Reading comprehension is a complex skill that has been widely studied. Nevertheless, insights on the process of emotional inferences in children have remained limited. Therefore, the first aim of...Show moreReading comprehension is a complex skill that has been widely studied. Nevertheless, insights on the process of emotional inferences in children have remained limited. Therefore, the first aim of this study is to investigate reading time differences in emotion-eliciting and control narratives read by children. Furthermore, in previous studies perspective taking, working memory and visuospatial ability have been suggested to influence reading processes. This leads to a second aim: examine the influence of working memory, visuospatial abilities and perspective taking on reading times of emotion-eliciting and control narratives read by children. Participants were 84 students in grade 5 in the age group 10 - 12. Each participant read 10 emotion-eliciting and 10 control short narratives in random order. Narratives were characterized by either an emotion-eliciting or a control target sentence. Furthermore, measures of working memory, visuospatial abilities, perspective taking and reading fluency were administered. Results revealed RT differences between kinds of sentences (target or closure) and working memory was found to influence the RT of children. These results indicate a difference in the ability to make emotional inference between children and adults.Show less
This study focused on the relationship between math anxiety and self-efficacy in pre-service and primary teachers. The sample consisted of 921 participants. All participants filled out a digital...Show moreThis study focused on the relationship between math anxiety and self-efficacy in pre-service and primary teachers. The sample consisted of 921 participants. All participants filled out a digital questionnaire, including questions from the Mathematics Anxiety Scale (MAS; Betz, 1978), the Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Scale (AMAS; Hopko et al., 2003) and a self- efficacy questionnaire (Bandura, 1986). Women have a higher level of math anxiety compared to men (p < .001). Men and women indicate to have a same level of self-efficacy in math situations. Furthermore, a significant relation was found between the study binding character of the math exam and the degree of math anxiety (p = .030). No significant correlation was found between the amount of times the test was made and the degree of math anxiety. The interaction – effect was not significant. Also no significant mediation was found between self – efficacy in the relation between the amount of times the test was made, the study binding character and the degree of math anxiety. Further research should focus on the factors influencing math anxiety and traits of an effective treatment of math anxiety. At last, increasing self – efficacy among pre – service and primary school teachers is important in order to improve the level of the math skills of the Dutch population.Show less
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether group differences in parenting practices and child empathy exist in a sample of boys with and without disruptive behavior disorders (DBD)....Show moreThe purpose of this study was to investigate whether group differences in parenting practices and child empathy exist in a sample of boys with and without disruptive behavior disorders (DBD). Further in the whole sample, whether parenting practices are associated with child empathy and child aggression, and if child empathy can explain the relationship between parenting practices and child aggression. The sample consisted of 132 boys between 7 and 13 years old (M = 10.25, SD = 1.32), of which 68 had and 64 did not have DBD. Child empathy was measured via a self-report questionnaire. Parenting practices and child aggression were measured through a parent survey. Comparative analyses showed that boys with DBD have lower empathy levels and that their parents use more harsh and neglectful parenting practices compared to the control group. Multiple regression analyses showed that more inconsistent, negative discipline and less involvement is predictive of more child aggression. Also, more inconsistent discipline is predictive of less child empathy. However, the association between parent practices and child empathy is negligable in comparison to the association between parent practices and child agression. It was concluded that empathy levels of boys are not influenced by parental practices, but is probably due to other environmental factors and in interaction with certain child characteristics.Show less
In this thesis a research is described about the relationship between characteristics of teachers (experience in front of the class) and students in fourth and fifth grade (gender and reading...Show moreIn this thesis a research is described about the relationship between characteristics of teachers (experience in front of the class) and students in fourth and fifth grade (gender and reading ability) and (the knowledge of) the reading preferences of these students, through the analysis of questionnaires. These teachers (n = 11, M age = 47.60, SD = 11.04), and students (M age = 10.47, SD = 2.84), have been recruited through elementary schools, by students of Leiden University. There was no significant difference in reading preferences between boys (n = 49) and girls (n = 49) and between students with a good (n = 46), average (n = 61) or poor