during these sessions are usually very strong and provide a platform for developing sustained and mutually beneficial relations throughout the child’s school career. This concept is supported by Sylva, Melhuish, Sammons, Siraj-Blatchford, and Taggart (2004) who state that: When parents and practitioners work together in early years settings, the results have a positive impact on children’s learning and development.

Parents also make strong bonds between themselves and as the course draws to an end many parents decide to keep on meeting and as a result a variety of groups across Wirral have been established. Examples of these include Home School Associations, PTA and weekly social groups. In addition parents are more willing to come into school to support activities such as reading. The primary programme of Family Works has been run successfully in Wirral LA since 2002 and in secondary schools since 2006. The Family Works Embedding Strategy has consisted of offering all schools places for teachers, teaching assistants or support staff to attend an extensive training and support package. Part of this process involves an assessment process which aims to maintain quality control. Currently 98% of primary schools in Wirral, and an increasing number of primary schools in other local authorities, run Family Works. In Wirral the primary programmes are offered to parents with children in Foundation Two and because of the high demand many of these schools run two, three or even four programmes annually.

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THE PROGRAMME Engaging parents can be tricky especially recruiting families that are the most vulnerable. However, as Egersdoff (2010) recognises A sustained commitment to building strong and positive relationships between home and school so that parents and educators can work together on an equal basis is not always straightforward but the rewards can be immense.

In the Wirral ‘Family Works’ is often referred to as ‘The Family Programme’ that engages parents. This is in part due to the way the programme is run. We have found that running Family Works as a universal programme, and opening it to all parents of children in early years, has many advantages, such as:  the focus of the programme is on working in partnership and therefore any implied judgement or criticism is removed;  ‘gate gossip’ becomes strong, places are valued and demand for places becomes high;  the range of parents adds to the positive impact of the programme as parents are soon learning form each other’s experiences and forming a network of support. To recruit, we inform parents about Family Works by providing schools with three mail drops. The first to be sent out is a threefold leaflet which outlines the programme. This is quickly followed by letter which invites parents to come to the introductory session to find out more about Family Works. From experience we advise that schools do not request a reply slip as this factor frequently reduces numbers to the introductory session. The last mail drop is an invitation from the children. Posters advertise the event in advance and can be used to remind parents and carers that ‘Family Works is on Today’. Once Family Works has started it becomes common to hear children ask daily, ‘Is it Family Works Day today?’ Children performing a play draw parents in whatever the quality of the production. We all love to see small children waving to mums and dads, and providing the children enjoy themselves a few missing words or additions to the script just adds to the enjoyment! The introductory session uses a simple play to attract parents and this is followed by a series of enjoyable tasks for the child and parent to carry out together. The expression on both the children’s and their parents’ faces demonstrate how much they enjoy activities such as ‘fishing for compliments’, and an adapted version of ‘beetle’!

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At the end of the introductory session parents are given the chance to sign up to attend the full programme, which, consists of a further seven workshops. (We recommend that schools limit the number of parents to 15 although demand frequently exceeds these numbers and the dilemma is usually solved by schools running more than one programme or by putting names into a hat.) In each workshop, the emphasis is focused around the ways in which parents can work in partnership with school to help children to develop the essential social and emotional skills that enable children to enjoy and achieve in school, how behaviour can be managed in a consistent way between home and school and how to promote positive mental health. Each workshop builds on previous learning. The first workshop, Selfesteem, explains that in order to have a healthy self-esteem we all need to have a positive self-image, a sense of personal power and to feel valued by the significant people around us. The children join in later to demonstrate their listening skills whilst enjoying a few simple games before the parents and children work together on their ‘Feeling Good about Myself’ game. The next workshop explores what we can work together to help their children to feel motivated. The simple framework provides a method of helping children to ‘want to do well’ as well as being a useful tool to explore some of the reasons why children become disaffected.

Example Workshop – ‘Motivation’ I have never met a child who is not motivated but sometimes children are not motivated to do what we want them to do! (Gilbert, 2002)

Whilst schools use an array of stickers and certificates to motivate children to commence and complete the tasks it is critical that consideration is also given to helping children to develop the skills of intrinsic motivation. Leaving children to seek approval from others can make them vulnerable to making poor decisions and being easily led when they reach adolescence. This is due to approval from their peers becoming more important than admiration from their parents. Family Works uses a simple ‘ABC’ Framework to explore the factors necessary for intrinsic motivation. The ‘A’ represents Aim – We need to feel that there is a valid reason for doing something and that we personally gain, Gilbert’s (2002) describes this factor as a ‘WIFFM’ which stands for ‘What’s in it for me?’

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‘B’ represents Belong – To feel we ‘belong’ we all need to feel that we are liked and valued and that we can contribute to something bigger than ourselves. ‘C’ represents Choice – We need to feel that we have some control in our lives and that we can make appropriate choices. By using this framework we can raise awareness of how we can all work together to help children to develop intrinsic motivation. This includes effective behaviour management techniques such as ‘The language of choice’. One activity designed to strengthen learning encourages parents and carers to evaluate why ‘The language of choice’ is unsuccessful in various circumstances. By evaluating this technique we can help parents and carers to deepen their knowledge. However, it is as well to examine the names of people in the scenarios carefully! Investigating the source of giggles in one school uncovered why the parents were finding a particular activity amusing-the person outlined as struggling with this concept had the same name as the head teacher! The family activities in this session include:  making a game, similar to ‘snap’ which aims to help children to link learning with things they like to do;  a growth chart. At the end of each module parents are given a small ‘ideas to try’ card which highlight the strategies discussed in the session. These handy cards compliment the booklet that parents also receive. The ‘ideas’ to try cards provide a focus at the beginning of the next session providing a stimulus for discussion about how everybody got on and the opportunity for parents to support each other. The cards can also be used to facilitate collaboration, and ultimately contribute towards raising standards in school and equip children with lifelong skills. As Henderson and Berla (1994) point out, The evidence is now beyond dispute. When schools work together with families to support learning, children tend to succeed not just in school, but throughout life.

The Impact of Family Works There has been a growing body of research illustrating the importance of working with families. This research increasingly shows that when parents are involved with their children’s education, children do better. Parental

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involvement is therefore an important lever for raising children’s achievements. The concept of working with parents is also evidenced on the National Archives (2010): Success in the education of children depends, at least to some part, on the involvement of their parents. If a child sees that their parents are enthusiastic about education, they are far more likely to view their schooling in a positive light, and be more receptive to learning.

