Paul A. Bartolo | University of Malta (original) (raw)
Papers by Paul A. Bartolo
Frontiers in Education, Nov 22, 2023
Springer eBooks, 2009
Do w nlo a d e d fro m: h t t p://i n si g h t. c u m b ri a. a c. u k/i d/ e p ri n t/ 3 6 7/ U ... more Do w nlo a d e d fro m: h t t p://i n si g h t. c u m b ri a. a c. u k/i d/ e p ri n t/ 3 6 7/ U s a g e o f a n y i t e m s f r o m t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C u m b r i a' s i n s t i t u t i o n a l r e p o s i t o r y 'I n s i g h t' m u s t c o n f o r m t o t h e f o l l o w i n g f a i r u s a g e g u i d e l i n e s .
Educational and Child Psychology, 2001
This study describes how professionals’ training and work setting influences their assessment of ... more This study describes how professionals’ training and work setting influences their assessment of children with developmental disability suspected to lie within the autistic spectrum. Data consisted of the assessment discussion protocols about four pre-school children by two multiprofessional groups in London: a paediatrician, psychologist and speech therapist in a hospital; and educational psychologists, a psychotherapist and educational personnel in a school. Verbal protocol and thematic analysis revealed the application of three approaches – organic, behavioural and psychodynamic. Each approach provided different explanations of the problem, but all highlighted an individual disorder within the child. The potential impact of family and school contexts were more characteristic of the psychodynamic approach.
![Research paper thumbnail of Book reviews [International Journal of Emotional Education, 6(1)]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/108577831/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](A common theme among a number of the books reviewed in this issue is that of care and relationshi... more A common theme among a number of the books reviewed in this issue is that of care and relationships as part of preparing future professionals, whether in the area of primary education, health and social care or youth work. Cefai & Cavioni's book is concerned with Social and Emotional Education (SEE) in primary schools, adopting a layered focus through a multi-component, multiintervention, multi-population and multi-year approach that is largely psychological in focus. Brotherton & Parker's book on education in health and social care takes a more sociological, social policy and political focus, while also seeking to address the needs of practitioners. Similarly Sapin's book, engaging with relationships as part of developing creativity and reflection in youth work settings, offers perspectives that are relevant across disciplines and professional domains. Gray & Webb's ambit of concern is with social work; they draw on a diverse and eclectic range of thinkers, mainly through a sociological and political theories lens. The commonality of themes, concerns and approaches, while obviously offering distinctive angles of specific concern as well, raise the issue as to how much current and future university courses across education, health and social care, social work and youth work could increasingly offer some similar joint modules as part of a broader multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach-some disciplinary boundaries may need expansion to benefit from such crossfertilisation of ideas and approaches. It is increasingly evident in the education, health, social care, social work and youth work domains that no domain is an island.
He has been training psychologists and teachers since 1992 as coordinator of the MPsy (Educationa... more He has been training psychologists and teachers since 1992 as coordinator of the MPsy (Educational Area) course, the M.Ed in Inclusion and Individual Educational Needs, and M.Ed in Responding to Student Diversity. He has promoted inclusive education as a School Psychologist, as consultant to the EDEN Foundation for children with disability particularly with autism since 1992, and Coordinator of the National Curriculum Focus Group for Inclusive Education in 2001-03. He is cofounder of the Programme for Culturally Responsive Education within the Faculty of Education. He has published widely on inclusive education and has recently coordinated a 7-country Comenius 2.1 project (2004-07) that produced training materials for preparing teachers to respond to student diversity (see www.dtmp.org
, where he coordinates the M.Ed programme in Inclusion and Individual Educational Needs and the P... more , where he coordinates the M.Ed programme in Inclusion and Individual Educational Needs and the PGCE, and educational psychology and special needs input for the B.Ed course. He also coordinated the first M.Psy course of professional training for educational psychologists in Malta and is President of the Malta Union of Professional Psychologists. He is the psychologist for the Eden Foundation STEP programme for children with autism and coordinator of the National Curriculum Focus Group on Inclusive Education. He has published several articles on disability and inclusion.
