Founded in 1998. Is an international publication, aiming at supplementing research and practical resources of education and social participation of persons with disabilities. It provides a forum for scientists and practitioners who work with people having disabilities in various spheres and environments of life.
Vilniaus universiteto leidykla / Vilnius University Press
Copyright (c) 2022 Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A strengths-based social skills development strategy:a case study of a student with autism spectrum disorder
This case study explored the possibilities of applying strengths-based strategies to develop the social skills of a student with autism spectrum disorder. Problem questions: What peculiarities (strengths, deficiencies) of social skills in the student with autism spectrum disorder do the student’s educators envisage? What are the opportunities for developing this student’s social skills, based on the perspective of strengths? The aim of the research - using a case analysis to determine the possibilities of applying a strengths-based social skills development strategy to a student with autism spectrum disorder. Research methodology and methods: theoretical analysis; case studies (semi-structured interviews; modeling of an individualized social skills development plan; focus group survey and content analysis). Study sample. An 8-year-old special school student with autism spectrum disorder was selected for the case study. Other participants of the study were the student’s educators (teachers, speech therapist, the child’s parents, etc.). After qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interview data, the strengths (functionality) of social skills of a student with autism spectrum disorder were determined. An individual social skills development plan based on the student’s strengths was modeled through group discussions with teachers and the student’s parents. The study participants developed the student’s social skills for 3 months according to this plan. Based on the prepared plan, the student’s social skills were developed at school and in the family, applying the social skills group training model, when, under the guidance of adults (teachers, parents), the child, together with peers, engages in joint activities. The results of the strengths-based social skills development were analyzed using the focus group method. A slight increase in the functionality of some social skills was determined (the child’s greater interest in peers and participation in joint activities with peers, better concentration of attention, etc.). In addition, according to the study participants, positive changes occurred in the areas of teacher-parent cooperation and understanding of the student’s individual needs.
Copyright (c) 2025 Irena Kaffemanienė | Margarita Jurevičienė | Kornelija Gindulytė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Implementing Inclusive Education: Experiences of School Leaders in Change Management
<p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Education for all is one of the goals of sustainable development, but in order to ensure it globally, it is necessary to implement political goals at different levels and constructively and proactively manage changes in educational institutions. The implementation of inclusive education is a long-term process of educational transformation, the management of which is largely the responsibility of educational leaders. The purpose of the study is to analyze the experiences of school leaders in managing changes in inclusive education. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Research methodology. The conducted research is based on the methodological approach of qualitative research, with the aim of obtaining the best possible understanding of the phenomena of reality through the research (Flick, 2018). The method of semi-structured interview was used for data collection. The research instrument was constructed on the basis of the analysis of scientific literature (Keles, 2024, Phillips, Klein, 2023, Struyf et al., 2022, Kauffman, 2020, Bortini et al., 2016, Hayes, 2014, etc.). The research was conducted in April-May 2024. The content analysis method was used for the analysis of research data. The study involved 35 heads of Lithuanian general education schools that provide primary, basic, and secondary education – principals, deputies, and heads of departments. The research ethics and data protection principles were followed during the research. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The results of the study revealed that leaders of educational organizations associate the concept of inclusive education with the recognition of the individual needs and abilities of each student, the principles of equality and equal opportunities, and educational assistance. The positive attitudes of the heads of the institution towards inclusive education at the ideological, conceptual and value levels are noticeable, but the principles of inclusion are more actualized in the context of more severe disabilities and special needs. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">School leaders have a variety of experiences in building an inclusive school and managing change. In the process of creating a strategic inclusive culture, teachers experience unfavorable attitudes, various difficulties in organizing the basic educational process and ensuring educational assistance, monitoring limitations. Change management also becomes more complicated in additional managerial processes: there is a lack of cooperation and partnership between communities; insufficient competence of existing pedagogues and lack of educational staff; changes in inclusive governance are also held back by limited finances and poor infrastructure. The positive experiences of school leaders have been experienced by successfully mobilizing the school community’s cooperation, teamwork, and networking (creating a common network with schools, parents’ community, and other partners). In successful cases, when creating the culture of an inclusive school, managers also mention the effectiveness of educational support, the usefulness of teamwork, and the application of various methods closer to personalized child education in the educational process. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">School leaders name three main competences, the development of which they would like to pay more attention to in the context of creating an inclusive school: leadership of people, strategic and educational institution management, and partnership and cooperation competences. Heads of educational institutions during inclusive education change management improve the aforementioned competences in the form of professional learning and development – purposeful participation in events and short-term mobility projects, the content and activities of which can help expand partnership and cooperation, improve strategic and change management.