reading ability (n = 8). Teachers knew equally much about children with a good as well as average reading ability (29-30% explained variance). Twenty-five percent of the reading preferences of boys were in correspondence with teachers’ predictions. With the girls there was 24% of their reading preferences in correspondence with the knowledge of the teachers. Whether more experience was an influence to the knowledge of the reading preferences with teachers did not show in this study. The results of the analyses show that the teachers have insufficient correspondence with the reading preferences of the students. Spending more time on reading education and the associated activities such as doing book reports and making children read more frequently in class, could enhance the knowledge. Future studies can focus on enhancing the size of the sample, modifying the questionnaires and adding research questions and variables to add to the recent study.Show less
Het aanpassingsvermogen op de hoofdaspecten van de ontwikkeling van 133 internationaal geadopteerde jongvolwassenen (M = 22.9 jaar, 78 vrouwen) werd vergeleken met normatieve gegevens en...Show moreHet aanpassingsvermogen op de hoofdaspecten van de ontwikkeling van 133 internationaal geadopteerde jongvolwassenen (M = 22.9 jaar, 78 vrouwen) werd vergeleken met normatieve gegevens en leeftijdsgenoten. Er werd gekeken naar de aspecten intelligentie, gehechtheidsrepresentatie, zelfbeeld, gedragsproblemen, temperament en de attitude ten opzichte van de adoptie van de internationaal geadopteerde jongvolwassenen. Uit de resultaten blijkt dat de internationaal geadopteerde jongvolwassenen een hoger zelfbeeld hebben dan hun leeftijdsgenoten en dat zij minder internaliserende- en externaliserende gedragsproblemen vertonen dan de norm. Bovendien zijn ze op het gebied van temperament minder snel boos, ontregeld en angstig dan hun leeftijdsgenoten. Daarnaast wijken de internationaal geadopteerde jongvolwassenen in hun gehechtheidsrepresentatie niet af van hun leeftijdsgenoten. Anderzijds bleek uit de resultaten dat de internationaal geadopteerde jongvolwassenen op het gebied van intelligentie wat lager scoorden dan de gemiddelde Nederlandse bevolking en op het gebied van temperament iets minder sociaal lijken dan hun leeftijdsgenoten. Ook lijken zij meer geinteresseerd in hun adoptie historie en zijn zij iets minder positief ten opzichte van hun adoptie dan internationaal geadopteerde leeftijdsgenoten. We concluderen dat het over het algemeen goed gaat met de internationaal geadopteerde jongvolwassenen maar wijzen erop dat enkelen hiervoor mogelijk in de kindertijd en adolescentie wat meer begeleiding nodig hebben. Verder onderzoek dat zich richt op meer samenwerking tussen universiteiten en verschillende vakgebieden wordt als implicatie voor vervolgonderzoek aangedragen.Show less
Als een kind disfuncties vertoont in de executieve functies kan dit leiden tot agressief gedrag. De vraag binnen dit onderzoek is of de executieve functies het verloop van agressief gedrag...Show moreAls een kind disfuncties vertoont in de executieve functies kan dit leiden tot agressief gedrag. De vraag binnen dit onderzoek is of de executieve functies het verloop van agressief gedrag beïnvloeden. Verwacht wordt dat het vertonen van disfuncties binnen de executieve functies van invloed is op het verloop van agressieve gedrag. De onderzoeksgroep bestaat uit 109 jongens tussen de acht en twaalf jaar. Er is gebruik gemaakt van de ANT, de BADS-NL dierentuintaak en de BRIEF om de executieve functies bij het kind te meten. De CBCL externaliserend probleemgedrag schaal van twee meetmomenten is gebruikt om het agressieve gedrag van het kind te meten. Uit correlatieanalyses blijkt dat zowel intelligentieniveau als de geobserveerde executieve functies gerelateerd zijn aan agressief gedrag. Echter zijn beide factoren weinig van invloed op het verloop van agressief gedrag. Dit onderzoek toont aan dat er een groep kinderen is waarbij er geen duidelijke disfuncties zijn binnen de geobserveerde executieve functie, maar waarbij er wel sprake is van een toename in agressief gedrag. Het is van belang om een duidelijk theoretisch beeld te creëren van deze groep kinderen zodat het agressieve gedrag kan worden ingeperkt.Show less
Background: Children learn about their surroundings through interest, curiosity and explorative behavior. These forms of intrinsic motivation seem to disappear when children start to attend school....Show moreBackground: Children learn about their surroundings through interest, curiosity and explorative behavior. These forms of intrinsic motivation seem to disappear when children start to attend school. The objectives in schools are generally focused on memorizing knowledge instead of the process of learning. To achieve differentiation in the classroom, studies show that stimulating executive functioning and intrinsic motivation in children could lead to better school achievements. Aim: The aim of the present study was to test if a teacher intervention focused on explorative behavior in children, would lead to higher levels of executive functioning and intrinsic motivation in children. Method: Teachers from four different elementary schools and 211 children (8-12 years) with their parents participated in a baseline and a follow-up assessment six months later. During both assessments two questionnaires were filled out by children on their motivation (Prestatie Motivatie Test voor Kinderen) and by parents on the children’s executive