CONTEXT As Family Works spread and became more successful across the authority (Family Works is embedded in over 98% of Wirral Primary Schools and engages with around 2,000 parents each year) a secondary Family Works programme was successfully piloted. (This programme is now run in 38% of Wirral Secondary schools.) In addition further programmes were developed. These include:  Using the framework, ‘Positive learning environment framework’, across all areas of the school community, for example, meeting staff social and emotional needs.  Family Wise, a programme based around working in partnership with parents to promote learning strategies. This programme is focused around Gardner’s multiple intelligences and provides a host of ways in which parents can help their children to use strengths to enhance their potential.  ‘Lunch Works’, a programme that is designed for working with midday staff and contributes to working in a consistent way across the whole school community. This programme also enables midday staff to understand their role in helping children to develop social and emotional skills. What Difference has Family Works Made? Research commissioned by the Sutton Trust has found that ‘children from low income families are twice as likely to start school with behavioural problems’. Higgs (2010). However, working in partnership with parents has a part to play not only in improving behaviour in school but also in contributing towards raising standards particularly for those children that are vulnerable. As Judd (2008) suggests parents are the key to narrowing the gap between pupils who achieve and those who do not.

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Sue Egersdorff (2010) suggests that strategic involvement of parents is a vital ingredient in achieving better outcomes for children, young people and families. In the Wirral an extensive evaluation of Family Works, a programme that is now embedded into 98% of Wirral Primary Schools and 38% of Wirral Secondary Schools, was undertaken to illustrate the benefits that connection with parents can have. Whilst both primary and secondary schools run Family Works in Wirral the evaluation is focused around the impact Family Works has had on primary aged children. The qualitative element of the study involved sending out questionnaires to the Head Teachers of all Wirral Primary schools. These responses were collated. In addition, achievement data has been scrutinised from a sample size of 259 children whose parents have completed the Family Works programme with their children in 2006/2007. The children’s achievements have been tracked and their end of key stage data collected and collated to evaluate the impact of Family Works on reading, writing, maths and science. All of the children in this group were all on free school meals and all of them were attending schools in socially deprived areas. Initially, in 2007, these children’s results were compared to similar children to themselves, on free school meals and from similar socio economic backgrounds. Latterly, in 2009 their results were compared to the Wirral Average.

Findings – Qualitative Data In considering the impact of Family Works on vulnerable children it was important to determine how many ‘hard to reach’ families had engaged with the programme and how the programme had influenced children’s behaviour within school, their levels of attendance and their learning progress.

Impact on Engaging Families One aspect of the evaluation was to gather information from the head teachers of the 88 schools that were running Family Works within Wirral Local Authority. The programme ran for parents of children aged 4–5 (Foundation Two children). Questionnaires were sent, out to 88 schools and 90 per cent of these were returned. The comments on the questionnaires were then collated. Ninety-two per cent of head teachers said that they felt they had engaged, ‘hard to reach’ and vulnerable families. On closer examination 16% of Head Teachers felt that over half of the parents that

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engaged with Family Works were vulnerable, hard to reach parents. Eight per cent of schools running Family Works were successful in engaging all of the parents who had children of this age and 16% of schools commented that over half of the parents that attended Family Works were ‘hard to reach’. The figures illustrate that numbers of hard to reach parents engaging with Family Works was greater in those schools who had run Family Works in their school for two or more years. The data also illustrates that over time the programme the number of dads attending the programme increases. Family Works has ‘bridged the gap’ between parents and school in a ‘non threatening’ and ‘friendly’ environment. I also noticed that parents that seemed somewhat ‘isolated’ for whatever reason were building relationships with other parents and sharing ideas and experiences and felt this was very positive also. (Class Teacher, Wirral Primary School)

Impact on Learning and Achievement The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (March 2010) illustrate that: The gap between children from richer and poorer backgrounds widens especially quickly during primary school.

A key factor of our evaluations focused on the effect of the programme on learning and achievement. The questionnaires illustrated that 89% of head teachers involved in the survey indicated that they had evidence that Family Works had a positive impact on learning and that children became more confident learners. A good partnership between home and school contributes to pupils’ good behaviour and their enthusiastic attitude to learning. (Ofsted Report, 2010, The Priory Primary School) Parents and carers greatly value the excellent partnerships the school has with them that support their children’s learning so well. (Ofsted Report, 2010, Overchurch Infant School) Analysis of data shows that children made accelerated progress after Family Works. (Head Teacher, Heygarth Primary School)

Most questionnaires highlighted that following Family Works the children were more motivated, listened to instructions better and showed more positive attitudes towards learning. A number of head teachers reported that many children became more confident learners which had resulted in standards in Foundation Two improving significantly in all areas of learning. Head teacher thinks Family Works is invaluable (Oxton St Saviours Primary School)

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Impact on Behaviour and Attendance Ninety-five per cent of schools reported that Family Works definitely had a positive impact on behaviour particularly when the relationship with parents is maintained and the strategies explored in Family Works are used consistently within the classroom. Schools commented that children understand the concept of sharing better, are more aware of other people’s needs and have improved speaking and listening skills. Many schools also commented that children were becoming more confident at trying to sort out many of their problems themselves. In terms of attendance 41% of schools reported that they thought that attendance had improved in their schools.

Impact on Working in Partnership with Parents Ninety-eight per cent of head teachers stated that they felt that family works has had a huge impact on working in partnership with parents. We have a child whose attendance started at 78% has improved to 99%. (Head Teacher, Eastway Primary School)

Parents’ Views All feedback from parents has been extremely positive and illustrated how enthusiastic parents are about Family Works. Many parents commented on their children’s positive behaviour since taking part in Family Works. One parent commented that Family Works was one of the best things in her life and the programme has made an enormous difference in her child’s learning. (Class Teacher, Wirral Primary School)

Another advantage of Family Works is that it appears to have made the parents realise the importance of their contribution to their children’s education and a lot of parents, including those that have been previously ‘hard to reach’, are more confident, and more motivated about offering support in school (e.g. hearing readers) or approaching staff in general. Many schools report that they now have a thriving P.T.A (Parents Teachers Association) following Family Works! Recent OFSTED report featured excellent feedback and also a letter written from inspectors at time of inspection with lovely comments. (St Albans Primary School) OFSTED commented positively on the impact Family Works has had. (Millfields Primary School)

