Scanlon, Geraldine and Barnes-Holmes, Yvonne
(2013)
Changing attitudes: supporting teachers
in effectively including students with
emotional and behavioural difficulties
in mainstream education.
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 18 (4).
pp. 374-395.
ISSN 1363-2752
Abstract
Pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) are often considered the
most challenging group to manage within mainstream education. The challenges per-
ceived by teachers may be due, in part, to negative attitudes towards this cohort of
pupils, which may exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and impact negatively upon
direct interactions with pupils. The current study comprised a combination of implicit
(i.e. the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure, IRAP) and explicit (The Opinions
Relative to Mainstreaming Scale, ORMS) technologies to assess the attitudes of teach-
ers (
N
=
25) and teachers in training (
N
=
20) towards pupils with EBD. When these
attitudes proved to be negative (relative to typically developing pupils), the utility of
a combined behaviour intervention (BI) and stress-management intervention (SMI), in
conjunction with a series of pre and post measures, was examined. The IRAP results
for teachers indicated that the SMI enhanced their implicit positivity towards pupils
with EBD (EBD PUPIL) to a considerable extent (0.025-0.175), and this was greater
than the impact recorded with the BI. The teachers in training showed implicit neg-
ativity towards EBD PUPIL (0.13) and this decreased, albeit marginally, at post-BI
(0.05) and post-SMI (0.06). Significant differences were recorded in teachers’ general
attitudes towards inclusion (
p
<
0.001) and efficacy (
p
<
0.008). Significant effects
were recorded for teachers in training in relation to their attitudes towards having a
child with EBD and having a previously excluded child with EBD in their classrooms
(all
p
s
<
0.001). For this latter group, reductions were also recorded in their levels of
depression, anxiety and stress (
p
<
0.001) and there was an increase in their psycholog-
ical flexibility (
p
<
0.001). The current results indicate that a range of positive implicit
and explicit outcomes was associated with the current BI and SMI package in terms of
fostering more effective inclusion of pupils with EBD in mainstream education
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
emotional and behavioural difficulties; attitudes; mainstream education;
stress management; behavioural management; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology |
| Item ID: |
4956 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2013.769710 |
| Depositing User: |
Yvonne Barnes-Holmes
|
| Date Deposited: |
14 May 2014 09:25 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties |
| Publisher: |
Taylor & Francis (Routledge) |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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