Specific learning difficulties in Scotland and Greece : perceptions and provision

In this thesis I set out to explore the area of specific learning difficulties, an area of conflicting theories, understandings, policies and provision. The purpose of this comparative research in such a heavily debated area was to illuminate the commonalities and differences which can be observed across countries. Comparative research in a policy related area has a long tradition. However, Greece and Scotland provided two different cultural and educational backgrounds which made the comparisons particularly interesting. The nature of, as well as the provision for, specific learning difficulties is investigated in this research through the eyes of those involved. The perceptions of policy agents, head teachers, learning support teachers, mainstream teachers, parents and pupils, as well as the underlying constructs evident in policy documentation and literature in both countries, provided the data on which this thesis was based. This thesis seeks to compare current policies and provision in Scotland and Greece, to investigate the discrepancies between policy and provision, to highlight the differences in perceptions about the nature of specific learning difficulties among the different groups within and between the countries, and to identify factors which might have influenced these perceptions and the current provision. In addition, as both countries are members of the European Union, the impact that the EU had in forming the current policies or provision is also examined. The case-study schools were selected by policy agents in Scotland and from a list provided by the Ministry of Education in Greece. Case-study pupils were selected by the learning support teachers of the schools selected, or the head teachers using the learning support teachers files. The aim was that no preconceptions held by the researcher about the nature of specific learning difficulties influenced the selection of the case-study schools and/or pupils, consistent with the ethnographic principles of investigation. The data was gathered through semi-structured interview schedules which, although they maintaineda structure, allowed the respondents to play the leading role. The interviews were supported by observation of the case-study pupils, from which examples were drawn to use as exemplification during the interviews. Relevant policy documents and literature, not only those explicitly about specific learning difficulties but also those rather more generally about special educational needs were also studied and compared with the constructs held by professionals and consumers. The findings of this study indicated that culture, societal and educational context had influenced the perceptions of, and the provision for, specific learning difficulties. This was highlighted by the fact that the differences among the various groups within the same country were substantially less distinctive than those between Scotland and Greece. These differences highlighted the `inclusive' Scottish society, supporting the notion of `rights' of individuals, whilst in Greece the attitudes were focused on `exclusion' and the `protective' role of the family. The educational systems also played a significant role; the Greek system is heavily hierarchical, with a prescriptive curriculum based on knowledge and delivered by common-to-all books which focus on the `average' child. In contrast, the Scottish system has been characterised as task-oriented and able to differentiate according to children's needs. In addition, the Scottish curriculum is designed for all pupils, and includes guidelines for 'support for learning' targeted at those with special educational needs. The distinctiveness of the Greek and the Scottish societies and educational systems was reflected in the different understandings of special educational needs. In Scotland, they were seen as a continuum of needs including specific learning difficulties. In relation to specific learning difficulties the location of problems was perceived to be to a large extent within the learning environment and, in conjunction with the dominance of the `rights' discourse, responsibilities were placed explicitly on mainstream and head teachers as well as learning support. The latter's role was perceived as co-operative teaching and consultancy. In Greece, concerns were raised about the system itself and its limitations. Characteristics of this system were the lack of clear responsibility on the part of head teachers, and the lack of co-operation between learning support teachers (regarded as responsible for specific learning difficulties) and mainstream teachers. The construct of special educational needs as set of categories of impairment, the distinctive special and general education systems, the provision for specific learning difficulties in 'special classrooms' and the locus of the problem perceived to be within the child, all reflected the dominant position of the 'medical and charity' discourses in the society. In conclusion, although the aim of the education systems has been stated as being `inclusive' education in both Greece and Scotland, I argue that the two countries are at different points, closer or further apart, from their goal. However, the complexity of the various factors involved in the educational development of the two countries presented in this thesis makes a linear comparison a simplistic one, and hence unsuitable. Nevertheless, as both Greece and Scotland reiterate their objective towards "one school for all", a goal set also by the EU, the latter's impact in Greece is stronger. EU acts through its role as `expert' and co-ordinator of exchanges and by funding projects to support inclusive education. This comparative research has indicated how studies of this kind can raise the awareness of the impact of characteristics of national societies on an area of education which has common rhetoric ('inclusion') across countries but where practice and provision can look very different `on the ground'

