Book Quotes

Angela
Morality is concerned with fundamental questions of right and wrong, justice,

fairness and basic human rights. Cultural values and norms have a strong
bearing on how individuals
think and act, so notions of ‘morality’ are mediated by sociocultural factors
(Miller & Bland, 2013). The
study of moral development in educational psychology is particularly interested
in how young people
develop or learn a sense of right and wrong, and how they learn to reason about
challenging social or
moral issues.
P174
Moral development as socialisation

Like other dimensions of development, moral development progresses gradually.
There are several
views about how this occurs. One approach argues that children develop morals
as a result of gradual
immersion and socialisation into the adult world (Leman, 2001). This view
adopts the principles of social learning theory (see Chapter 5). Social learning
theorists such as Bandura (1977, 2001) contend that we learn to behave in
moral or immoral ways primarily by observing others, particularly parents,
caregivers and significant others such as teachers and peers. The view that
moral development is moulded by society’s values has been supported by
theorists who claimed that the quality of children’s relationships with their
parents greatly influences moral development (for example, Durkheim,
1925/1961; Freud, 1930/1963).
P174
Moral development as moral reasoning

An alternative to the socialisation approach is the argument that children
actively construct their own ways of understanding the world, including
what is right and wrong, good and bad. This seems to be evident in Jake’s
comments about his friend Jonno’s behaviour at the start of this chapter.
Cognitive–developmental approaches emphasise moral reasoning rather than
moral behaviour alone, yet they do not rule out the impact of social context.
Moral reasoning involves analytical thinking about why we respect and follow
‘moral rules’ (Piaget, 1932). A moral rule is a generally accepted rule about
human behaviour within a particular society. For example, ‘You should not steal’
is a moral rule in most Western communities (Langford, 1995), and Jake appears
to be developing a reasoned moral stance on this issue.
P174
BANDURA’S THEORY OF MORAL AGENCY AND DISENGAGEMENT

Employing his social-cognitive theory, Bandura strongly believes that
moral agency is the linking concept between moral behaviour and moral
reasoning (Bandura, 2002). Moral agency describes the use of self-
regulatory processes to mediate the link between moral reasoning and
moral behaviour. In this view, people are capable of monitoring their
conduct and the situations in which certain behaviours occur, they are
capable of self-assessing or evaluating their response against their own
moral standards, and they may moderate their behaviour through feelings
of guilt or acknowledging that their behaviour is wrong. Bandura is
particularly interested in why people choose to ignore known moral
standards and engage in moral behaviours that don’t match these
standards. He called this moral disengagement.
P181 Duchesne, Sue, and Anne McMaugh. Educational Psychology for

Learning and Teaching, Cengage, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central,
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=5652476.
Created from curtin on 2019-10-25 20:27:04.
As an educator, it is impossible for you to stay out of the debate about

moral and values education; as suggested by Haydon (2004), values and
ethics are already promoted in the outcomes and aims we expect our
students to develop. Philosopher Nel Noddings has implored educators to
return to an overall ethic of caring in schools and classrooms, and the
development of a shared vision of care and concern for others (Bergman,
2004). She has suggested that teachers have a role to play in modelling
and demonstrating an ethos of care and respect by upholding these values
in relationships with their students (Noddings, 1990). Indeed, research
indicates that a classroom characterised by predictability, trust,
emotional warmth and reciprocal respect is conducive to the development
of the moral self (Arsenio & Lover, 1995). Some strategies to guide your
practice are outlined in Box 4.7 . BOX 4.7
IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATORS STRATEGIES FOR FOSTERING MORAL

DEVELOPMENT AND VALUES
Develop an attitude of respect for children and young people. This respect
is expressed in your classroom organisation and management, in
activities, and in your interactions with learners. Make time to learn about
your students’ interests, feelings, values and ideas. Expose learners to
different viewpoints. Encourage class discussions about current news
items. When discussing sensitive moral issues, let students know ahead of
time what is appropriate behaviour. For example, all voices will be heard
unless they are deliberately offensive and contravene basic human rights.
Social experiences stimulate mental processes and help to promote
development. Consider excursions or guest speakers to encourage social
interactions and exposure to different viewpoints. Debates challenge
students’ positions on topics and further stimulate mental processes.
Role-playing opportunities help learners imagine what it would be like to
be someone else. Develop cases, problems or scenarios that involve
values that students can discuss. Provide opportunities for students to
discover how various cultural groups reason about moral issues. Every
subject – even disciplines such as mathematics – offers opportunities for
helping students develop their skill in moral reasoning.
P 182 Duchesne, Sue, and Anne McMaugh. Educational Psychology for

