Educational psychology

Background. The formation of multiplicative concepts of complex structure is a challenge for educational design. Students’ typical mistakes and strategies spontaneously obtained through hands-on trials in solving balance scale problems have been at the center of many studies within this trend. However, the consideration of relevant concept-mediated actions based on Learning Activity Theory (Davydov) remains a relevant problem.

Objective. We aimed to develop a feasible framework for digital support of students’ learning actions in this domain. The productiveness of individual and joint forms of work with dynamic objects in a digital environment, mediated with conceptual modeling tools, was compared.

Design. The participants were 181 fifth-grade students (11–12 years old). The first group (123 students) was taught a special procedure of modeling, which they then could test during individual computer-supported problem-solving. The second group (58 students) worked in pairs (jointly), using the same procedure. The pre- and post-tests included challenging problems on prediction of the balance state and ways to regain equilibrium.

Results. Comparison of the pre- and post-test results of the joint computer-supported activity instruction revealed students’ progress in solving critical tasks as guided by the conceptual modeling procedure of load evaluation instead of “empirical” correlations of weights and distances. The individual computer-supported work, however, failed to overcome the belief of some students in the efficacy of trial-and-error methods as applied to the digital simulation with instant feedback.

Conclusion. The special organization of the computer-supported concept-mediated joint activity may promote multiplicative concept formation.

Background. The theoretical basis of the study was the resource approach (Morosanova 2014, 2017), in which the conscious self-regulation of learning activity is understood as a meta-resource, of students allowing them to consciously and independently set learning goals and manage their achievement. This approach made it possible to create models of direct and mediate contributions of self-regulation and school engagement not only to the academic performance, but also to other motivational and personal competencies.

Objective. Our study is aimed to investigate the impact of conscious self-regulation, school engagement, motivation, and personality on academic achievement, while taking into account the effects of mediation.

Design. A quantitative research design was applied, using data collected from more than 1524 students from the 5^th to 11^th grades in Russian schools and applying Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).

Results. The results allowed us to construct a statistical model of predictors of students' academic achievement. The model was verified on the total sample, as well as samples differing in gender and age. The results show that conscious self-regulation is central to non-cognitive predictors of academic achievement. For the first time, a study has revealed and described the reciprocal relationship between self-regulation, academic motivation, school engagement, and academic performance. The resulting model demonstrates that behavioral and cognitive engagement make a significant contribution to academic performance, while emotional and social engagement do not find significant links with it, although they determine other areas of school life.

Conclusion. Our paper investigates the nature and strength of the effects of major non-cognitive predictors of academic achievement. The study results substantiated the resource role of conscious self-regulation not only for students’ academic performance, but also for their academic motivation, school engagement, and attitude toward learning. The predictor model of academic achievement we developed will provide a foundation for combining existing heterogeneous concepts into a single integrated model and clarify the contradictions between them.

Background. The higher education system today requires students to be able to conduct independent academic work outside the educational system. Some data has been developed on the general educational skills of students; however, the available works are most often devoted to the skills of students in the humanities, yet in technical fields such as engineering, scientific knowledge becomes outdated much faster, which is associated with the global digitalization of society.

Objective. To assess the Diagnosis of Basic Learning Skills Task Battery (Metodika diagnostiki osnovnykh uchebnykh umenii) as modified for engineering students.

Design. The study was conducted in several stages. First, we created six sets of tasks for assessment of basic learning skills, based on the subject matter of engineering disciplines for students at three educational stages (first-year students, fourth-year students and second-year master students). Next, engineering students at different educational stages at Moscow Technological University (N = 135) took part in testing of the proposed task battery. They were also administered the Diagnosis of Supplementary Learning Skills Inventory by Ilyasov (questions for self-assessment), and a survey of academic performance and socio-demographic variables. Skills of memorization and consolidation of knowledge were not assessed in the current study. 