The words of the body: psychophysiological patterns in dissociative narratives

Trauma has severe consequences on both psychological and somatic levels, even affecting the genetic expression and the cell\u2019s DNA repair ability. A key mechanism in the understanding of clinical disorders deriving from trauma is identified in dissociation, as a primitive defense against the fragmentation of the self originated by overwhelming experiences. The dysregulation of the interpersonal patterns due to the traumatic experience and its detrimental effects on the body are supported by influent neuroscientific models such as Damasio\u2019s somatic markers and Porges\u2019 polyvagal theory. On the basis of these premises, and supported by our previous empirical observations on 40 simulated clinical sessions, we will discuss the longitudinal process of a brief psychodynamic psychotherapy (16 sessions, weekly frequency) with a patient who suffered a relational trauma. The research design consists of the collection of self-report and projective tests, pre-post therapy and after each clinical session, in order to assess personality, empathy, clinical alliance and clinical progress, along with the verbatim analysis of the transcripts trough the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set and the Collaborative Interactions Scale. Furthermore, we collected simultaneous psychophysiological measures of the therapeutic dyad: skin conductance and hearth rate. Lastly, we employed a computerized analysis of non-verbal behaviors to assess synchrony in posture and gestures. These automated measures are able to highlight moments of affective concordance and discordance, allowing for a deep understanding of the mutual regulations between the patient and the therapist. Preliminary results showed that psychophysiological changes in dyadic synchrony, observed in body movements, skin conductance and hearth rate, occurred within sessions during the discussion of traumatic experiences, with levels of attunement that changed in both therapist and the patient depending on the quality of the emotional representation of the experience. These results go in the direction of understanding the relational process in trauma therapy, using an integrative language in which both clinical and neurophysiological knowledge may take advantage of each other

Dyscalculia in higher education

This research study provides an insight into the experiences of dyscalculic students in higher education (HE). It explores the nature of dyscalculia from the student perspective, adopting a theoretical framework of the social model of disability combined with socio-cultural theory. This study was not aimed at understanding the neurological reasons for dyscalculia, but focussed on the social effects of being dyscalculic and how society can help support dyscalculic students within an HE context. The study s primary data collection method was 14 semi-structured interviews with officially identified dyscalculic students who were currently, or had been recently, studying in higher education in the UK. A participant selection method was utilised using a network of national learning support practitioners due to the limited number of participants available. A secondary data collection method involved reflective learning support sessions with two students. Data were collected across four research areas: the identification process, HE mathematics, learning support and categorisations of dyscalculia. A fifth area of fitness to practise could not be examined in any depth due to the lack of relevant participants, but the emerging data clearly pinpointed this as a significant area of political importance and identified a need for further research. A framework of five categories of dyscalculic HE student was used for data analysis. Participants who aligned with these categories tended to describe differing experiences or coping behaviours within each of the research areas. The main findings of the study were the importance of learning support practitioners in tackling mathematical anxiety, the categorisations of dyscalculic higher education students, the differing learning styles of dyscalculic and dyslexic students, and the emergence of four under-researched dyscalculic characteristics: iconicity, time perception, comprehension of the existence of numbers that are not whole and dyscalculic students understanding of non-cardinal numbers

Una aplicación móvil para estudiantes con dificultades de aprendizaje: diseño y validación