She has a problem with emotional selfregulation
Finally, one of the overarching emotional competencies that tie together
the effective performance of other emotional skills is our capacity to cope
with our emotions , also known as emotional selfregulation . Regulation of
emotion allows children to cope with their emotions by being able to
exercise control over them. Good emotional regulation is also related to
prosocial moral reasoning (Eisenberg, 1992; Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998),
probably because the ability to control and direct emotions helps us to
control and direct our thinking more generally. School poses many
challenges to children’s abilities to control their emotion, such as when
they experience the disappointment of failing a test or not being selected
for a team. The belief that we can control our emotions and handle
stressful situations is associated with our capacity to cope with stressful
life events (Frydenberg & Lewis, 2002). Adolescents recognise that
positive emotions such as maintaining hope and happiness are an
important part of coping (Andrews, Ainley & Frydenberg, 2004). It is not
surprising, then, that the capacity for emotional regulation is associated
with the process of developing resilience in the face of adversity. (Masten
& Coatsworth, 1998). These important aspects of self-regulation are
further explored in several other chapters throughout this book. In the
following section, we consider the development of our understanding of
relations with others. emotional self-regulation Awareness of and ability to
control or alter our emotional state as necessary
p 182 Duchesne, Sue, and Anne McMaugh. Educational Psychology for
Stress factors One of the major models of the relationship between

poverty and education involves the impact of stress on families and
children (Boston & Chapple, 2014; Bradley & Corwyn, 2002). Consider
some of the likely sources of stress that people living in poverty could
encounter: employment uncertainty, lack of financial security, having to
move house often, and living in neighbourhoods with high levels of
violence, overcrowding and substandard housing conditions. Chronic
stress directly affects children’s neurological development, and can lead
to memory and learning difficulties, as well as reduced ability for the
person to cope with stress later in life. However, not all children who
experience chronic stress have these outcomes. Sensitive, responsive
caregiving can buffer the negative effects, and this may include in
childcare and education settings outside the home (National Scientific
Council on the Developing Child, 2014). Stress, uncertainty and low social
standing have also been correlated with low self-esteem, feelings of
powerlessness and learned helplessness, as well as depression
(McLaughlin, Sheridan & Lambert, 2014; McLoyd, 1990). These attitudes,
in turn, are linked to poorer-than-average relationship quality (including
parent– child relationships) (Brody, Flor & Gibson, 1999). In particular, the
stress associated with poverty is tied to maladaptive parenting behaviours
such as lack of warmth, unresponsiveness, inconsistency or lack of
appropriate control (Raffo et al., 2010). More consistent and positive
parenting was linked to better cognitive and social-emotional outcomes in
families in which parents were employed as compared with jobless
families, in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (Baxter, Gray,
Hand & Hayes, 2012). The negative results of unemployment are not
inevitable, however. When unemployed parents had social connections
and were involved in community activities, their children’s cognitive,
social and emotional outcomes were stronger than for those children
whose parents didn’t have that social capital. Raffo et al. (2010) also
reinforced the value of supportive networks in providing resilience
P 490 Duchesne, Sue, and Anne McMaugh. Educational Psychology for

THREATENING ENVIRONMENTS Residents in Australia and New Zealand

experience natural disasters such as fires, floods, cyclones and
earthquakes on a fairly regular basis, either personally or through media
coverage. In addition, refugees may have experienced war or terror before
coming to Australia or New Zealand, and further trauma in detention
centres. How do these experiences affect children and young people, and
how can we support them? Children may be affected directly as a result of
physical dangers, stress, disruption of routine and loss of home, school
and community, and indirectly through impacts of parenting quality,
economic factors, and ‘reading’ of parental anxiety in social referencing
(Masten & Narayan, 2012). With multiple experiences of trauma, effects
increase. Media can contribute to trauma as well, with children re-exposed
Duchesne, Sue, and Anne McMaugh. Educational Psychology for Learning

and Teaching, Cengage, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central,
to the situations they encountered, or exposed to continuing threats.