Results. Confirmatory factor analysis allowed us to establish high convergent validity of the task battery (p = 0.001). Internal consistency of the separate scales of the battery was acceptable (Cronbach’s aranged from 0.692 to 0.839). Тhere were significant positive connections between the modified task battery for diagnosis of basic learning skills and the battery for diagnosis of supplementary learning skills, academic performance, and educational stages.

Conclusion. The results demonstrate that the modified battery is a valid and reliable tool for measuring basic learning skills.

Background. The Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-A) is a useful self-report measure of academic motivation grounded in self-determination theory (E. Deci, R. Ryan). 

Objective. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the utility of the Russian version of the SRQ-A by reporting psychometric properties, examining the factorial structure of the SRQ-A, and assessing its construct validity in a large sample of primary and middle school children.

Design. To validate the Russian version of the SRQ-A, two cross-sectional studies were conducted, one with primary schoolchildren, and the second with middle schoolchildren.

Results. We developed and tested the Russian version of the SRQ-A on a sample of 1215 children, Grades 3-7, from three primary and three secondary (middle) schools in Russia. The multidimensional factorial structure of the original measure was tested with bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling (B-ESEM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Construct validity was tested using correlational analyses with convergent and divergent measures. The SRQ-A showed good internal consistency for all subscales, with Cronbach’sαranging between 0.65 and 0.77 for the primary school children (Study 1), and 0.74 and 0.82 in a sample from the middle school children (Study 2). In both studies a simplex-structure pattern was confirmed, and the CFA model, with seven first-order factors and two second-order factors for intrinsic regulation and extrinsic regulation, had an acceptable fit. The results of both studies demonstrate that the subscales show good convergent and discriminant validity with respect to basic psychological needs, attitudes toward school, school well-being, and general well-being scales.

Conclusion. In sum, the 26-item Russian SRQ-A is a reliable and valid self-report instrument for the assessment of self-determined types of motivation for primary and middle schoolchildren.

Background. In Turkey, university education is highly valued, and is considered a key to success and happiness in life. The gatekeeper for a university education is a central entrance exam. The entire process is lengthy, hard, and anxiety-provoking. 

Objective. Our study aimed to investigate the factors associated with test anxiety related to the university entrance exam. The effects of the perceived attitudes of the student’s mother and father on his or her test anxiety are examined separately, and beyond the effect of other risk factors.

Design. The participants were 102 high school students and recent graduates between the ages of 14 and 19. Data was collected just before a test anxiety workshop, which was designed as part of an open day activity in a private, non-profit university. The workshop featured an interactive presentation about general anxiety, test anxiety, and coping strategies, which was followed by a progressive relaxation exercise.   

Results. It was found that having a lower GPA score, being female, and having an increased level of neuroticism, as well as an increased level of perceived paternal acceptance and paternal control, were associated with higher levels of test anxiety.

Conclusion. The university entrance exam preparation period in Turkey is quite stressful for the students and creates an economic strain for their families. Considering that fathers are usually the financial authority figure within the households, paternal attitudes might predominantly affect the test anxiety level experienced by the student. In addition to paternal control, paternal acceptance might also be a source of stress since it, like control, includes “expectations” for the student’s success. 

Background. The search for cognitive predictors of success in language learning is associated both with basic cognitive characteristics (processing speed and spatial working memory) and with general characteristics (intelligence). However, the ratio between cognitive functioning and success in language learning can change during the period of school education and depends on the socioeconomic level of the society and the effectiveness of the national educational system.

Objective. To analyze the cognitive predictors of Russian language learning samples of Russian-speaking 11th graders from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova, three countries with a similar organization of the educational system, but differing in the functional effectiveness of that educational system and in their socioeconomic levels.

Design. The sample comprised 545 Russian-speaking 11th graders (average age = 17.42 + 0.59; 36.1% male) studying Russian throughout their public-school education in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova. The statistical methods of one-way analysis of variance, correlation, and multiple regression analysis were used.