Copyright (c) 2024 Renata Bilbokaitė | Ieva Bilbokaitė-Skiauterienė | Violeta Valuntinaitė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Music Therapy for People with Intellectual Disabilities: Stigma Intervention Strategies
The research presented in the article aims to justify the application of the method of music therapy in the long-term perspective of the social worker’s professionalization for people with intellectual disabilities. The object of the research is the impact of music therapy on persons with intellectual disabilities as a stigma research & intervention strategy in the context of the professionalization of social work. The aim of the article is to reveal the impact of music therapy on persons with intellectual disabilities in the context of the professionalization of social work. The object of the research was delved into from various angles in order to answer the research questions: How useful is music therapy for people with intellectual disabilities in the context of social work striving to overcome stigma and choosing music therapy as a strategy? How useful is the authorial research methodology developed by the researchers for the application of music therapy for the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities in the context of social assistance and in overcoming systems barriers? To what extent are the research participants able to express their feelings and evaluate the process of music therapy, to influence the social worker’s activities related to music therapy? To what extent and how does such activity expand the boundaries of the social worker’s profession and in what direction does it change professional standards? Data analysis proves that music therapy helps people with intellectual disabilities and society to overcome stigma. Referring to the research findings it can be stated that the authorial methodology for the application of music therapy created by the researchers in order to achieve the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities in the context of social assistance is effective and can be implemented in practice to overcome the systems barriers.
Stigma Research & Intervention Strategies
Copyright (c) 2023 Ingrida Baranauskienė | Jurgita Latakienė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Analysis of Sources of Occupational Stress Among Teachers and Educational Support Specialists
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">The article analyses the data of an empirical study revealing the contexts of sources of occupational stress for teachers and educational support specialists. In order to analyse the experience of specialists, a questionnaire was compiled, the statements of which were formulated on the basis of the analysis of scientific (theoretical and empirical) research on occupational stress.<br style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">N=205 respondents were surveyed with this questionnaire. Referring to the data from the exploratory and confirmatory statistical analyses of the survey data in the context of this sample, a final questionnaire suitable for use in the study of stressogenic sources of teachers and educational support specialists was constructed. Statistically significant relationships between sources of occupational stress were also revealed.
teachers and educationla support profesoionals
Copyright (c) 2023 Asta Vaitkevičienė | Daiva Alifanovienė | Albina Kepalaitė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Differential Characteristics of the Delayed and Underdeveloped Speech and Language Development in Pre-school Children
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" data-mce-fragment="1">The article reveals the theoretical differential aspects of delayed and underdeveloped speech and language development, analyses opinions and experiences of speech and language therapists by differentiating the disorders of delayed and underdeveloped speech and language development, identifying main differential characteristics of these disorders. The methodological approach of <em style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" data-mce-fragment="1">quantitative research<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" data-mce-fragment="1"> and a <em style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" data-mce-fragment="1">written survey<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" data-mce-fragment="1"> as a quantitative method for the research data collection were chosen for the research. Speech and language therapists of Lithuania who had practical experience in providing assistance to preschool children with delayed and underdeveloped speech and language development participated in the study. The study revealed main differential characteristics of delayed and underdeveloped speech and language development. The main differential differences of delayed and underdeveloped speech and language development are observed at the <em style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" data-mce-fragment="1">phonetic, phonological, lexical and semantic, morphological and syntactic<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" data-mce-fragment="1"> levels.
differential characteristics of delayed and underdeveloped speech and language development
Copyright (c) 2024 Rita Kantanavičiūtė-Petrūžė | Auksė Ladukienė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Opportunities of Arts Education in Implementing Inclusive Education: Learning Experiences of Teachers in the International Context
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">The article analyzes the relevance of arts education and teachers’ professional development while implementing inclusive education. The background for this article is an evaluation of an international in-service teachers’ training program focusing on inclusive arts education. This study aims to investigate what inclusive education means to arts teachers and reveal their learning experiences in the international training program “Inclusive Arts Education”. The qualitative research was conducted using the focus group method with international training program participants from three different European countries (Finland, Austria and Lithuania). The study involved 25 participants: 7 from Finland, 7 from Austria and 11 from Lithuania. The research has shown that in each country arts teachers work in different national and educational contexts but face quite similar challenges of inclusive education. The success of inclusive art education mainly depends on the teacher’s professional abilities and attitude towards inclusion, as well as the creation of a favourable educational atmosphere and positive relationships with students in the educational process. The experience of the research participants highlighted their attitudes to the content and organization of international training, which will help to develop continuing education programs for arts teachers’ preparation for inclusive arts education.
