The current study aims to investigate the relation between trauma, cognitive flexibility and potential for analogical reasoning among Syrian refugee children between 9 and 18 years old, residing no...Show moreThe current study aims to investigate the relation between trauma, cognitive flexibility and potential for analogical reasoning among Syrian refugee children between 9 and 18 years old, residing no longer than three years in the Netherlands. The sample included 33 children who were recruited among Dutch schools, using a non-probability sampling technique based on non-random criteria. A computerised dynamic test of analogical reasoning was conducted, utilizing a pre-test-training-post-test design, in which children received a graduated prompts training or practice tasks in between pre-test and post-test. Furthermore, the CPSS was conducted to screen PTSD symptoms and assess the severity and the computerised cue context reversal task was conducted to measure cognitive flexibility. It was investigated whether trained children with high PTSD symptoms would show a higher progression from pre-test to post-test than untrained children, whether severity of PTSD symptoms was related to the dynamic test score and if the level of cognitive flexibility could predict PTSD severity and instructional needs. The results indicated an overall improvement for trained and untrained children from pre-test to post-test and a slightly higher progression for trained children. Suggesting that refugee children, who experience PTSD symptoms, seem to have the ability to learn and excel but possibly depend on instructions adapted to their needs to be able to unfold their potential. In addition, it was found that increased cognitive flexibility indicates increased severity of PTSD. Suggesting that refugee children, who experience PTSD symptoms, are possibly able to compensate for deficits in cognitive flexibility which enables them to learn.Show less
Dynamic testing is a tool to measure learning potential in individuals. Previous research has found that dynamic testing of analogical reasoning abilities can provide relevant information about the...Show moreDynamic testing is a tool to measure learning potential in individuals. Previous research has found that dynamic testing of analogical reasoning abilities can provide relevant information about the manner in which children of various abilities and backgrounds learn. The response of a sample of young Syrian refugees (ages 10-18) on a dynamic test of analogical reasoning was tested in a test-training-test design with two conditions (training and practice). The Child PTSD Symptom Scale was used to measure the presence of posttraumatic stress symptoms in the participants. The participants in the training group showed more progress from pre-test to post-test, however this difference was not significant. Contrary to what was hypothesized, no relation between posttraumatic stress symptoms was found and age did not seem to play a significant role in this. These findings should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size. Further research with larger samples could confirm or reject the idea that posttraumatic stress symptoms do not seem to influence performance on a dynamic test of analogical reasoning.Show less
One of the difficulties that refugees face is the impact of exposure to traumatic events over long periods of time, which can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. This study aimed to...Show moreOne of the difficulties that refugees face is the impact of exposure to traumatic events over long periods of time, which can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. This study aimed to examine the impact of PTSD on cognitive learning potential in refugee adolescents. The 13 participants (mean age = 13.15, 53.85% male) and their parents were recruited through language schools in the Zuid-Holland province in the Netherlands. Cognitive learning potential was measured with a new promising measure, the computerized dynamic test of analogical reasoning. The study was of an experimental pre-test-training-post-test design with two conditions, training and control. The participants completed exercises of analogical reasoning pre-test, then the experimental condition received graduated prompts training. Both groups completed exercises post-test. The effectiveness of the training was examined, but no significant results were found, although both the training and control groups significantly improved from pre-test to post-test. No significant relationship was found between PTSD symptoms and learning potential. Then, anxiety and cognitive empathy were investigated as mediators in the relationship between PTSD symptoms and learning potential. No significant relationships were found. Although the present study has no direct contribution to research, implications for future studies are discussed.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a newly developed dynamic screener to assess first year secondary school students’ potential for learning. Participants included 52 children ...Show moreThis study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a newly developed dynamic screener to assess first year secondary school students’ potential for learning. Participants included 52 children (mean age = 13.14) from different Dutch educational tracks. The dynamic screener consists of the subtests reading, mathematics, working memory, planning, divergent thinking, and inductive reasoning. Each subtest employs a test-training-test design. Based on randomized blocking, half of the children received a graduated prompts training between pre-test and post-test, while the other half did not. On some, but not all, subtests training seems to lead to an increase in performance. Additionally, some constructs measured through the dynamic screener relate to current school performance. This pilot study provides preliminary support to the use of such an instrument to gain more insight into children’s learning potential and instructional needs. Directions for future research are discussed.Show less
This study investigated the effect of a dynamic test in reading and writing compared to a static test for 87 children in elementary schools in the Netherlands (aged 7-9 years old). Static tests...Show moreThis study investigated the effect of a dynamic test in reading and writing compared to a static test for 87 children in elementary schools in the Netherlands (aged 7-9 years old). Static tests measure the knowledge a child already has at the moment of testing, while on the other hand in a dynamic test children are provided with feedback, prompts or training in order to demonstrate more of their learning potential. Dynamic tests are especially useful for children with intellectual disabilities or learning impairments. Children with and without the diagnosis of dyslexia were allocated to either the experimental or the control condition. Children in the experimental condition of this study received a training in between pretest and posttest, whereas those in the control condition received the training after the posttest. Results showed a positive effect of training on the subtests prosodic awareness, spelling sounds and verbs and context dependent spelling, meaning that the group who received the dynamic test showed more progress from pretest to posttest in these subtests than the group who received the static test. This difference in progress did not apply to the subtest phonemic awareness. No significant gender differences and differences in performance between the dyslexic and the non-dyslexic children were found.Show less
