Editorial

Abstract

Welcome to Issue 24(1) of 2019. This is an important issue in that, in one way or another, the articles explore the challenges of the wider social aspects of the emotional lives of troubled young people. Leanne Greenwood and Catherine Kelly conducted a systematic literature review concerned with the ways in which staff in schools describe how a sense of belonging is created for their pupils. They argue that those pupils who are more motivated, engaged and dedicated to their education will experience a sense of belonging in their school environment. Although only 5 papers passed their search criteria, they were able to identify methods that were perceived to be useful when supporting pupils to develop a sense of belonging within their secondary school environment, both at the individual staff and whole school systemic levels. In the next paper, Joanne D. Worsley, Jason C. McIntyre and Rhiannon Corcoran explored the moderating role of attachment security, social support, and coping styles in situations of cyberbullying victimisation and mental distress. They surveyed 476 adolescents aged 13–19 years using measures of cyberbullying victimisation, attachment styles, perceived social support, coping styles, and mental distress. Compared to non-victims, victims of cyberbullying experienced higher levels of depression and anxiety and endorsed more self-statements indicative of anxious attachment. Importantly, their results suggest that peer support, security in attachment relationships, and the endorsement of positive coping strategies attenuated the positive relationship between cyberbullying victimisation and mental health difficulties. They argue that peer relations should be the target of intervention programmes within school settings. In the third article in this issue Maja Kuronja, Branka Čagran, and Majda Schmidt Krajnc investigate primary school teachers’ sense of efficacy in their work with pupils with learning, emotional, and behavioural difficulties both in mainstream inclusive classrooms and in special classrooms. They deployed an online questionnaire survey of teachers’ self-efficacy, efficacy beliefs on their ability to teach vulnerable pupils, and perceived ability to apply knowledge from different socio-pedagogical areas. Important differences are suggested in the comparison between teachers in mainstream and those in special settings. Joan Mowat discusses the transition from Primary to Secondary school for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural needs. She argues that such transitions represent a critical period that can have a long-term impact. The paper examines the socio-emotional aspects of the transition through an exploration of the findings derived from an evaluative case study of a group-work intervention to support children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs across the PrimarySecondary transition, seen through the eyes of an adolescent boy and related stakeholders. The study took place in two local authorities in Scotland. The findings highlight the importance of: building trustful and respectful relationships between adults and children; creating a safe environment in which children will be listened to and cared for; high quality pedagogy and continuity and progression across the transition; and understanding the complexity of factors which may impact on the transition for individual children, particularly for those who may be at greater risk across the transition. In paper five Yvonne Karlsson examines boys’ socialisation and agency in a Swedish special educational needs unit. In a thought-provoking article, she engages with children’s agency and institutional category work. Related topics will be explored in a forthcoming special issue later this year. The results of an ethnographic study conducted in a Swedish special educational needs EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES 2019, VOL. 24, NO. 1, 1–2 https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2019.1594627