| CODE | EDU5928 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Understanding and Supporting Individuals with Behavioural Challenges | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Faculty of Education | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit presents an ecological approach in managing effectively challenging behaviour, to guide participants with the issues involved in the conceptualization, assessment and intervention of challenging behaviours with particular reference to understanding, and supporting school-aged children so as to generate better well-being and mental health. By taking a circular causality in reading challenging behaviour which involves all the stakeholders (persons with challenging behaviour, parents, educators, carers etc), the whole-school system will lose free from a static medical description and categorization of children鈥檚 difficulty, which labels the child, while opting to take a more operative description of the specific difficulty, that guides them to learn how to manage effectively challenging behaviours and focus on the needs of the individual. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to help promote better well-being and mental health in the school context. Following a constructivist-systemic approach, that holds its roots in the School of Palo Alto, California, this unit aims to help teachers to handle better children鈥檚 difficulties which, if mishandled, can easily turn to problems and pathologies. This unit provides an operative description of challenging difficulties in school-aged children, which moves away from a linear causality (cause-effect, blaming attitude) to a circular causality perspective, where the very attempts of significant others, to manage the problem, often maintains and worsens it. Thus students will look at challenging behaviour from a preventative, primary, secondary and tertiary level. They will thus comprehend that a lack or inappropriate communication(non-verbal and verbal) is one of the major reasons for the persistence and even aggravation of challenging behaviour. This study-unit aims in offering a new lens in looking at students鈥� difficulties. Its key aim is to hand over to teachers operative knowledge and tools in managing effectively and efficiently challenging social, emotional and behaviour difficulties which are always more present and challenging for the caregiver. These operative knowledge and tools are the result of a three-year action research carried out with primary and secondary teachers in Malta, Ireland and Italy. This study-unit aims to provide students witha rigorous yet not a one-fits-all method which helps teachers take up an ecological context-based approach in managing challenging difficulties in school-age children and adolescents. The participants will therefore be introduced to and achieve a good level of operative knowledge in the use and implementation of non-ordinary logic strategies and alternative means of communication. They will also be introduced to functional analysis of behaviour in different settings which will form the basis of intervention creating supportive schools and communities for those challenging moments. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - comprehend challenging behaviour, its formation and persistence over time and ways of prevention; take an ecological approach to be able to create a hoc and implement, effective support techniques and strategies; - move away from a mere theoretical to a more pragmatic approach in understanding and managing effectively and efficiently challenging behaviour; - appreciate and reflect on the use of ecological and applied functional analysis; - comprehend the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication in managing challenging behaviour. As the great Wittgenstein said 鈥� Words are like bullets鈥�; - reflect on the constructivist-system approach to challenging behaviour, by taking a circular causality in reading and managing difficulties; - use of appropriate non-verbal and verbal communication. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify and analyse environments and interventions which precipitate challenging behaviour from a constructivist-systemic approach; - identify together with other service providers the behaviour which needs immediate attention; - work out a functional behavioural analysis and create step-by-step actions plans to discuss with other service providers so as to take up a whole-school approach; - enhance more effective communication; - acquire alternative strategies to use when common sense interventions fail. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Amatea, E., Sherrard, P., (1991), When students cannot or will not change their behaviour: Using brief strategic intervention in the school, in Journal of Counseling and Development, 69: 341鈥�344. - Giallo, R & Hayes (2007) THE PARADOX OF TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 鈥� in the Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology. Vol 7, 2007, pp108- 119. - Maag J. W., (1997), Parenting without punishment: Making problem behaviour work for you, in Reclaiming Children and Youth: Journal of Emotional Behavioural Problems, 6(3): 176鈥�179. - Nardone G., Balbi E., (2015)The Logic of Therapeutic Change: fitting strategies to pathologies Karnac. - Nardone G., Portelli C., (2005), Knowing through Changing: The Evolution of brief strategic Therapy, London: Crown Publishing House. - Papantuono, M., Portelli, C., Gibson, P (2014) Winning without fighting: A teacher's handbook of effective solutions for Social, Emotional, Behavioural Difficulties in students. Malta University Press. - Stearns P. N., Haggarty T., (1991), The Role of Fear: Transistions in American Emotional Standards for Children, 1850鈥�1950, in American Historical Review 96: 63鈥�94. - Wedge, M., (2011), Suffer the Children: The Case against labeling and Medicating and an Effective Alternatives, W.W. Norton & Company, New York. - Weeks G. R., L鈥橝bate L., (1982), Paradoxical psychotherapy: Theory and practice with individuals, couples, and families, New York: Brunneri Mazel. Supplementary Readings: - Alberto P., Troutman A., (2009) Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers (8th Edition) (Paperback) Merill/ Pearson. USA. - Keenan M., Henderson M., Kerr K.P., Dillenburger K., (2005). Applied Behaviour Analysis And Autism: Building a Future Together (Paperback). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. - Cooper J., Heron T, Heward W., (2007). Applied Behavior Analysis (2nd Edition) Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall. - Keenan K. , Kerr K. , Dillenburger K (2000) Parents' Education As Autism Therapists: Applied Behaviour Analysis in Context (Paperback) London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. - Mirenda P., Beukelman D., Garret K., (2013) Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Supporting Children and Adults with Complex Communication Needs. Brookes, Maryland. - O鈥橬eill R., Horner R., albino R., Storey K., Sprague J., (1997) Functional Assessment and Program Development for Problem Behavior: A Practical Handbook (Paperback) Brookes. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite qualifications: First degree | |||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | |||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Claudette Portelli |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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