Copyright (c) 2024 Prof. dr. Diana Strakšienė | Assoc. prof. dr. Edita Musneckienė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Self-Evaluation of Pre-School Education Institutions with an Emphasis on the Level of Their Inclusivity
<p lang="sk-SK" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The issue of inclusive education, on the theoretical and empirical level currently within pedagogy (and not only within it), belongs to an extremely topical and discussed theme. In a humanistic oriented society, it is necessary to promote a philosophy of education that emphasises education for everyone without distinction and without exclusion, so that diversity becomes the norm. Subsequently, it is possible to divide children not institutionally but in terms of content, i.e. to manage processes in a direction away from segregated special schools towards inclusive kindergartens and primary schools and to strive for the personal growth of each child without any comparison with other children. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The Index for Inclusion was defined by a British organisation called the Centre for Research on Inclusive Education and the Inclusivity Index published within it, which defines inclusive education in the form of the steps needed to better translate it into practice (Booth et al., 2004, 2006). In its essence, it is a self-assessment tool designed for schools, but also for public institutions. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The Index for Inclusion consists of four basic pillars: Inclusion is a process – it is a never-ending process of finding individual and systemic answers to the ever-changing diversity within society and in schools. Inclusion is related to the identification and removal of barriers – the ability to identify barriers requires the collection, compilation and evaluation of comprehensive data from a variety of sources to improve policy and praxis. Inclusion means the presence, participation, success and happiness of all children – success is associated with the outcomes of the educational process, which go beyond the framework of the testing of knowledge. Inclusion includes special attention to those target groups which face the threat of the marginalisation, exclusion and achievement of the below average in education (Booth & Ainscow, 2016). <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The research is focused on the creation of a self-evaluation tool for determining the level of inclusivity of kindergartens and its verification in praxis. The purpose of self-assessment is to raise existing standards for a more effective upbringing and education. Effective kindergartens should constantly re-evaluate their own praxis and look for ways which will contribute towards improving the quality of the kindergarten, with an emphasis on its inclusivity. It is necessary to realise that there is a direct relationship between professional development and the self-evaluation of the school. The self-evaluation of pedagogical and professional employees of kindergartens contributes to their self-knowledge, self-reflection and self-criticism, based on their own performance and professional development. In this context, the research focuses on creating a model of school self-assessment which will allow kindergartens to evaluate their own inclusive educational practices. The self-evaluation questionnaire is part of the Methodical Manual of Inclusive Pre-primary Education (Šilonová & Klein, 2020) and is based on an individual analysis and evaluation, requires subsequent consultation and confrontation of opinions, and a search for consensus, thus promoting mutual communication in areas requiring further improvement and development. It is necessary to discuss proposals and plans on how to improve education in these areas. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">In the intentions of the presented knowledge and possible starting points relevant to the given research, a research problem was formulated: Will the application of the developed self-evaluation tool contribute towards increasing the inclusivity of kindergartens in the areas of culture, policy and praxis? <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The aim of the research was to verify the Index for Inclusion of kindergartens within selected localities through their self-evaluation. It can be assumed that the results from the output self-evaluation of kindergartens from the “Rest of Slovakia” region will be statistically significantly better than the results from the input self-evaluation of pre kindergartens from the “Rest of Slovakia” region. It can also be assumed that the results from the output self-evaluation of kindergartens from the Prešov region will be statistically significantly better than the results from the input self-evaluation of kindergartens from the Prešov region. It can also be assumed that the results from the output self-evaluation of kindergartens from the Košice region will be statistically significantly better than the results from the input self-evaluation of kindergartens from the Košice region. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The self-evaluation tool for kindergartens consists of three main areas of the Index for Inclusion: culture, policy and praxis. In the area of culture, the following items were monitored: Kindergarten Climate, Cooperation of the Kindergarten with Parents, the School Authority and the Community, Internal and External Communication. In the area of policy, the following items were monitored: Objectives and Plans of the Kindergarten, Decision Making Processes, Personal Development, Spatial and Material-Technical Conditions., School Education Program. In the field of praxis, the following items were monitored: Achieved Results within an Inclusive Education, Education, Learning, Education of Children with Special Educational Needs. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">In total, 115 kindergartens (762 respondents) participated in the input self-evaluation within the framework of the National PRIM project and 96 kindergartens (559 respondents) participated in the output self-evaluation. From the total number of 115 kindergartens involved, 42 kindergartens from three areas of the Slovak Republic were selected by proportional stratified selection (according to the criterion of the number of pedagogical and professional employees): (1) Košice Region (KE) – 14 kindergartens; (2) Prešov Region (PO) – 14 kindergartens; (3) Rest of Slovakia (RS) – 14 kindergartens (Žilina region, Banská Bystrica region, Trenčín region and Nitra region). <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">To verify the hypotheses for items where there was more than a binary scoring, a paired t-test was used, as the two groups of measurements were based upon the same sample of respondents who were tested twice (input and output measurements) and these were compared to each other. By subtracting the second measurement from the first for each subject, pairwise differences were obtained and entered into the analysis. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Based on the research findings, it can be stated that the results from the output self-evaluation of kindergartens from the “Rest of Slovakia” region were statistically significantly better than the results from the input self-evaluation of pre kindergartens from the “Rest of Slovakia” region. The results from the output self-evaluation of kindergartens from the Prešov region were not statistically significantly better than the results from the input self-evaluation of kindergartens from the Prešov region. The results from the output self-evaluation of kindergartens from the Košice region were not statistically significantly better than the results from the input self-evaluation of kindergartens from the Košice region. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The created questionnaire can be a valuable and effective tool for measuring the Index for Inclusion in the environment of kindergartens. Its application will make it possible to obtain useful feedback from the entire school community, which will contribute to the development of the upbringing and education of all children. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The research is published as part of VEGA project No. 1/0114/23 “Possibilities of inclusive education of students with special educational needs”.
Copyright (c) 2024 Viera Šilonová | Vladimír Klein | Ivana Rochovská https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Attitudes of Teaching Staff in Kindergartens Towards Inclusion and their Opinions on Inclusive Education
The research focuses on the attitudes of kindergarten teaching staff (teachers and pedagogical assistants) towards inclusion, their views on the problems they encounter in the education of children with special educational needs and their views on the importance of the measures introduced in the education of these children. Two questionnaires were used for data collection. Attitudes through a questionnaire by the researcher Marian Mahat (MATPIES) were measured. The second questionnaire of own construction consisted of six questions, two of which focused on the problems encountered by educators in the education of children with special educational needs and their views on the importance of the measures introduced for these children. The questionnaire was completed by 284 kindergarten teaching staff members. The correlation between the degree of problems reported by teaching staff in the education of children with special needs and the attitudes of teaching staff towards inclusion was not confirmed. The correlation between the assessment of the need for measures for successful inclusive education and the attitudes of teaching staff towards inclusion was not statistically significant.