Results. Among the indicators of cognitive development we analyzed, the functioning of the national educational system is the one most associated with the development of fluid intelligence of 11th graders, which is directly proportional to the quality of education in the country; to a lesser extent, it is associated with the development of working memory. In Kyrgyzstan (with an average level of socioeconomic development) and Moldova (with a high level of socioeconomical development), only fluid intelligence was associated with the score on the state exam on the Russian language. In Russia, which has a very high level of socioeconomic development, fluid intelligence and spatial working memory were updated.

Conclusion. Differences in the relationship between cognitive functioning and success in Russian-language learning are associated both with the objectives of the state exam (identification of pupils ready to attend university versus testing of what was learned in school), and, in conditions of low educational effectiveness, with a greater cognitive load during the exam.

Background. The search for cognitive predictors of success in language learning is associated both with basic cognitive characteristics (processing speed and spatial working memory) and with general characteristics (intelligence). However, the ratio between cognitive functioning and success in language learning can change during the period of school education and depends on the socioeconomic level of the society and the effectiveness of the national educational system.

Objective. To analyze the cognitive predictors of Russian language learning samples of Russian-speaking 11th graders from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova, three countries with a similar organization of the educational system, but differing in the functional effectiveness of that educational system and in their socioeconomic levels.

Design. The sample comprised 545 Russian-speaking 11th graders (average age = 17.42 + 0.59; 36.1% male) studying Russian throughout their public-school education in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova. The statistical methods of one-way analysis of variance, correlation, and multiple regression analysis were used.

Results. Among the indicators of cognitive development we analyzed, the functioning of the national educational system is the one most associated with the development of fluid intelligence of 11th graders, which is directly proportional to the quality of education in the country; to a lesser extent, it is associated with the development of working memory. In Kyrgyzstan (with an average level of socioeconomic development) and Moldova (with a high level of socioeconomical development), only fluid intelligence was associated with the score on the state exam on the Russian language. In Russia, which has a very high level of socioeconomic development, fluid intelligence and spatial working memory were updated.

Conclusion. Differences in the relationship between cognitive functioning and success in Russian-language learning are associated both with the objectives of the state exam (identification of pupils ready to attend university versus testing of what was learned in school), and, in conditions of low educational effectiveness, with a greater cognitive load during the exam.

Introduction. The need to develop students’ ability to learn independently has been a widely discussed issue in the theory and practice of education over the past 50 years (in research on learning to learn, self-regulated learning, metacognitive learning, etc.). If we understand instruction as a system of activities by the student and teacher, associated primarily with the transmission of cultural experience, then studying the psychological mechanism for accepting and using the proffered knowledge as an orientation for future actions is highly relevant.

Objective. We surmised that the ability to use given knowledge in the school instruction process (which we call “orientation towards given knowledge” [OGK]) would differ between fourth-graders studying in traditional educational systems (TE) and those in Developmental Education (DE), since these systems differ significantly in the principles of the selection learning material and organization of learning activity. We also sought to clarify the correlation between OGK and such important educational outcomes as the ability to identify the most important thing in a text, logical skills, memorization skills, and academic achievement.

Design. To diagnose OGK, we gave fourth-graders (N = 115) the definition of a concept, an instruction to recognize and identify objects as either being described or not described by that concept, and 10 recognition problems in the form of short texts. We assessed the level of OGK by counting the number of problems for which the answer was justified by the given definition. In addition, we measured the ability to identify the main point in the text, logical skills, and random memorization skills.

Results. Almost a quarter of all the fourth-graders (25.7%) failed to use the given definition at all; however, the DE students demonstrated a higher level of OGK (U = 2038, p < .01) significantly more often. OGK among general sample also correlated with the ability to identify the most important thing in a text (R = 0.31, p < .001), logical skills (R = +0.35, p < .001), and memorization skills (R = +0.195, p < .05 for short-term memory and R = +0.301, p < .01 for long-term memory).