Trauma, cognitive flexibility, and empathy are widely studied constructs in psychology. However, inconsistent results are found regarding the aftermath of trauma. In the current study, it was...Show moreTrauma, cognitive flexibility, and empathy are widely studied constructs in psychology. However, inconsistent results are found regarding the aftermath of trauma. In the current study, it was expected that Syrian refugee children with higher severity of trauma symptoms scored significantly higher on cognitive flexibility and empathy tests than children with lower severity of trauma symptoms. To investigate these hypotheses, a quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted with a between-subjects design. The participants were asked to complete three questionnaires and two computer tasks to measure their cognitive flexibility, empathy, and trauma symptoms. Linear regression analyses showed that trauma was not a significant predictor of cognitive flexibility or empathy. If future studies could find this relationship in a larger sample, it possibly has implications for actively using cognitive flexibility and empathy as resilience factors during education for mental health professionals, therapeutic treatments of trauma, and in educational settings.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
closed access
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a newly developed dynamic test for phonological and prosodic awareness in children with and without dyslexia. Additionally, the impact of...Show moreThis study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a newly developed dynamic test for phonological and prosodic awareness in children with and without dyslexia. Additionally, the impact of reading self-concept was investigated. 30 children with dyslexia and 48 without dyslexia (Mage = 10.55) were included. The study consisted of two sessions: In the first session, all children completed a reading self-concept questionnaire. In the second session, the children were randomized into an experimental or control condition for a test-training-test design. Children in the experimental condition received a dynamic training between pre-test and post-test, the control condition did not. Results indicated that trained children had improved more on prosodic awareness than non-trained children. This effect was not found for phonemic awareness. Dyslexia diagnosis did not influence improvement. Furthermore, children with dyslexia had lower reading self-concept compared to children without dyslexia. However, reading self-concept was not related to improvement during a dynamic test, and dyslexia diagnosis did not moderate this relationship.Show less
Objective: The present study examined coaching’s impact on students’ mental health wellness, perception of inclusion, and attitudes to learning. Design: In a pretest-intervention-posttest control...Show moreObjective: The present study examined coaching’s impact on students’ mental health wellness, perception of inclusion, and attitudes to learning. Design: In a pretest-intervention-posttest control group design, 102 students (mean age 18.2 years) participated in either coaching or a regular tutoring period at an institution of vocational education in the Netherlands. Method: Students were randomly assigned to the experimental or control condition. Questionnaires of wellbeing, perceptive inclusion, and attitudes to learning were completed pretest and posttest, while coached students completed an additional two questionnaires of coach and coaching perception. Results: There was a statistical trend in gains of mental health wellness in the experimental group compared to the control group, while the effect of coaching on perceptive inclusion and learning attitudes were not significant. The perception of coaching could predict gains in learning attitudes and perceptive inclusion, and a statistical trend showed perception of coach could predict learning attitudes. Conclusion: Evidence-based coaching methods can be implemented into educational institutions as an intervention to promote mental health wellness, while further research should investigate the importance of coachee perceptions of the experience and their coach to achieve coaching benefits.Show less
Static tests are widely used in the assessment of children’s abilities, but dynamic tests form a promising alternative with advantages in regard to accuracy and predictability. The aim of this...Show moreStatic tests are widely used in the assessment of children’s abilities, but dynamic tests form a promising alternative with advantages in regard to accuracy and predictability. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a dynamic test of reading and writing in children with and without dyslexia. Additionally, the influence of working memory on learning and reading is investigated. The study uses a pretest-training-posttest experimental design and includes a preliminary investigation of working memory, participants are 78 school-aged children. Test instruments are altered for online administration to comply with covid restrictions. Our findings show that the dynamic test is effective for prosodic awareness, but not for phonemic awareness. No significant differences between children with and without dyslexia were found. In regards to working memory, there is some indication of a relationship between working memory and reading, but the current study provides no support for a relationship between working memory and learning. In order to properly investigate the influence of working memory on reading and learning, more research on these topics should follow as the dynamic test is improved upon.Show less
Adolescents with a mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) tend to be more vulnerable, especially in the social domain. This causes them to present more risk-taking behaviour, use more...Show moreAdolescents with a mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) tend to be more vulnerable, especially in the social domain. This causes them to present more risk-taking behaviour, use more substances and show more delinquent behaviour. Consequently, they end up in the criminal circuit more than the non-MBID group. The Reputation Enhancement Theory could explain why adolescents with MBID are presenting more delinquent behaviours than those without the disorder. This research investigated whether a nonconforming reputational style in adolescents with MBID is related to risk-taking, substance use and delinquency. 352 male students of high schools participated in filling out the questionnaires. Specific factors of the Reputation Enhancement Scale (RES) were analysed to see if they predicted high scores on the Self-reported delinquency scale (SRDS), Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI) and Adolescent Risk-taking Questionnaire, behavioural part (ARQ behaviour). Differences between MBID are non-MBID were also analysed. Results showed that for adolescents with MBID and a nonconforming reputational style, their communication to peers was related to SRDS. So, more research is needed to substantiate these primary results.Show less
Dynamic testing seems to provide insight into children’s potential for learning. The current study aimed to gain more insight into the effectiveness of group-administered computerized dynamic...Show moreDynamic testing seems to provide insight into children’s potential for learning. The current study aimed to gain more insight into the effectiveness of group-administered computerized dynamic testing in potentially gifted children (N = 48), to further investigate the relationship with test anxiety, and to gain more insight into the instructional needs of the children. All groups of children showed a significant increase in correctly solving the analogies from pretest to post-test. A difference in progression between the dynamic testing condition and the control condition was found. However, this difference appeared not to be significant. In addition, although visual differences were found in the progression lines of children with different levels of test anxiety and their instructional needs, no statistically significant differences were found. Implications of the findings were described in the discussion. In conclusion, the computerized group-administered dynamic test might have practical advantages for educational or clinical practice but first requires more research.Show less