Copyright (c) 2023 Marcela Čarnická | Veronika Kušnírová | Ivana Rochovská | Viera Šilonová https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Factors Assisting Social Workers in Empowering People with an Intellectual Disability In Social Day Care Centres: A Socioeducational Aspect
<p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Socioeducational services, which are provided in day care centres, have a substantial impact on the empowerment of people with an intellectual disability. The article reveals factors, which assist social workers in empowering people with an intellectual disability in day care centres. Qualitative research was chosen for the study while using the method of a semi-structured interview. Eight social workers, who work with people with an intellectual disability in day care centres were chosen for the research. The obtained data were analysed by using the method of a qualitative content analysis while adhering to inductive logic of classifying into categories, which is based on the study data. The study revealed factors assisting in empowering people with an intellectual disability in social care centres: a positive attitude towards a person with an intellectual disability, respect for the opinion of a person when taking decisions related to him/her, the preparation, implementation and assessment of an individual plan when responding to individual personal needs, the creation of physical, informational and communicational environment increasing personal activeness and independence, the creation and maintenance of a favourable psychosocial environment in the community of a day care centre, the involvement of day centre attendees in the institution’s decision-making at various levels, the development, maintenance and expansion of personal competences, which increase their independence. A positive attitude towards a person with an intellectual disability should be associated with non-concentration on a disability, but the perception of a person through the lenses of his abilities, strengths, and not the lenses of his/her inability and weaknesses, the acknowledgement of personal individuality and his/her possibilities and the discernment of opportunities in the arising difficulties, as well as a partnership in relationships between an employee and a recipient of services. Respect for the opinion of a person when taking decisions related to him/her should be associated both with an opportunity for a person to express his opinion when decisions, which are related to him/her, are taken and the obtaining and supply of information from a person through the means empowering him/her to participate while taking decisions and by providing a person with an intellectual disability with adjuster, but not substitutionary assistance. When preparing, implementing and assessing an individual plan of a person it is important to know a person and his/her immediate environment, to identify strengths and resources both in a person, his/her immediate environment and a community and to use them in the empowerment process. In addition, it is important to cooperate with a person with an intellectual disability and his/her close relatives when preparing, implementing and assessing an individual plan. When empowering persons with an intellectual disability the creation of physical, information and communication environment, the use of alternative means, as well as those facilitating communication are important. The creation of a favourable psychoactive environment in the community of a day care centre while developing and maintaining positive relationships both between day care employees and attendees and the attendees of a centre themselves is equally important. The involvement of the attendees of a day care centre in decision-making at various levels of an institution is attributable to the involvement of them in decision-making related to daily activities, tasks in them, the self-government of an institution, as well as the assumption and implementation of responsibilities and obligations and their involvement in the assessment of service quality. The maintenance and expansion of personal competences increasing independence are important empowerment factors to persons with an intellectual disability relatable to the maintenance and expansion of domestic, health friendly, social and work skills and personal involvement in sociocultural activities. Furthermore, when developing and maintaining competences in persons with an intellectual disability, which increase their independence, the social worker has to be patient in order to achieve a result and not to give in to despair, if he/she fails to achieve it. When working with persons with an intellectual disability an empowerment process, but not a result is important.
Copyright (c) 2024 Rita Raudeliūnaitė | Vida Gudžinskienė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Predominant Educational Approaches for Teaching Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Primary School
<p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">In inclusive educational practice, three predominant educational approaches differentiation, individualization, and personalization are recognized. These educational approaches are based on inclusive education values, emphasising getting to know the learner and using the most appropriate educational methods, considering the learner’s needs, strengths and interests. In educational practice, these educational approaches are often interchangeable, confused or misinterpreted, leading educators to question when learning and/or teaching is personalised, individualised or differentiated. This article presents exploratory research as part of a broader scientific study. The research aims to identify the educational approaches used by primary school teachers in educating students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in an inclusive classroom. The exploratory research is based on a qualitative methodology using a semi-structured interview method. Participants were primary school teachers with experience in teaching learners with ASD (N=8). The study reveals that the education of students, especially those with ASD, is more likely to follow differentiation and individualisation approaches. However, there is also evidence of personalisation in education. The results of the study show teachers’ eagerness to thoroughly understand each student in the classroom; however, there is a prevailing emphasis on the disorder and challenges associated with students with ASD. The characterization of students based on their conformity or non-conformity to norms is a common trait of the individualised education approach. Nevertheless, student cooperation, parental collaboration, teamwork between teachers and student support specialists, recognition of student diversity, and individual understanding of each student all contribute to the essential components of the personalised education concept. <p lang="en-US" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The results suggest that the participants in the study combine differentiated, individualised and personalised approaches to educating students with ASD. On one hand, it can be viewed as a flexible integration of various approaches tailored to the learners’ needs and the educational context; on the other hand, it can be seen as an instinctive method used by teachers for addressing educational challenges in the classroom, especially in situations where better theoretical preparation is required.