Conclusions. Possible reasons for the cognitive performance of the fourth-graders are discussed. We argue that orientation towards given knowledge can be considered an essential condition for effective learning, and therefore serious attention should be paid to its development.

Today, Russia is a member of the European Federation of Psychological Associations (EFPA) and in the summer 2019 the Russian Psychological Society was the host to the 16th European Congress of Psychology (ECP) in Moscow, gathering psychologists from all over the world. In connection with the 2019 ECP, this special edition has been compiled by members of EFPA’s Standing Committee on Psychology in Education (SCPiE) and represents a collection of papers highlighting the range of work that educational psychologists undertake with schools and youth. This volume is also the next step for the EFPA Standing Committee for Psychologists in Education to strengthen and promote educational psychology in Europe, in order to reach our end goal: efficient and wellfunctioning institutions of learning.

Background. During the last decades, the need for supporting vulnerable groups of the population facing crisis situations and adversities has grown dramatically. School communities have been particularly affected increasing the need for interventions promoting individual and system’s resilience and well-being.

Objective. This paper presents an integrated approach to linking theory, training, research, and interventions in the Greek educational system in an alternative model for providing school psychological services. This approach puts particular emphasis on the development, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based prevention and intervention programs for enhancing resilience and supporting school communities during unsettling times. 

Results. In particular the programs that have been developed and implemented by the Laboratory of School Psychology (LSP), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens are reviewed and presented. For the evaluation of the evidence-based intervention programs, a multilevel assessment model has been applied. Overall, results showed the effectiveness of SEL-based intervention programs aiming at a) enhancing individual resilience and psychological adjustment; and b) supporting school communities during adversities, such as economic recession, refugee influx, and natural disasters.

Conclusion. The evaluation process and the positive outcomes of the programs highlight the critical importance of implementing intervention programs to support all members of school communities. The description of the various actions developed and implemented by the LSP stresses the important role that universities can play in bridging the gap between theory, research, training, and practice in the field of school psychology.

Background. In recent decades, discussionhas been increasingabout the guidelines for psychological interventions, evidence-based interventions (EBI), and evidence-based practice (EBP). These efforts have a longer tradition in medicine and psychiatry,but are increasingly present in the practice of school psychology. The creation, use, and implementation of EBP procedures protects psychologists from intuitive and non-scientific procedures that can harm clients, psychology, and its development.

Objective. The focus of this article is the EBP of school psychologists in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia. We researched to what degree psychologists implement EBP in their work in educational institutions, in which domains they most effectively apply EBP, and what the obstacles and needs are regarding EBP in school psychology.

Design. Two hundred and two school psychologists answered a questionnaireabout their application of EBP. The questionnaire contains categories about the sourcesof EBP, its availability,and the extent to which respondents apply EBP in specific domains of their work.

Results. The data show a low practical significance of differences among respondents from the three countries. Respondents reported the highest values for the reliance of their work on professional cooperation, useof EBP principles in specific domains, and use ofprofessional guidelines.The Pearson correlation indicates positive association among all substantial categories.

Conclusion. The preliminary results show that school psychologists are aware of the importance of applying EBP in practice, and highlight some of the obstacles that prevent them from cultivating psychological science in the interest of education.

Background. Cultivation of positive attitudes towards gifted education is important to ensure that gifted students receive educational opportunities appropriate to their learning needs.

Objective. To examine the attitudes of students, parents, and teachers towards gifted education in the Slovenian upper secondary schools.

Design. A total of 1,020 students from four selective co-educational upper secondary schools (i.e., gymnasiums), their teachers (n= 84), and parents (n = 306) participated in the study. Respondents’ attitudes were assessed using an adapted version of the Gagne and Nadeau attitude survey about gifted students and their education. In order to obtain a deeper insight into the context, an open question about gifted education was also posed.