Young children have difficulty realising that repeated broadcasts of an
event are not new threats (Masten, Narayan, Silverman & Osofsky, 2015).
As we saw in Chapter 2, experience of chronic stress can have long-term
effects through children’s brain development, on response to stress later
in life, on their physical health including the immune system, and on
mental health and self-regulation of thoughts and behaviour. Externalising
behaviours such as aggression may be seen, particularly if there is
aggression in the community, school or family (Boxer et al., 2013).
Children and young people are variously affected, with younger children
protected in part by lack of understanding, but vulnerable in not
possessing the cognitive and emotional skills to manage emotions and
thoughts. Older children and young people are more vulnerable to anxiety
through their greater understanding of what is happening, and their ability
to imagine further effects, while protected by greater skills in cognitive
and emotional regulation. In a review of the literature, Masten and
Narayan (2012) identified the following protective factors. They are
proposed to support a sense of safety and connectedness, control and
agency, regulation of emotion and behaviour, and optimistic thinking, all of
which help individuals to adapt in responding to threats.
■ ■ Psychological factors. Intelligence, self-regulation, cognitive flexibility,

self-efficacy and a sense of self-confidence are all identified as protective.
Teaching these skills as part of disaster readiness might therefore be
helpful. Religious beliefs and practices are also helpful in conveying hope,
belief and a sense of meaning.
■ ■ Relationships. Close and supportive relationships are paramount,

particularly attachment relationships with parents. Being close to parents
during a terrifying experience is particularly important. Reuniting children
with families is thus important when disasters come.
■ ■ Acculturation. For refugee children

development of language skills in the new country and a positive
bicultural identity were both associated with recovery from traumatic
experiences.
■ ■ Environments in which to play and learn. Having functional schools or
childcare settings, and safe places in which to play are among the keys to
restoring normalcy and providing constructive activities, connections to
competent adults, peer interaction, respite for parents and a
reestablishment of routines.
When a disaster occurs
the following principles of intervention are agreed in the research to be
of benefit in promoting resilience: promote a sense of safety
self and group efficacy
calming
connectedness and hope. Although the care of parents is the key to this
adults such as teachers or childcare providers also have important roles
to play in the context of disaster. Masten et al. (2015) reported that for
refugee children
the quality of the environment in which children recover from trauma
(remembering that environments include families and schools as well as
wider communities and societies) is key to the ways that risk and
resilience factors operate
. The work on risk and resilience discussed in Chapter 2, and earlier in this
chapter, is also relevant here.
p 495 Duchesne, Sue, and Anne McMaugh. Educational Psychology for