Copyright (c) 2024 Stefanija Ališauskienė | Julija Grigėnaitė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Parent opinions on the individualisation of education of children with autism spectrum disorders at schools
The article examines the opinions of parents raising children with ASD about the individualisation of their children's education at schools. A theoretical analysis of the relevance of the partnership of parents raising children with ASD with teachers and possibilities of their participation in the process of institutional education of their children has been carried out; special educational strategies for children with ASD and opportunities for individualisation of education in general education schools were reviewed. The empirical study was performed by the method of questionnaire survey of the parents (N = 104) raising children with ASD; the methods of descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data. The answers to the open-ended questions were examined using qualitative and quantitative content analysis.
participation of the parents of children with ASD in education
Unschooling vs. Classic Methods and Forms of Homeschooling from the Perspective of the Parents of Homeschooled Children
The research is concerned with the possibilities of unschooling in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland. It applies both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Using an open-ended questionnaire, it maps the opinions of 78 parents from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland on the influence of the preferred methods and forms of homeschooling (unschooling, classical methods and forms) on the course and problems of the compulsory testing of a child in an umbrella school. Based on the research findings, it can be stated that the parents of homeschooled children perceive unschooling mainly as self-arranged education, the support of the child’s interests, and also complement it with other methods and forms of education. The problems during compulsory testing in an umbrella school, which were presented by the respondents, consisted firstly of subjectively negative evaluations of the course of the testing, statements concerning the respondents’ fear and descriptions of specific situations or the behaviour of the examiner. The research has also shown that the choice of the methods and forms of homeschooling does not affect whether the parents and children face more problems during the compulsory testing.
classical methods and forms of homeschooling
Copyright (c) 2023 Ivana Rochovská | Eva Dolinská | Dáša Porubčanová | Mária Gažiová https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Theoretical Bases of Model of Intervention in Speech Therapy for Preschool Children with Phonological Insufficiency
At 5–6 years, most children pronounce all the sounds of their mother tongue correctly and have developed phonemic awareness, but not all children have reached an adequate level of speech and language development. In order to alleviate speech development and language acquisition disorders, it is necessary to carry out interventions based on sequential steps and activities. This article reveals the findings of various authors attempting to explain the action of such interventions. On the basis of the analysed literature, the author proposes a model of intervention in speech therapy for the reduction of phonological disorders.
Comprehension of Words and Expressive Language Abilities in Children with Developmental Language Disorder
The article discusses the features of the vocabulary of children with developmental language disorder. The quantitative analysis of the children’s language corpus and the results of experimental tasks helped to reveal the peculiarities of word comprehension and production. The results of children with developmental language disorder (n=80) and children with typical language development (n=80) have been compared. The study revealed that children with developmental language disorder performed statistically significantly worse on tasks of comprehension and production of nouns and verbs. Difficulties in comprehension and production of words are determined by the rare use of the word in the child’s environment, the length, the structure of the word, and the abundance of words of similar meaning.
Copyright (c) 2021 Laura Kamandulytė-Merfeldienė | Vilma Makauskienė
Definition, Assessment of the Phonological Skills and Their Correlations with the Reading Disability (Dyslexia)
The article presents a theoretical analysis of the definition and structure of phonological skills: the concept of phonological skills as well as groups of them and correlations with the reading disability (dyslexia) are revealed. Also, the present paper focuses on a comprehensive discussion on characteristics of assessment of phonological skills at both international and national scales. To reveal the theoretical concept of phonological skills, an analysis of scientific papers published by Lithuanian and foreign authors have been carried out. The conducted analysis of the concept allows declaring that phonological skills encompass phonological awareness, short-term memory and rapid naming. These are perhaps the most frequently analysed phonological processes related to reading and (or) writing in foreign countries. Extensive research conducted in various foreign languages allowed demonstrating obvious correlations between phonological skills and reading disability (dyslexia). It was found out that individuals with dyslexia had insufficient skills in this field. Nevertheless, results of the surveyed long-term investigations demonstrate that two indicators predict reading attainments in pre-school and pre-primary age best: phonological awareness and rapid naming. Similar research works dealing with correlations between phonological skills and reading in the Lithuanian language are quite rare. Therefore, before presenting a firm conclusion based on scientific evidence on the question under investigation, it is necessary to accumulate more empirical data. Moreover, the demand for national research on phonological skills of children with linguistic and speech impairments is obvious.