functioning (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function). After the baseline assessment the teacher intervention took place. The teachers learned about the development of the brain and how they could stimulate higher thinking processes, social cognition and explorative behavior in children. Results: A correlation was found between intrinsic motivation and the executive functions cognitive flexibility and working memory. Meaning that overall children with increased motivation also showed fewer problems with executive functioning. However, the teacher intervention showed no significant effects on either intrinsic motivation or executive functioning. Conclusion: This research showed that not only extrinsic motivation, but also intrinsic motivation correlates with the executive functions. Although these correlations were found, the teacher intervention showed no significant main effect. To monitor the effects of the teacher intervention more time and feedback is needed. Through longitudinal research behavioral changes in teachers and students can be monitored over time.Show less
Children make relevant decisions for their future schooling and their future professional career already at a young age. Which direction and level of education can be attained depends on the...Show moreChildren make relevant decisions for their future schooling and their future professional career already at a young age. Which direction and level of education can be attained depends on the academic achievement in primary school but also on the aspirations and expectations of children and their parents. Children with higher aspirations and expectations generally achieve better in school (Bandura et al., 2001; Wigfield & Eccles, 2002; Zhang, 2011; Rimkute et al., 2012). In the Netherlands there still is an educational gap between native Dutch children and immigrant-background children; even though this gap decreases in later generations (van Ours & Veenman, 2003). In this study the role of aspirations and expectations about future schooling of both children and mothers was examined to make a contribution to the efforts to bridge this educational gap. The sample consisted of 48 Turkish-background children in the Netherlands and their mothers. Both filled in questionnaires concerning their aspirations and expectations for the children’s education and future profession. The influence of gender was tested in moderation models. Relations of aspirations and expectations with children’s school achievement (Cito-score) and with the socioeconomic status (SES) of their families were also investigated. Correlations and t-tests were performed to answer the research questions. Results show children’s aspirations were positively related to their expectations and children’s expectations were generally higher if mothers’ expectations were higher. Aspirations and expectations were also positively related to Cito-score and SES. There were no gender differences in aspirations and expectations of children or mothers nor in children’s choices for their future profession. The development of aspirations and expectations can contribute to the school success of children with a Turkish background in the Netherlands and deserves greater attention of both teachers and parents.Show less
Het doel van dit onderzoek is inzicht krijgen in hoe kinderen van drie tot vijf jaar letters waarnemen en of dit verband houdt met de mate van letterkennis en de mate van (ontluikend) schrijven. In...Show moreHet doel van dit onderzoek is inzicht krijgen in hoe kinderen van drie tot vijf jaar letters waarnemen en of dit verband houdt met de mate van letterkennis en de mate van (ontluikend) schrijven. In totaal deden er 233 kinderen mee met een gemiddelde leeftijd van 50 maanden. Om de letterperceptie te meten is er gebruik gemaakt van een Eye tracker. Daarnaast is er een letterkennis taak, een woorden schrijven test en een visuele integratie test afgenomen. Uit de resultaten is gebleken dat wanneer kinderen meer letterkennis hadden, zij een kortere fixatieduur lieten zien op belangrijke kenmerken van letters dan wanneer kinderen minder letterkennis hadden. Er bleek geen verschil te zijn tussen fixatieduur op de naamletter ten opzichte van de overige geteste letters en de mate van letterkennis. Verder bleek de visuele integratie een voorspeller te zijn voor de mate van (ontluikend schrijven). Het blijkt dat hoe effectiever de visuele perceptie is bij kinderen, hoe beter zij dus visuele prikkels kunnen koppelen aan informatie en uiteindelijk deze informatie gebruiken bij uitvoeren van bepaalde taken. Met dit onderzoek is een bijdrage geleverd aan theorieën over hoe kinderen van drie tot vijf jaar geletterd worden.Show less