Pekrun (2014) stressed the importance of teachers recognising students’ emotions, given the
strong effects they have on learning. As well as attending to students’ emotions, teachers can
teach students skills to understand and regulate their own emotions. Drawing initially on work
such as Maslow’s theory suggesting the influence of social and emotional needs on learning,
teachers are encouraged to develop students’ social and emotional skills as ‘basic skills’
alongside academic skills, to ‘educate the whole child’ (Elias, 2003, 2006).
P317
Duchesne, Sue, and Anne McMaugh. Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching,
Cengage, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central,
Elias (2003, 2006) identified 10 principles for developing academic and also social and emotional
skills in schools:
1 Learning requires caring. Caring relationships and warm, yet challenging classroom
environments are important for effective and lasting academic learning, and social and
emotional learning.
2 Teach everyday life skills explicitly at every grade level. These include the five key social and
emotional competencies identified by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional
Learning (CASEL): self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and
responsible decision making.
3 Link social and emotional instruction to other school services such as anti-bullying, drug-
education and conflict-resolution programs, and support services for students experiencing
difficulty.
4 Use goal setting and problem solving to focus instruction, and to provide direction and
motivation for learning.
5 Vary instructional strategies to cater for the preferences and styles of all learners.
6 Build empathy by promoting community service, thereby fostering the generalisation of social
and emotional skills.
7 Involve parents in partnerships with the school to maximise students’ academic learning, and
their social and emotional learning.
8 Develop social and emotional skills gradually and systematically, building on the existing
strengths and needs of the school setting, and integrating social and emotional learning with
academic learning.
9 Prepare and support staff with ongoing professional development.
10 Evaluate efforts to promote social and emotional learning through ongoing monitoring of the
program, assessment of outcomes, and feedback from teachers, learners and parents.
Advocates of social and emotional learning programs cite the changes they can make to
students’ behaviour and attitudes to school, and through them, to students’ academic
achievement. A metaanalysis of school-based social and emotional learning programs found
benefits for students’ social and emotional skills, attitudes, behaviour and academic
achievement (Durlak et al., 2011). Sklad et al. (2012) confirmed these outcomes and found
additional benefits for mental health from such programs.
P318
The functionalist perspective maintains that emotion is a central force that directs, shapes and
organises our behaviour (see Barrett & Campos, 1987; Fischer, Wang, Kennedy & Cheng, 1998;
Lazarus, 1991). This perspective includes the study of emotion in relation to cognitive
processing; in other words, emotion helps us make meaning of our world in ways that cold,
hard, rational thinking cannot (Dalgleish & Bramham, 1999). Emotions such as fear can redirect
our thinking to work out safer solutions to a problem; a certain level of anxiety can sometimes
direct us to focus on a task, but just a little too much anxiety can tip us over the edge into poor
cognitive processing (see Chapter 8). Functionalist perspectives also examine the role of
emotion in shaping our social behaviour. For example, our ability to interpret and understand
emotional expressions plays a critical role in our survival. By the time infants are three months
of age, they and their mothers have developed a complex array of signals to convey and respond
to emotion, including the ability to convey ‘stranger danger’ and fear, along with warmth and
security (Boccia & Campos, 1989) (see Figure 4.10 ). Another critical area of research in the
functionalist approach concerns the interaction between emotion and health. For example,
states of psychological stress can depress the body’s immune system, leading to ill health and
development of the common cold virus (Cohen, Tyrell & Smith, 1991). Emotional deprivation in
the mother– child relationship has been associated with the child’s failure to thrive and develop
at an expected rate (Iwaniec, 2006). The social constructivist perspective is largely reflected in
the work of Carolyn Saarni and colleagues. This perspective incorporates elements of the
functionalist perspective but also emphasises the role of the context in shaping our
interpretation of situations. In this view, emotion allows an individual to maintain or change a
relationship with their environment on a matter of importance to that person (Saarni, Mumme
& Campos, 1998). Both the functionalist and social constructivist perspectives suggest that
emotions also have strong ties to our social functioning and ability to cope with our world.
Saarni (1999) describes this ability as emotional competence . Saarni’s view of emotional
competence incorporates both the functionalist and social constructivist approaches, and has
great relevance to understanding the role of emotion in the lives of children and young people.
Table 4.6 outlines the key skills of emotional competence described by Saarni (1999).
P183
Philosopher Nel Noddings has implored educators to return to an overall ethic of caring in
schools and classrooms, and the development of a shared vision of care and concern for others
(Bergman, 2004). She has suggested that teachers have a role to play in modelling and
demonstrating an ethos of care and respect by upholding these values in relationships with their
students (Noddings, 1990). Indeed, research indicates that a classroom characterised by
predictability, trust, emotional warmth and reciprocal respect is conducive to the development
of the moral self (Arsenio & Lover, 1995).
P182
Other influences may be felt later in the child’s life; for example, high levels of family conflict are
associated with earlier onset of menarche (Manuck et al., 2011), while Whittle et al. (2014)
reported from a longitudinal study that warm and supportive parenting influenced the
development of adolescent brain structures that are associated with positive emotional and
behavioural outcomes. Environment is a significant force throughout the course of
development.
P40
Development of children with physical disabilities Some physical conditions, such as cerebral
palsy, spina bifida, Down syndrome and muscular dystrophy, result in a different developmental
path, and the acquisition of motor skills may be challenging for some students with specific
physical disabilities. Nonetheless, you should not assume that a child with a physical disability
also has an intellectual disability, nor that they do not need to develop their physical or motor
skills. Supporting students with physical disabilities to participate in the classroom may involve
making adjustments to the way in which you teach, the physical environment, equipment and
tasks. For example, a student in a wheelchair may be able to participate in a long-jump exercise
by using their arms to propel the chair forward, a parallel task to the spring another child must
make using their legs. Chapter 10 deals in detail with the inclusion of children with special
needs.
P41
The term ‘ inclusive education ’ refers to the programs and services provided to address the
needs of any student requiring additional support in their regular neighbourhood school
classroom. This term arises from an international movement and acceptance of the view that all
students have a right to participate fully in their community (Foreman & Arthur-Kelly, 2014).
This includes the right to attend their local school, be accommodated in regular classes, and
have their learning support needs addressed.
P 428
CHAPTER 10 LEARNING SUPPORT NEEDS AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 429

