Developing training for teachers to support the inclusion in education of pupils with autism spectrum disorder in Eastern Europe and the Balkans

Introduction: Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder, impacting approximately 1% of the population. Education has been identified as a key intervention for such children. However, due to the wide spectrum of autism, no single educational approach is appropriate for all, and teachers need a range of skills and strategies. Providing such education is challenging across Europe, and particularly so in Central/Eastern Europe and the Balkans, where previous research has identified a shortfall in training. Methodology: This overall project is being carried out utilising a collaborative, action-based and stakeholder-empowering methodology, and is being undertaken in four overlapping phases. The training materials and the training process will be evaluated using a combined process and outcome evaluation methodology (Royse et al., 2016). This will include the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Results/Activity to date: Project activity to date has focused on the mapping the ‘state of the art’ regarding existing models and practice regarding teacher education in ASD, as well as identifying the current knowledge, attitudes and training needs of teachers. Academics from the University of Northampton in the UK, the lead partner in the ASD-EAST project, have reviewed the literature regarding teacher education in ASD generally, while partners from Croatia, North Macedonia and Poland have led on reviewing local policy and practice on this topic. Conclusions:Initial analysis of the mapping activity has demonstrated that teachers across all three countries lack knowledge about intervention and educational methods in autism, and that they have a strong desire for training regarding practical strategies that are applicable to their work settings. This identifies the value of the project, and suggests that such training could bring about positive change for teachers and learners alike

Training needs in the field of autism of contemporary Polish teachers in the context of the international ASD-EAST project

The paper presents results of the part of international survey on teachers’ opinion on autism characteristics and specific educational approach and treatment. Research was undertaken in Poland under the auspicies of ASD-EAST project using quantitative and qualitative methods. The results showed the significant differences in teachers’ perception on autism regarding to the school settings they worked in. The strong need for special training in the field of ASD was also expressed by teachers

ASD-EAST: Identifying training needs of specialized teachers

Autism spectrum disorder (autism) affects about 1 in every 100, and impacts all aspects of the individual's experience, including how they learn. Children and young people with autism share common education needs with all other children, and are entitled to a high quality education. However, they have specific, special needs resulting from the characteristic difficulties in autism regarding communication, social understanding, inflexibility and sensory processing. Education has been identified as the key area of intervention for those with autism, and meaningful access to effective education is crucial. Teachers need a range of skills and strategies to meet the needs of these learners, and providing effective education has been identified as challenging throughout Europe, and in Central & Eastern Europe and the Balkans in particular. Based on these needs, the partnership of the ASD-EAST project focuses on developing appropriate training to support effective teaching, to ensure the inclusion of learners with autism in Croatia, North Macedonia and Poland. There is a lack of research data on the training needs of teachers in the countries of Eastern Europe, therefore conducting a mapping study was essential before fulfilling further objectives of the project

ASD-EAST Programme Evaluation Report

This document reports the key findings of the Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership Autism Spectrum Disorder – Empowering and Supporting Teachers (ASD-EAST) (Grant 2018-1-UK01-KA201-047872). ASD-EAST was established to begin to address an identified shortfall in teacher knowledge and training regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and focused on developing appropriate training to support teachers to effectively include learners with ASD in education within Central/Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The project was carried out between September 2018 and August 2020. Its specific focus was on the development of training for specialist primary age range teachers (in both special school and mainstream/inclusive settings). The materials were developed and tested in three counties: Croatia, the Republic of North Macedonia (hereafter referred to as North Macedonia) and Poland

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e. a controlling message) compared to no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly-internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared to the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly-internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing: Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