Results. Participants generally hold neutral to positive attitudes towards gifted education. They expressed their awareness of gifted students’ special academic needs and the meaningfulness of specific educational support. Furthermore, 68% of participating students emphasized the need for relatedness to their peers (i.e., not to stand out or be labelled), often neglected in provisions for the gifted. Comparative analysis showed that attitudes towards the extent of knowledge and experience in the field differed among the groups of participants.

Conclusion. Qualitative analysis complemented the quantitative findings by addressing “the principle of challenging” instead of “the principle of adding”, suggesting that the focus should be primarily on adapting the curricula and, out of consideration for their social and emotional needs in adolescence, not on overloading gifted students.

Background. The principles of acquiring knowledge and developmental theories are powerful tools that psychologists use in educational contexts to change people’s lives. As student populations become more diverse, psychologists need to play an important role in the evaluation and adaptation of their cognitive, behavioral, motivational, attitudinal, and emotional needs and challenges. They can intervene in various areas, from curriculum development, to regulations and guidelines for the application of direct educational tools and techniques by students, teachers, or institutions. One way to promote change at a macro-level is through providing creative experiences, such as interactive and engaging exhibitions that foster personal development at different levels.

Objective. The main focus of this study was to contribute to a theoretical foundation for the need to communicate psychological concepts through exhibitions. The secondary focus was the feedback given by visitors of all ages and educational contexts about how they enriched their knowledge about emotions through participating in an exhibit on the subject.

Design. We used a descriptive design, which employed diverse kinds of feedback from the visitors to an exhibition to measure its impact. The exhibition aimed at explaining in an interactive way what emotions are and how they may be regulated. The Southern Regional Delegation of the Order of Portuguese Psychologists (OPP) developed and displayed the “Experiencing Emotions” Exhibition (EEE), which featured 30 different activities divided into three parts: recognizing, living with, and transforming emotions. e exhibition toured the southern region of Portugal for nine months and was visited by more than 9000 people.

Results. The feedback was positive for all indicators.

Conclusion. Exhibitions like this one may be powerful instruments in the future to ensure that everyone has access to psychological concepts through interactive experiences, and gains knowledge about themselves, others, and the world.

Background. Although lyric poetry contains enormous opportunities for personal development of teenagers, expanding the scope of aesthetic experiences available to them, students often respond to it with hostility, for it is rather hard for them to comprehend. While much prior research has stressed the importance of teaching poetry to adolescents, the psychodidactic foundations of developing their creative interaction with lyric poetry and the role of textbooks in this process remain virtually unexplored.

Objective. To examine the psychodidactic foundations of developing teenagers’ creative interaction with lyric poetry: the relevant principles and their implementation in an educational book of a new – psychodidactic – type, which determines the strategy and tactics of the joint study activity modeled in it.

Design. A teaching intervention was conducted, which included whole-class discussions of the poems and work with educational books based on psychodidactic principles. Participants were 311 6th-8th grade students from four Moscow secondary schools.

Results. The principle of open individuality was singled out as the basic one and was elaborated in four interrelated sub-principles: wholeness, polylogy, multidimensionality, and value hierarchy. These principles were implemented in two educational book chapters on lyric poems by A. Pushkin and M. Lermontov. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test conducted upon the results before and after the intervention revealed that the control group showed no significant changes, whereas the final results of the experimental group revealed significant (p < .001) increases in the level of the assessed aspects of creative interaction: description of one’s impression, interpretative opinion, lyric plot, experiences of the lyric hero, and figurative language.

Conclusion. Building the learning process on the psychodidactic principles mentioned above, as well as working with educational books based upon these principles, is effective in developing teenagers’ creative interaction with lyric poems, turning the reading of poetry into a valuable experience.

