The Impact of Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) on Loneliness in Primary School Children: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial in England

Research suggests that loneliness during childhood is associated with poor well-being and mental ill-health. There is a growing social and educational imperative to explore how school-based interventions can support young children’s social development. The Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum is a universal school intervention focused on social and emotional learning, and it has a significant evidence based supporting its positive impact on children’s social-emotional and mental health outcomes. Yet the impact on children’s reported loneliness has not been explored. This paper presents the first large scale analyses of the impact of PATHS on reducing children’s loneliness in England. A cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) with two arms: intervention (PATHS—23 schools) and control (usual practice—22 schools) assessed the impact of PATHS on children’s loneliness from baseline to 2-year follow-up. Two-level (school, child) multi-nomial regression models were used to assess “intention-to-treat” effects, controlling for important demographic co-variates such as gender, age, free school meal eligibility, ethnicity, and special educational needs. These analyses revealed a significant positive effect of PATHS on children’s loneliness. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses, treating loneliness as a dichotomous variable and using different cut-offs for loneliness, revealed the positive effect of PATHS was maintained and, thus, robust. This is the first RCT to demonstrate that a school-based universal social-emotional learning intervention such as PATHS can reduce loneliness in children.

Do structured manipulatives aid understanding of additive reasoning, and addition and subtraction fluency in a sample of Year 7 and 8 students?

<p>Mathematical achievement may impact on outcomes in later life; thus, identifying and improving key mathematical skills is a focus of a large body of educational research. Both additive reasoning, and knowledge of addition and subtraction facts, appear to predict later mathematical achievement. The current study explores the impact of a short intervention with a small group of year 7 and 8 students working at lower than expected academic levels. The current study is based on Cognitive Load Theory and research suggesting that counting strategies overload working memory. A mixed-methods approach was used to identify whether structured manipulatives improved the additive reasoning and, addition and subtraction fluency in a sample of ten participants. Participants attended after-school intervention sessions of 45 minutes for seven weeks. The intervention focused on teaching additive reasoning and fluency using structured manipulatives. Inferential statistical analysis showed a statistically significant mean improvement in participants’ ability to answer simple addition and subtraction questions. Tests constructed to operationalise additive reasoning also showed statistically significant mean improvement. Participants answered diagnostic questions operationalising various aspects of additive reasoning. Individual differences in understanding of additive reasoning were observed, and the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction proved to be a challenging concept. Semi-structured interviews provided themes of valuing the intervention and the manipulatives used. Due to the size and design of this study, it is not possible to extrapolate findings to other learners. However, the study may provide directions for future research. Structured manipulatives may have a role to play in enabling learners to begin to learn additive relationships and further securing recall of addition and subtraction facts. Students at years 7 and 8 may still need considerable exposure to additive concepts; moreover, returning to manipulatives may develop this knowledge. Finally, the findings from the diagnostic questions help show the complexity of additive reasoning. Classroom practitioners may need to further develop their knowledge of additive reasoning, its importance, and the individual differences and misconceptions that learners hold in order to provide considered learning experiences.</p>

Do structured manipulatives aid understanding of additive reasoning, and addition and subtraction fluency in a sample of Year 7 and 8 students?

<p>Mathematical achievement may impact on outcomes in later life; thus, identifying and improving key mathematical skills is a focus of a large body of educational research. Both additive reasoning, and knowledge of addition and subtraction facts, appear to predict later mathematical achievement. The current study explores the impact of a short intervention with a small group of year 7 and 8 students working at lower than expected academic levels. The current study is based on Cognitive Load Theory and research suggesting that counting strategies overload working memory. A mixed-methods approach was used to identify whether structured manipulatives improved the additive reasoning and, addition and subtraction fluency in a sample of ten participants. Participants attended after-school intervention sessions of 45 minutes for seven weeks. The intervention focused on teaching additive reasoning and fluency using structured manipulatives. Inferential statistical analysis showed a statistically significant mean improvement in participants’ ability to answer simple addition and subtraction questions. Tests constructed to operationalise additive reasoning also showed statistically significant mean improvement. Participants answered diagnostic questions operationalising various aspects of additive reasoning. Individual differences in understanding of additive reasoning were observed, and the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction proved to be a challenging concept. Semi-structured interviews provided themes of valuing the intervention and the manipulatives used. Due to the size and design of this study, it is not possible to extrapolate findings to other learners. However, the study may provide directions for future research. Structured manipulatives may have a role to play in enabling learners to begin to learn additive relationships and further securing recall of addition and subtraction facts. Students at years 7 and 8 may still need considerable exposure to additive concepts; moreover, returning to manipulatives may develop this knowledge. Finally, the findings from the diagnostic questions help show the complexity of additive reasoning. Classroom practitioners may need to further develop their knowledge of additive reasoning, its importance, and the individual differences and misconceptions that learners hold in order to provide considered learning experiences.</p>