it may also be associated with the historical use of ‘special’ schools where children with
disabilities were routinely segregated from other students. Fewer of these segregated schools
remain in modern educational systems. BOX 10.1 IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATORS PRINCIPLES
OF NORMALISATION The concept of normalisation was defined by Wolfensberger (1972) and
Nirje (1985) who argued that people with disabilities had a right to live ‘normal’ lives and
experience the full range of ‘normal’ day-to-day activities enjoyed by most people. At this time,
many children with disabilities were not eligible to receive a typical education available to other
students of their age, and many children and adults with disabilities were housed in institutions
for the disabled. The conditions and experiences of many persons in these institutions or
segregated schools was harsh and far removed from the typical everyday lives of other children
or adults. Hence, the term ‘normalisation’ was developed to promote the right of people with
disabilities to experience the same day-to-day living conditions, rights and ‘normative’
experiences that any other citizen in a society might expect. During the 1970s, the systematic
deinstitutionalisation of people with disabilities began, and in the early 1980s Australian
education systems developed the first special-education policies that promoted the
mainstreaming of students with disabilities in regular school settings. Over several decades, the
principle of normalisation has led to a profound change in views about persons with disabilities.
The principles of inclusive education were first adopted by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1994 at the Salamanca World Conference on
Special Needs Education, held in Salamanca, Spain. This declaration of support for inclusive
education is also known as the Salamanca Declaration and was agreed to by more than 90
countries, including Australia and New Zealand. The statement of inclusion has been restated at
successive world conferences and refers to ‘all children regardless of their physical, intellectual,
social, emotional, linguistic or other conditions’, including ‘disabled and gifted children, children
from remote or nomadic populations, children from linguistic, ethnic or cultural minorities and
children from other disadvantaged or marginalised groups’ (UNESCO, 1994). This chapter is
largely focused on children with learning support needs arising from disability or other
conditions that affect learning and participation in school, but we also acknowledge that most of
the principles addressed here apply to all learners who may experience educational
disadvantage or exclusion. Australia and New Zealand are also signatories to the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), which makes explicit reference to
inclusive education. In this convention, governments from around the world were invited to give
priority to:
■ ■ make education systems inclusive
■ ■ adopt the principle of inclusive education as a matter of policy or law
■ ■ establish strategies to plan, monitor and evaluate educational provision for special needs
students
■ ■ invest in early identification and intervention strategies, and ensure that adequate teacher
education programs are available (Elkins, 2005, p. 12).
However, despite these international agreements and the intent of inclusion, there is
widespread debate about the extent of inclusion actually experienced by children. This was
summed up by Graham and Slee (2007), who noted that ‘to include is not necessarily to be
inclusive’ (p. 278). Misunderstanding of what it means to be ‘inclusive’ and misappropriation of
the term ‘inclusion’ are just some of the reasons why inclusion may not be practised to the
extent requested in international conventions and declarations (Cologon, 2013).
P 429
POLICIES AND LEGISLATION Today in Australia and New Zealand, programs and services for
children with additional learning support needs or disabilities are provided in both public and
private school systems. Legislative Acts within Australia ( Disability Discrimination Act 1992 ) and
New Zealand ( Education Act 1989 and Human Rights Act 1993 ) provide a context for allowing
people with disabilities to access educational services without discrimination or prejudice. In
Australia, the Disability Standards for Education 2005 provides specific standards and guidelines
for the provision of education to people with disabilities. These standards provide a legal
‘standard’ and obligation on the part of the educational provider to ensure that:
■ ■ the education provider must take reasonable steps to ensure courses and programs are
designed in such a way that a person with a disability can participate in the program on the
same basis as a student without a disability and without experiencing discrimination
■ ■ the educational provider must consult with the student or an associate of the student (for
example, family) about how the disability affects the student’s ability to participate in learning
experiences
■ ■ in light of this information, the educational provider must decide if an adjustment is
necessary and, if so, make a reasonable adjustment to ensure the person with a disability can
participate in learning on the same basis as a person without a disability (Commonwealth of
Australia, AttorneyGeneral’s Department, 2005).
P430
PREVALENCE OF DISABILITY AND LEARNING SUPPORT NEEDS The Australian Bureau of Statistics
(ABS) routinely collects information about the prevalence of disability in Australia in the Survey
of Disability, Ageing and Carers. This type of information is helpful for educational systems as it
allows for estimates of the number of students and types of learning support needs that we may
encounter in our schools and classrooms. The ABS estimated that in 2012 there were
approximately 295 000 children aged 5– 17 years with a disability in Australia who were also
attending school (ABS, 2014). Boys tended to have a higher prevalence of disability, comprising
61 per cent of the population, compared to girls. Most children with a disability were enrolled in
regular school settings (86 per cent) and the remainder attended some type of special school.
