This paper presents perspectives from early childhood practitioners of pre-school children's (n = 100) social and emotional competencies upon entering pre-school and again after term three of the pre-school year. This research reports findings from five pre-school settings within rural and urban locations. A quantitative approach is used with…

Although there is a wealth of research addressing the association between mental health and school absenteeism, there are calls for a better understanding of how mental health difficulties might predict SAPs (Egger et al., 2003; Finning et al., 2022; Ingul et al., 2019; Wood et al., 2012). The aim of this paper was to create a more nuanced…

This intervention case study is written by an Educational and Child Psychologist in the Republic of Ireland, which took place with Leah, a 15-year-old adolescent with a diagnosis of autism attending a post-primary school. Pre- and post-intervention assessment measures included the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Rosenberg…

Parental incarceration (PI) is negatively associated with emotional, educational, and psychological child outcomes. However, few studies explore potential mechanisms through which these outcomes are transmitted or the means by which prosocial outcomes might develop. This study used data from two waves of a population cohort study of children aged…

Internationally and in Ireland, the adoption of inclusive education frameworks have been broadly welcomed, particularly by parents of children with special educational needs (SEN). Mainstreaming these children is generally viewed as positive primarily because of the social factors associated with attending mainstream schools for children with SEN.…

Research has shown that teacher consultation groups increase teachers' behaviour management skills through discussion and collaborative problem-solving. Unlike the United Kingdom, at the time of this research consultation groups were not widely used in Irish schools. This research introduced Farouk's process consultation approach in three Irish…

Socio-emotional development is increasingly recognised as playing a central role in children's academic achievement. However, little is known about the socio-emotional development of language-minority children on entry to school and how these children fare in comparison to their language-majority peers. To address this gap, longitudinal data on…

Teachers frequently struggle to cope with conduct problems in the classroom. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Training Programme for improving teacher competencies and child adjustment. The study involved a group randomised controlled trial which included 22 teachers and 217…

Inappropriate, aggressive and disruptive behaviour in the classroom can be detrimental to child and teacher well-being. This study involved a longer-term evaluation of the "Incredible Years Teacher [Classroom Management]" programme (IYTP) undertaken mainly within disadvantaged schools in south-west Ireland. The IYTP is designed to…

Conduct problems in school settings can pose significant challenges for both children and teachers. This study examined the teacher-reported prevalence of conduct problems in a sample of young children (N?=?445) in the first two years of formal education. A secondary aim was to assess teachers' perceptions of child behaviour and their classroom…

This retrospective cross-sectional paper examines the relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and children's behavioural problems at 9 years of age independent of a wide range of possible confounders. The final sample comprised 7,505 nine-year-old school children participating in the first wave of the Growing Up in Ireland study.…

This study explores front-line staff knowledge and perceptions of how people with intellectual disability residing in residential services are supported to communicate effectively. Participants ("n" = 138) completed a self-report questionnaire adapted from an instrument developed by DeSimone & Cascella (2005) "Journal of…

Pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) are often considered the most challenging group to manage within mainstream education. The challenges perceived 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…

This article reports on a two year project in which educational psychologists offered consultation to groups of teachers, to help them find solutions to school-based problems. Teachers were drawn from within individual schools and from across a number of schools. Typically, teachers were trained by educational psychologists in group consultation…

Although the issue of challenging behaviour receives a great deal of attention in educational literature, the exact nature of this behaviour is open to debate. Challenging behaviour can be defined objectively by listing or describing behaviours that are considered disruptive and undesirable. On the other hand, challenging behaviour can be seen as…