Beskrivelse
“Increased well-being for everyone”
– a case story from Langenæs Daycare
By Marianne Holst Nielsen
In Denmark, most children between the ages of 0 and 6 are enrolled in daycare . Daycare aims to promote well-being, learning, development, and education for all children . This article is a case story about a practice-based competence develop- ment course that was conducted over a few years in Langenæs Daycare in Aarhus Municipality . The course was developed by and implemented by the Centre for ADHD .
The article first describes the challenges that led to the launch of the programme . Then the four sub-elements of the course are described (a webinar for all employe- es, a course for educational staff, an action learning course in selected departments and an apprenticeship for the daycare resource pedagogue) .
In conclusion, the managerial and pedagogical psychological reflections and experi- ences with the course are summarised . The daycare manager describes the pro- gramme as the daycare’s new inclusion approach and the saltwater injection that renewed employee motivation and increased well-being for everyone, not least for the daycare’s most vulnerable children .
The article is partly based on an interview with the daycare resource pedagogue Sheetal Josefs, daycare manager Martin Hundrup, and educational psychological consultant at the Centre for ADHD Henrik Kyed Steffensen . In addition, the article draws on data from SDQ measurements at the start, at the end and at the three- month follow-up of the course .
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) – a standard tool in educational psychology practice?
By Thomas Szulevicz and Jon Arnfred
The SDQ is a short questionnaire that aims to give an overview of a child’s resour- ces and possible challenges by drawing on information from persons with first-hand knowledge of how they function in everyday life . The child can also fill out a self- report from the age of eleven . In collaboration with educational psychologists in two Danish municipalities, it was investigated if knowledge obtained this way could provide useful confirmation of existing strengths and indications of any issues that might benefit from more in-depth clarification . Despite a lack of familiarity with using questionnaires in this way, the participating psychologists were generally
positive regarding the tool’s potential to 1) provide an early overview of the child’s situation and 2) document progress after a relevant intervention . The article con- cludes with a discussion of potentials and barriers concerning using SDQ in educa- tional psychology practice .
Quality in inclusion in daycare
By Charlotte Ringsmose and Line Skov Hansen
We know that child development and well-being are closely related to the quality of the environment in which the child grows up . In Denmark, almost all children are in professional care from a young age . Childcare quality, as well as supportive families, are important for children’s well-being and development . We know that high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is particularly important for children growing up in disadvantaged families . Low ECEC quality puts the children at risk . Medium quality makes no difference . Only high-quality care pro- vides children with better opportunities for equity and inclusion . With this know- ledge, we need to ensure that the quality of the ECEC environments is high . In this article, we give some perspectives on how municipalities can work with orga- nising quality development in ECEC centres .
Six-Bricks for Teachers
– a Framework for Inclusive Classrooms
By Jamila Reid
Effective inclusive education involves a combination of factors including strong leadership, resource allocation, specific research-based curriculum, collaboration among professionals and with families, and research-based teaching techniques that support students’ social and behavioural goals . Research on inclusion shows that what works for learners with disabilities is also what works for almost all students . It also points to the quality of teacher instruction as the most crucial predictor of all children’s learning, regardless of classroom setting and special need designation . This article provides a Six-Bricks framework for providing teachers with the support and tools they need to provide high-quality teaching to diverse groups of students in an inclusive classroom environment .
Cross-professional collaboration as a preventive measure
By Janne Hedegaard Hansen
The paper presents an understanding of cross-professional collaboration as a pre- ventive intervention in the classroom or the kindergarten, focusing on students’
86 Pædagogisk Psykologisk Tidsskrift
and children’s well-being, learning and development through participation in collec- tive activities . This collaborative practice challenges the professionals’ existing sub-practice because they must develop their own practice to develop a new colla- borative practice together . Furthermore, they must develop a pro-active practice, meaning that they take their starting point in getting to know about all children’s interests, preferences, backgrounds and needs as a prerequisite to plan and carry out pedagogical and didactical activities for the entire group of children .
Socioeconomic inequality within the practice of educational psychologists
By Johanna Mariam Madsen, Nicoline Siemsen, Pernille Hviid and Cristian Lima
In this paper, we investigate relationships between the socioeconomic situation of families and the practices of the counselling educational psychologist . From an ecological perspective, our specific attention centres on the role of the educational psychologist and her practice: Are families of lower levels of socioeconomic capacity (and their schools) provided with a service that matches the quality offered in schools used by wealthy families? Drawing on Flyvbjerg’s work, the empirical study compared two extreme cases within the same municipality . These cases consisted
of communities of families and their school . In both cases, the analysis showed a “sliding” tendency in how to judge “the normal” from “not-normal” development of pupils . Because of the redundancy of families’ resources or lack of resources within the singular school, the “norm” tended to take a local colour, not only for the educa- tional psychologist but also for teachers and school leadership . This had consequences for the kind of services the school and the educational psychologist provided, and some of these are presented in the paper .
Based on this case comparison, it appears to be a tendency that the educational psychologist not only works with a society of inequality, which affects schools and the education of children, but also that she – unwillingly – contributes to this ine- quality in her daily practice as an educational psychologist .
Management of the inclusive school
By Lene Ravn Holst and Marianne Holst Nielsen
The school’s main task is to be an inclusive school, but today, almost 30 years after Denmark signed the Salamanca Statement, it is still a challenge in many places to succeed in this task . The article points out that the school’s management plays a decisive role in whether the school is to succeed in including a wider range of chil- dren and young people . In part, the school management has a significant influence on which rationales, and thus which mindset, understanding of problems and approaches to inclusion the school subscribes to, and this influence has an impact on the school’s ability to create inclusive learning environments . The article presents an invitation to utilise to a greater extent the potential that lies in the professional management of the school when it is close to the core task . Through a concrete case, the article describes how inclusion can be worked with through direct professional management . It is also argued that focusing on the management of inclusion can both create opportunities for participation for a broader range of children and young people and strengthen employees’ motivation and well-being .