Depiction of Siblings in “Children’s and Household Tales” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Głównym celem tej pracy było zbadanie i pokazanie sposobu przedstawienia rodzeństwa w zbiorze baśni „Kinder- und Hausmärchen” („Baśnie dla dzieci i dla domu”, baśnie braci Grimm) Jacoba i Wilhelma Grimmów. W części kontekstualizującej przedstawiono informacje literacko-historyczne dotyczące baśni i zbioru, a także wiadomości na temat teorii archetypów Carla Gustava Junga, które były niezbędne w kontekście pracy. W wyniku analizy wybranych baśni można było stwierdzić, że wśród ról przyjmowanych przez rodzeństwo szczególnie często powtarzają się konkurenci i archetypowe obrazy. To ustalenie zdeterminowało strukturę analitycznego rozdziału pracy. Mianowicie, jego pierwsze dwie części poświęcone zostały rywalizującemu rodzeństwu, podczas gdy trzeci podrozdział koncentruje się na archetypowych braciach i siostrach. W odniesieniu do konfliktów między rodzeństwem, zazdrość, pragnienie władzy i dążenie do aprobaty ze strony ojca zidentyfikowane zostały jako główne przyczyny rywalizacji. Wskazano również na istotne cechy rywalizującego rodzeństwa, wśród których podkreślono: głęboki kontrast wizualny i osobowościowy, większą brutalność rywalizacji między braćmi w porównaniu z konkurencją między siostrami, sukces najskromniejszych i najpokorniejszych, pomoc ze strony instancji boskiej lub numinicznej udzielaną tej najsłabszej jednostce oraz, w przypadku sióstr, kierowanie złym rodzeństwem przez macochę. W kontekście archetypów przeanalizowane zostały postacie sióstr i braci, w których rozpoznano cechy podobne do wyróżników konkretnych archetypów. Siostry, które posiadają elementy boskie, dominujące, ale także opiekuńcze, zostały przedstawione jako projekcje archetypu matki, podczas gdy bracia, którzy są żądni władzy, boscy, a jednocześnie demoniczni, zostali przedstawieni jako postacie związane z archetypem ojca. Ponadto, postacie reprezentujące moralną szlachetność i doskonałość zostały pokazane jako obrazy archetypu jaźni. Natomiast postacie całkowicie im przeciwstawne, będące etycznymi antyideałami, zinterpretowano jako bliskie archetypowi cienia. W wyniku badania przedstawienia rodzeństwa pod tymi kątami można stwierdzić, że postacie te często mają uniwersalny charakter i są cenne w kontekście psychologicznym. Mianowicie, mogą one odzwierciedlać ogólnie występujące, ponadczasowe relacje międzyludzkie lub walkę dobra ze złem, która również jest uniwersalna i ponadczasowa, ale często posiada chrześcijańskie zabarwienie.The main aim of this work was to investigate and show the depiction of siblings in the collection “Kinder- und Hausmärchen” (“Children’s and Household Tales”) by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. In the contextualizing part there were presented the literary-historical data concerning fairy tales and the collection, as well as the most necessary information concerning the archetypal theory of Carl Gustav Jung. As a result of the analysis of the selected fairy tales, it could be concluded that two of the roles that the siblings in these works represent very frequently are competitors and archetypal images. This determined the structure of the analytical chapter. Namely, its first two parts are devoted to the competing siblings, while the third subchapter focuses on the archetypal brothers and sisters. Regarding the siblings' disputes, the envy, power-seeking and striving for recognition of the father could be identified as the main reasons of the competition. The essential characteristics of the competing siblings were also pointed out, among which the following were highlighted: the deep contrast, both visual and in regard to personalities, the increased brutality of the competition between brothers, in comparison with sisterly fights, the success of the most modest and the humblest, the help of the divine or numinous towards this weakest person and, in the case of the sisters, the leadership of the stepmother over evil siblings. Regarding the archetypes, the figures of sisters and brothers were analysed as having similar traits to the certain archetypes. The sisters, who are divine, dominating, but also caring, were presented as projections of the mother-archetype, while the brothers, who are power-seeking, divine, and at the same time demonic, were presented as similar to the father-archetype. Furthermore, the characters representing moral nobility and perfection were shown as images of the self-archetype. On the other hand, the figures completely opposite to them, which are ethical anti-ideals, were interpreted as close to the shadow-archetype. The study of the representation of siblings from these points of view, leads to the conclusion that such figures often have a universal character and are valuable in the psychological aspect. Namely, they can reflect the general and timeless interpersonal relations or the struggle between the good and evil, which is universal and timeless as well, but often tinged with Christian views.Das Hauptziel dieser Arbeit war die Untersuchung und das Aufzeigen der Darstellungsweise von Geschwistern in den „Kinder- und Hausmärchen“ von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm. In dem kontextualisierenden Teil wurden die literarisch-geschichtliche Angaben bezüglich der Märchen und der Sammlung, sowie die im Rahmen der Arbeit nötigsten Informationen zur Archetypentheorie von Carl Gustav Jung präsentiert. Infolge der Analyse der ausgewählten Märchen ließ sich feststellen, dass Konkurrenten und archetypische Bilder sich als eine der Rollen der Geschwister wiederholen. Dies determinierte die Gliederung des analytischen Hautkapitels. Seine zwei ersten Teile sind nämlich den konkurrierenden Geschwistern gewidmet, während sich das dritte Unterkapitel auf die archetypisch wirkenden Brüder und Schwestern konzentriert. In Bezug auf die geschwisterlichen Auseinandersetzungen ließen sich der Neid, die Machsucht und Streben nach Anerkennung des Vaters als die Hauptgründe des Wettbewerbs erkennen. Es wurden auch die wesentlichen Eigenschaften der konkurrierenden Geschwister aufgezeigt, unter denen die Folgenden hervorgehoben wurden: der tiefe visuelle und sich auf Charakterzüge beziehende Kontrast, die verstärkte Brutalität der Konkurrenz zwischen den Brüdern, im Vergleich mit schwesterlichen Kämpfen, der Erfolg der Bescheidensten und der Demütigsten, die Hilfe des Göttlichen oder Numinosen gegenüber dieser schwächsten Einheit und, im Falle der Schwestern, die Leitung der bösen Geschwister von Stiefmutter. Bezüglich der Archetypen wurden die Figuren der Schwestern und Brüder analysiert, die den bestimmten Urbildern ähnliche Züge aufweisen. Die Schwestern, die göttlich, dominierend, aber auch fürsorglich sind, wurden als Projektionen des Mutterurbilds, während die Brüder, die machtsüchtig, göttlich und zugleich dämonisch sind, als vaterarchetypische Figuren präsentiert. Des Weiteren wurden die Figuren, die das moralisch Edle und Vollkommene repräsentieren, als Bilder des Selbst-Archetypus aufgezeigt. Die ihnen ganz gegensätzlichen Figuren, die etische Antiideale sind, wurden dagegen als dem Schatten-Archetypus nahestehend interpretiert. Aus der Erforschung der Darstellung von Geschwistern unter diesen Blickwinkeln ergibt sich die Schlussfolgerung, dass solche Figuren oft einen universellen Charakter haben und in dem psychologischen Aspekt wertvoll sind. Sie können nämlich die universellen, generell zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen oder den, auch zeitlosen und universellen, aber oft christlich gefärbten, Kampf zwischen dem Guten und Bösen widerspiegeln

