Dyslexia and the school counsellor: A Maltese case study

Aim: This paper seeks to understand whether Maltese school counsellors are equipped to deal with dyslexic clients, considers whether specific strategies need to be used, and what positive effects, if any, counselling has on these clients. Previous studies: A literature review on self-concept and techniques on how to improve the self-concept of children with Learning Disabilities (LD)/Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) will place the current study in context. Method: Questionnaires (available from the authors on request) were distributed to all school counsellors on the island and analysed using content analysis. Findings: Findings from respondents indicate a need for more training, evidence-based knowledge of specific techniques when dealing effectively and successfully with dyslexic clients, specific specialised training to understand dyslexic clients and that counselling has a positive effect on dyslexic clients.     

Embracing complexity in research on learning from examples and from problem solving

This contribution is a commentary to a special issue titled “Example-based learning: New theoretical perspectives and advances to a contemporary instructional approach” published in Applied Cognitive Psychology (2020). In the commentary, the presented research is discussed with respect to three extensions compared with previous research, namely, theoretical frameworks, learning scenarios and domains. It concludes with some suggestions for methodological advancements.     

The prevalence of specific learning disorder in mathematics and comorbidity with other developmental disorders in primary school-age children

Mathematics difficulties are common in both children and adults, and they can have a great impact on people's lives. A specific learning disorder in mathematics (SLDM or developmental dyscalculia) is a special case of persistent mathematics difficulties, where the problems with maths cannot be attributed to environmental factors, intellectual disability, or mental, neurological or physical disorders. The aim of the current study was to estimate the prevalence rate of SLDM, any gender differences in SLDM, and the most common comorbid conditions. The DSM-5 provides details regarding these only for specific learning disorders in general, but not specifically for SLDM. We also compared the prevalence rates obtained on the basis of the DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria. We investigated the performance of 2,421 primary school children on standardized tests of mathematics, English, and IQ, and several demographic factors over the primary school years. We applied the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria to identify children with a potential diagnosis of SLDM. Six per cent of our sample had persistent, severe difficulties with mathematics, and, after applying the exclusion criteria, 5.7% were identified as having an SLDM profile. Both persistent maths difficulties and consistently exceptionally high performance in maths were equally common in males and females. About half of the children with an SLDM profile had some form of language or communication difficulty. Some of these children also had a diagnosis of autism, social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties or attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Our findings have important implications for research and intervention purposes, which we discuss in the study.     

Procedural learning across the lifespan: A systematic review with implications for atypical development

This systematic review aimed to investigate procedural learning across the lifespan in typical and atypical development. Procedural learning is essential for the development of everyday skills, including language and communication skills. Although procedural learning efficiency has been extensively studied, there is no consensus yet on potential procedural learning changes during development and ageing. Currently, three conflicting models regarding this trajectory exist: (1) a model of age invariance; (2a) a model with a peak in young adulthood; and (2b) a model with a plateau in childhood followed by a decline. The aims of this study were (1) to investigate this debate on procedural learning across the lifespan by systematically reviewing evidence for each model from studies using the serial reaction time task; and (2) to review procedural learning in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI), two developmental disorders characterized by deficits in communication skills, in the light of these models. Our findings on typical development strongly support a model of age-related changes (Model 2a or 2b) and show that mixed findings regarding the developmental trajectory during childhood can be explained by methodological differences across studies. Applying these conclusions to systematic reviews of studies of ASD and SLI makes it clear that there is a strong need for the inclusion of multiple age groups in these clinical studies to model procedural learning in atypical development. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed. Future research should focus on the role of declarative learning in both typical and atypical development.     

Preschoolers’ Distributive Justice When They Distribute Few Total Rewards in a Third‐Party Task

Five‐year‐old children were presented with a story in which one character made three origami stars and another made nine. Then the participants were asked to distribute small rewards to each character (“Three” or “Four” candies), and were told to use all the candies (“All” instruction), or that “You can leave some candies, if you don't want to use all the candies (‘Partial’ instruction).” In Study 1, almost all children distributed the candies equally (Four). Some participants (28.1%) refused the All instruction for Three, and then equally distributed the candies. They conducted equality allocations in three or all four of the conditions, giving a ratio for “Thorough Egalitarians” of 20–30%. Study 2 used looking‐time measures to assess participants’ judgment. Children looked longer at the amounts of production of two characters in condition Three than in condition Four. Allocation patterns were almost identical to Study 1, but the condition “Partial‐Three” results were not reproduced. The paper discusses the types of egalitarian behavior and the associated production and reward quantities observed.     

Too many Asians in universities? The effect of social dominance orientation on support for admissions limits

This paper tests the hypothesis that support for limits on the admission of Asian students into universities is motivated by people’s social motivation—namely, the desire to maintain the status hierarchy. Study 1 found that, among participants who evaluated a proposed limit to the number of Asian applicants admitted to universities, social dominance orientation (SDO) was positively related to policy support. Conversely, among participants who evaluated a proposed limit on White admits, SDO was negatively related to policy support. Study 2 found that the perceived threat of the group getting admitted at high rates explained differential support of policies that seek to limit group-specific admissions. In all, these findings suggest that attitudes toward changes in campus demographics may be rooted in a desire to maintain the status hierarchy.     

How Artists Create: An Empirical Study of MFA Painting Students

This paper reports on an interview study with MFA students in two different full‐time MFA degree programs in painting. The interviews were conducted as part of two ethnographic studies, each one academic year in length, of art and design schools at two U.S. universities. The goal was to explore the extended process whereby MFA student artists, in the second and final year of their degree program, create the works to be displayed in their public graduation exhibition. Using a grounded theory approach, an emergent theory was developed from the interviews, with additional information provided by studio observations and analyses of the graduation exhibitions and the accompanying written theses. This emergent theory describes the artistic creative process to be wandering, unpredictable, non‐linear, and embedded in the physical act of generating work. There is no evidence that either moments of insight, or the attempt to be original, play a role in their creative process. This emergent theory is compared with theories of the creative process by creativity researchers, and with theories of the design process proposed by design studies researchers.