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- Baraldi, Erika, 1982-
(författare)
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An Interaction-Based Early Intervention During the First Year of Life : Targeting Infants Born Extremely Preterm and Their Parents
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The first thousand days from conception are crucial for future learning and development throughout life. During the infant year, several sensitive periods for sensorimotor, cognitive and social development coincide, making the period particularly suitable for early intervention (EI). From a special educational perspective, the social and physical environment of a child may either support or hinder future growth. Optimal early learning environments include environmental enrichment, reduced toxic stress and strengths-based support of parent-child interaction.Being born extremely preterm (EPT <28 gestational weeks) is a biological risk factor, increasing the risk for future disability, academic difficulties and social challenges. The parents are also negatively affected by prematurity. Sweden offers highly specialized neonatal care from 22 GW, resulting in a new population of surviving children.The aim of this thesis is to evaluate an interaction-based and strengths-based EI for infants born EPT and their parents in a Swedish context. The Stockholm Preterm Interaction-Based Intervention (SPIBI) consists of 10 home visits led by a trained interventionist during the first year at home, focusing on parent-child interaction, family strengths and reduction of toxic stress. The control group received an extended treatment as usual follow-up program (TAU+). The thesis has a mixed methods design and includes three studies.Study I presents the protocol, including a description of the planning, formulation, theoretical background, theory of change, interventionist training, recruitment, randomization and implementation of the SPIBI. Study II reports the primary outcome of the RCT (N=130, intervention=66 vs. controls=64) and their parents regarding parent-child interaction as measured with the Emotional Availability Scale (EAS) at 12 months corrected age (CA). The EAS consists of the six dimensions: sensitivity, structuring, non-intrusiveness, non-hostility, child responsiveness and child involvement. No significant effect of the EAS at 12 months CA related to the SPIBI was found. In the secondary analysis, analysis of covariances for all EAS dimensions were tested with predefined medical, social, and psychological moderators. The model with the best fit was one for the EAS dimension child involvement (adj R2=.463). A significant effect modifier shows that the SPIBI enhances child involvement in families where the mothers rate themselves as depressed at discharge (F(1, 65)=5.499, p=.023).The parental experience during the first year at home with or without the SPIBI was qualitatively analyzed and reported in Study III (n=17). The results showed that child-related medical concerns were still present a year post-discharge, and that the premature birth experience still affected the parental inner state and family dynamics. Parents in the intervention group (n=8) also pointed out the security the knowledgeable interventionists gave them, while some parents described the SPIBI as important but not necessary.Overall, this thesis adds to the understanding of the first year at home with a child born EPT. An interaction-based intervention in the home environment is feasible in Sweden. It is possible to unite different professions in an EI in a special educational context. The tested intervention does not affect the emotional availability at 1 year CA, but findings from secondary analyses prompt further research on specific subgroups, particularly families with depressed mothers.
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| 2. |
- Riad, Rasmus, 1989-
(författare)
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Exploring language skills and well-being in inclusive preschools : The impact of a dialogic reading intervention
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Language skills during the preschool years are important for cognitive and social development, learning, and well-being, especially for children that are less proficient in the language that peers and teachers use for communication and teaching, known as the majority language. The overall aim of this thesis is to explore the effect of a practice-embedded introduction of dialogic reading in preschool, a method that engages children in conversation, using language-promoting strategies. Teachers performed dialogic reading for 85 five-year-old children in preschools. Children's linguistic progress was observed, while also recording their self-reported state of well-being. Based on the theme of language and well-being in early education, three studies were conducted. In Study I, a British well-being measure for young students, “How I Feel About My School (HIFAMS),” was translated, validated, and assessed for psychometric properties. In total, N = 228 children self-reported their well-being in early education. Study I included a combined sample of school-aged children (n = 143) and a preschool sample (n = 85), where the latter also participated in Study II and Study III. Study I confirmed a one-factor structure of HIFMAS in a confirmatory factor analysis with good model fit. The results showed that the HIFAMS can be used in Sweden to measure child well-being in preschool and early school years.In Study II, structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship between language skills and self-reported well-being among preschoolers (N = 85). The assessment of language skills comprised both narrative and vocabulary abilities, while well-being was measured by HIFAMS. Language background (home language exposure) and gender were examined in relation to language abilities and well-being. Study II discovered no association between language skills and well-being. Children with a non-Swedish language use at home (additional language learners) displayed similar narrative skills but had less vocabulary. The results of Study II align with previous research, highlighting the significance of extensive language exposure for children whose home language differs from the language encountered in preschool.In Study III, language development and child well-being were analyzed after a dialogic reading intervention. Ten preschool teachers delivered the intervention in small groups (four to eight children). The teachers performed the dialogic reading during two periods, and the children at each preschool were randomized to attend direct (group A) or delayed intervention (group B). The outcome measures were the same as in Study II and assessed pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. Study III showed that children improved their language skills after engaging in a dialogic reading intervention, with improvements regardless of language background. The well-being remained steady during the course of the trial. Taken together, the results of these three studies indicate that language development in terms of vocabulary can be promoted by dialogic reading, and children that are additional language learners show a similar progression as their peers. Furthermore, these studies show that self-reported well-being can be measured in the early education context and that children’s self-perceived well-being in preschool was not associated with early language skills. The implications of these studies and the significance of the results for educational practice are addressed.