En los últimos años, el uso de tecnologías y dispositivos portátiles se ha generalizado en muchos campos y también en la educación. Hay además muchas investigaciones que demuestran la enorme difusión del uso y la popularidad de los dispositivos móviles entre los jóvenes. La tecnología móvil ofrece la capacidad de apoyar el aprendizaje y también ofrece tanto a los estudiantes como a los profesores oportunidades de aprendizaje personalizadas. Los principales factores para la adopción e implementación del M-Learning en las escuelas son la disposición y disposición de los maestros. Hay muchos estudios que demuestran las actitudes y percepciones positivas de los profesores de secundaria sobre el uso de dispositivos móviles en la escuela. Es más, un gran número de encuestas indican que el uso de tecnologías móviles, afecta positivamente la educación de los niños con necesidades educativas especiales como el autismo, dislexia, etc. Esta tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo el diseño y la evaluación de una aplicación educativa para Android que se espera ayude a los estudiantes de escuela secundaria griega con dificultades de aprendizaje a adquirir habilidades adicionales en matemáticas. En primer lugar, se han analizado las actitudes y percepciones de los profesores griegos de educación especial sobre el uso de las TIC en clase para asegurarse, por una parte, de que el conocimiento de los profesores en este campo es adecuado, teniendo en cuenta el hecho de que el conocimiento de las TIC no es una habilidad previa para convertirse en profesor. Esta etapa se realiza a través de cuestionarios estructurados y el análisis de los datos de las respuestas se ha realizado con el software IBM SPSS Statistics. En segundo lugar, en el marco de la elaboración de la tesis se ha creado una nueva aplicación tecnológica Android, destinada a ayudar a los estudiantes con dificultades de aprendizaje en el campo de las matemáticas. La herramienta de desarrollo de aplicaciones que se ha utilizado es Android Studio, el IDE oficial (Entorno de Desarrollo Integrado) para la plataforma Android. El lenguaje de programación que se ha utilizado es Java. Antes de su implementación la aplicación fue evaluada por 7 docentes especializados tanto en el área de informática como en matemáticas a través de un cuestionario estructurado. Se implementó su uso durante dos meses en escuelas de secundaria educación . Después de su implementación se evaluaron los resultados a través de entrevistas a profesores de educación especial y cuestionarios dirigidos a estudiantes con dificultades de aprendizaje con el fin de estimar, por un lado, las opiniones e impresiones de los estudiantes y profesores y, por otro lado, las habilidades potenciales que los estudiantes podían haber adquirido. El análisis estadístico de los cuestionarios de evaluación docente reveló que los profesores de matemáticas e informática tienen una actitud positiva hacia la aplicación “Love2LearnMaths”. El mismo punto de vista positivo hacia la aplicación se puede observar en las respuestas de los profesores entrevistados, que son los docentes de matemáticas para estudiantes con NEE. Los estudiantes de los departamentos de integración, por otro lado, parecen estar positivamente entusiasmados con el uso de la aplicación “Love2LearnMaths” como lo revela el análisis de los cuestionarios de los estudiantes para la evaluación de la aplicación.In recent years the use of portable technologies and devices has become widespread in many fields, such as in the economy, tourism, entertainment, but also in education. There are many surveys that prove the huge spread of use and popularity of mobile devices (mobile phones, tablets and laptops) among young people. On the other hand, mobile phones are mostly preferred compared to other mobile devices by secondary school students. Mobile technology offers the ability to support learning and also offers to both students and teachers personalized learning opportunities. The main factors for the adoption and implementation of M-Learning in schools are the willingness and readiness of teachers. There are many studies that prove the positive attitudes and perceptions of secondary school teachers on the use of mobile devices in school. However, specifically for Greece much fewer studies have been carried out. What is more, a great number of surveys indicate that the use of mobile technologies, affects positively the education of children with special educational needs such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia etc. Therefore, this PhD dissertation aims at the design and evaluation of an educational Android application that is expected to help Greek gymnasium’s students with learning difficulties to acquire extra skills in mathematics. Firstly, the attitudes and perceptions of Greek special education teachers about the use of ICTs in class have been analyzed to make sure on the one hand that teachers’ knowledge on this field is adequate, considering the fact that ICTs’ knowledge is not a prerequisite skill for becoming teacher. Additionally, teachers’ attitudes towards the use of ICTs in class have been clarified. This stage is carried out via structured questionnaires and the data analysis of the answers has been made with IBM SPSS Statistics software. Secondly, in the framework of the thesis’ elaboration, a new technological Android application has been created, aiming at assisting students with learning difficulties in the field of mathematics. The application development tool that has been used is Android Studio, the official IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for the Android platform. The programming language that has been used is Java, while XML’s knowledge was required in order to customize the formatting and the appearance of the application. The application was to be implemented in integration departments of two secondary Greek schools within a period of six months (finally the period was reduced to two due to covid-19 restrictions). Before its implementation the application was evaluated by 7 teachers specialized in both the area of informatics and mathematics via a structured questionnaire. After its implementation the results were evaluated via interviews with special education teachers and questionnaires addressed to students with learning difficulties in order to estimate on the one hand the opinions and impressions of the students and teachers because of its use and, on the other hand the potential skills that the students may have acquired. The statistical analysis of teachers' evaluation questionnaires revealed that mathematicians and informatics’ teachers have a positive attitude towards the application “Love2LearnMaths”. Similar attitudes towards mobile devices and apps in general had been announced by the Special Education teachers of the first phase of our research. The same positive point of view towards the application “Love2LearnMaths” can be observed in the answers of the interviewees, who are the special education mathematicians. Students of integration departments on the other hand, appear positively enthusiastic about the use of the application “Love2LearnMaths” as revealed by the analysis of Students’ questionnaires for the evaluation of the app.