Young children with complex developmental difficulties are often referred for assessment by multi... more Young children with complex developmental difficulties are often referred for assessment by multiprofessional groups run by health or education services. The purpose of this research is to identify and describe the frameworks within which such groups make their judgements and decisions in real work settings. This study adopted an exploratory, multiple-case research design. It involved two tertiary multiprofessional groups in London. Each assessed two preschool children whose difficulties were suspected to lie within the autistic spectrum. One group consisted of a paediatric senior registrar, a clinical psychologist and a speech therapist working within a neurodisability centre attached to a hospital (Site M); the other group was multi-agency, managed by an Educational Psychology Service and included educational psychologists, a psychotherapist and the deputy head of a special school (Site E). Each child was assessed by all the professionals simultaneously in the presence of the pare...
is made to feel welcome A.1.2. Students help each other A.1.3. Staff collaborate with each other ... more is made to feel welcome A.1.2. Students help each other A.1.3. Staff collaborate with each other A.1.4. Staff and students treat one another with respect A.1.5. There is a partnership between staff and parents/carers A.1.6. Staff and school council members work well together A.1.7. All local communities are involved in the school A.2. Establishing inclusive values A.2.1. There are high expectations for all students A.2.2. All share a philosophy of inclusion A.2.3. Students are equally valued A.2.4. Staff and students are treated as human beings A.2.5. Staff seek to remove all barriers to learning and participation in school A.2.6. The school strives to minimize discriminatory practices B. Producing inclusive policies B.1. Developing a school for all B.1.1. Staff appointments and promotions are fair B.1. 2. All new staff feel welcomed and valued B.1. 3. The school admits students irrespective of attainment or impairment B.1. 4. The school makes its buildings physically accessible to all people B.1. 5. All new students are helped to feel welcome B.1. 6. The school arranges teaching groups so that all students are valued B.2 Organising support for diversity B.2.1. All forms of support are coordinated B.2.2. Staff development activities help staff to respond to student diversity B.2.3. "Individual Needs" policies are whole school policies B.2.4. Provisions for individual needs are used to reduce the barriers to learning and to increase the participation of all students B.2.5. Pastoral and behaviour support policies are linked to curriculum development B.2.6. Pressures for disciplinary exclusion are decreased B.2.7. Barriers to attendance are reduced Creating Inclusive Schools v Focus Group for Inclusive Education B.2.8. Bullying is minimised C. Evolving inclusive practices C.1. Orchestrating learning C.1.1. Lessons develop an understanding of difference C.1.2. Teachers are concerned to support the learning and participation of all students C.1.3. Lessons are made accessible to all students C.1.4. Students are actively involved in their own learning C.1.5. Students learn collaboratively C.1.6. Homework contributes to the learning of all C.1.7. Assessment encourages the achievements of all students C.1.8. Classroom discipline is based on mutual respect C.1.9. All students take part in activities outside the classroom C.1.10. Teachers plan, teach and review in partnership C.1.11. Facilitators are concerned to support the learning of all students C.2. Mobilizing school resources C.2.1. Student difference is used as a resource for teaching and learning C.2.2. School resources are distributed fairly to support inclusion C.2.3. Community resources are known and drawn upon C.2.4. Staff expertise is fully utilized C.2.5. Staff develop resources to support learning and participation
8 University of Malta, Msida, Malta MSD2080 ISSN 1726-9725 Over the past few years Maltese societ... more 8 University of Malta, Msida, Malta MSD2080 ISSN 1726-9725 Over the past few years Maltese society has been ch allenged by the increasing presence of persons from different cultural groups in the community. People of diverse cultures have always been present in Malta and the response to these cultures varied from their wholesale rejection to an uninfor med and uneducated “welcoming” of these people. In local schools the situation is similar. It is common to encounter discriminatory attitudes by students, parents, educ ators and the general public where the education of diverse others is concerned. On th e other hand those who acknowledge the right of culturally different peopl e to a quality education, do not realize that an add-and-mix approach to educational provision is neither effective nor just “for all children to succeed”. Furthermore at post secondary and tertiary levels, the number of foreign students of a wider spectrum of cultures has also increased. Although these studen...