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| 3. |
- Wikman, Carina, 1970-
(författare)
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Social Climate and the Student in the Learning Environment : Advances in Assessment, Observation, and Coaching
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Relationships and what is taking place socio-emotionally in the classroom may support or hinder students´ learning and development. All students benefit from a positive, supportive classroom climate, especially children with special educational needs. Improving the quality of the learning environment does not mean disregarding academic achievement. Because research on how to improve the classroom climate is limited, this thesis aimed to develop an intervention with the potential to influence the social climate and benefit student outcomes. Furthermore, the three studies in this thesis have connected aims. The first and the second study provided insight into constructs at the student level. The first study examined the psychometric properties of an instrument used to measure students’ prosocial behavior. The second study examined the associations between students´ self-concept, prosocial skills, well-being in school, and academic achievement. Gender differences were also investigated. The third study tested the effects of an intervention involving specific activities (e.g., self-assessment, observation, and coaching). The three studies were empirical investigations of a sample of 143 students in elementary schools in a Swedish metropolitan area. The data sources were students´ self-reports and tests, including teachers´ reports on students’ prosocial skills, teachers’ social climate assessments, and video-recorded classroom climate observations. Study I and II had a cross-sectional design, and study III had an experimental design with cluster randomization at the school level. There were four intervention classes and four control classes. Data were primarily analyzed with structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques in Mplus to examine the hypotheses and research questions.Study I examined students’ prosocial behavior using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A two-factor measurement model was clearly supported, but a single-factor and a three-factor model cannot be excluded as possibilities for future research in the Swedish school context. Study II examined the constructs at baseline with CFA, demonstrating significant associations between self-concept and prosocial behavior, indicators of social-emotional learning (SEL), and well-being. The findings support the association between SEL and academic achievement indicators, confirming previous research. In study III, pre- to post-test changes resulting from a coaching intervention were examined with an autoregressive model. The coaching intervention was considered feasible, but there were no intervention effects from the pre- to post-test on the observed variables: self-concept, prosocial behavior, well-being, academic achievement, or classroom climate.Overall, this thesis contributes to the research on the whole child approach. Self-concept and prosocial behavior, indicators of SEL and well-being, contribute to understanding academic achievement. Teachers can use these assessment instruments to understand children´s social-emotional and academic development levels and the correlations between them so that appropriate support can be provided.
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| 4. |
- Westling Allodi, Mara, 1959-
(författare)
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Support and Resistance : Ambivalence in Special Education
- 2002
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Support and Resistance discusses the interaction between pupils of different abilities and the school organisation. The dissertation has its point of departure in the views of pupils, both those with special support and their classmates. It outlines how school is – and how it should be – in the views of schoolchildren. The results show that the presence in a class of a child with disability correlates with better class climate. Contradictions between goals and values in the educational system are supposedly solved with a compartmentalisation of goals and values, in which the differentiated settings take more responsibility for the goals of socialisation and democratic participation, while the regular settings concentrate on the goals of selection and achievement. This tends to be unsatisfactory, however. The theoretical framework of the dissertation relates to concepts from the fields of sociology, group psychology, psychoanalysis, the history of ideas and the history of education. The empirical studies concern pupils’ self-concept, their perceptions of class climate and school in relation to organisational aspects of learning settings such as homogeneity/heterogeneity, the special support offered at school, the presence of differentiated settings and the opportunity of participation. These studies are based upon questionnaires and texts written by children in comprehensive schools, and on interviews and observations of educational settings. The results and their implications are related to the goals of socialisation, democratic education and social participation. This work is of interest to educators, school administrators, policy-makers and scholars in the fields of education, special education and disability research.
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