Analysis of stress and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic

Głównym celem niniejszej pracy była analiza stresu oraz syndromu wypalenia zawodowego w dobie pandemii COVID-19. Przyjrzenie się sytuacji, czy pandemia miała znaczny wpływ na stan zdrowia, poziom stresu oraz ewentualne wystąpienie syndromu wypalenia zawodowego u osób które podjęły się pracy zawodowej. Postawione zostały trzy hipotezy badawcze: pandemia COVID-19 przyczyniła się do wzrostu u pracowników częstotliwości występowania symptomów syndromu wypalenia zawodowego, miała negatywny wpływ na zdrowie psychiczne badanych oraz wraz z pandemią COVID-19 wzrosła ilość pracowników zgłaszających sytuacje stresogenne w pracy. W badaniach posłużono się metodą badawczą, która pomogła w realizacji obranych celów - wybrana została metoda sondażu diagnostycznego oraz technika badawcza - kwestionariusz ankiety. Dzięki przeprowadzonym badaniom zaobserwowano niewielkie zmiany na tle zdrowia psychicznego respondentów, w przypadku części symptomów syndromu wypalenia zawodowego zaobserwowano zmiany pozytywne, a w przypadku części negatywne. Podsumowując przeprowadzone badania można wyciągnąć wniosek iż wyraźniejszy wpływ pandemii na zdrowie psychiczne pracownika będzie można zaobserwować po dłuższym czasie oraz większej ilości przeprowadzonych badań, także bardziej wyspecjalizowanych.The main purpose of this study was to analyze stress and burnout syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether the pandemic has had a significant impact on health, stress levels and the possible occurrence of burnout syndrome in people who have taken up employment. Three research hypotheses were put forward: the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to an increase in the frequency of symptoms of burnout syndrome in employees, had a negative impact on the mental health of the respondents, and along with the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of employees reporting stressful situations at work increased. The research used the research method, which helped to achieve the chosen goals - the diagnostic survey method and the research technique - the questionnaire - were chosen. Thanks to the conducted research, slight changes in the mental health of the respondents were observed, positive changes were observed in the case of some symptoms of the burnout syndrome, and negative changes in the case of some of them as well. Summarizing the conducted research, it can be concluded that a clearer impact of the pandemic on the mental health of an employee will be observed after a longer period of time and more research, also more specialized ones