This study evaluated the efficacy of preschool Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS), an early years curriculum designed to improve children's social and emotional competence, and reduce problem behaviour. Fifty-seven children aged three to four years took part in the study over one academic year. The control group (Group 1)…

The current study was primarily aimed at verifying the effect of a combined computer-assisted and pencil-and-paper training that was developed to empower visuo-spatial abilities in primary school pupils. One hundred and twenty third grade (mean average: eight years old) and fourth grade (mean age: nine years old) students attending several Italian…

Social stories have been widely used for children with autism and developmental delays; however, little research has been conducted that examines their effectiveness with pre-school children who have no developmental delays. The present study investigated this previously undocumented use of social stories. Social stories were used to decrease…

The "THOMAS" course (The Hampshire Outline for Meeting the needs of under fives on the Autistic Spectrum) is a four-day training programme to enhance the learning of young children with impairments in social understanding, communication and play by increasing the use of appropriate interventions. It has been supporting families and professionals…

In the DfES review of the role and contribution of educational psychologists (2006) the views of a range of different stakeholders were surveyed about the work that EPs do. As part of this process, questionnaires were devised and sent out to 300 parents, 30 from 10 local authorities (LA), distributed by the principal educational psychologist in…

Research into the long-term effects of language delay reflects an increasing concern that many childrens needs are not being met by current early years educational practice. This paper reports on a twopart intervention designed to improve language skills within a nursery setting. In the first part of the intervention, a directly taught small group…

Girls are outperforming boys in public examinations. However, this does not apply to "all boys" and "all girls", nor is it true of every subject. This paper questions the claims made based upon the statistical evidence and goes on to look at social, individual and school factors that may contribute to observed gender differences in school…

This paper reports on a UK survey of GCSE examination results for children from schools throughout England who had lost a parent (n =73) or sibling (n =24) through death to establish whether this had a long-term impact on school performance, levels of anxiety and self-esteem, and school attendance. Participants were matched for school, age, gender…

In this paper, the author explores how Educational Psychology Services might respond to the requirement that they now deliver a service to all validated Early Years settings. In doing so, current service delivery to schools is critically examined and a number of difficulties identified. Five key elements to the development of such a service are…

This paper investigates the extent to which psychological theory and research has contributed to how bullying is managed within schools. Teachers' awareness of the behaviours that constitute bullying, gender differences leading to identification difficulties, and low levels of reporting are discussed as plausible reasons for teachers' low…

This paper describes an approach to intervention that aims to foster the skill of young children with autistic spectrum disorder to share social attention and action to promote socially meaningful communication. It applies principles derived from research into pre-linguistic development. The efficacy of the approach was evaluated through both a…

This paper explores the issue of how educational psychologists (EPs) deal with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) referrals. Self-reported EP practice is highlighted and discussed using data gathered from a survey of EPs ( n=107) drawn from 16 local education authorities. Data relating to the age and gender of students referred, the…

Significant adults who support and teach children are only too aware of the effects of adverse experiences on intellectual, social and personal development. Less easily predicted, however, is a small number of young people who, despite many negative experiences, seem to make a considerable success of their lives. In this paper, the intriguing…

Recent national changes in "Early Years" policy are likely to have major impact on the practice and profession of educational psychology. In this paper, implications at the individual, service and systemic levels are examined and practice examples given of how an Educational Psychology Service (EPS) might rise to the new challenges these major…