School Interventions for Bullying–Cyberbullying Prevention in Adolescents: Insights from the UPRIGHT and CREEP Projects

Background: Several challenges and emotional demands characterize adolescence, affecting the mental well-being of youths. Among these, bullying and cyberbullying are recognized nowadays as a major social problem, affecting more than one-third of adolescents, with extensive negative consequences for the victims involved, such as lower self-esteem, increased loneliness, depression, and anxiety. School programs and interventions that foster resilience, coping, and well-being are particularly important during adolescence as protective and preventive factors against the consequences of (cyber)bullying. The paper presents two recent co-designed interventions for (cyber)bullying prevention deployed in Europe, targeting early adolescents and their school communities. Methods: The UPRIGHT project developed an evidence-based, whole-school intervention to train resilience as a protective factor to promote mental well-being in adolescents, in a cross-national perspective. The CREEP project designed and implemented digital interventions to support schools in (i) early detection of cyberbullying events on social media and (ii) coaching adolescents (victims, bullies, bystanders) on how to cope with (cyber)bullying behaviors. Results: The main challenges and insights collected during the design and implementation of both interventions are discussed to inform future research and practice. Conclusion: The feasibility and acceptance of prevention programs are key to the reducing risk of (cyber)bullying and improving the psychological well-being of early adolescents.

Asset Mapping in Urban Environments to Support Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Public schools located within urban environments are a critical component of a larger social network in their communities, with important reciprocal interactions occurring across settings. This is especially important for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), as integration and alignment of home, community, and school intervention programming is essential for their outcomes. However, teachers often have a deficit-perspective of urban communities and lack the skills to identify assets that may support generalization of interventions for students with EBD in a variety of settings. Asset mapping is one way to help special education teachers reframe this perspective. Definitions of assets and the asset mapping process, as well as practical recommendations for special education teachers to identify assets within their school community environment, are provided.

Influences of student race/ethnicity and gender on autism special education classification considerations

Although the prevalence of autism continues to rise, identification disparities across race/ethnicity and gender persist in schools. The under- and overidentification of specific populations receiving special education services under the classification of autism contribute to misappropriation or lack of intervention services for students. Practicing school psychologists ( N = 229) reviewed one of eight vignettes depicting a student displaying possible autism symptoms that varied only by student race/ethnicity and gender. Afterward, they rated the likelihood that they would consider the classification of autism and their confidence in that likelihood rating. School psychologists were more likely to consider an autism classification for Asian female students than Latinx female students. Confidence in likelihood ratings was higher for Asian students than Black students. School psychologists endorsed specific attention to student problem behaviors with minimal notice of possible contributing cultural and linguistic factors. The results highlight that potential implicit biases and lack of cultural consideration play a role in the identification of autism in schools, which may contribute to the nationally documented race/ethnicity and gender identification disparities. Lay Abstract Autism prevalence has continued to rise in recent years. However, females and children from Black, Latinx, and Asian backgrounds are often misidentified or identified less often than White males. These identification disparities make it difficult for children to receive appropriate special education and school intervention services. In this study, school psychologists read a vignette featuring a student with possible autism symptoms. The vignette varied by student race/ethnicity and gender. Afterward, participants rated the likelihood that they would classify the student with autism and their confidence in this rating. Student race/ethnicity and gender influenced both classification likelihood and confidence. These results suggest that school psychologists are influenced by implicit bias and do not fully consider cultural factors in school autism evaluations. This may contribute to identification disparities.