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Findings (Quantitative) End of Foundation Two Scores 2007 Wirral data team tracked the progress of 259 children whose parents attended Family Works in primary schools, within socially and economically deprived areas against the average progress made by all Wirral Children. The parents and their children attended the programme whilst their children were in foundation two (children entering school aged 4–5). The first set of data, collated in 2007 when the children reached the end of Foundation two, compared the ‘Family Works Children’ who were all children who received free school meals (FSM) with the average scores made by children on FSM across the authority. The writing scores of the children whose parents attended the programme were on average 10% higher, and reading scores 6% higher than those children whose parents did not attend the programme. Looking closely at the data there are less children achieving scores of four and five (equating to just below average scores) than expected within a normal range and more children achieving scores of six and seven (just above average) than one would normally expect. Two years later, in 2009 the progress the ‘Family Works Children’ had made was compared to the Wirral average, this time free school meals were not a factor. This data illustrates that in reading and writing, maths and science these children, at the end of Key Stage One, scored higher, on average, than the Wirral Norm with more ‘Family Works Children’, on average, reaching reading levels of 2B, 2A, and level 3. There were less ‘Family Works Children’ than expected scoring the lower levels of W, level 1 and level 2. Figures comparing the percentage of Family Works Children scoring level 2 and above in the end of key stage one scores, against the Wirral average also highlighted that Family Works impacts positively on learning. The number of children achieving level 2 or above in writing was 18.01% higher, in reading the difference was 14.87%, in maths 6.11% and in science 5.94%.

Evaluation of the Development of Children’s Social and Emotional Skills In the academic year 2009–2010, Wirral ran over 110 Family Works Programmes. For each of these programmes teachers completed a social and emotional skill development evaluation profile of two children on the course and one child who was not on the course, at the start of the programme, on completion of the programme and again 2 months later. All of the children, including those in the control group, made a significant amount of progress

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in the development of social and emotional skills. However, those children whose parents had attended Family Works achieved significantly higher scores in all of the skills tested. These were:       

Self-esteem Motivation Attention skills Co-operation Understanding and managing emotions Empathy Social skills

The greatest difference was shown in developing the skills of ‘understanding and managing emotions’ followed closely by the development of attention skills.

OUTCOMES Key Benefits The key benefits of Family Works are presented in Table 1.

LEARNING POINTS  Family Works has been most successful where schools have adopted a ‘whole school’ approach to fully supporting the programme.  In schools that invited parents/carers to watch their children perform in the play and encouraged them to stay for the taster session uptake was significantly greater.  We recommend that places are limited to15 parents/carers per programme to ensure adequate support and optimum participation.  Some schools recruit too many parent/carers for a single programme. Unless schools have the capacity to run more than one programme of Family Works this can result in disappointed parents/carers who have be turned away.  Numbers attending Family Works has increases significantly each year the programme runs in individual schools.  Within Wirral the demand for cre`che support has exceeded the capacity to provide.

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Table 1. Key Stakeholders

Parents/carers

Skills

Key Benefits. Knowledge and Understanding

 Behaviour can be taught and caught  An awareness of the skills Communication underpinning effective Teaching children social learning, positive and emotional skills behaviour and emotional Relationship skills health and well being Conflict resolution Advising/supporting other  Ways of teaching children social and emotional skills parents/carers  Understanding and Behaviour management influencing behaviour  Importance of role modelling desired behaviour  Behaviour managed in a consistent way.

Enhanced skills in      

Teachers/ Teaching assistants

 Enhanced knowledge of  Enhanced skills in emotionally literate developing an emotionally schools/classrooms literate classroom  Enhanced skills to develop  Enhanced knowledge of ethos to compliment the a school ethos to teaching of social and compliment the teaching emotional skills of social and emotional  Working in partnership skills  Advising parents/carers with parents/carers to develop children’s social about behavioural and emotional skills concerns – both proactive and reactive  Reinforcing parents/ carers knowledge and promotion of social and emotional skills  Working in partnership with parents to develop children’s social and emotional skills

Pupils

 Development of the social, emotional and behavioural skills that are necessary to enjoy and achieve in school  Positive impact on achievement

Other

Improved relationships with  Children  Family members  Teachers  Other parents

Improved relationships with parents/carers and children

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REFERENCES Desforges, C. (2003, June). The impact of parental involvement, parental support and family education on pupil achievement and adjustment. Research Report RR433. Department for Education and Skills, Queens Printer, Nottingham. Egersdoff, S. (2010). Leadership for parental engagement. National College for School Leadership. Nottingham: National College Publications. Gilbert, I. (2002). Essential motivation in the classroom. London: Routledge Falmer. Harris, A., & Goodall, J. (2007, July). Engaging parents in raising achievement – Do parents know they matter? University of Warwick, Warwick. Henderson, A. T., & Berla, N. (1994). A new generation of evidence. Washington, DC: Harvard Educational Press. Higgs, L. (2010, November 2). Poor children twice as likely to start school with behavioural problems. In Children and young people now. London: National Children’s Bureau and National Youth Agency. Humphrey, N., Lendrum, A., & Wigelsworth, M. (2010, September). National evaluation. Social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL) programme in secondary schools. Nottingham: Department for Education Publications. Judd, J. (2008, November 7). Engaging families – Parents now seen as key partners in raising standards. London: TSL Education Ltd. National Archives. (2010). Webarchive. Retrieved from http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov. uk/20090806144713dcsf.gov.uk Nottingham County Council. (2010). Home page. Nottingham. Available at http:// www.nottinghampshire.gov.uk Parekh, A., Macinnes, T., & Kenway, P. (2010). Monitoring poverty and social exclusion 2010. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Retrieved from www.jrf.org.uk/publications/ monitoring-poverty-2010 Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2004). The effective provision of pre-school education (EPPE). Project Technical Paper 12 – The final report: Effective pre School Education. London: DFES EPPE Publications, Institute of Education, University of London. Wanke, A. A. (2008, May 12) Parental Involvement in children’s education. The State University of New York, New York, NY.

PUNITIVE TRENDS IN GERMANY: NEW SOLUTIONS FOR DEVIANT BEHAVIOUR OR OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLES? Birgit Herz ABSTRACT Drastic reductions in financial and personal support for public education over the last years in Germany seem to open gateways to ‘new’ acceptance of punishment in the realm of pedagogy. This ‘discourse’ is clandestine in theory, hidden from the public but real in institutions of the child and young people welfare system. They intensify the penalisation of their ‘drop-out’ clientele. The special schools for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) tend to act in that way, too. Particularly children and young people living in poverty are on the agenda of this new trend to penalise ‘deviant’ behaviour. Programmes, trainings and drills are available. They are meant to help social workers and teacher in their position with new aims and functions. In their daily routine, most of them are overburdened and overloaded, because classes are overfilled and the number of families in the communal welfare system is growing rapidly, due to the so-called ‘Hartz IV’ Transforming Troubled Lives: Strategies and Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Volume 2, 389–403 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3636/doi:10.1108/S1479-3636(2012)0000002027

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legislative for unemployed families. This new trend is also a market place for the media; they launched an emergency call on education. Some punitive praxis is contradictory to the human rights and the children rights, so that all professors for SEBD in Germany published a public declaration against the breaking up of the agreement of an education without violence. There is no empirical evidence for any positive outcome of such ‘pedagogy’. Despite all ‘modern’ promises, working with fear, anxiety, shame and punishment doesn’t pay in the long run. This chapter clarifies the relationship between socio-economic development and this ‘law and order’ pedagogy, the loss of professional standards and the psychodynamic consequences for pupils labelled as ‘deviant’.