Educational Psychologists’ Perceptions of Early Literacy Instruction, Assessment and Intervention. A Paradigm Shift in the Understanding of Beginning Literacy?

This study explores the perceptions of educational psychologists (EPs) in relation to early literacy development, difficulties/delay, assessment and intervention at the ‘beginning reading’ stage. It is particularly concerned with how these perceptions link to the current research based findings. Research over the past thirty years has indicated a shift in understanding of how children learn to read and consequently why they do not learn. There is currently a combination of traditional teaching methods, theoretical models and ideas from new research that co-exist thus creating a maze through which the EP must tread in supporting schools to support children who are experiencing difficulty in acquiring literacy skills. McGuinness (1997) describes a revolution in the understanding of ‘beginning reading’ instruction resulting from an ‘explosion of scientific research’ (p.12) and sets out four principles informing a paradigm shift. These principles are considered alongside prevailing and current reading methods in the context of a scientific revolution described by Kuhn (2014) and mapped to EP perceptions. The current small scale investigation used Q-methodology (Stephenson, 1953), an inverted technique of factor analysis to explore EP perceptions. EP participants were asked to rank order a set of statements (about early literacy/’beginning reading’) from ‘least agree’ to ‘most agree’. The results reflected very diverse opinions and inconsistency in reported practice, the combination of which frequently contradicted the current evidence base. Five factors or word views were extracted. One of these was positioned within a new paradigm of research based practice. EPs linked to this worldview agreed the focus should be on identifying children’s skills and knowledge at the word level (systematic phonics) and targeting these areas in assessment and interventions. The remaining four factors, or worldviews, all fell within the prevailing paradigm, or pre-paradigmic stage, characterised by an eclectic mix of strategies and holistic assessment, often not even considering a pupil’s progress at the word level. The varying worldviews were discussed in relation to the role of the EP and the early literacy instruction literature. Consequently, implications for practice were highlighted. Limitations of the study were discussed

Relationships between number skills and cognitive abilities in people with specific arithmetic difficulties and people with dyslexia