Frontiers in Psychology
The SSIS SEL Brief Scales (SSIS SELb) are multi-informant (teacher, parent, and student) measures... more The SSIS SEL Brief Scales (SSIS SELb) are multi-informant (teacher, parent, and student) measures that were developed to efficiently assess the SEL competencies of school-age youth in the United States. Recently, the SSIS SELb was translated into multiple languages for use in a multi-site study across six European countries (Croatia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, and Romania). The purpose of the current study was to examine concurrent and predictive evidence for the SEL Composite scores from the translated versions of the SSIS SELb Scales. Results indicated that SSIS SELb Composite scores demonstrated expected positive concurrent and predictive relationships with scores from the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and negative relationships with scores from the problem behavior scales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Although there were a few exceptions, these patterns generally were consistent across informants (parents, teachers, and students) and s...
Frontiers in Education, 2023
Introduction: Several international conventions have recognized the importance of equal access to... more Introduction: Several international conventions have recognized the importance of equal access to higher education on the basis of 'capacity'. However, inequalities persist for various groups. This paper presents a systematic scoping review of studies on the aspirations and access needs of students with disability, medical and mental health conditions to equitably participate in tertiary education. Methods: A search of ERIC, PsycINFO and Web of Science databases identified 133 relevant research articles from across the world covering the experiences of students with all types of disability. These were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: Three main themes were identified. Firstly, the findings showed that a crucial component of the student higher education experience was the development of their own self-identity, addressing stigma and enhancing self-advocacy skills, autonomy, and career prospects. Secondly, the studies described how students struggled for full membership in the university community, calling for a transformation of university physical, social and teaching environments for them to access and participate in academic and social activities. Thirdly, the analysis showed that students valued individual accommodations in both coursework and assessment. Discussion: These findings constitute a newly comprehensive framework for inclusive tertiary education systems and individual accommodations which is grounded in empirical research from a wide variety of contexts. This can serve higher education institutions to develop policy and procedures to ensure equitable participation of students with disability.
International Journal of Emotional Education
In the last two years, a growing number of studies have focused on the promotion of students’ men... more In the last two years, a growing number of studies have focused on the promotion of students’ mental health to address the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, less studies have been conducted on sustaining teachers’ mental health which has been affected by the sudden changes in online teaching and the difficulties in keeping and building relationship with students. Even before the pandemic, teaching has long been recognised as one of the most challenging occupations characterized by high levels of stress. Although the research highlighted the key role of mental health promotion among teachers, there is still a lack of programs enhancing teachers’ wellbeing. This study examined the impact of the PROMEHS program, a school-based curriculum, on teachers’ mental health. A total of 687 teachers participated in the study. Applying a pre- and post-training study design with experimental and waiting list groups, teachers were evaluated in social and emotional learning, resili...
European Journal of Psychological Assessment
. Although children use social and emotional learning skills (SEL) across the world, the expressi... more . Although children use social and emotional learning skills (SEL) across the world, the expression of these skills may vary across cultures and developmental levels. Such variability complicates the process of assessing SEL competencies with consequences for understanding differences in SEL skills and developing interventions. To address these challenges, the current study examined the measurement invariance of translated versions of a brief, multi-informant (Teacher, Parent, Student) measure of SEL skills developed in the US with data from six European countries (Croatia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, and Romania; n = 10,602; 8,520; 6,611, for the SSIS SEL b – Teacher, Parent, and Student versions, respectively). In addition to cross-country invariance testing, we conducted measurement invariance testing across ages (Primary and Secondary students) for the Teacher and Student forms of the measure. Results revealed a high degree of measurement invariance across countries (Scalar for the Teacher form and Partial Scalar for the Parent and Student form) and developmental levels (Scalar for the Teacher form and Partial Scalar for the Student form), supporting the use of translated versions of the SSIS SEL b for international research across these countries and developmental levels. Implications are discussed for assessment and promoting children’s SEL competencies globally.