Background. Over the last several decades, the world has been made more accessible for people with disabilities. However, many of these achievements have primarily focused on physical limitations, and it is also important that the environment be made easy to understand for those people who may be at risk of social exclusion. Reading competence is one of the fundamental functional skills people need to access communication and culture. The facilitation of this adaptation is called cognitive accessibility. Cognitive accessibility encompasses everything related to how people understand the meaning of their environment, and especially written documents.

Objective.The main objective of this study was to establish a scale of evaluation of reading competence for adults with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) compared to university students (as a control group). Thus, we sought to  establish different levels of reading competence relative to the difficulty of various texts (A, B, C), in accordance with the criteria established in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Design. 450 adults with IDD and 200 undergraduate university students took part in this study. They read and were scored on three texts of different lexical and semantic complexity.

Results. The results in three different studies showed that adults with intellectual and developmental disability (AIDD) improve their performance in reading comprehension when additional time and support are made available.

Conclusion. If a greater amount of time is made available, the performance of a significant part of the AIDD population improves considerably, in some cases approaching the level of performance of university students. These results raise new lines of research on how to give people with IDD access to more comprehensible and accessible reading material.

Background. More than 295,000 people have been identied with bleeding disorders worldwide, the majority being hemophiliacs (184,560; data from the World Federation of Hemophilia, 2017). Hemophilia poses a paradox: Physical activity is recommended for children with hemophilia for the sake of their health and to promote inclusion, but teachers are reluctant to involve them in sports at school. School psychologists play a key role in helping patients and their families adapt and learn to cope with their new reality, and they provide psychosocial support by helping patients and their families develop strategies to cope with physical, mental, emotional, and social challenges related to hemophilia.

Objective. The objective of this study is to include children with hemophilia, and their parents and teachers, in a participatory process to design an innovative digital tool for modifying mental representations of parents and teachers about the importance of physical activity and sports at school for hemophiliacs.

Design. The present study is based on a pre-/post-test design where the mental representation about hemophilia of all individuals concerned (16 children with hemophilia: mean age = 7.8 years, SD = 1.9; their parents; and their teachers) is collected twice: at the beginning (pre-test) and at the end (post-test) of the process of collaborative game design.

Results. Even though fathers, mothers, and teachers perceive some sports as more risky than others (e.g., rugby, soccer, cycling), they modied their opinions positively about the necessity of physical activity and sports at school for children with hemophilia. The results showed that the collaborative design of this prototype of an innovative educational tool positively influenced the opinions of fathers, mothers, and teachers about the role of physical activity and sports at school, for their children with hemophilia.

Conclusion. Although the choice of physical activity or sport must be individual and must be discussed with the psychologist, parents, teachers, and children, this hemophilia “team” must discuss the risks and benefits of different sports, taking account of the physical and psychological conditions, because for all these children, physical activity and exercise have many positive benefits for health and can help self-esteem, learning, and inclusion in schools.

Background. The psychological health of young people in Sweden has declined since measurements began to be taken in 1985. The reasons for the increase in stress and decline in psychological well-being among adolescents have been debated during the past few years.

Objective. The aims of this study were to explore: 1) pupils’ experience of student health services, family, friends, recuperation and the learning environment; 2) whether there is a difference between introverted and extroverted pupils’ sense of well-being, perceived stress, views of the learning environment, and relationships with friends and family; and 3) the degree to which the different aspects of school life predict well-being and stress. 

Design. Data were collected by means of a web survey in which 1045 respondents participated. 

Results. The results showed that there are significant differences in perceptions of well-being and stress depending on gender and the type of study program pupils were enrolled in. The results also revealed significant differences between introverts’ and extraverts’ relationships with family and friends, experience of the learning environment, and reported well-being and stress. A series of hierarchical linear regressions revealed that there were several factors affecting pupils’ reported well-being and stress. The learning environment and relationships with family and friends were significant predictors for both outcome variables. Pupils’ ability to recuperate from their work was found to be the most impactful predictor for well-being and stress. 

