The development of children’s ideas about others’ difficulties in learning

Abstract

In this paper, Professor Ann Lewis, of the School of Education, University of Birmingham, reviews the literature and current research on pupils’ perceptions of others’ difficulties in learning. She focuses, in particular, on three strands: children’s perceptions about other people and their traits; children as ‘naïve’ biologists, attempting to explain growth and development in others; and children’s responses to and use of cues based on achievement and ideas about ability. In a wide‐ranging discussion, this article explores work on theory of mind and notes the different ways in which children explain learning difficulties in others at various ages. In her conclusion, Professor Lewis makes three key points: there is a need to supplement experimental work in this area with good quality, classroom‐based studies; more effort should be devoted to finding ways of accessing children’s views and perceptions in authentic and reliable ways; and staff working in inclusive classrooms are ideally placed to contribute to the development of research in this area.

Transition club: Facilitating learning, participation and psychological adjustment during the transition to secondary school

“…Conversely, qualitative methods are, by their nature, concerned with exploring the perspectives of participants and examining their experiences in the contexts in which they occur (Smith, 2003), dovetailing with the eco-systemic framework outlined earlier. Our focus on actively seeking the opinions of pupils is in line with this general research paradigm, and with recent calls in the education literature to put pupils' views at the centre of the investigations of this kind (e.g., Lewis, 2001Lewis, , 2002aLewis, , 2002b. As the DfES state (2001), "Children and young people... have a unique knowledge of their own needs and circumstances and their own views about what sort of help they would like to help them make the most of their education" (p. 27).…”

Developmental differences in understanding the causes, controllability and chronicity of disabilities

“…It is not yet clear what influences children's understandings of disability and what the broader practical implications of their understanding might be. Future research should utilize both experimental and classroom‐based studies (Lewis 2002) to understand the ways in which experience interacts with children's developing ideas about others.…”

Children's views of speech and language therapy in school: consulting children with communication difficulties

“…During the current study, the children and interviewers did not always share the same meanings in the language they used about communication and dif culty. Lewis (2002) describes how children's ideas and explanations of others' learning dif culty change as they develop. Young school children may identify behaviours in particular situations without generalizing patterns, and are aged seven or eight before they identify permanent traits to explain behaviour.…”