Physical aggression occurs already at age of twelve months and although most children learn to regulate their behavior, in some children the aggressive behavior exists until adulthood. Little is...Show morePhysical aggression occurs already at age of twelve months and although most children learn to regulate their behavior, in some children the aggressive behavior exists until adulthood. Little is known about the causes of persistence of aggressive behavior in children. Some studies with mostly older participants found a correlation with stress reactivity. Therefore in this study the correlation between physiological response (pre-ejection period and heart rate), behavioral response (intensity of facial fear, intensity of distress vocalizations and intensity of bodily fear) and self-regulation (self/object engagement and attention to the researcher) will be examined in relation to aggressive behavior in twelve-months-old children (N = 71). Mother and child visited the Leiden University and child’s behavior during the Fear task, a stressful task in which a robot enters the room and walks to the child while the child sits in a seat, was video-taped. Child’s physiology was recorded with the help of the Vrije Universiteit Ambulatory Monitoring System (VU-AMS). Mothers filled out the Cardiff Infant Contentiousness Scale (CICS) and The Physical Aggression Scale for Early Childhood (PASEC) for measuring the degree of aggressive behavior. A significant positive correlation between heart rate and behavior response was found. No significant correlation was found between pre-ejection period and behavioral response, nor between physiology, behavioral response and self-regulation. Aggressive behavior couldn’t be forecasted by physiology, behavioral response and self-regulation. These results are discussed en recommendations are done in context of further research on stress reactivity, development of self-regulation and aggression.Show less
Reading problems are associated with school failure and other problems. Yet, almost 14% of the students experience reading difficulties. Reading interventions aim to improve the reading abilities...Show moreReading problems are associated with school failure and other problems. Yet, almost 14% of the students experience reading difficulties. Reading interventions aim to improve the reading abilities of students. It is necessary that effective interventions are used, but also that there is a method by which teachers can determine whether a reading intervention is effective for individual students. The maze task of CBM is such a method. Teachers can easily evaluate the instruction using maze task data. However, researched has shown that teachers experience difficulties adjusting instruction based on data. One of the reasons is that teachers do not have enough general knowledge about reading instruction. Another possible reason is that teachers do not know how to change an ineffective instruction for individual students. In this study, the relation between general knowledge and the ability to change the instruction when ineffective was examined. Participants were 23 teachers (83% female; 17% male) in primary school (N = 13), special primary education (N = 5) and secondary education (N = 4). Teachers made a reading knowledge test to measure general knowledge. Also, teachers were asked to suggest ideas for a change in an ineffective instruction. Students completed 2-minute maze tasks. The relation between scores on the reading knowledge test and the amount of ideas suggested. The performance on the maze tasks were examined. An one-way ANOVA showed that there was no relation found. More research needs to be conducted to design an instrument that differentiates teachers based on general knowledge. In addition, future research needs to examine whether the types of ideas that teachers generate have an influence on student growth.Show less
Doel van huidig onderzoek is inzicht krijgen in slaapproblemen, daaruit voortkomende gedragsproblemen, zowel internaliserende en externaliserende gedragsproblemen en welke rol het geslacht hier in...Show moreDoel van huidig onderzoek is inzicht krijgen in slaapproblemen, daaruit voortkomende gedragsproblemen, zowel internaliserende en externaliserende gedragsproblemen en welke rol het geslacht hier in speelt. Aan dit onderzoek hebben 98 kinderen meegedaan in de leeftijd van negen tot en met elf jaar (M = 10.51, SD = 0.78). De gebruikte onderzoeksinstrumenten zijn een drietal vragenlijsten, de Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children, waarmee slaapproblemen in kaart zijn gebracht (Bruni, et al., 1996). De Strenghts and Difficulties Questionnaire, aan de hand hiervan zijn de gedragsproblemen, zowel algemeen, internaliserend als externaliserend in kaart gebracht (Goedhart, Treffers & Widenfelt, 2003). Tot slot een algemene vragenlijst waarmee de kindkenmerken in kaart zijn gebracht. Conclusie van huidig onderzoek is dat er samenhang tussen slaapproblemen en gedragsproblemen zijn ( r = 0.36, p = .000). Daarnaast resulteren slaapproblemen bij jongens tot meer internaliserende gedragsproblemen (r = 0.37 p = .011) en resulteren slaapproblemen bij meisjes tot meer externaliserende gedragsproblemen (r = .33 p = .015). Een aantal vragen blijft onbeantwoord, echter huidig onderzoek wijst uit dat slaapproblemen en gedragsproblemen met elkaar samenhangen en verschillende uitkomsten hebben met betrekking tot het geslacht.Show less
Most attachment research is focused on the influence of attachment on different developmental outcomes of the individual. This present study focused on the influence of different characteristics of...Show moreMost attachment research is focused on the influence of attachment on different developmental outcomes of the individual. This present study focused on the influence of different characteristics of the individual on the attachment representation. The aim of this study was to examine the role of the combination between anxiety and depression on the attachment representation of adopted young adults at 14 and 23 years of age. Additionally, the influence of socioeconomic status of the adoptive parents and the family composition on the adoptees´ attachment representation have been examined. In this study, 84 international adopted young adults participated in