Malta Historical Society, 1980
Frontiers in Psychology
The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of social and emotional learning (SEL) ... more The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills and resilience in explaining mental health in male and female adolescents, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three self-report questionnaires were administered to 778 participants aged between 11 and 16 years (mean age = 12.73 years; SD = 1.73) and recruited from 18 schools in Northern Italy. The SSIS-SELb-S and the CD-RISC 10 assessed SEL and resilience skills respectively, while the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to measure mental health in terms of internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and prosocial behavior. We found that SEL and resilience skills were positively and significantly associated with each other, negatively associated with internalizing and externalizing problems, and positively related to prosocial behavior. Three linear regression analyses showed the significant role of resilience, age, and gender in explaining the variance of inter...
Frontiers in Psychology
As children and young people today face ever increasing social, emotional and mental health chall... more As children and young people today face ever increasing social, emotional and mental health challenges, schools, as one of the primary systems in children’s lives, are called to broaden their agenda and help to address these challenges. This paper discusses the evaluation of a school-based, universal mental health promotion programme developed recently for the European context. The programme provides a universal curriculum from early years to high school, aiming to promote social and emotional learning and resilience and prevent social, emotional, and behavioural problems in children and adolescents. A total of 7,789 students (and their teachers and parents) from kindergarten to high school across 6 countries in Europe were recruited from 434 classrooms in 124 schools, making use of cluster sampling. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme on students’ outcomes by comparing the groups’ outcomes within times (pre-test vs. post-...
European Journal of Teacher Education, 2010
Taylor and Francis On behalf of the Editorial Board I would like to thank all the people who have... more Taylor and Francis On behalf of the Editorial Board I would like to thank all the people who have reviewed articles that were submitted in 2009 for their time and commitment to the European Journal of Teacher Education.
Frontiers in Education, Nov 22, 2023
Springer eBooks, 2009
Do w nlo a d e d fro m: h t t p://i n si g h t. c u m b ri a. a c. u k/i d/ e p ri n t/ 3 6 7/ U ... more Do w nlo a d e d fro m: h t t p://i n si g h t. c u m b ri a. a c. u k/i d/ e p ri n t/ 3 6 7/ U s a g e o f a n y i t e m s f r o m t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C u m b r i a' s i n s t i t u t i o n a l r e p o s i t o r y 'I n s i g h t' m u s t c o n f o r m t o t h e f o l l o w i n g f a i r u s a g e g u i d e l i n e s .
Educational and Child Psychology, 2001
This study describes how professionals’ training and work setting influences their assessment of ... more This study describes how professionals’ training and work setting influences their assessment of children with developmental disability suspected to lie within the autistic spectrum. Data consisted of the assessment discussion protocols about four pre-school children by two multiprofessional groups in London: a paediatrician, psychologist and speech therapist in a hospital; and educational psychologists, a psychotherapist and educational personnel in a school. Verbal protocol and thematic analysis revealed the application of three approaches – organic, behavioural and psychodynamic. Each approach provided different explanations of the problem, but all highlighted an individual disorder within the child. The potential impact of family and school contexts were more characteristic of the psychodynamic approach.