Regardless of school type, a significant proportion of students with disabilities still experienced
significant difficulty at school, with the most common difficulties including learning difficulties
(43 per cent) and trouble fitting in socially (35 per cent). As described in Chapter 4, some
children with disabilities are vulnerable to peer rejection at school.
P 431
INTELLECTUAL AND COGNITIVE DIFFERENCES Conditions that limit cognitive abilities are one of
the leading and most prevalent causes of intellectual disability. These conditions include a wide
range of congenital or chromosomal disorders, such as Down syndrome, that are present at
birth and affect the individual on a lifelong basis. The diagnosis of an intellectual disability is
generally based on three key criteria: 1 a significantly below-average level of intelligence, as
measured by IQ tests 2 deficiencies in adaptive behaviours such as everyday living skills 3 the
manifestation of these symptoms during the developmental periods of a child’s life (for
example, birth to 18 years of age) (Hudson & Radler, 2005).
P 435
However, some children may have fewer functional skills. This may be because some conditions
may be accompanied by other conditions or characteristics such as difficulties with speech and
communication, problems with eyesight, fine and gross motor coordination difficulties or
difficulty regulating behaviour and emotions. Thorough and wide-ranging assessments of
children with such conditions are often made before the child starts school. This is a very
sensitive time for parents and caregivers, who may be overwhelmed by unfamiliar psychological,
medical and educational assessments. Teachers and practitioners working with children and
their families must be especially sensitive and listen carefully to families and children
themselves in order to determine the best level of educational support. Community Services,
NSW, pardalote photography. Intellectual and developmental disabilities are also some of the
most misunderstood conditions and this misunderstanding can lead to labelling and stigma.
Erroneous beliefs about intellectual ability have led to assumptions that persons with
intellectual disabilities are the equivalent age of a much younger child or cannot learn. These
assumptions are untrue. The danger of such ‘myths’ and assumptions is that they can impose
serious limitations on the person with a disability. This is what the WHO was referring to when
they stated that disability can arise from the environment. For example, assumptions about the
equivalent age of the child can lead to the infantilising or ‘babying’ of people with intellectual
disabilities. In the classroom this can have serious consequences, such as inappropriate work or
tasks that include babyish themes or concepts suited to a much younger child (this is also
sometimes referred to as ‘dumbing down’ the curriculum). Similarly, language or talk directed to
the child can be overly ‘babyish’ or directorial. Such teacher treatment of a child is also visible to
peers, who may respond to the child in similar ways. Significant advocacy movements, led by
people with intellectual disabilities, have attempted to dispel such myths.
P 436
Implications Children with conditions associated with cognitive learning support needs will vary
in their individual areas of strengths and support needs. In some cases, certain condition
characteristics may mean the child will have problems in organising and sequencing thoughts, in
memory or recall of information. Information processing may be slower than for other children,
and learning to read may be difficult for some children. Children may also have strengths in
specific skills and interests similar to other children their age, such as creative arts, drama and
sporting activities. The implications for classroom practice will depend on assessments of each
child’s specific learning needs; the following are some general strategies for classroom practice
that might help any child who needs support with skills like organising and sequencing thoughts
to follow instructions, or needs more time to think and solve problems:
■ ■ Use direct language with explicit instructions and break tasks down into smaller steps. >> As
instructions can be modified and made more explicit for a range of everyday life skills and
vocational tasks.
■ ■ Age-appropriate adaptations should always be offered; for example, literacy and reading
themes should be the same as for other classmates, but expected outcomes may be adapted.
■ ■ Alternative curricula in the senior years, such as the Life Skills curricula (NSW Board of
Studies, 2014), offer all students the chance to remain in formal education and attain their
schoolcompletion certificates.
■ ■ Physical development and gross and fine motor skills should not be neglected. Participation
in physical education should consider possible weaknesses of muscle tone, balance or
coordination, but lots of practice and experience with motor skills is an essential part of
development for all children,
P 437
A range of social and environmental conditions may also contribute. Factors such as poor
parent– child attachment, abuse and neglect in the family, experience of bullying or violence at
school (see Chapter 4), and the presence of parental mental health disorders are all known risk
factors for the emergence of childhood mental health disorders. For example, Pacific Islander
youths who were born outside the Pacific or who migrated to Australia or New Zealand have
been found to have a higher incidence of depressive and anxious disorders (Foliaki, 2012).
Foliaki attributes this to a higher prevalence of maternal postnatal depression, which results in a
lack of emotional availability for children as parents struggle with their own mental health
difficulties; in turn, Foliaki attributes this to the loss of social support that is normally available to
children and families when living in traditional island communities. The stressors of growing up
and forming identity in ‘a different place’ may exacerbate these problems for migrant youths.
P 448
Implications Mental health conditions, including dimensions of behavioural problems, can