Conclusion. Our results suggest that the way in which teachers interact with pupils is an important factor influencing pupils’ experience of well-being and stress. Furthermore, our results suggest that pupils would benefit from student health services being made more visible and pro-active in their interaction with students.

Background. Thepriority for today's educational psychologists in Lithuanian schools is to promote psycho-educational activities aimed at fostering children’s well-being. School psychologists are to provide services for, and consult with, children and adolescents with mental health challenges, in order to facilitate their transitions to positive developmental trajectories. Therefore, it is important to test the construct validity of the adolescent social emotional health survey (SEHS-S) in a Lithuanian sample.

Objective. To investigate the social emotional health, empathy, and self-esteem of a Lithuanian adolescent sample using the adolescent Social Emotional Health Survey (SEHS-S), as well as to perform regression and confirmatory factor analysis.

Design. We used the Social Emotional Health Survey-Secondary (SEHS-S)(Furlong et al., 2014), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)(Davis, 1980), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES) (M. Rosenberg, 1989). The sample was comprised of 935 students (12-18 years old) from various Lithuanian schools: 482 boys and 453 girls. 

Results. The self–esteem of the adolescent boys was higher than that of the adolescent girls. A positive correlation between the adolescents’ social emotional health and their self-esteem and empathy was identified.  The strongest predictors of the adolescents’ social and emotional health included empathic concern, self-esteem, and perspective-taking. The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the validity of the structural model of the Lithuanian version of the SEHS-S survey.

Conclusion.The findings of the regression and confirmatory factor analysis supported the use of the SEHS-S as a valid and reliable instrument for mental health research with the Lithuanian adolescents. School psychologists will be able to use the Lithuanian version of SEHS–S surveyto monitor adolescent social emotional health.

Background. Supporting pupils’ social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) development is a task that schools are expected to undertake in England, yet many staff members find it challenging due to their belief that they don’t possess the necessary skills.

Objective. To evaluate a commercially available, training resource, The Emotional Wellbeing Toolkit, aimed at raising the skills of adults working with children in the SEMH area.

Design. The Toolkit was adapted and used as training material by a professional team comprised of educational psychologists, clinical psychologists, and specialist teachers, for schools within an eastern region in England. A mixed methodology was employed to evaluate the usefulness of the Toolkit as a training resource, as well as its perceived effectiveness in raising the skills of school professionals working within the SEMH area. Qualitative as well as quantitative data was gathered from the two groups participating in training, as school staff delegates, and as facilitators of training delivery. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used for data analysis.

Results. The findings suggest evidence of improved skills and knowledge in the area of SEMH, with some specific impact on delegates’ practice. Implications for practice are discussed.

Background. Children with deficits in self-regulation often perform worse in school and are less accepted by peers. However, self-regulation can be trained and developed by making detailed plans to achieve specific goals. One such strategy is WOOP (it includes thinking about wishes, outcomes, and obstacles, and creating a plan to achieve a goal), known in the literature as MCII, or if-then plans. 

Objective. Noting the encouraging results of the WOOP method, we aimed to evaluate whether WOOP has the potential to ameliorate self-regulation deficits on a day-to-day-level .

Design. In total, 49 school-aged children (M= 11.2 years, SD= 8.4 months) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) Condition 1, underwent a WOOP intervention; and 2) Condition 2,  performed the intervention without contrasting obstacles and planning. The self-regulation abilities were assessed each day over an 18-day survey period by both the children themselves and their parents. ADHD symptom-severity was assessed as a proxy for self-regulation; specifically, we used six items from the Conners 3 scale and the German adaptation of the Brief Self-Control Scale.

Results.The children in both conditions demonstrated increased self-regulation, according to their self-reports at the beginning and end of the survey period. The parents reported different progressions of the two conditions over the survey period, but these did not differ significantly. In addition, both conditions  are helpful to improve children's self-regulation in daily life. 

Conclusion. Further research on implementing practicable interventions in schoolchildren´s daily life is highly recommended.