INTRODUCTION Currently, so it seems, an old trend is being re-invented in German pedagogy and educational sciences: apologetics of discipline are back in fashion! They appear in distinct forms and various colours: Be it Bernhard Bueb’s ‘Praise of Discipline’ (2006), a 120 pages bestseller written by the long-term headmaster of Salem Castle, an elitist boarding school near Lake Constance, or a TV-format like ‘Education Camp’; be it an official journal of the school administration in Hamburg named ‘Discipline and Good Order’, or advice books for teachers bearing titles like ‘When I say ‘stop’ it’s over!’, or initiatives trying to set up a private school after the Glen Mills boot camp model – a lot of evidence points to the simple fact that conditioning, discipline, drill and sanctioning are back on the educational agenda (Cremer-Scha¨fer, 2007). The maxim is: re-establish conservative norms, convey conformist values and push through the enforcement of a narrow and punitive set of rules! In order to secure ‘normalcy’, such pedagogic practices hark back to arrangements of punitive action, locking up and rigid control of deviant behaviour in which therapeutic, medico-psychiatric and special educational measurements and interventions play a prominent role. In short: there is a boom of ‘correcting services’ for deviant children and young people in Germany. Repressive tendencies seem to spread continuously. ‘At least as far as popular and advice giving books on education are concerned the pedagogical Zeitgeist blows from a rather backward oriented, anti-liberal direction, a direction that calls for strictness and discipline’ (Plewig, 2007, p. 363). Increasing discourses on externally enforced

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discipline and calls for punishment can be interpreted as expression of a deep longing for relief of the stress in behaviour which teachers feel they are facing. As Stephan K. Jull pointed out: ‘Indeed, anyone who has taught for a number of years understands that disruptive behaviour can be toxic to a teaching and learning environment, and can equally understand how teachers might be justifying exclusion for these reasons alone’ (Jull, 2008, p. 2). Within the last 15 years the number of schools for social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) in Germany has doubled (foundation of 295 new schools), while the increase in the remaining eight special education support focuses1 jointly rose by a mere 26% (Willmann, 2010). Simultaneous to this development, the need for outpatient and inpatient educational support has increased dramatically; furthermore, places in the child and youth psychiatry have doubled within the last 10 years, too. Despite this significant increase in special offers within and outside of schools, university representatives in the field of SEBD at the departments for special education needs agree that there is a dramatic shortage of intensive educational and therapeutic choices and options (Herz, 2010a; Opp, 2008; Willmann, 2010). It has furthermore become evident that the (special) educational discourse seems to be supplanted by a disciplinary discourse (Do¨rr & Herz, 2010; Herz, 2010a). Simultaneously, the drop-out rate continuously increases. Meeting the educational needs of this young people and children especially when dealing with externalised patterns of deviant behaviour is so extremely challenging because there are no standardised recipes and no simple answers. In a complex social world, there is hardly anything simple or simply given; and yet, there are many advice givers around, and lots of promises for simple solutions. The following socio-analysis is trying to understand how repressive technologies of discipline are successfully reestablished in democratic societies.

FROM WELFARE STATE-JUSTICE TO A CHASTISE-STATE MODEL Global neo-liberal restructuring of Western societies is based on their dominant cultural values and orientations towards achieving, accumulating and competing. While social benefits are continuously being dismantled, the state itself is redefined: A ‘lean state’ aims at phasing out the system of former state aid and social security. The political arguments of global

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economic development and its constraints readily at hand, wage-cutting, cutbacks on services and reduction or privatisation of local and municipal areas of responsibility are thus equally justified (Butterwegge, Lo¨sch, & Ptak, 2007). In the field of schooling, Ane-Liese Arnesen and Lisbeth Lundahl assumed: ‘Financial cuts and educational reforms with new aims, for example, increased freedom of choice, competitiveness, have counteracted policies of inclusion’ (Arnesen & Lundahl, 2006, p. 293). This whole trend goes along with the entrenchment of the lower stratum in society, and the emergence of a ‘new class’ on the other hand: low-income employees, job nomads, casual labourers, long-time unemployed, short-time jobbers, job hoppers and working poor. The neo-German term for this new social formation is ‘Prekariat’; the emotional results are quite obvious: biographic vulnerability, permanent fear of social decline, status panic, depression and resignation, loss of constant energy etc. A climate of angst and uncertainty is prevailing (Herz, 2010a). While the welfare system and social securities get cut back, the individual risks of failing within the new socio-economic framework become privatised. Social scientists call these phenomena ‘exclusion processes’ – a term that covers more than ‘poverty’ (Bude, 2008; Bude & Willich, 2006). Hence, my first theme would read: The more social benefits are lowered the smoother must the apparatus of State powers function! For instance, the inability to participate in the various ‘games’ of neoliberal markets gets increasingly criminalised. This transformation is not at all a German ‘special case’; earlier forms of these developments loomed on the horizon of the United States. The expansion of penal institutions during the past three decades in the United States corresponds to massive cutbacks in the realm of social security: Poverty becomes criminalised as Loı¨ c Wacquant’s research since the 2000’s shows (Wacquant, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007). What Loı¨ c Wacquant had researched in the United States, Ian O’Connor studied in Australia: Unemployment, precarious working conditions, longterm poverty and an intensified bullying of adolescents and youths. In the same period as the justice model emerged in Australia, the youth labour market collapsed. For many poor and disadvantaged young people, the transmission from school to work has been disrupted (O’Connor, 1997). The global tendency of punishing poverty has arrived in Europe. The United Kingdom played the prominent role of a Trojan horse in taking on and pushing neo-liberal practises of punishment and disciplining the poor and disadvantaged people that originated in the United States (Wacquant, 2004).