Copyright (c) 2021 Simona Daniutė | Ingrida Staliūnienė
Towards Learner-Oriented Teacher and Educational Support Professional Education Through Personalized Learning
The article shares with the main outcomes that were achieved while developing, implementing and testing innovative practices of personalized learning within the teacher education systems through strategic partnership of teacher education centres in Lithuania, e.g. Siauliai Academy of Vilnius University, Vilnius University, and Vytautas Magnus University, in cooperation of University of Iceland and University College Cork, Ireland. In this paper, the author shares with the main issues of the achievement related to: developed innovative teacher education approach through adopting personalized learning-based framework; updated teacher education study programmes based on the PL concept; and manifestation and evidence of the implemented personalized learning-based concept in teacher education. The methodology of this study is based on a secondary data analysis, including analysis of the INTERPEARL[1] achievement reports. The knowledge and experiences gained within INTEREARL project prove the supposition that in a student-centred paradigm, the role of the teacher changes but becomes otherwise important. The teacher acts as a facilitator, employing flexible pacing and differentiated assessment practices rather than transferring the knowledge to students. Together with other relevant issues, two aspects are most important in a student-centred learning process: the ability to choose activities and assessment methods, and the willingness to take responsibility, which has an impressive impact on the outcomes
teacher and educational support professional education
Copyright (c) 2021 Stefanija Ališauskienė
Inclusion of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students In Universities: Experience of United Kingdom
This research project has been conducted in United Kingdom and in total 10 respondents have been questioned from 3 different universities based in London. The aim of the research was to reveal the possibilities of deaf and hard of hearing students to be included into university studies. The main objectives of the research are: to analyse the accessibility to universities for deaf and hard of hearing students; to enquire about the availability of necessary tools and equipment for inclusion and how disabilities caused by hearing loss are offset or compensated for; to investigate how the curriculum is adapted to meet the additional learning needs of such students. The nature of participants has been university additional learning support staff and teaching staff members (educators). The qualitative approach has been applied for the research. The data has been collected by using online questionnaire, including spaces for comments. The data was analysed using thematic analysis as well as a compilation of the numerical results. The main conclusion of the research is: deaf and hard of hearing students often face difficulties while studying at universities because institutions are not fully accessible to such learners due to lack of resources and other necessary tools and equipment which could be used while learning. Lecturers are unable to provide all additional support to vulnerable students by themselves, educators need more training and support from their workplace. Curriculum remains the same for all students but sometimes there might be exceptions related with time. Usually deaf and hard of hearing student can have more time to complete given tasks.
Copyright (c) 2021 Indrė Ungeitytė | Stefanija Ališauskienė
Key Aspects of Rehabilitation for Children at Risk
This article describes children at risk in the context of a pedagogical problem, analyzes various interpretations of the “rehabilitation” concept in scientific literature and explains the need for rehabilitation work with children in teachers’ practice. On the basis of an empirical review (a questionnaire survey) a spectrum of ideas and opinions of teachers and psychologists from different educational institutions on the goals and objectives of rehabilitation work with children at risk and the main directions for this work in their practical activities have been revealed. In order to analyze the interpretations of specialists’ opinions regarding the nature and assessment of the effectiveness of rehabilitation, a method of collecting qualitative data (questionnaire survey, conversation) with open-ended questions was used. The author summarized the answers of the specialists on the problem under study by the method of content analysis using an open-coding procedure. According to the results of the research, six rehabilitation contexts have been identified, most specialists consider rehabilitation as comprehensive assistance to children with the aim of successfully returning them to a full social life; involving them into the system of social relations in the course of specially organized education; vocational training; developing healthy lifestyle and law-abiding behavior.
Preconditionos for successful education of children with autism spectrum disorder at primary general school: experience of parents
Children with disabilities, as all other children, have a right to be educated in the general education system and receive quality education, yet in practice, in other countries and Lithuania, a number of shortcomings can be observed in this area. It is noteworthy that significant challenges to inclusive education are raised by the education of children with ASD. Children with ASD are more sensitive to the environment surrounding them. It is influenced by social interactions, communication difficulties, repetitive, stereotyped behaviour, interests of children with ASD, as well as the lack of the readiness of the child’s environment to respond to his/her individual needs. The presence of children with ASD at a school of general education by no means guarantees their inclusion, it is important to create appropriate conditions for them to participate in the educational process meaningfully and actively, to engage them in joint activities with their peers, to feel that they are the part of the community of their classroom, their school and to reach goals and results in line with their abilities. Although recently scientists increasingly devote more of their attention to the education of children with ASD, however, there is lack of research revealing the preconditions of their successful education at schools of general education. Therefore, it is relevant to reveal real experience of the inclusion of such children into educational system. The article reveals the preconditions of the successful education of children with ASD at a primary school of general education based on the experience of parents. A qualitative study, while using a semi-structered interview method, was chosen. Six parents of children with ASD, whose child attends a primary school of general education, participated in the research. The obtained data were analysed while using a qualitative content analysis method while adhering to an inductive logic, which is based on the study data, when creating topics. The study established that the preconditions of the successful education of children with ASD at a primary school of general education should be associated with the acceptance of the disability of the child by his/her parents and their openness, having detected ASD in their child, adequate preparedness of the school to receive children with ASD, the readiness of the child to attend school, the cooperation between parents and the school, the focusing on the child’s adaptation at his/her school and the creation of a favourable educational environment in the classroom. The acceptance of the disability of the child by his/her parents and their openness, having detected ASD in their child, should be associated with the ability of parents to accept information presented by specialists and to consult with them and their interest in the education of a child with ASD. The acceptance of the disability of the child by his/her parents and their openness should also be associated with the need of psychological assistance in parents and its obtainment both from specialists and when joining the groups of parents rearing children