Perancangan Animasi tentang Sosialisasi Kembali Bersekolah bagi Anak di Pasca Pandemi menggunakan Teknik Motion Graphic

AbstrakDampak yang dirasakan akibat pandemi Covid-19 berpengaruh tidak hanya pada kondisi ekonomi namun juga psikologis khususnya pada anak-anak. Hal tersebut terlihat pada perkembangan proses belajar anak pada saat kegiatan belajar mengajar melalui media daring, seperti kesulitan berkonsentrasi, gelisah, dan rasa khawatir yang berlebihan. Kebutuhan untuk memotivasi anak-anak dalam menyerap pelajaran kembali menjadi sebuah hal yang mendesak ketika mereka akan kembali bersekolah secara tatap muka pasca pandemi nanti. Namun, sebelum menempatkan anak-anak ke dalam kondisi tersebut, perlu adanya sebuah program yang membekali anak-anak sebelum kegiatan berbasis kurikulum dilaksanakan. Penelitian ini menggunakan pengumpulan data dari penelitian program intervensi kembali bersekolah oleh Jhoni Warmansyah dan menggunakan metode perancangan dengan model SMCR (Source, Message, Channel, Receiver) yang kemudian menghasilkan media video infografis berbentuk motion graphic berupa sosialisasi dengan konten pesan membekali anak dalam mematuhi protokol kesehatan ketika kembali bersekolah. Animasi ini memberikan edukasi terkait pengenalan emosi anak pada masa pandemi dan juga memberikan pembekalan berupa demonstrasi tentang pematuhan protokol kesehatan pada anak-anak di saat mereka kembali bersekolah nanti. Kata Kunci: anak, animasi, motion graphic, pandemi, sosialisasi AbstractThe impact perceived due to the Covid-19 pandemic affects economic conditions and also psychologically, especially on children. This indication can be seen in the development of children's learning processes during teaching and learning activities through online media. Children sometimes feel difficulty concentrating, anxiety, and excessive worry. The need to motivate children to absorb lessons again becomes an urgent matter when they return to school face to face after the pandemic. However, before placing children into this condition, it is necessary to have a program that equips children before implementing the activities. This study uses data collected from the back-to-school intervention program research by Jhoni Warmansyah along with the SMCR model that later can produce infographic video media in the form of motion graphics. This animation provides education regarding the introduction of children's emotions during the pandemic and further provides instruction in the form of demonstrations on compliance with health protocols for children when they return to school later. Keywords: child, animation, campaign, motion graphic, pandemic

The Sustainment and Adaptation of an English School Intervention to Improve Behaviour, Health and Wellbeing: a Qualitative Longitudinal Case Study

Background: The sustainment of school-based interventions to improve students’ behaviour, health and wellbeing has been relatively unexplored compared to healthcare interventions. Discontinuing effective interventions prevents new practices from reaching new student cohorts and wastes implementation investment. This study examines the sustainment and adaptation of a school intervention to improve risk behaviours that aimed to enhance sustainability by encouraging school commitment, ownership and local adaptation.Method: A case study was conducted of the sustainment of ‘Learning Together’, an intervention to reduce multiple risk behaviours initiated in English secondary schools through an effectiveness trial. The intervention entailed restorative practice (RP), a staff-student action-group and a curriculum. Qualitative, longitudinal data were collected from five schools: interviews with multiple staff per school, and with students and external facilitators the first-year post-trial; interviews with one staff member per school two years post-trial; and descriptive data from the trial’s original process evaluation.Results: Learning Together, as a whole intervention, was not sustained two years post-trial. RP was the most successfully sustained component; all staff interviewed continued to use RP in some form in their individual practice in years 4 and 5 and was sustained at school-level in one school. The curriculum and action-groups were discontinued in all schools, though actions initiated by the groups were sustained in two schools. Staff were motivated to sustain an approach at an individual-level if they perceived it as more effective than existing practices at improving students’ wellbeing or behaviour and it was practically achievable. Elements designed to build commitment, ownership and local adaptation were largely ineffective at sustaining components, as sustainment at school-level required ongoing attention to changes to organisational practices, policies and systems, which was beyond the remit of individual staff. Conclusion: Schools need greater support from intervention developers to sustain interventions at school-level. Adaptation could help or hinder sustainment; schools need support to adapt components according to their theoretical rationale and develop different implementation options. Further methodologically strong primary research on sustainment and sustainability strategies is needed.