The development of writing in four to seven year-old children: a longitudinal study

This longitudinal study investigates the factors at home and school that influence children's attainment and progress in writing at Key Stage 1. Sixty children between the ages of four and seven years in four Reading primaiy schools were tracked and data was collected in the term before they started school, at school entry, on a termly basis once in school and at the end of Key Stage 1. Semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observation schedules, checklists and standardised assessments were used. Associations between measures and continuity over time were assessed using multiple regression analysis. Pre-school independent variables that were found to be significantly associated with writing proficiency at school entry included mother's educational level, family size, parental assessment of writing and a measure of home writing. Child characteristics, skills and competencies were measured at school entry and those found to be significantly associated with writing at outcome included season of birth, WPPSI-R vocabulary score, pre-reading skills and proficiency in writing their own name. The only pre-school variable that maintained its significant relationship to writing at outcome was home writing. Teacher assessments of pupil attitudes to writing were consistently found to be significantly associated with writing at outcome. Data from the termly writing samples indicated that only the handwriting assessment predicted general writing ability at seven years of age. Eight pupils were observed writing at two points in time and the records are discussed in terms of processes and products. Issues such as quality and quantity of writing generated are considered in relation to the development of component skills (e.g. handwriting, spelling, vocabulary), within the context of the curriculum and role of the teacher. The results confirm the complexity of learning to write for children at Key Stage I and developmental considerations are discussed in relation to policy and practice issues

An evaluation of the Writing Assessment Measure (WAM) for children's narrative writing

AbstractThe study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Writing Assessment Measure (WAM), developed to reflect the skills which children of different abilities are expected to achieve in written expression, as part of the National Curriculum guidelines in England and Wales. The focus was on its potential use in investigations of children's written narrative in order to inform and target related interventions. The study involved 97 children aged 7–11 from one urban primary school in England. Prompt 1 was administered to all the children in their classrooms together with a standardised written expression test. After three weeks, the same procedure was followed and Prompt 2 was administered. Statistical analyses of the reliability and validity of the instrument showed that it is consistent over time and can be scored reliably by different raters. Content validity of the instrument was demonstrated through inspection of item total correlations which were all significant. Analyses for concurrent validity showed that the instrument correlates significantly with the Wechsler Written Expressive Language sub-test. Significant differences between children of different age and writing skill were also found. The findings indicate that the instrument has potential utility to professionals assessing children's writing

Consultation training in the UK: An exploratory qualitative analysis of current pre-service teaching and learning for trainee educational & child psychologists (ECPs)

INTRODUCTION: Competent consultation practice is critical to taking up the professional role of applied psychology practitioner in diverse contexts. This first paper reports a qualitative survey of 10 university staff delivering consultation training to doctoral students in the UK. MATERIAL & METHODS: Telephone interviews were conducted to explore i) theoretical models, course content and teaching practices ii) structure of consultation training iii) supervision of consultation (including tutor observation and use of resources e.g. video) and (iv) assessment approaches used v) evaluation in terms of student, consultee and client outcomes. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed and thematic analysis used to analyse findings. RESULTS: Emerging themes relating to consultation process skills, content in the context of theoretical models, challenges and opportunities in relation to assessment and evaluation are presented. The place of supervision, ethics and equities are critically appraised. CONCLUSION: The role of professional associations in promoting frameworks to support best practice are discussed

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnoses and prescriptions in UK primary care, 2000–2018: population-based cohort study

Background Rates of diagnosed attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be increasing in the UK. Aims Estimate incidence and prevalence of ADHD diagnoses and ADHD prescriptions in UK adults and children in primary care. Method We conducted a cohort study using IQVIA Medical Research Data, a UK primary care database. Rates of ADHD diagnoses and ADHD prescriptions were calculated between 2000 and 2018 for individuals aged 3–99 years, analysed by age, gender, social deprivation status and calendar year. Results Of 7 655 931 individuals, 35 877 (0.5%) had ADHD diagnoses; 18 518 (0.2%) received ADHD medication prescriptions. Diagnoses and prescription rates were greater in men versus women, children versus adults, and deprivation status (nearly double in most deprived versus least deprived quintile). By 2018, the proportion of ADHD diagnoses was 255 per 10 000 (95% CI 247–263) in boys and 67.7 per 10 000 (95% CI 63.5–71.9) in girls; for adults, it was 74.3 per 10 000 (95% CI 72.3–76.2) in men and 20 per 10 000 (95%CI 19.0–21.0) in women. Corresponding figures for prescriptions were 156 per 10 000 (95% CI 150–163) in boys, 36.8 per 10 000 (95% CI 33.8–40.0) in girls, 13.3 per 10 000 (95% CI 12.5–14.1) in men and 4.5 per 10 000 (95% CI 4.1–5.0) in women. Except among 3- to 5-year-olds, the incidence and prevalence of ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions have increased from 2000 to 2018 in all age groups. The absolute increase was highest in children, but the relative increase was largest among adults (e.g. among men aged 18–29 years, approximately 20-fold and nearly 50-fold increases in diagnoses and prescriptions, respectively). Conclusions The incidence and prevalence of both ADHD diagnoses and medication are highest among children. Proportionally, rates increased most among adults during 2000–2018. ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions are associated with socioeconomic deprivation

Physically Active Lessons Improve Lesson Activity and On-Task Behavior: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of the "Virtual Traveller" Intervention.

