Evelyn McGregor

The Attitudes of Teachers in Scotland to the Integration of Children with Autism into Mainstream Schools

Around 4600 school-age children in Scotland fall within the spectrum of autistic disorders, of whom 780 have been identified in schools. This study sought the views of 23 specialist and 49 mainstream teachers, 22 with experience of autism, 27 without. They were questioned about the advantages and disadvantages of integration into mainstream for autistic children, their own ability to cope and predictors of success. Questionnaires were issued to special units and to mainstream primary and secondary schools. A minority of mainstream respondents believed children with autism should be integrated where possible. Mainstream teachers with experience of autism showed more confidence to deal with the children than those without experience. Many expressed concerns about effects on mainstream pupils but most were willing to undertake more training. Specialist teachers were more positive, although they acknowledged possible disadvantages for both groups of children and stressed that the success of integration depends on the individual child.

Transfer of the Picture-in-the-Head Analogy to Natural Contexts to Aid False Belief Understanding in Autism

Interventions to build false belief understanding in people with autism have successfully used a picture-in-the-head technique to illustrate that seeing directs actions. However, participants who subsequently passed some novel false belief tasks could not do so in real-life settings. The present intervention aimed to bridge this gap in understanding by using teaching methods that linked picture-in-the-head dolls to videos of actors in natural settings. The intervention comprised three levels. At level 1, participants were taught that seeing leads to knowing. At level 2, they were helped to pass false belief scenarios using picture-in-the-head dolls. At level 3, they were guided from these scenes to similar stories on video in which people acted out the false belief events. At post-test, seven out of ten subjects (mean verbal mental age 4:2 years) passed at least two out of three novel video-recorded false belief stories. However, some participants required narration in order to complete the tasks. Observation of the learning process across individuals indicated that there are subgroups of people with autism who have different areas of difficulty.

Being Chinese or being Scottish: National identification and intergroup attitudes of British born Chinese children

This study explored the age differences in national identification, and intergroup attitudes among British born Chinese (BBC) living in Scotland. Participants comprised 70 children in three age groups (8, 11 and 14 years). The study included three tasks: task 1 investigated childrens national self-categorization; task 2 examined childrens national self-identification; task 3 explored childrens perception of the positive and negative traits of Chinese and Scottish people across the age groups (using card-sorting tasks). The results indicated that BBC children identified their national identity as Scottish, however, it varied with age and national contexts. Most BBC children identified themselves as both Chinese and Scottish but they attributed significantly more positive traits to Chinese than to Scottish people and showed significantly more liking for Chinese people than Scottish. The study concludes that BBC children experience a dual identity in which different components are integrated.

Narrative dependency and the false belief task in autism

Several studies have used a cognitive approach to teaching people with autism to pass false belief tasks with a broader aim of developing theory of mind abilities. However, these tasks have certain executive features that may influence performance on the tasks and the potential for generalization. The study examines the influence of narrative support and language level on the ability of children with autism to pass tests of false belief and control tasks of “false photo”. Thirty-four children with ASD, with a range of age and ability, were shown six video-recorded false belief stories and six matched false photo stories, half narrated and half not. Results showed that the children performed similarly on the tasks overall in narrated and unnarrated conditions. However, the narrative support aided responses to the control questions, highlighting the executive load in these tasks. Results showed a significant effect of verbal age on the childrens performance on both sets of tasks.

Am I ‘Chinese’ or ‘Scottish’? children’s perceptions of the adaptive nature of Chinese Scottish children’s dual identities

Abstract Chinese Scottish children (children who are born and live in Scotland with Chinese parents) face challenges in establishing their identity. However, there is lack of research that investigates ethnic minority Chinese children’s identity and associated feelings about the dual social context in which they live. The study introduced a social identity vignettes task to examine Chinese Scottish and White Scottish children’s perceptions of Chinese ethnic identity and Scottish national identity of a Scottish born Chinese character within two contrasting socio-cultural contexts (Scottish vs. Chinese). This study examines whether children’s ethnic and national identity and feelings of positivity are adaptive and sensitive to social context. In addition it explored age-related changes in perceptions of ethnic and national identification in the vignettes. The sample comprised of 161 children (8, 11, and 14 years). The results found Chinese Scottish children and White Scottish children’s judgments of the characters’ ethnic identity changed with the cultural context. Both groups of children had a similar perception of vignette characters’ feeling of positivity. Both Chinese and White Scottish children judged that the character would feel more positive about him/herself in the Chinese context. There was no main effect of age.

Who Am I? The Developing Self-Concept of Scottish-Born Chinese Children: A Comparison With White Scottish, Mainland Chinese, and Hong Kong Chinese Children

ABSTRACT This study explored cultural similarities and differences in personal and social identity across four groups of children (Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, British-born Chinese, and White Scottish) in three age groups (ages 8, 11, and 14 years; N = 454). The “Who Am I?” Self-Description Questionnaire was employed. The results revealed significant differences in children’s understanding of social self across the cultural groups. Responses from all cultural groups indicated that individual-self representations were the most commonly reported aspects of self. However, the Chinese groups emphasized more collective-self responses than White Scottish children. Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong Chinese children’s perception of their individual-self increased across age groups. Study findings provided new insights into the developmental and cultural complexities in children’s identities.