A common theme among a number of the books reviewed in this issue is that of care and relationshi... more A common theme among a number of the books reviewed in this issue is that of care and relationships as part of preparing future professionals, whether in the area of primary education, health and social care or youth work. Cefai & Cavioni's book is concerned with Social and Emotional Education (SEE) in primary schools, adopting a layered focus through a multi-component, multiintervention, multi-population and multi-year approach that is largely psychological in focus. Brotherton & Parker's book on education in health and social care takes a more sociological, social policy and political focus, while also seeking to address the needs of practitioners. Similarly Sapin's book, engaging with relationships as part of developing creativity and reflection in youth work settings, offers perspectives that are relevant across disciplines and professional domains. Gray & Webb's ambit of concern is with social work; they draw on a diverse and eclectic range of thinkers, mainly through a sociological and political theories lens. The commonality of themes, concerns and approaches, while obviously offering distinctive angles of specific concern as well, raise the issue as to how much current and future university courses across education, health and social care, social work and youth work could increasingly offer some similar joint modules as part of a broader multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach-some disciplinary boundaries may need expansion to benefit from such crossfertilisation of ideas and approaches. It is increasingly evident in the education, health, social care, social work and youth work domains that no domain is an island.
He has been training psychologists and teachers since 1992 as coordinator of the MPsy (Educationa... more He has been training psychologists and teachers since 1992 as coordinator of the MPsy (Educational Area) course, the M.Ed in Inclusion and Individual Educational Needs, and M.Ed in Responding to Student Diversity. He has promoted inclusive education as a School Psychologist, as consultant to the EDEN Foundation for children with disability particularly with autism since 1992, and Coordinator of the National Curriculum Focus Group for Inclusive Education in 2001-03. He is cofounder of the Programme for Culturally Responsive Education within the Faculty of Education. He has published widely on inclusive education and has recently coordinated a 7-country Comenius 2.1 project (2004-07) that produced training materials for preparing teachers to respond to student diversity (see www.dtmp.org
, where he coordinates the M.Ed programme in Inclusion and Individual Educational Needs and the P... more , where he coordinates the M.Ed programme in Inclusion and Individual Educational Needs and the PGCE, and educational psychology and special needs input for the B.Ed course. He also coordinated the first M.Psy course of professional training for educational psychologists in Malta and is President of the Malta Union of Professional Psychologists. He is the psychologist for the Eden Foundation STEP programme for children with autism and coordinator of the National Curriculum Focus Group on Inclusive Education. He has published several articles on disability and inclusion.
Young children with complex developmental difficulties are often referred for assessment by multi... more Young children with complex developmental difficulties are often referred for assessment by multiprofessional groups run by health or education services. The purpose of this research is to identify and describe the frameworks within which such groups make their judgements and decisions in real work settings. This study adopted an exploratory, multiple-case research design. It involved two tertiary multiprofessional groups in London. Each assessed two preschool children whose difficulties were suspected to lie within the autistic spectrum. One group consisted of a paediatric senior registrar, a clinical psychologist and a speech therapist working within a neurodisability centre attached to a hospital (Site M); the other group was multi-agency, managed by an Educational Psychology Service and included educational psychologists, a psychotherapist and the deputy head of a special school (Site E). Each child was assessed by all the professionals simultaneously in the presence of the pare...