[Introduction]:Aims and rationale for the studiesThe overall aim of this thesis was to analyse the relationships between cognitive abilities and number skills in children and adults. Examining the links between number skills and cognitive abilities is important both to improve our theoretical knowledge and to inform practitioners who are assessing and teaching children who have number skills difficulties. One important theoretical debate that can be informed by this work is whether normally developing individuals solve problems involving numbers using distinct cognitive modules that are specialised for such work or whether they utilise more generalpurpose cognitive systems. If weaknesses in particular number skills are associated with particular cognitive deficits, it will support the hypothesis that people utilise their general cognitive architecture. Although research into the interactions between children's cognitive profiles and their responses to different teaching programmes is in the early stages, some studies have suggested that tailoring teaching to a child's cognitive profile can be effective. Therefore identifying groups of children with number skills difficulties that have homogeneous cognitive profiles may help in the design of future intervention strategies.ScopeThree main areas of investigation were conducted, all of which examined the links between cognitive abilities and number skills.• An examination of the relationships between three number skills (number fact recall, counting speed and place value understanding) and three cognitive abilities (non-verbal reasoning, auditory-verbal-sequential short-term memory and visual-spatial short-term memory) in normally developing children. • An examination of the cognitive and number skills profiles of children with specific arithmetic abilities (SAD). These children had poor arithmetic attainment, but much better reading attainment. The assessment of these children's cognitive and attainment profiles was comprehensive. The children's verbal, non-verbal and spatial abilities were assessed as well as their psychomotor, visual-spatial memory and auditory-verbal memory abilities. Particular attention was paid to the balance of verbal and spatial abilities in these children as previous research has indicated that children with specific arithmetic difficulties share a homogenous ability profile with poor spatial ability, but better verbal ability.• An examination of the number skills profiles of children and adults with dyslexia. A wealth of previous research has indicated that dyslexic individuals have working memory weaknesses (Hulme, 1981; Shankweiler, Liberman, Mark, Fowler & Fisher, 1979). Three number skills (number fact recall, counting speed and place value understanding) were assessed in dyslexic children, to determine whether a diagnosis of dyslexia was associated with a particular number skills profile. As children with dyslexia had a specific difficulty with number fact recall, the number fact recall of dyslexic adults was compared with non-dyslexic adults, to determine whether this difficulty persisted into adulthood.Structure of the thesisThe thesis is divided into nine chapters. Chapter 1 describes the aims of the thesis and gives an outline of its content. Chapter 2 describes and evaluates the two major models of normal adult numerical processing. Chapter 3 describes current knowledge about how children develop number skills; particular emphasis is placed on the interplay between conceptual understanding and procedural skills. Chapter 4 describes and evaluates previous research into the attainment, cognitive and psychosocial strengths and weaknesses of children with arithmetic difficulties. The limitations of the various research methodologies utilised in previous studies are examined. Chapter 5 provides an overview of how dyslexia is defined; current knowledge about the cognitive profiles of dyslexic individuals is also discussed. Research into the number skills of dyslexic children is described and evaluated. Chapter 6 describes and evaluates Study 1, which had three main aims: to produce norms for some new computerised tests of number skills; to examine how place value understanding, counting speed and number fact recall develop injunior age children; to examine the relationships between cognitive and number skills junior aged children. Chapter 7 reports the results of Studies 2 and 3. The aim of Study 2 was to examine the ability profiles of children with specific arithmetic abilities. The results indicated that children with large verbal/spatial ability discrepancies were over-represented in the group with specific arithmetic difficulties. The cognitive profiles of the children with specific arithmetic abilities were examined in Study 3. The children were divided into four groups: low general conceptual ability; non-verbal learning difficulty; low verbal reasoning; and specific memory weakness. An illustrative case study of a child in each group is provided. Chapter 8 describes and evaluates Study 4, in which the counting speed, number fact recall and place value understanding of children with SAD and children with dyslexia was compared to a randomly selected sample of children attending mainstream schools. The children with dyslexia showed weaknesses on the test of number fact recall and one test of counting speed, but they had unimpaired place value understanding. In contrast the children with specific arithmetic difficulties were impaired both on the tests of place value understanding and number fact recall. Chapter 9 describes and evaluates Study 5, in which the number fact recall of a group of dyslexic students was compared to a group of non-dyslexic students who were matched on intellectual ability. The adults with dyslexia were slower and less accurate at recalling number facts. Chapter 10 draws together the results of the five studies. The findings are discussed in reference to models of adult numerical processing and Rourke's non-verbal learning difficulty classification (Rourke & Del Dotto, 1994). A multiple-route model of arithmetic difficulties is proposed and methods that could be used to evaluate the model are described. Recommendations for the diagnostic assessment of children with arithmetic difficulties and for cognitively tailored teaching are made