Background: Children in special education are typically characterized by developmental delays and/or deficits in social- and cognitive functioning. These children are coping with problems that are...Show moreBackground: Children in special education are typically characterized by developmental delays and/or deficits in social- and cognitive functioning. These children are coping with problems that are often associated with less developed social cognitive skills. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether children’s intelligence moderated the effect of an educational teacher training on social cognitive functioning in children. Methods: Eighty-six children between 10 and 13 years (54% boys) were recruited from a primary school for special education in The Netherlands. Four classes were randomized to either the teacher training (n = 43) or a passive control group (n = 42). The teacher training program consisted of four two-hour trainings in school given by an experienced clinical neuropsychologist. All children were tested prior to and after the training program with a parallel version of the Sociaal Cognitieve Vaardigheden Test (SCVT) to measure their social cognitive skills. In addition, intelligence data (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) was obtained regarding their Full Scale IQ (FIQ) scores. Results: The results showed that a lower FIQ significantly predicted a lower score on social cognition. After controlling for gender and age, the teacher training did not significantly contribute to the increase in social cognition over time and there was no interaction with FIQ. Conclusion: The results emphasize the need to pay special attention to and foster the social cognitive development in children with lower intelligence. To monitor and hence improve the effects of the teacher training, future research should also monitor changes in teachers knowledge, skills and behavior in addition to the child measures.Show less
Background: Fathers and mothers play an unique role in the relationship with their children. This also accounts for the relationships of adoptive parents and their adopted children. Research of the...Show moreBackground: Fathers and mothers play an unique role in the relationship with their children. This also accounts for the relationships of adoptive parents and their adopted children. Research of the differences between adoptive fathers and adoptive mothers in the relationship with their children is scarce. Aim: In this study the relationship of adoptive fathers with their daughters was investigated, by comparing this relationship with adoptive mothers and their daughters. The difference between adoptive fathers and mothers in the interpretation of the problem behavior of their children was also examined. Methods: Adoptive fathers (n = 67) and matched adoptive mothers (n = 67) completed a questionnaire about their adopted daughters, when their daughters were on average 7.7 years (SD = 2.7) old. The questionnaire included questions about the relationship between adoptive parents and their children, about the time they spend together, their communication and the extent to which adoptive parents trust their adopted children. The adoptive parents also completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to assess problem behavior of the adopted daughters. The Total Problem behavior scale and Social Problem scale were used in the current study. Results: Most adoptive parents were positive about their relationship with their adopted daughter. There was no significant difference between the relationship of adoptive fathers and their adopted daughters and adoptive mothers and their adopted daughters. Communication, time spend together and trust were significantly related to the amount of problem behavior of the adopted child. The relationship between adoptive parents and their adopted daughters was significant related to their ratings of problem behavior: a better relationship meant more problem behavior. Conclusion: There were no significant differences in the relationship between adoptive fathers and mothers and their adopted daughters. Their perspective on the amount of problem behavior of their adopted daughters is also the same. It’s therefore important to value the role of adoptive fathers when training and counselling is offered to adoptive parents.Show less
The question ‘What factors play part in affective valences in the use of ICT in teaching?’ was addressed to 218 teachers of primary schools in the Netherlands. With a two track research design was...Show moreThe question ‘What factors play part in affective valences in the use of ICT in teaching?’ was addressed to 218 teachers of primary schools in the Netherlands. With a two track research design was attempted to find the answers to four sub questions. Three out of the four questions were answered with data gathered from a quantitative research method, a survey. Hereupon three tests were applied. One to analyze the relation between gender and ICT-attitude; one to analyze the gender differences in affective valences; and one to analyze the correlation between sense of autonomy and affective valences. The fourth research question was answered with data from a qualitative research method. In ten interviews information was gathered to find out if gender and sense of autonomy play part in affective valences regarding to the use of ICT is in teaching. About sense of personal autonomy, men and women are unanimously positive. But remarkably, men showed more negative feelings about the use of ICT then women do. A nuance for this is that men also show more positive valences.Show less
The major purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between personal factors of teachers in primary education and their affective valences to participate in professional development...Show moreThe major purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between personal factors of teachers in primary education and their affective valences to participate in professional development activities of educational ICT use. For this purpose, a questionnaire was distributed to teachers in primary education in the Netherlands (N = 211). A chi-square test was used to investigate whether there is a relation between gender and positive or negative valences. A t test for two independent samples was used to investigate if there was a difference in affective valences between young and old teachers. In addition, a simple linear regression is used to examine if ICT-attitude could be a predictor for the affective valences. The results show that there is no relation between male and female teachers and positive or negative affective valences. Furthermore, no significant difference has been found in affective valences between young and old teachers. The results of the simple linear regression show that ICT-attitude predicted a significant proportion of the variance of the affective valences. The second purpose of this study is to find out which affective valences teachers have regarding to participate in professional development activities of educational ICT use. This is investigated with semi-structured interviews. Teachers mentioned both positive and negative affective valences.Show less
Aggressive behaviour is relatively common in children and treatment is often difficult. Aggression in childhood is often a good predictor of for example delinquency, drug use or an unsuccessful...Show moreAggressive behaviour is relatively common in children and treatment is often difficult. Aggression in childhood is often a good predictor of for example delinquency, drug use or an unsuccessful school career. Therefore it is important to develop prevention methods and interventions to reduce aggression. In this study, the relation between executive functioning and aggression was researched. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the intervention ‘Minder Boos en Opstandig’. The research group consisted of 33 children that were participating in a larger sample group of the ‘Minder Boos en Opstandig’ intervention study. Aggression was measured with the Reactive Proactive Questionnaire and executive functioning were measured with the Delayed Frustration, the Sustained Attention Dots and the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning. Analyses were done with a paired samples t-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficients. The intervention had an effect on aggression. After the intervention, the children were less aggressive. The parents were of opinion that their children improved on executive functioning. No effect was found on the measured executive functioning of children. No relation was found between executive functioning and aggression. More research needs to be done to study the relation between aggression and executive functioning to gain more insight in this relation. A larger sample is also recommended. Finally, it is recommended to study the relationship between aggression and other constructs like empathy. Key words: aggression, executive functioning, children and ‘Minder Boos en Opstandig’.Show less