Norris, E., Dunsmuir, S., Duke-Williams, O., Stamatakis, E., & Shelton, N. (2018). Physically Active Lessons Improve Lesson Activity and On-Task Behavior: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of the “Virtual Traveller” Intervention. Health Education & Behavior, 45(6), 945–956. © 2018 Society for Public Health Education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198118762106UCL, National Health and Medical Research Counci

Examining reward-seeking, negative self-beliefs and over-general autobiographical memory as mechanisms of change in classroom prevention programs for adolescent depression

Background: Effective methods to prevent adolescent depressive symptoms could reduce suffering and burden across the lifespan. However, psychological interventions delivered to adolescents show efficacy only in symptomatic or high-risk youth. Targeting causal risk factors and assessing mechanistic change can help devise efficacious universal or classroom based prevention programs. Methods: A non-randomized longitudinal design was used to compare three classroom-based prevention programs for adolescent depression (Behavioral Activation with Reward Processing, “Thinking about Reward in Young People” (TRY); Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)), and determine cognitive mechanisms of change in these programs. Cognitive mechanisms examined were reward-seeking, negative self-beliefs (assessed with behavioral tasks) and over-general autobiographical memory. 256 healthy adolescents aged 13–14 participated with 236 (92%) and 227 (89%) completing the pre- and post-assessments. Results: TRY was the only intervention associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms at follow-up. Reward-seeking increased following TRY. In the other programs there were non-significant changes in cognitive mechanisms, with more reflective negative self-beliefs in CBT and fewer over-general autobiographical memories in MBCT In the TRY program, which focused on increasing sensitivity to rewarding activities, reward seeking increased and this was associated with decreased depressive symptoms. Limitations: Due to the infeasibility of a cluster randomized controlled trial, a non-randomized design was used. Conclusions: Increased reward-seeking was associated with decreased depressive symptoms and may be a mechanism of depressive symptom change in the intervention with a focus on enhancing sensitivity and awareness of reward. This study provides preliminary evidence to suggest that incorporating activities to enhance reward sensitivity may be fruitful in randomized controlled trials of universal prevention programs for depressio

Profiles of Parental Burnout Around the Globe: Similarities and Differences Across 36 Countries

Parental burnout (PB) is a pervasive phenomenon. Parenting is embedded in cultural values, and previous research has shown the role of individualism in PB. In this paper, we reanalyze previously collected data to identify profiles based on the four dimensions of PB, and explore whether these profiles vary across countries’ levels of collectivistic-individualistic (COL-IND) values. Our sample comprised 16,885 individuals from 36 countries (73% women; 27% men), and we used a latent profile approach to uncover PB profiles. The findings showed five profiles: Fulfilled, Not in PB, Low risk of PB, High risk of PB and Burned out. The profiles pointed to climbing levels of PB in the total sample and in each of the three country groups (High COL/Low IND, Medium COL-IND, Low COL/High IND). Exploratory analyses revealed that distinct dimensions of PB had the most prominent roles in the climbing pattern, depending on the countries’ levels of COL/IND. In particular, we found contrast to be a hallmark dimension and an indicator of severe burnout for individualistic countries. Contrary to our predictions, emotional distance and saturation did not allow a clear differentiation across collectivistic countries. Our findings support several research avenues regarding PB measurement and intervention

Virtual field trips as physically active lessons for children: a pilot study.

The modern classroom is an inherently sedentary environment. Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) using interactive whiteboards to explore virtual scenes are a potential method of converting sedentary class-time into physically active teaching. This pilot aimed to assess the effects of a developed VFT on physical activity and learning in primary-school children.Participants (n = 85) were randomly assigned to a) a 30-minute physically active London 2012 Olympics-themed VFT, or b) a 30-minute sedentary version of the same VFT. Activity was measured using GT1M Actigraphs, content recall was assessed with a quiz and user evaluations were gained from teacher and pupil questionnaires.Pupils in the active VFT displayed significantly less sedentary time (p < 0.001), and significantly more light (p < 0.001), moderate (p = 0.01) and vigorous physical activity (p < 0.001) than sedentary VFT pupils. No differences in content recall were found between intervention groups: suggesting that adding physical activity into classroom teaching may not compromise attainment. High acceptability was found in teachers and active VFT students rated their session significantly higher than sedentary pupils (p < 0.002).This one-day pilot provides early evidence of the ability of VFTs to convert sedentary academic time into active time. Longitudinal research is needed to assess prolonged effects of active VFTs in reducing sedentary time.University College Londo