present serious difficulties in every area of a child’s life. Classroom learning is affected by both
internalising and externalising behaviours , but teachers are much more likely to respond to
externalised behaviours than to attend to signs of internalised behaviours.
■ ■ Be alert and help identify when a young person may need additional help or support: >> You
might see a difference in their behaviours or capacity and skills when compared with peers. >>
Short-term changes or an isolated incident may not be a problem, but be concerned if
behaviours or issues seem severe, persist over time, or if several problems seem to be occurring
together (see Commonwealth of Australia, 2010).
■ ■ Get a GRIP: understand when you need to seek professional advice and refer young people
on to other professionals for help (see Figure 10.4 ).
■ ■ Be aware that internalised signs of mental health problems such as anxiety, withdrawal,
overly fearful or stressful responses, unexplained somatic symptoms and illnesses can be easily
overlooked by teachers.
■ ■ Use caution when identifying and labelling students with mental health concerns; labels
such as ‘conduct disorder’ or ‘disturbed’ can be very stigmatising. It is important to maintain
privacy and confidentiality when dealing with all students who have disabilities or mental health
concerns due to such stigma.
■ ■ Learning, concentration and attention may all be affected, so apply the strategies discussed
above for other conditions as they relate to cognitive learning implications for each child.
■ ■ Model and display positive social and emotional health behaviours in your classroom by
showing respect for students, solving disputes with students calmly and respectfully, and
creating a ‘safe space’ for discussing troubling issues.
■ ■ Update your knowledge regularly and undertake professional development and further
training in the social and emotional health and wellbeing of young people.
P 449
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE One of the main ways in which culture is transmitted is through
language. In Chapter 3, we discussed Vygotsky’s description of language as a cultural tool,
socialising children in the society’s ways of thinking about the world. This happens through the
words and phrases used, as well as in less obvious ways. Like culture, any language has visible
and hidden characteristics; the visible features are the vocabulary and grammar. Less visible are
the sociolinguistic features of language ; that is, conventions about language use such as how
and of whom questions are asked, use of eye contact, what can be spoken about, how adults
and children interact, turn-taking in conversation, and how topics are organised. Both visible
and invisible sets of language features are important to its task of expressing culture. The
importance of language in culture has several implications in the classroom:
■ ■ Using and supporting students’ first language in the classroom conveys respect for students’
culture and ethnic identity. Two-way learning, described later in this chapter, is an approach
seeking to integrate Aboriginal students’ languages with Standard Australian English in the
classroom. Te reo Māori immersion schools likewise support te reo Māori, either as the child’s
first language or as a bilingual language.
■ ■ Some students may share some or all of the visible features of English, while having very
different rules about how it is used. Later in this chapter, we discuss Aboriginal English, which is
an example of a dialect of English with quite different vocabulary, phonology, syntax and
pragmatics to Standard Australian English.
■ ■ Teachers and others being aware of and, where possible, making use of students’
sociolinguistic conventions can minimise miscommunication in the classroom.
■ ■ Teaching English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) involves more than teaching
the visible features of English: it is also important to make explicit the invisible rules for using
English in Western settings such as schools.
P 468
Nonetheless, these two concepts can be a helpful way to understand that others may see the
world differently, and value things differently. Greenfield, Suzuki and Rothstein-Fisch (2006)
highlight some of the misunderstandings and conflicts that can arise in schools when people
from individualist and collectivist cultures meet, and the difficulties that this can present for
children trying to navigate two different orientations. See Table 11.1 for an overview of the
differences. Four possible sites of difference are identified: 1 Individual achievement .
Emphasising or encouraging individual achievement may be seen as devaluing cooperation and
responsibilities to the group. In a study of school conferences (parent– teacher meetings)
between immigrant Latino parents and their children’s schoolteachers, the parents were
uncomfortable when teachers praised a child’s individual achievement, but felt more
comfortable when this achievement could be related to helping other family members, such as
reading to siblings (Greenfield, Quiroz & Raeff, 2000). 2 Written knowledge . Learning through
written texts is a particularly Western experience. In other societies, knowledge is seen as
residing with people, and this is an important connector between people of different
generations. To have knowledge based in an object (such as a book) may be seen as disrupting
the fabric of society. In addition, differences in the value of writing may require school
procedures to be reconsidered. Greenfield, Suzuki and Rothstein-Fisch (2006) give the example
of a child asked to pass on a message to the school from his parents. As the message was given
orally, it was not accepted by the school, who wanted a signed note from the parents. 3 Object
knowledge . Western individualist cultures emphasise decontextualised object knowledge, while
social relations and social knowledge are valued by collectivist cultures. Thus, children from
these cultures may tend to think and talk about objects or events in the context of social
interactions, whereas in Western schools we tend to expect students to talk about an object or
event in objective (‘scientific’) terms. Consider how this might influence a science lesson, in
which the teacher expects the students to discuss the features and habitat of Australian
mammals, while the students discuss what they did when they went out hunting kangaroos with
their grandfather. Understanding the basis of such differences may help you to consider how to
value the students’ orientation, while teaching them other ways of thinking about and
representing the world. This approach is discussed further later in the chapter. 4 Assertiveness .
The Western individualist orientation means that independent thought and assertiveness in
opinion are encouraged, and students may be evaluated on this basis – on the quality of
questions they ask, and the clarity and independence of their argument, for example. In
collectivist cultures, where interdependence is valued, respect for elders is not associated with
arguing with or questioning them. Encouraging students to engage with teachers in this way
may be seen as encouraging a lack of respect.
P 470
Racism is a form of discrimination based on race or ethnicity. Underlying racism are attitudes of
prejudice and cultural stereotypes (that is, assumptions applied to whole groups of people).
Because these attitudes reflect beliefs, they influence the way individuals behave and the way
they perceive and interpret the actions of others. For this reason, combating racism involves
targeting beliefs – or the prejudices underlying racist actions – as much as dealing with the
actions themselves. In schools, racism can be experienced by students and teachers directly,
through harassment, abuse and discrimination; or indirectly, such as when the cultural beliefs
and practices of students or teachers are not recognised, when others have prejudicial attitudes
(such as low expectations) or when cultural stereotypes are promoted. Institutional racism
occurs when schools are organised and managed in ways that disadvantage some groups.
P 472
BOX 11.4 IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATORS MULTICULTURAL

