scholarly journals Strengths and difficulties questionnaire-teacher: Investigating its factor structure and utility with culturally and linguistically diverse students

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-57
Author(s):  
Nigar G. Khawaja ◽  
Lakshmi Dhushyanthakumar
Keyword(s):  
Factor Structure ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
Culturally And Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Emotional Symptoms ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), with its three forms (youth, parent and teacher version), is widely used to assess emotional and behavioural disorders in children and adolescents. The present study examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the teacher version of the scale (SDQ-T) with adolescents from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background. It also explored the impact of demographic factors on the mental health outcomes of CALD adolescents in the school setting as indicated by SDQ-T. Teachers from a Special English language transitional school in Brisbane, Australia completed the SDQ-T for 175 culturally and linguistically diverse adolescents. The exploratory factor analysis indicated a 23-item scale with a four-factor structure: Prosocial Behaviour, Hyperactivity, Emotional Symptoms, and Behavioural Problems. The revised scale had sound internal consistency. Findings indicated that CALD adolescents from refugee backgrounds scored higher on Emotional Symptoms, Conduct and Peer Problems, and SDQ total difficulties. There were no differences on subscale scores based on gender or English language proficiency. SDQ-T emerged as a promising scale that can be used to understand CALD adolescents’ postmigration emotional experiences, risks and protective factors. The implications of the SDQ-T in schools with adolescents from migrant and refugee backgrounds are discussed.

scholarly journals Strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ): a study of school children in Ribeirão Preto

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo Ramos Cury ◽  
José Hércules Golfeto
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Conduct Disorders ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
Emotional Symptoms ◽  
Child Psychiatric ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties ◽  
Impact Supplement ◽  
The Impact

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to investigate possible child psychiatric disorders using the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ). METHOD: SDQ is a questionnaire that screens child mental health problems, comprising a total of 25 items divided in five subscales: emotional problems, hyperactivity, relationship, conduct and pro-social behavior, with five items in each subscale. We also used the impact supplement that evaluates the impairment caused by symptoms. Out of 143 children randomly chosen from a public school of Ribeirão Preto, 107 questionnaires were correctly filled in by parents. Teachers received 114 questionnaires (regarding children with parents' consent), and 108 questionnaires were correctly filled in. As a final sample, we obtained 112 questionnaires answered by parents or teachers. RESULTS: In the questionnaires answered by the parents, we obtained high scorings such as 30.8% for emotional symptoms, 17,7% for conduct disorders, 16.8% for hyperactivity, 14% for interpersonal relationships, 18,7% for the total scores and 10.2% for the impact supplement. Questionnaires answered by the teachers had 1.83% for emotional symptoms, 8.25% for conduct disorders, 8.25% for hyperactivity, 2.75% for interpersonal relationships, 8.25% for the total scoring and 4.58% for the impact supplement. Combining the results obtained from parents and teachers we have diagnostic hypotheses in the frequencies of 7.14% for emotional disorders, 9.82% for conduct disorders, and 12.5% for psychiatric disorder not otherwise specified and no combination was noted between parents and teachers for hyperactivity. Mean age was 8.18 years, with 63% of the children being male and 37% female. CONCLUSION: SDQ can be useful for a preliminary screening in the investigation of possible psychiatric disorders in childhood.

‘I'm Telling You … The Language Barrier is the Most, the Biggest Challenge’: Barriers to Education among Karen Refugee Women in Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula G. Watkins ◽  
Husna Razee ◽  
Juliet Richters
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Well Being ◽  
English Language Education ◽  
Barriers To Education ◽  
Refugee Women ◽  
Education Participation ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact

This article examines factors influencing English language education, participation and achievement among Karen refugee women in Australia. Data were drawn from ethnographic observations and interviews with 67 participants between 2009 and 2011, collected as part of a larger qualitative study exploring the well-being of Karen refugee women in Sydney. Participants unanimously described difficulty with English language proficiency and communication as the ‘number one’ problem affecting their well-being. Gendered, cultural and socio-political factors act as barriers to education. We argue that greater sensitivity to refugees' backgrounds, culture and gender is necessary in education. Research is needed into the combined relationships between culture and gender across pre-displacement, displacement and resettlement and the impact of these factors on post-immigration educational opportunities. Training is needed to sensitise educators to the complex issues of refugee resettlement. The paper concludes with recommendations for service provision and policy.

scholarly journals The Impact of Blended Learning on the Twelfth Grade Students’ English Language Proficiency

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Hussein Al Noursi
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Twelfth Grade ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Experimental Group

The blended learning approach utilizes modern technologies and electronic media in teaching to create a technology-based environment. However, it is not an exclusive online environment because the teacher and the students have to be present in a traditional face-to-face classroom. It is widely believed that adopting a blended learning approach will enable learners to have quality educational opportunities and improve their performance. The incentive for conducting the research is to evaluate the effect of the blended learning approach on high school students’ English proficiency. Specifically, the study aimed at answering the question: is there a significant difference in the Twelfth-Grade students’ English language proficiency as measured by IELTS due to the model of delivery (Blended learning model and the traditional delivery model)? To achieve the study’s goal, the researcher applied the experimental method and used IELTS to measure language proficiency. The study sample selected purposively consisted of 63 male twelfth-grade students in one of the private schools in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study sample was assigned to two groups: the experimental group taught using blended learning consisted of 31 students, and the control group led by the traditional method consisted of 32 students. The results showed statistically significant differences at the level of (a<0.01) between the means of the results of the two groups on the post achievement test in favor of the experimental group. These results illustrated the impact of adopting the blended learning approach in an English Foreign Language (EFL) setting on students’ achievement in standardized tests. However, the successful implementation of blended learning largely depends on how responsible and committed students are towards active learning.

scholarly journals What happens to international students’ english after one semester at university?

2008 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 4.1-4.17
Author(s):  
Neomy Storch ◽  
Kathryn Hill
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Language Test ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
The Impact

There is a common expectation, particularly amongst international students, that studying in an English-medium university should automatically produce a significant improvement in their English language skills. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that this is not necessarily the case.This paper reports on a study which investigated the impact of one semester of study at a university on the English language proficiency of a sample of 40 international students. This was measured by comparing the students’ scores on a diagnostic English language test at the beginning and end of their first semester. A comparison of discourse measures of writing in terms of fluency, complexity and accuracy was also undertaken. Background information, including details of ESL support, if any, was collected for all participants via questionnaires, and interviews were conducted with a subset of the participants.It was found that studying in an English-medium university generally led to an improvement in English language proficiency. The paper identifies a number of factors which appear to support language development, as well as factors that may inhibit it.

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