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Just in the matters of employment and social policy (King & Wickham-Jones, 1999; Daecon, 2000), England serves as the Trojan horse and ‘acclimation chamber’ for the new, neo-liberal penality with a view to its propagation across the European continent (a major influence here is the Institute of Economic Affairs, which brought to the UK first Charles Murray to advocate cutting welfare). (Wacquant, 2001, p. 405f)

The section will exemplify how policy-related foundations, think tanks and business associations had prepared the ideological fundament for the neo-liberal management of social problems in order to welfare cutbacks and globalised capitalistic market systems.

FOUNDATIONS, THINK TANKS AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS In the United States it was particularly the ‘Manhattan Institute’, founded by Anthony Fischer and William Casey in 1984, that had a decisive influence ‘to apply market principles to social problems’ (Wacquant, 2004, p. 165). It also influenced New York’s Mayor Giuliani’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy of the early 1990s. In the United Kingdom, welfare state cutbacks and the intensification of persecution were ideologically justified and politically pushed by the ‘Adam Smith Institute’, the ‘Centre for Policy Studies’ and the ‘Institute of Economic Affairs’ (the latter had also been founded by Anthony Fischer). On the British side, the Adam Smith Institute, the Centre for Policy Studies and the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) have worked in concert to disseminate neo-liberal ideas in matters economic and social as well as the punitive theses elaborated in America and introduced under John Major before being carried forth and amplified by Tony Blair. (Wacquant, 2004, p. 167)

Yet another voice comes from Charles Murray; he proclaimed ‘that prison works’, and that correctional expenditures are a reasoned and profitable investment for society’ (Wacquant, 2004). The combined efforts of these ‘Think Tanks’ affected the ‘Law on Crime and Disorder’ voted by New Labour in 1998. In Germany, the activities of foundations like Bertelsmann-, HeinzNixdorf-, and Ludwig-Erhard-Stiftung contribute to the conversion of neoliberal policies into social practises (Barth, 2006; Butterwegge, 2007). Under the headword of ‘Inner Security’ anxieties are stirred up; disinformation about crime statistics fan the flames of popular prejudices and penal

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legislation is being used as an instrument in managing social insecurities and social polarisation supported by a global marketing ideology (Wacquant, 2001, p. 163). This global marketing ideology fosters the transmission from a social welfare to a penal management of rising marginality. The undeserving poor ought to brought back under control by the (iron) hand of the state, and their errant behaviour corrected by public reprobation and by tightening the noose of administrative constraint and penal sanction. (Wacquant, 2004, p. 168)

Many European states – Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France and Germany – adopted the intensification of penal legislation. In all these countries, the massive expansion of a harder penalisation was not in accordance with the population’s involvement with crime (Estrada, 1999; Pfeiffer, 2004; Wacquant, 2005). What has increased, indeed, are not the criminal acts but the practises of sanctions and the ethnical segregation in the prisons. Social problems are being turned into a criminal offence (Baumann, 2005, p. 120). The social and economic disengagement of the state is accompanied by a penal management of social insecurity. Generally, the social climate is getting rougher – ‘tough on crime’ defines the official discourse of a state willing to social exclude via imprisonment and other forms of disciplinary strategies. The whole debate is also characterised by pseudo-scientific arguments which serve to disguise social conflicts and, in turn, legitimate claims to open authority and symbolic power (Lanwer, 2008). This symbolic power is an important prerequisite to guarantee the public order – institutionalised in several multifaceted symbolic discourses and real practices of control in the society.

MARKET VALUES AND DISCIPLINES IN EDUCATION AND SCHOOLING This economic and societal development has influenced education policy. In the last two decades, a radical transformation of education governance including decentralisation, deregulation and marketisation took place (Arnesen & Lundahl, 2006). Len Barton predicted the consequences of introducing market value and disciplines into the process of educational decision making 14 years before: In this competitive culture, some schools and pupils will be less successful and the generation of poorly resourced, understaffed and low-status institutions catering for a

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range of disadvantaged working-class and ethnic minority children (many of whom will bear the label of ‘special educational needs’) will become a frightening reality. These will form part of what some researchers are calling the ‘ghettoized sink-schools’ which will be a constant reminder of those particularly exclusionary outworking of a market-driven system. (Barton, 1997, p. 238)

The comparative study of Tiina Itkonen and Markku Jahnukainen showed this prediction 10 years later: ‘Resource-rich schools and school districts score higher on the performance index, while resource- poor schools and school districts score lower on the performance index’ (Itkonen & Jahnukainen, 2007, p. 7). This is a renewed climate of educational Darwinism: only the fittest schools, teacher and students would ‘survive’ (Rouse & Florian, 1997). Outcome-driven and high-stake testing and the ideology of output performance and efficiency determine the classroom, teaching and education. In primary, secondary and tertiary socialisation processes, ‘normalcy’ and ‘normativity’ are established via education, schooling and training. Special schools, approved schools, detention in a reform school and the penal system for young people are traditional forms and acknowledged institutions of social control (von Stechow, 2004). Historically, the development of educational interventions in the field of SEBD in Germany can be read as a history of disciplinary control (Willmann, 2010). The special school for learning disabilities (LD) (and SEBD) are schools for the poorest pupils (Wocken, 2000). Their parents are living under the restrictive conditions of the reduced welfare system. Furthermore, 68% of these pupils have an immigrant background. Social and ethical segregation are the main features in this type of special school. Special schools for LD and SEBD are schools for social disadvantaged pupils in all fields of marginalisation. All of them, including the ‘Hauptschule’, are so-called ‘schools for the rest’ of the society. In the discourse of inclusive education in Germany, we are talking about ‘the forgotten schools’ (Willmann, 2007). National and international studies verify the correlation of economic poverty, cultural privation and social exclusion among children and youths with drop-out rates in school, school-absenteeism and delinquency (Palmer, Carr, & Kenway, 2005; Raffo et al., 2009; Stevens & Gladstone, 2002; Wilson, Riddel, & Tisdall, 2002). In their international research study, Carlo Raffo et al. (2009) found out that the poorer a child’s family is, the poorer they are likely to perform in the education system. ‘Far from offering a route out of poverty, all to often education simply seems to confirm existing social hierarchies’ (Raffo et al., 2009, p. 342).