with ASD. In addition, it is important that parents do not conceal the disability of their child from the school, because the school, while being aware of individual educational needs of the child, is able to respond to them and to provide the necessary assistance to the child. The successful education of children with ASD is also guaranteed by the preparedness of the school to receive children with ASD which encompasses the openness of the school community to the inclusion of children with ASD, sufficient resources of the specialists of educational assistance, their competence to provide assistance to a child with ASD, teachers, parents and a positive attitude of teachers and their competence to educate children with ASD, as well as teamwork and cooperation with other institutions coupled with their assistance, consultations and the sharing of good practice. In addition, there arises a need for intervisions and supervisions in teachers and education support specialists. The successful education of children with ASD in a primary school of general education is also influenced by the preparedness of the child himself/herself to attend school. Adequate preparedness of a child with ASD for school should be associated with the development of elementary skills of self-management and appropriate behaviour, a positive attitude of the child to begin attending school, as well as the creation of opportunities for the child to get acquainted with the school’s environment and his/her teacher before starting to attend school. The study showed that, in order to achieve the successful education of the child, the cooperation between the parents and the school, which encompasses the parents’ activeness and their desire to cooperate with the school and the school’s desire to involve the parents in the process of the child’s education, is important. Attention to the child’s adaptation at school is one more important precondition for the successful education of a child with ASD. During the adaptation period, it is important that teachers, education support specialists and parents would cooperate closely, in order to assist the child to get acquainted with the school’s premises and to adapt them, as well as to organise the educational process while responding to the individual needs of a child with ASD. An important precondition for the successful education of the child at school is the creation of a favourable educational environment in the classroom, which in turn should be associated with the adaptation of the physical environment to the child’s needs, the creation of the psychosocial environment in the classroom community while maintaining positive relationships between the teacher and the child, between children and between parents and the attitude which is positive and oriented towards a child, as well as the cooperation between teachers and the child’s parents and other specialists and the expansion of the competences of the teacher to work with children with ASD.
Copyright (c) 2022 Rita Raudeliūnaitė | Vida Gudžinskienė
The Attitude and Actions of Leaders in Developing an Inclusive School
usive education, chosen by a school. The implementation of the project in Lithuania is supported by the programme “I choose to teach – for school change!”, which aims to increase inclusive education as a focus on each child and the child’s continuous learning progress. The article presents interviews with 14 principals of Lithuanian general education schools, who participated in the first stage of the programme “I choose to teach – for school change!”. The interviews were aimed at finding out school leaders’ attitudes towards inclusive education, their actions of planning and managing transformational processes taking place in school while strengthening inclusive education. Applying the method of inductive qualitative content analysis, four themes revealing the diversity of school leaders’ attitudes and actions in creating the inclusive school were distinguished: 1) the deconstruction of the phenomenon of inclusion, singling out the categories of acknowledgment of individuality and equal opportunities, every child’s progress and participation, and the development of general competencies; 2) personal readiness for strengthening inclusion, where the elements of internalization of the sense of change and acknowledgment of challenges of change have come to light; 3) leadership projections manifesting themselves through the “declaration” of value priorities by personal example, initiatives supporting and inspiring teachers; and 4) reorganisation of organizational structures in creating and formalising internal procedures and agreements, the collegial learning system and in making decisions that mobilise various types of resources.
Copyright (c) 2022 Lina Miltenienė | Jūratė Valuckienė | Milda Damkuvienė | Sigitas Balčiūnas | Evandželina Petukienė | Meda Bugenytė
The research of the formation of eating and personal hygiene skills among children with moderate and severe mental disability
The article analyzes the results of the study of the formation of eating and personal hygiene skills among children with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. The main directions of correctional work on the formation of self-care skills among children with intellectual disabilities have been described: eating skills; personal hygiene skills; dressing and undressing skills, etc. It has been established that the success of the formation of domestic independence among children with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities is determined by compliance with such conditions, in particular, determining the actual level of the child’s needs, improving the content of work with children, using a variety of visual aids, forming of a positive attitude to household activities, the gradual weakening of control in order to increase the independence and activity of the child.
Quality of Life and Life Satisfaction of People with Disabilities during Forced Social Distancing and Home Confinement Derived from the COVID-19 Pandemic
This study aimed to analyze the quality of life and life satisfaction of people with disabilities in quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine and Lithuania. There were total 546 participants aged 16-84 years from Lithuania and Ukraine. The respondents completed the authors’ questionnaire and the Subjective Happiness Scale to measure quality of life, subjective happiness, and life satisfaction. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to assess the associations between quality of life, subjective happiness, and life satisfaction. The results demonstrate the interrelation between the constructs measured, when subjectively evaluated quality of life during quarantine was associated with satisfaction within various life spheres, and moderately associated with subjective happiness. In conclusion, our study showed the interdependence between quality of life, subjective happiness and life satisfaction, allowing manipulation of separate components to induce change in other not only in scientific rapport, but also in physical and mental health orientated preventative actions to improve the well-being for people with disabilities
Copyright (c) 2022 Olena Chykhantsova | Justina Kievišienė | Ingrida Baranauskienė | Cesar Agostinis-Sobrinho
Telepractice in providing speech therapy for children: Speech therapists’ view and experiences
The article analyses speech therapists’ view and experiences in providing speech therapy using telepractice in the context of the COVID-19 situation. The performed quantitative and qualitative analysis of the research data revealed how the country’s speech therapists perceived telepractice, the types of applied telepractice, the advantages and limitations of applying this practice, the opportunities to provide (in)direct support to children who had various speech, language and swallowing disorders, and the opportunities to perform professional quality functions from a distance. The study revealed that telepractice in the speech therapist’s work, although challenging due to the need to apply it in unforeseen circumstances and without proper preparation, had many advantages and could be successfully applied when combined with normal, traditional, in-person support.
