45. årgang nr. 4 september 2008

Beskrivelse

Gaarsmand, Solveig (Project leader of »Parent Guidance«).
The Role of School Psychology – Experiences from »The Parent Guidance«.
Pæda­gogisk Psykologisk Tidsskrift, 2008, Vol. 45, 287-299.
– Parent Guidance is a three year project funded by the ministry of Education and planned together with the PTA association in Denmark. Its function is to guide parents about all kinds of school related problems. The project leader was invited by this journal to comment on the kinds of problems relating to the school psychological services. Problems were found in these areas: the referral, in which process parents often felt overlooked; testing, where parents felt wary; understanding of test results, where parents felt too little informed; follow ups on s.p. recommendations and implementation, where parents were unsure about who was responsible for what – especially the school vs. the s.p.s . The author gives this advice: The relationships and cooperation between parents and school psychologists could be improved by: focus on ethics and communication, stating the role of school psychologists more clearly, enhancing the role of the s.p.s as consultants in relation to the schools, abolishing waiting lists, and a guarantee that school psychology is impartial and objective. – Bjørn Glæsel.

Befring, Edvard (Professor at Oslo University).
Inclusion as an Aim and a Possibility.
Pæda­gogisk Psykologisk Tidsskrift, 2008, Vol. 45, 300-313.
The concept of school in the industrial age is commented; while many changes have taken place, this concept is still visible and active, producing much pupil failure. Newer and better concepts have emerged: empowerment, stemming from child psychiatry in the 80’ies, and Bandura’s self-efficacy. The enrichment perspective saw light internationally in 1997; this perspective can be seen as empowerment in special teaching. Main characteristics are: focuses on what children can, know, and want. Furthers optimism and coping. Meets all children with trust and positive expectations etc. Sees differences between children as assets, and not draw backs. In his conclusion, the author presents new approaches to the teaching of children with special needs. If our only concern is how to protect these children we may in fact isolate them and worsen their social helplessness. We need to expose minority children as valuable and interesting, having something to offer that others may enjoy and find useful. – Bjørn Glæsel.

Kristensen, Kirsten (Senior consultant in Uganda).
An Investigation of the Special Schools in Uganda.
Pæda­gogisk Psykologisk Tidsskrift, 2008, Vol. 45, 314-324.
The aims of the investigation was to evaluate the pedagogical standards at all of the 15 special schools in Uganda in the light of inclusive teaching. The main conclusions are that there is room for improvement as to individual teaching plans, teaching materials, and building standards. Most of the schools may be developed into knowledge centers for inclusive teaching. Some main prerequisites are: better funding, improvement of special teacher training, more special teachers and other staff to work directly with the pupils.- Bjørn Glæsel.

Fihl, Lene (Psychologist at the Child Psychiatric Center in Viborg).
Can We Find Empirical Evidence that Distinguishes NLD from Asperger’s Syndrome?
Pæda­gogisk Psykologisk Tidsskrift, 2008, Vol. 45, 325-346.
While discussions of potential overlap between NLD and Asperger have been going on for some years, very few empirical studies making comparisons have been published. Investigations by Klin et al. (1995), and Gunter et al. (2002) indicate similarities. Edgin ; J,O. (2005) suggests that NLD and AS might be discrete syndromes, but that they do not address executive functions in daily use, which may be a source of error. There is simply not enough empirical evidence to reach a conclusion. It is worrying that there are conflicting conceptions of NLD. It is therefore important to seek consensus about a more clear definition – in research and in clinical practice. – Bjørn Glæsel.

Clark; Margaret, M. (Retired professor at Birmingham University, O.B.E.).
Children with Reading Difficulties and Very Yong Readers – Two different Kinds of Research.
Pæda­gogisk Psykologisk Tidsskrift, 2008, Vol. 45, 347-363. – In the first investigation, the author examined all of 1544 seven ys. old children in a district of Scotland individually. Measures were taken to ensure that all relevant children were followed during the next years. While the results per se did not reveal significant surprises, the important of the exactness of the research was underlined. The second investigation focused on young fluent readers, i.e. children who could read at school entrance. Many factors contributed to early reading debut; especially an early interest in all kind of texts, and quite often support and guidance from a family member. Answers to a very detailed interview guide illuminate these factors. Teachers and psychologists are invited to do research in the school setting. – Bjørn Glæsel.

Lieman; Mikala, Lousdal (Psychologist in Ringsted).
The PDA for Persons with ASF.
Pæda­gogisk Psykologisk Tidsskrift, 2008, Vol. 45, 364-370. The PDA (hand held computer) may be very useful for persons with ASF (autism specter disturbances). A small scale project was instigated at a special school in Ringsted. Among the many functions available, these were elected: calendar, tasks, stop watch and navigation, and beaming. The experiences so far are quite positive. – Bjørn Glæsel