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At the same time, discussions over vandalism, juvenile delinquencies, drug abuse and other forms of deviancies (from the dominant cultural ‘normalcy’) are serving the ‘law and order’ ideology to legitimate repressive programmes and the use of sanctions in training and education. In either very ordinary or highly complex ways of exclusion, children and young people experience many forms of stigmatisation of and within their life world: They are segregated culturally, economically, socially, in special schools, special instruction units, SEBD schools, supportive measures etc. Neither in the academic debates nor in discussions among professionals on inclusive education is this clientele visible. Here, inclusion is far from being established; these children and young people are called ‘Schmuddelkinder’ (‘dirty kids’) and nobody will get in touch with them. There is, for example, a lack of roughly 20,000 teachers for SEBD schools in Germany. The formalisation of exclusion as a permanent feature of the educational landscape does in fact coexist pretty well with discourses of inclusion (Slee, 1998). Within the neo-liberal discourse on the welfare state, the poles of ‘normalcy’ and ‘deviancy’ take on an enormous symbolic significance for the development of children and young people. This symbolic power of discourse is all the more important as its grammar is deeply rooted in the concept of a standardised schoolchild who successfully runs through all business-like restructured educational institutions.2 Public schooling and education become means for strictly economic ends; ever so often educational establishments meet on highly competitive, market-like grounds (Herz, 2010c). In German regular and special schools and in special instruction classes, punitive rituals like the ‘hot chair’ are booming just as methods of locking up young people in ‘closed homes’ and borstals, or subjecting them to the military drill of detention camps. According to Canadian studies, externalised deviant behaviour produces and legitimised practises of punishment whenever ‘zero tolerance’ policies determine pedagogic action (Jull, 2000, 2008). Moreover, Jull could show that Canada’s adoption of the American ‘zero tolerance’ model by the mid-1990s raised in fact the number of (temporary) exclusions from school. As a result, through zero tolerance, under-represented and/or marginalised students will continue to be excluded at a greater rates than their socially conforming peers (Jull, 2000). In all these processes of stigmatisation, segregation and exclusion, SEBD pedagogy is advised to take on the task of coping with the socially unwanted

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and personally unpleasant – in short, the task of standardisation (Herz, 2010b).

EDUCATION OR PUNITIVE DISCIPLINARY PRACTICE? The right of non-violent education is seriously threatened. The ‘logic’ of effectiveness makes absolutely clear how ‘modern’ pedagogics and educational sciences are expected to function these days. Its motto reads: free instructive and educational processes from all interferences in a fast, efficient and cost-saving way! So-called evidence-based concepts propagate a mechanist understanding of teaching and educating by suppressing time-consuming and costly, yet sustainable support. It is, however, ‘a disastrous mistake of today’s ubiquitous observable increase of effectiveness, to devaluate experiences of relationships in comparison with technically oriented aims’ (Ku¨chenhoff, 1999). Training programmes on disciplinary techniques are enormously popular because they support and legitimise popular prejudices after the fashion: ‘As a teacher one has to be tough sometimes, and not give in’ (Gru¨ner & Hilt, 2008). From here on, all it needs in school is a list for feedbacks – ‘simple and economical’ then ‘a conforming, well-ordered social behaviour’ will result, ‘creating a pleasant working climate and pupils who are capable to learn’ (Gru¨ner & Hilt, 2008). This simple managerial approach in the educational system of surveillance and regulation does not only justify the punitive trend with all his antipedagogical consequences; its trivial instructions helps also to reduce selfreflexive knowledge which, in turn, leads to precisely those programmatic superficialities that make punitive actions respectable as simple solutions for complex realities. Within the various dynamics of social change, individual learning processes and conflicts punitive trends are highly attractive, and selfreflexive knowledge is really unfashionable, because it’s time consummating. Self-reflexivity is a fundament of all pedagogic work. The capacity of selfreflexivity is not quite a guarantee for a good educational practice, but an important prerequisite. It helps to clarify the teacher’s involvement in psychodynamic processes as well as it promotes psychohygienic and selfcriticism.

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Where and whenever self-reflexive understanding is missing, ‘evidencebased’ promises of feasibility gain significance. They insinuate: ‘With the new pedagogic ‘‘spirit’’, the standardised schoolchild is possible!’ In this view, all cognitively, emotionally and socially ‘deviant’ children and youths are but disruptive factors for the edutainment business. And what could better eliminate interferences and disruptive factors than conditioning, discipline, drills and pharmaceutics and psychiatric drugs? Fast, immediate, cheap; in a word: excellent neo-liberal fashion design! Consequently, punitive disciplinary practices remain a prominent feature in the classroom and school behaviour management strategies regarding appropriate discipline and punishment for rule-breaking behaviour (Jull, 2008). To take advantage of the education for economic interest leads to a mechanistic-based understanding of education. The propaganda for efficiency and cost reduction is, at least partly, responsible for a new culture of learning and examinations. In this new culture, biological and medical explanations and ‘theories’ for deviant behaviour become more and more respectable in academic discourse. The ADHD-debate is an example: medicaments ‘help’ the systems of primary and secondary education by reducing the responsibility and participation of adults in the system of the deviant behaviour (Leuzinger-Bohleber, Brandl, & Hu¨ther, 2006). ‘Modern societies tends to ‘‘medicalise’’ its problems: it’s no longer the education system which is ill, but the children’ (Thomazet, 2009, p. 559). There is not only a hierarchy between academic disciplines (Visser & Zenib, 2009); what is going on is a replacement of education through natural science, based on market principles. The conditions and reasons for a child’s difficulties are in that sense originally linked with the individualised child. In this point of view the child has to be threatened. Consequently, the ‘defective’ child needs a low-cost intervention: psychiatric drugs are a guarantee for a little bit of temporal and personal support. In the neo-liberal transformation of the school system, a lot of efforts have been made to reduce the costs of remedial and special support by using new, narrow definitions of the ‘needy’, preferably based on a medical/clinical model (Arnesen & Lundahl, 2006, p. 293). In this medical, clinical model, these pupils have a cognitive, emotional or behavioural ‘defect’. As a fact, learning and behavioural difficulties are aggregated with the umbrella of ‘mental health problems’ (Graham & Jahnukainen, 2011, p. 284). The emotional, behavioural or cognitive problems disappear behind biological labels. And in this context it is interesting to see that neuroscience

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is actually searching for the neurons for violent behaviour and offending.3 From there, it is just a short hop to Caesare Lombroso’s ‘born criminal’ theory of the 19th century. To understand the dramatic consequences of this hidden punitive character, the child, him or herself, is responsible for his/her personal situation and disturbances. We need to remember the empirically based results of attachment theory, neuropsychoanalysis and psychoanalytic pedagogic (Leuzinger-Bohleber, Haubl, & Brumlik, 2006; Mayes, Fonagy, & Target, 2007; Schore, 2010). The so-called ‘school for the rest’ in Germany (i.e. Hauptschule, plus special schools for LD and SEBD) the pupils of the social outcasts (Prekariat) are concentrated in their school environment in a very homogeneous learning group as an ‘educational underclass’ (Deil-Amen & De Luca, 2010; Schroeder, 2002). The position as ‘outsiders’ is formally legitimated by tests and diagnosis, and informally practised by subtle forms of segregation and marginalisation. Hence, the punitive practices of neo-liberal societies concern not only the parents but also their children. All the new labels, programs and instructions sell old wine in new bottles: not only poor services for poor people but also punitive services for poor people to discipline the pupils of the cultural and economically deprived superfluous (Herz, 2010c).