is made to feel welcome A.1.2. Students help each other A.1.3. Staff collaborate with each other ... more is made to feel welcome A.1.2. Students help each other A.1.3. Staff collaborate with each other A.1.4. Staff and students treat one another with respect A.1.5. There is a partnership between staff and parents/carers A.1.6. Staff and school council members work well together A.1.7. All local communities are involved in the school A.2. Establishing inclusive values A.2.1. There are high expectations for all students A.2.2. All share a philosophy of inclusion A.2.3. Students are equally valued A.2.4. Staff and students are treated as human beings A.2.5. Staff seek to remove all barriers to learning and participation in school A.2.6. The school strives to minimize discriminatory practices B. Producing inclusive policies B.1. Developing a school for all B.1.1. Staff appointments and promotions are fair B.1. 2. All new staff feel welcomed and valued B.1. 3. The school admits students irrespective of attainment or impairment B.1. 4. The school makes its buildings physically accessible to all people B.1. 5. All new students are helped to feel welcome B.1. 6. The school arranges teaching groups so that all students are valued B.2 Organising support for diversity B.2.1. All forms of support are coordinated B.2.2. Staff development activities help staff to respond to student diversity B.2.3. "Individual Needs" policies are whole school policies B.2.4. Provisions for individual needs are used to reduce the barriers to learning and to increase the participation of all students B.2.5. Pastoral and behaviour support policies are linked to curriculum development B.2.6. Pressures for disciplinary exclusion are decreased B.2.7. Barriers to attendance are reduced Creating Inclusive Schools v Focus Group for Inclusive Education B.2.8. Bullying is minimised C. Evolving inclusive practices C.1. Orchestrating learning C.1.1. Lessons develop an understanding of difference C.1.2. Teachers are concerned to support the learning and participation of all students C.1.3. Lessons are made accessible to all students C.1.4. Students are actively involved in their own learning C.1.5. Students learn collaboratively C.1.6. Homework contributes to the learning of all C.1.7. Assessment encourages the achievements of all students C.1.8. Classroom discipline is based on mutual respect C.1.9. All students take part in activities outside the classroom C.1.10. Teachers plan, teach and review in partnership C.1.11. Facilitators are concerned to support the learning of all students C.2. Mobilizing school resources C.2.1. Student difference is used as a resource for teaching and learning C.2.2. School resources are distributed fairly to support inclusion C.2.3. Community resources are known and drawn upon C.2.4. Staff expertise is fully utilized C.2.5. Staff develop resources to support learning and participation
8 University of Malta, Msida, Malta MSD2080 ISSN 1726-9725 Over the past few years Maltese societ... more 8 University of Malta, Msida, Malta MSD2080 ISSN 1726-9725 Over the past few years Maltese society has been ch allenged by the increasing presence of persons from different cultural groups in the community. People of diverse cultures have always been present in Malta and the response to these cultures varied from their wholesale rejection to an uninfor med and uneducated “welcoming” of these people. In local schools the situation is similar. It is common to encounter discriminatory attitudes by students, parents, educ ators and the general public where the education of diverse others is concerned. On th e other hand those who acknowledge the right of culturally different peopl e to a quality education, do not realize that an add-and-mix approach to educational provision is neither effective nor just “for all children to succeed”. Furthermore at post secondary and tertiary levels, the number of foreign students of a wider spectrum of cultures has also increased. Although these studen...
Frontiers in Psychology
The SSIS SEL Brief Scales (SSIS SELb) are multi-informant (teacher, parent, and student) measures... more The SSIS SEL Brief Scales (SSIS SELb) are multi-informant (teacher, parent, and student) measures that were developed to efficiently assess the SEL competencies of school-age youth in the United States. Recently, the SSIS SELb was translated into multiple languages for use in a multi-site study across six European countries (Croatia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, and Romania). The purpose of the current study was to examine concurrent and predictive evidence for the SEL Composite scores from the translated versions of the SSIS SELb Scales. Results indicated that SSIS SELb Composite scores demonstrated expected positive concurrent and predictive relationships with scores from the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and negative relationships with scores from the problem behavior scales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Although there were a few exceptions, these patterns generally were consistent across informants (parents, teachers, and students) and s...
Frontiers in Education, 2023
Introduction: Several international conventions have recognized the importance of equal access to... more Introduction: Several international conventions have recognized the importance of equal access to higher education on the basis of 'capacity'. However, inequalities persist for various groups. This paper presents a systematic scoping review of studies on the aspirations and access needs of students with disability, medical and mental health conditions to equitably participate in tertiary education. Methods: A search of ERIC, PsycINFO and Web of Science databases identified 133 relevant research articles from across the world covering the experiences of students with all types of disability. These were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: Three main themes were identified. Firstly, the findings showed that a crucial component of the student higher education experience was the development of their own self-identity, addressing stigma and enhancing self-advocacy skills, autonomy, and career prospects. Secondly, the studies described how students struggled for full membership in the university community, calling for a transformation of university physical, social and teaching environments for them to access and participate in academic and social activities. Thirdly, the analysis showed that students valued individual accommodations in both coursework and assessment. Discussion: These findings constitute a newly comprehensive framework for inclusive tertiary education systems and individual accommodations which is grounded in empirical research from a wide variety of contexts. This can serve higher education institutions to develop policy and procedures to ensure equitable participation of students with disability.