Copyright (c) 2022 Daiva Kairienė | Aušra Gajauskienė
Understanding and supporting the academic needs of students with ADHD
The National Survey of Children’s Health, conducted in 2011-12, reported one in ten school aged children received an ADHD diagnosis, an increase of 42% between 2003 and 2011 (Visser et al., 2013). This increase is troubling because ADHD is known to have an adverse impact on behavioral functioning, particularly in school settings, which negatively impact multiple aspects of a student’s life. Common problems include maladaptive social interactions and interpersonal relationships (Litner, 2003; Barkley, Fischer, Smallish, & Fletcher, 2004), lower achievement scores, and higher grade retention and dropout rates when compared to children without disabilities (Birchwood & Daley, 2012; Barkley, 2015). Considering the increasing prevalence and negative impact of this diagnosis, it is imperative that teachers understand the characteristics, treatments, interventions, and implications of this disorder. The purpose of this article is to provide information and guidance to teachers on the academic needs of children and adolescents with ADHD.
Educational characteristics of students with learning disabilities
The article describes educational characteristics of students with learning disabilities. The participants of the research (students, parents, teachers, specialists) have been submitted questions about the child’s learning situation and the support provided at school and home. The answer analysis revealed positive and negative factors that affected the students with learning disabilities during the process of teaching and learning. Majority of these environmental factors (the children’s preparation to learn, learning environment, family support and assistance, collaboration of educators) are more construed as favourable rather than unfavourable by participants of the educational process (teachers, special educators, students and their parents). Moreover, the research discloses positive tendencies of education of students with learning disabilities (greater orientation to students’ achievements instead of difficulties; peer support and the like). It is ascertained that poor inclusion and involvement of children and parents as education partners is the issue that remains relevant.
Stress experienced by adolescents in the context of the analysis of demographic variables
The article deals with the peculiarities of stress experienced by adolescents in the context of the analysis of social, demographic variables. Research data enabled to identify stressful situations and negative emotions which are experienced by adolescents depending on their sex, age. Respondents’ data were analysed using descriptive and mathematical statistics methods. It was found that adolescents found themselves in stressful situations and experienced negative emotions. Senior age female adolescents find themselves in such situations most often, the place of residence is little significant for adolescents’ stressful experiences, while social environment of the school is to be considered a strong stressogenic factor.
An overview of the music therapy professional recognition in the EU
This article documents the development of the professional recognition of music therapy in the EU. First, a brief history of the origins of modern music therapy in Europe is presented, followed by more detailed analysis of the establishment of training courses and professional associations across Europe. Second, the stages in the professionalization process according to Ridder, Lerner and Suvini (2015) are discussed. Third, the importance of the European Music Therapy Confederation in promoting music therapy recognition in the EU is highlighted.
Validity of two general outcome measures of science and social studies achievement
The present research expanded validity findings for a structured formative assessment measure of content learning that was administered online and known as critical content monitoring. The study also evaluated the potential for additional measures, including sentence verification technique and written retell, to explain variance in student achievement in science and social studies classrooms. Participants were fifth-grade students (N=51) enrolled in a public primary school in the southeastern U.S. Three predictor variables (i.e. critical content monitoring, sentence verification technique and written retell) were correlated with content test scores from the nationally representative standardized achievement test (i.e. Stanford Achievement Test-Tenth Edition abbreviated online form) and a statewide accountability test. Pearson correlations for critical content monitoring and the Stanford tests across science (r=.55) and social studies (r=.63) were moderately strong and similar in magnitude with other reported correlations for academic language measures in the literature. Correlations for critical content monitoring were descriptively larger than those between the standardized tests and sentence verification technique and written retell. Commonality analyses indicated that both critical content monitoring and sentence verification technique added unique variance to explanatory models. Limitations and implications were discussed.
Self-evaluation of prospective special educators’ competencies from the standpoint of personalised learning paradigm
The article analyses how self-evaluation of prospective special educators’ acquired competencies helps them to identify their needs and study expectations from the standpoint of personalised learning and opens up ways for teachers to start a dialogue with students, better understand learners and, considering their professional interests, improve study quality. The study was aimed to disclose theoretical links between personalised learning and students’ active participation in the study process, to determine how future special educators self-evaluate acquired competencies and disclose their learning interests, interpret self-evaluation results of prospective special educators’ competencies, based on the theoretical methodological model of personalised learning. Seeking the research aim, mixed methodology was employed: quantitative and qualitative research and data processing methods were combined. The study was attended by 78 I-IV year students of the first study cycle of special education. The study demonstrated that personal and social competencies were an integral part of professional competencies; therefore, in students’ opinion, these competencies should be given particularly much attention educating future special educators. Prospective special educators emphasise the influence of studies on changes in and maturity of their values, self-awareness, personal changes. Less expressed characteristics of personalised learning are self-directed learning, implementation of experiential abilities and purposefulness.