the Secure Base Script method to measure their attachment representation. The degree of anxiety and depression of the adoptees when was measured at age 14 with a subscale of the Youth Self Report and at age 23 with a subscale of the Adult Self Report. Results showed no significant differences between the attachment representation of young adoptees from a mixed family and non-mixed family. There was also no significant difference in the attachment representations between adoptees whose parents were from low, middleclass or high socioeconomic status. Regarding the anxiety and depression, there was no influence of both these measures at age 14 and 23 on the attachment represenations of adopted young adults. It can be concluded that socioeconomic status, family composition, and anxiety and depression do not play a role in the prediction of attachment representation of adoptees in young adults. Future research should indicate whether these findings can be replicated and, if so, whether these non-significant findings are age-specific.Show less
Kinderen komen al op jonge leeftijd in aanraking met de geletterde cultuur. Om meer inzicht te krijgen in de ontwikkeling van geletterdheid wordt in huidige studie onderzocht of kleuters naar...Show moreKinderen komen al op jonge leeftijd in aanraking met de geletterde cultuur. Om meer inzicht te krijgen in de ontwikkeling van geletterdheid wordt in huidige studie onderzocht of kleuters naar specifieke punten, ofwel ‘key features’, kijken om een letter te herkennen. Volwassenen maken gebruik van ‘key features’ voor het herkennen van letters, maar het is nog onduidelijk wanneer dit zich ontwikkelt. Bij een groep van 60 kleuters met een gemiddelde leeftijd van 60 maanden (SD = 6.66) wordt gekeken of zij naar ‘key feature’ gebieden van een letter kijken. Tevens worden verschillende aspecten van geletterdheid gemeten van deze kleuters, namelijk foneem sensitiviteit, receptieve letterkennis en geletterdheid van de thuisomgeving. De belangrijkste bevindingen zijn: (1) Gemiddeld fixeerden experts niet meer of minder dan kleuters op de ‘key features’ van alle zes letters. (2) Bij een deel van de letters fixeerden kleuters uit een meer geletterde thuisomgeving gemiddeld meer op ‘key features’ dan kleuters uit een minder geletterde thuisomgeving. Bij de andere letters werd geen effect gevonden voor geletterdheid van de thuisomgeving. (3) Voor de letter ‘R’ bleek dat kleuters gemiddeld meer fixeerden op ‘key features’ dan experts. En kleuters uit een minder geletterde thuisomgeving fixeerden gemiddeld meer op de ‘key features’ van letter ‘R’ dan kleuters uit een meer geletterde thuisomgeving. (4) Receptieve letterkennis bleek een significante voorspeller van de mate van fixaties op ‘key features’ door kleuters.Show less
In this study we examined whether international adoptees’ self-esteem at age 14 and age 23 predict their attachment representations at age 23. The role of gender and country of origin in predicting...Show moreIn this study we examined whether international adoptees’ self-esteem at age 14 and age 23 predict their attachment representations at age 23. The role of gender and country of origin in predicting attachment representations of adopted young adults was also taken into account. The adoptees were followed from infancy to young adulthood and were part of the Leiden Longitudinal Adoption Study. The adoptees (N=83) came from Sri Lanka, South Korea and Colombia. At age 14, self-esteem was measured with the California Child Q-set. At age 23, the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale was used to assess self-esteem, and at the same age the Secure Base Script was performed to measure the attachment representations of the adoptees.Show less
In this research it was analysed whether students learn from mentoring conversations; to what extent learning is influenced by their beliefs on professional learning, their valuing of their mentor,...Show moreIn this research it was analysed whether students learn from mentoring conversations; to what extent learning is influenced by their beliefs on professional learning, their valuing of their mentor, their reflection report and the conversational moves in mentoring conversations; to what extent the students’ beliefs on professional learning and their valuing of their mentor are associated with the conversational moves in mentoring of the mentor; and to what extent these are influenced by the students’ reflection report. It was analysed which conversational moves occurred during mentoring conversations and how often. Use was made of student teachers’ questionnaires and reflection reports. It appeared that students learn from mentoring conversations. Learning was probably positively influenced by the numbers of the conversational moves not relevant, orienting, reflective, directive, regulative and constructive. Students learn more when they value their mentor more positively and when the quality of their reflection report becomes higher. Students’ beliefs on professional learning are positively associated with the numbers of the conversational move regulative and students’ valuing of their mentor is positively associated with the numbers of the conversational moves recollect, orienting, reflective and constructive. The conversational move ‘mainly not content oriented’ only occurred with the student with a low quality of reflection. Mentoring conversations are effective to educate students when the right conversational moves are used in the right extent.Show less