International Journal of Emotional Education
In the last two years, a growing number of studies have focused on the promotion of students’ men... more In the last two years, a growing number of studies have focused on the promotion of students’ mental health to address the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, less studies have been conducted on sustaining teachers’ mental health which has been affected by the sudden changes in online teaching and the difficulties in keeping and building relationship with students. Even before the pandemic, teaching has long been recognised as one of the most challenging occupations characterized by high levels of stress. Although the research highlighted the key role of mental health promotion among teachers, there is still a lack of programs enhancing teachers’ wellbeing. This study examined the impact of the PROMEHS program, a school-based curriculum, on teachers’ mental health. A total of 687 teachers participated in the study. Applying a pre- and post-training study design with experimental and waiting list groups, teachers were evaluated in social and emotional learning, resili...
European Journal of Psychological Assessment
. Although children use social and emotional learning skills (SEL) across the world, the expressi... more . Although children use social and emotional learning skills (SEL) across the world, the expression of these skills may vary across cultures and developmental levels. Such variability complicates the process of assessing SEL competencies with consequences for understanding differences in SEL skills and developing interventions. To address these challenges, the current study examined the measurement invariance of translated versions of a brief, multi-informant (Teacher, Parent, Student) measure of SEL skills developed in the US with data from six European countries (Croatia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, and Romania; n = 10,602; 8,520; 6,611, for the SSIS SEL b – Teacher, Parent, and Student versions, respectively). In addition to cross-country invariance testing, we conducted measurement invariance testing across ages (Primary and Secondary students) for the Teacher and Student forms of the measure. Results revealed a high degree of measurement invariance across countries (Scalar for the Teacher form and Partial Scalar for the Parent and Student form) and developmental levels (Scalar for the Teacher form and Partial Scalar for the Student form), supporting the use of translated versions of the SSIS SEL b for international research across these countries and developmental levels. Implications are discussed for assessment and promoting children’s SEL competencies globally.
Malta Historical Society, 1980
Frontiers in Psychology
The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of social and emotional learning (SEL) ... more The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills and resilience in explaining mental health in male and female adolescents, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three self-report questionnaires were administered to 778 participants aged between 11 and 16 years (mean age = 12.73 years; SD = 1.73) and recruited from 18 schools in Northern Italy. The SSIS-SELb-S and the CD-RISC 10 assessed SEL and resilience skills respectively, while the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to measure mental health in terms of internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and prosocial behavior. We found that SEL and resilience skills were positively and significantly associated with each other, negatively associated with internalizing and externalizing problems, and positively related to prosocial behavior. Three linear regression analyses showed the significant role of resilience, age, and gender in explaining the variance of inter...
Frontiers in Psychology
As children and young people today face ever increasing social, emotional and mental health chall... more As children and young people today face ever increasing social, emotional and mental health challenges, schools, as one of the primary systems in children’s lives, are called to broaden their agenda and help to address these challenges. This paper discusses the evaluation of a school-based, universal mental health promotion programme developed recently for the European context. The programme provides a universal curriculum from early years to high school, aiming to promote social and emotional learning and resilience and prevent social, emotional, and behavioural problems in children and adolescents. A total of 7,789 students (and their teachers and parents) from kindergarten to high school across 6 countries in Europe were recruited from 434 classrooms in 124 schools, making use of cluster sampling. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme on students’ outcomes by comparing the groups’ outcomes within times (pre-test vs. post-...
European Journal of Teacher Education, 2010
Taylor and Francis On behalf of the Editorial Board I would like to thank all the people who have... more Taylor and Francis On behalf of the Editorial Board I would like to thank all the people who have reviewed articles that were submitted in 2009 for their time and commitment to the European Journal of Teacher Education.