OUTLOOK Remember the chapter and its practice example I referred to at the beginning? I argue that this was not an extreme or an exception but a condensed version of how disturbing behaviour in school is dealt with nowadays. What vulnerable children and young people in difficult circumstances and stressful situations need most are attentive, competent, sincere and welcoming adults: They might be able to provide a suiting pedagogic setting to help them coping with psychic wounds and emotional needs. Such a setting certainly includes rules and restrictions; it excludes, however, drill and manipulation. Inclusive education for pupils with SEBD needs more than effective methods, discipline and drill; they need all the ‘benefits’ of empirical-based educational research (Visser, 2002); their difficulties are not simply ‘cured’ inside of schools; local partnerships, cooperation and collaboration are also requested (Ainscow, Dyson, Goldrick, Kerr, & Miles, 2008).

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And an education which seems to be replaced by market ‘logic’, evidencebased programmes, natural science and medical predominance are hardly confronted with the need of legitimise itself. Inclusion or exclusion are political facts and questions of equal human rights in an unequal society.

NOTES 1. Learning Disabilities, Speech or Language Disorders, Blind Pupils, HearingImpaired Pupils, Deaf Pupils, Mentally Handicapped Pupils, Physically Handicapped Pupils, Hospital Schools for Physically Handicapped Pupils. 2. ‘y teaching is aimed at the ‘‘standard average pupil’’’ (Thomazet, 2009, p. 558). 3. See the research project ‘Neuropsychology of delinquent behaviour’ at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg/Germany (Prof. Dr. Bernd Leplow).

REFERENCES Ainscow, M., Dyson, A., Goldrick, S., Kerr, K., & Miles, S. (Eds.), (2008). Equity in education: Responding to context. Centre for Equity in Education, The University of Manchester. Arnesen, A.-L., & Lundahl, L. (2006). Still social and democratic? Inclusive education policies in the Nordic welfare states. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 50(3), 285–300. Barth, T. (2006). Bertelsmann. Ein globales Medienimperium macht Politik [Bertelsmann: A global media machine makes policy]. Hamburg: Anders. Barton, L. (1997). Inclusive education: Romantic, subversive or realistic? Journal of Inclusive Education, 1(3), 231–242. Baumann, Z. (2005). Verworfenes Leben. Die Ausgegrenzten der Moderne [Wasted life. Mod-ernity and its outcasts]. Hamburg: Hamburger Edition. Bude, H. (2008). Die Ausgeschlossenen [The excluded]. Mu¨nchen: Hanser. Bude, H., & Willich, A. (Eds.). (2006). Das Problem der Exklusion. Ausgegrenzte, Entbehrliche, U¨berflu¨ssige [The problem with excluded. Outcasts, needless people, super-flous]. Hamburg: Hamburger Edition. Bueb, B. (2006). Lob der Disziplin. Eine Streitschrift [Praising discipline: A rebellious paper]. Berlin: List. Butterwegge, Ch. (2007). Rechtfertigungen, MaXnahmen und Folgen einer neoliberalen (Sozial-) Struktur [Defences, measures and consequences of a neoliberal (social-)structure]. In Ch. Butterwegge, B. Lo¨sch & R. Ptak (Eds.), Kritik des Neoliberalismus [Critic of Neoliberals] (pp. 135–220). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag. Butterwegge, Ch., Lo¨sch, B., & Ptak, R. (2007). Kritik des Neoliberalismus [Critic of neoliberals]. Wiesbaden: VS. Cremer-Scha¨fer, H. (2007). Populistische Pa¨dagogik und das ‘‘Unbehagen an der punitiven Kultur’’ [Fashionable pedagogy and the ‘‘rancour on the punitive culture’’]. Widerspru¨che [Contradictions] 27, H. 106, 59–76.

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SUBJECT INDEX Academic achievement, 99, 101, 226–227, 309–310, 319 ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), 13, 63, 368–369, 372, 398 Adults, 3–5, 9, 16, 33, 114, 116–117, 122–123, 127, 129, 167–168, 229, 231, 234, 253, 281, 289, 296, 310, 317, 319–320, 367, 398–399. see also Parents and Families Aggression, 41, 77, 246, 340, 367 Anxiety, 127, 130, 134, 238, 240, 244, 277, 318, 340, 363, 367, 370, 390 Appreciative enquiry approach, 1–3 Assessment, 23, 27–28, 32, 42–44, 47, 49, 51, 66–67, 76–83, 89–90, 98, 110, 125–126, 133–135, 195, 212, 221, 231, 234, 259, 261–262, 282, 302–303, 310, 313–315, 319, 325–327, 329–330, 332–334, 341– 342, 345, 347, 361, 377 At risk children, 19 Attachment, 13, 107, 113–114, 117– 119, 122, 125, 127, 134, 146, 238, 248, 279–281, 283–284, 292, 319, 348, 359, 361, 363–364, 373, 399

Behaviour Emotional and Social Difficulties, 289-290, 292, 304. see SEBD Boxall Profile, 121–122, 125, 133 Brain, 113, 119, 211, 215, 240, 335, 340 neuroscience, 113, 125, 398 Bullying, 16–17, 177, 179, 239, 281, 309–310, 325, 333, 335–337, 362, 392

Barriers to learning, 10, 108, 114, 304 Behaviour Measurement/rating scales, 81

Family/Families, 6–7, 41–42, 97, 107–110, 113–114, 116, 118, 123, 134, 148–150, 154, 161–166, 168, 170–172, 176–190, 214, 224–225, 405

Challenging behaviours, 58–59, 63, 65, 70, 72, 76, 82, 95, 112, 135, 311 Classrooms, 40, 52, 58, 81, 94, 103, 132, 205, 248, 252, 294, 315, 318–319, 324, 337, 387 Collaborative working, 57 Emotional literacy, 1–9, 11–13, 15–17, 93–95, 97, 99, 101, 103, 280, 354 Exclusion(s), 19–20, 33, 35, 90, 121, 132, 136, 167, 169, 226, 228,230, 247, 259, 274, 278–280, 290, 302, 391–392, 395–396, 400