CLASSROOMS ‘Invisible’ aspects of culture can be difficult for teachers
and students to identify. Teachers must therefore: ■ ■ be self-aware of the
cultural views they hold, and that are implicit in their teaching ■ ■ be
aware of the cultural models of the students they teach ■ ■ teach cultural
differences explicitly, in order to make the invisible visible. Some common
ways of doing things in classrooms might need to be explained to students
and/or changed to accommodate their practices. These could include
raising your hand to speak, one person talking at a time, looking at the
teacher when the teacher is talking, staying in your seat until work is
finished, and the use of questions (by teachers to assess learning, and by
students to investigate). Understanding your own culture necessitates
reflection and discussion with others. Understanding the cultures of your
students will require interaction with the community, both inside and
outside the school. For this to be effective, you will need to be careful to
look at the strengths represented by the differences you encounter, rather
than regarding another way of doing things as ‘wrong’ or as a source of
difficulty. Other implications relate to the content of your teaching, such
as examining the curriculum and resources to eliminate bias or
stereotypes regarding particular groups. Students can be involved in this
process so that they are actively involved in detecting and dismantling
stereotypes and bias inside and outside the classroom.
P476
Duchesne, Sue, and Anne McMaugh. Educational Psychology for Learning
and Teaching, Cengage, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central,
Bridging the cultural divide When ways of learning differ between home and school, two
approaches to bridge the divide are to change the school way of learning to match the home
way, and to explicitly teach about the differences and support students in developing school
ways of learning alongside their home ways. By combining these approaches, teachers can
communicate the value of the students’ home culture, and help to empower their future
learning by giving them access to using school (Western) ways, and an understanding of how
they work (see Box 11.14 ).
P502

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Angela

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