Many children and young people in contemporary Europe are unfortunately coming to school carrying... more Many children and young people in contemporary Europe are unfortunately coming to school carrying heavy social and emotional burdens, among them: poverty and social inequality, bullying and cyberbullying, family conflict, consumerism, media exploitation and technological addiction, academic pressure and stress, etc. Policymakers and educators across the world are increasingly coalescing around a specific approach to address these many challenges, namely, social and emotional education (SEE). SEE is intended for children to develop competences in both self-awareness and self-management, and to raise social awareness and improve the quality of their relationships.
The objective of this report is to make recommendations — on the basis of international research, EU policy, and current practices in Member States — for the integration of social and emotional education as a core component of curricula across the EU.
This monograph seeks evidence for social inclusion processes at the national political level. It ... more This monograph seeks evidence for social inclusion processes at the national political level. It was motivated by an interest in inclusive education which is, however, seen here as part of the larger process of the development of an inclusive democratic society. It is introduced by a review of the international literature on the evolution of the concepts of social inclusion and exclusion particularly in Europe, and related concepts on the human need to belong, the importance of social identity and of inclusive leadership for effective democracy. This theoretical background enables insight into the social inclusion and exclusion processes that were prominent in the General Election campaign of 2013 in the small European country of Malta. The study explores a possible explanation of the historic results of the Election in which, with a total valid vote of 91.75%, the Labour Party (PL) won a landslide majority with 54.83% of the vote, while the Nationalist Party (PN) obtained 43.34%, and the Democratic Alternative (AD) 1.8%. The main data consisted of the media reports and political commentary around particular inclusive and exclusive incidents during the nine-week election campaign as evidenced mostly in the two main English language newspapers published in Malta and related internet commentary. A qualitative analysis of the discourse of the two major parties, with brief reference to the third party (AD), showed that the major contrasting features of the campaign could not be characterised by 'It's the economy stupid', but rather by the contrasting inclusive and exclusive approaches of the two major parties. The incumbent PN that had been in government with only a brief interruption for 24 years was seen, even by some of its own members, as restricting economic, social and political participation to a closed group of favoured inner party adherents. It was also seen as arrogantly discounting the dignity and capability of the leaders and membership of the rival PL party. In contrast, the latter successfully exploited this situation by effectively respectfully calling for and engaging the participation of a myriad of individual citizens and civil society groupings in a new 'movement' open to all. Moreover, this was achieved through a consistent approach associated with inclusion practices. The third smaller party, AD, while articulating an inclusive ideology, was not actively including more people in its projects and remained with its previous limited support as a pressure group. The study is a first discursive exploration of Maltese election campaigns and provides an important contribution to the understanding of the potential significance of inclusion and exclusion processes in political campaigns. It also gives rise to a discussion on social inclusion as an essential process of democracy.
RESCUR Surfing The Waves is a resilience programme for early years and primary schools in Europe ... more RESCUR Surfing The Waves is a resilience programme for early years and primary schools in Europe developed by six European universities The curriculum seeks to empower vulnerable children at risk of early school leaving, absenteeism, disengagement, bullying, social exclusion and marginalisation through a universal, whole school approach. Amongst its special features, it includes story telling making use of two specially created animal characters, mindfulness activities at the beginning of each session, ready made activities and resources for the classroom teacher, interactive multisensory activities, learners portfolio, take home activities, teacher and self assessment checklists for each theme and subtheme, finger and cloth puppets, theme posters, and activity sheets. The activities are experiential, spiral, developmental, inclusive and make use of the SAFE approach. The programme consists of a Teachers Guide, a Parents Guide, and three manuals of activities and resources for Early Years, Early Primary Years and Late Primary Years respectively. It is available in hard and soft copies and available in English and six other languages (Croatian, Greek, Italian, Maltese, Portugese and Swedish).