406 230, 264, 268, 274, 296, 309–310, 314, 324, 327, 329–333, 343, 354, 359–364, 368–373, 375–387, 389–390, 395 Focus group(s), 162–164, 172 Identifying need, 57, 65 Inclusion, 1, 3, 64, 90, 162, 176, 178, 181, 189–190, 195–197, 228, 255, 277, 279, 286, 289, 291–292, 304, 337, 343, 392, 396, 400 Inclusive practice/environment, 1, 5, 7, 20–21, 28, 30–34, 40–41, 44, 51–52, 57, 59–62, 64–67, 70–71, 79, 103, 116–117, 122, 124, 126–131, 135, 147, 162, 166–168, 171, 180, 194, 198–199, 204–205, 207, 232–233, 239, 244, 248, 252, 282, 294–296, 300, 310, 312–313, 319–320, 325, 332, 344, 377, 381, 383, 391, 399 Immigrant adoption, 364 Leadership, 42, 44, 49, 244, 282, 310, 312, 316, 337 Learning Mentors, 175, 177, 179, 184–188, 190 Local Authority, 175–176, 258, 382 Massage, 216, 237–248 Maslow Belonging, 276 Medication, 78, 253, 361, 368–370, 372 Mental health, 4–5, 7, 78, 80–81, 84, 113, 116, 156, 213, 221, 228–229, 239, 259, 325–326, 341, 344, 360–361, 379, 398 Motivation, 7, 20–21, 35, 93, 95, 99, 102, 145, 153, 231, 234, 253, 255, 263, 281–282, 291, 376, 379–380, 386

SUBJECT INDEX NEET (not in education employment or Training), 223–228, 231–232, 234–235 Nurture/nurturing, 1, 8, 107–109, 111, 113–118, 121–136, 153, 237–238, 240–241, 248, 286, 319 Parents, 4–6, 40–41, 44, 48, 51, 57–59, 63–65, 67–69, 71–73, 110, 131, 134, 141, 145, 162, 165–166, 168, 170–172, 176–178, 180, 182–190, 225, 240, 246, 256, 264, 266–268, 278, 311, 313, 323, 326, 330–332, 337, 343, 347, 350, 360–368, 370–372, 375–387, 395, 399 Partnership working, 180 Peer(s), 6, 33, 35, 41, 43, 50, 58, 60, 63–64, 68, 83–85, 88, 97, 102, 129, 167, 194, 203–204, 206, 218, 234, 237–248, 259–294, 299, 302, 330, 333, 335–337, 347–349, 365, 379, 396 Physical activity/education, 1, 5, 15, 19–21, 33–35, 39, 45, 49, 51, 57–58, 75, 82, 93, 102, 107–109, 111–113, 118, 121–122, 128, 139–141, 144, 154, 161–172, 175–181, 183–190, 193–199, 201, 203, 205–207, 211, 215, 221, 223–231, 234, 237, 239, 251, 273, 278, 289–292, 294, 299, 303, 309, 312–313, 323, 336, 339, 342–343, 346–347, 354, 359, 375–376, 380–381, 384, 389–391, 394–400 Physical assault, 309–310 Policy, 17, 40, 107–109, 111–113, 116, 119, 124, 129, 178, 181, 224, 255, 274, 277, 279, 290, 354, 393–394 Primary school, 39–41, 47, 49–51, 53, 87, 114–115, 122, 130, 1 33, 179, 237, 245–247, 341, 343, 353–354, 375, 377, 381–385

Subject Index Punishment/Sanctions, 23, 27–28, 32, 77, 90, 129, 198, 258, 260, 266, 280, 310, 368, 389–392, 394, 396, 398 Quiet Place, 211–213, 218–219 Residential homes, 211, 213, 215, 217, 219 Resilience, 108, 113, 220, 233, 279, 282, 319, 341, 360 Roma/Romani (Gypsy) Children, 175–176, 178 SEAL (social emotional aspects of learning), 9, 93–96, 109, 113, 375–376 Secondary school, 16, 93–94, 96, 114–115, 117, 121–127, 129–133, 135–136, 184, 187, 226, 237, 252, 254, 257, 266, 283, 343, 376–377, 381–382 Self, 3, 7–8, 10–11, 14–16, 20, 22, 25–28, 31–32, 34–36, 58–61, 64–67, 69, 71–72, 77, 93, 95–99, 103, 108, 112, 116–117, 128–129, 134–135, 143, 145–147, 149, 153, 157, 167, 169, 214–215, 217–220, 231, 234, 238, 242–243, 246, 251–257, 259, 261–265, 267–268, 274, 276–277, 282–285, 289, 291–292, 294, 296–298, 300, 304, 310, 313, 317–318, 326, 328, 332, 339, 347, 353–354, 360, 365–366, 370–371, 373, 376, 379, 386, 397–398 self-awareness, 3, 7, 11, 14, 67, 93, 97–98, 167, 169, 253 self esteem, 246, 294 Self-regulation, 64, 97–98, 234, 252–253, 261–262, 317 Social environment, 60, 294, 348 Social Emotional and Behavioural Skills (SEBS), 16, 94 Social cognition, 339

407 Social disadvantage, 57, 395 Social Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 93 Social systems, 7, 194, 337 Specialist provision, 1, 289 Staff training, 16 Students, 1–3, 9–10, 12–17, 20, 39–53, 57–60, 63–73, 75–87, 89–90, 108, 111–113, 121–136, 139–141, 144, 146, 150–154, 162–165, 168–169, 171–172, 196, 199–201, 207, 213–215, 226, 228–234, 241, 244, 281, 289–296, 301–304, 309–311, 313–315, 317–320, 323–324, 327, 330, 332–333, 335, 337, 343, 395–396 Teacher Burnout/stress, 3, 6, 9, 11–12, 14, 139–141, 149, 151–153, 155–156, 158, 238–240, 244, 247, 300, 303, 309–310, 314, 391 Therapy/Therapeutic/Therapists, 56–65, 67–73, 72–73, 82, 118, 198, 206, 212–217, 220, 240, 248, 279, 280, 295–296, 302, 309, 311–312, 318, 320, 337, 344, 360, 362–364, 367–369, 371, 373. 390–391 Tool(s), 1, 12, 19–21, 26, 34, 75, 77, 82, 90, 110, 125, 168, 203, 235, 240–243, 258, 274, 300, 325, 327, 369, 379 Transformation, 299, 392, 394, 398 Transition, 117, 130, 133, 136, 223–224, 235, 289, 304, 360, 363, 373 Violence/Violent Behaviours, 70, 324–327, 329–331, 334–337, 390 Weapons, 281, 323, 326, 331–332, 336 Well being, 76, 113, 387