University of Teacher Education in Special Needs

Abstract This exploratory study examined the interplay between self‐regulation, uncertainty in mentalizing, and pedagogical competence in novice special education teachers. Drawing on conceptual frameworks highlighting the importance of adaptive self‐regulation for effective teaching, the study also investigated whether impaired mentalizing independently affects pedagogical performance. A sample of 707 novice teachers in special needs education completed self‐report measures assessing self‐regulation, uncertainty in mentalizing, and pedagogical competence. According to their self-regulatory capacities, participants were assigned to four groups. Multivariate analyses of covariance and univariate tests revealed that special education teachers with adaptive self‐regulatory patterns demonstrated higher pedagogical competence in teaching, educating, and assessing. In contrast, uncertainty in mentalizing was associated with lower overall pedagogical competence, with the most substantial negative effects observed in the domains of assessing and innovating. The findings suggest that both adaptive self‐regulation and effective mentalizing might reflect important determinants of effective pedagogical practice. Practical implications are discussed.

Der Beitrag untersucht die Nutzung des Telepräsenzroboters AV1 bei Schüler:innen, die aufgrund von Krankheit längere Zeit dem Unterricht fernbleiben müssen. Basierend auf 14 Interviews und fünf Fallvignetten zeigt sich, dass der AV1 schulische Teilhabe und soziale Bindungen auch bei Abwesenheit ermöglichen kann. Lehrpersonen, Schüler:innen und Schulleitungen bewerten den Einsatz als hilfreich für Integration und Unterstützung. Telepräsenz-Systeme können somit eine inklusive Schulkultur fördern und Nähe trotz Distanz sichern. Allerdings bleiben Fragen zur Finanzierung, zum Datenschutz und zur Schulentwicklung.

Eltern spielen beim Übergang ihrer Jugendlichen von der Schule in die Arbeitswelt eine Schlüsselrolle. Besonders anspruchsvoll ist diese Phase für Eltern von Jugendlichen mit Behinderungen. Im Pilotprojekt «Flügge» wurden Familien im Rahmen von mehreren Treffen während der Berufswahlphase begleitet. Ziel war es, das Gespräch innerhalb der Familien anzuregen, die Familien miteinander zu vernetzen und die anstehenden Schritte gemeinsam zu planen. Die ersten Erfahrungen zeigen, dass das Programm von den Teilnehmenden geschätzt wird. Allerdings war es schwierig, Eltern zu erreichen, die von diesem Angebot besonders profitieren könnten. Deshalb wurden weitere niederschwelligere Varianten entwickelt und evaluiert.

ABSTRACT This study examined the practical use of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) as a brief and economical tool for the initial identification of internalising and externalising behavioural difficulties. The SDQ was not evaluated psychometrically; rather, it served as a data-based decision aid to guide the selection of school-based intervention strategies. Twenty experimental single-case studies (children aged 7–15 years, M = 10) were conducted. Based on SDQ results, 12 children received behaviourally oriented interventions for externalising problems, and 8 received cognitively based interventions for internalising symptoms. Daily Direct Behaviour Ratings (DBR) were collected across 30 school days. Multilevel modelling revealed significant behavioural improvement from baseline to the first (B = 10.956; p < .001; Cohen’s d = 1.31, 95% CI [1.09, 1.53]) as well as second intervention phases (B = 13.515; p < .01; Cohen’s d = 1.93, 95% CI [1.69, 2.16]). Nineteen of 20 cases showed moderate to strong effects. Children with internalising problems appeared to derive greater benefit. The results support a structured model integrating SDQ, theory-based planning, and DBR for data-based decision-making in everyday school practice.

Die Begabtenförderung ist ein Auftrag der Volksschule, wobei die Umsetzung in der Praxis nicht einheitlich geregelt ist. Eine Onlinebefragung der Interkanonalen Hochschule für Heilpädagogik (HfH) zur Angebotslage in der Deutschschweiz und dem Fürstentum Liechtenstein zeigt, dass 91 Prozent der Schulen Begabtenförderung anbieten. Oft fehlt jedoch eine systematische Identifikation (hoch-)begabter Schüler:innen oder eine angemessene Ausbildung der Schulischen Heil- und Sonderpädagog:innen (SHP) – dies zeigt sich insbesondere im gesamten Prozess des Überspringens einer Klasse. Die Studie betont den Bedarf an gezielter Aus- und Fortbildung sowie einer institutionellen Verankerung, um (hoch-)begabte Schüler:innen bedürfnisorientiert zu fördern und die Lücke zwischen dem Anspruch an sonderpädagogischem Förderbedarf und der Realität zu schliessen.

The implementation of new curricula presents significant challenges for teachers and necessitates the adaptation of their professional competencies. This study examines how the digital skills of Swiss teachers differ during and after the implementation of the Media and Information Literacy (MIL) modular curriculum. To achieve this, two independent samples totaling 617 teachers were surveyed at different stages of the reform. The analysis employed a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to identify differences in the four facets of MIL competence between the samples. The results indicate that MIL competencies did not improve uniformly. While no significant differences were found in the facets of ‘ICT knowledge and application’ and ‘media education knowledge and application’, significant differences were observed in the facets of ‘specialized didactics MIL’ and ‘interdisciplinary pedagogical and didactic knowledge’. The latter facet showed higher values after the reform, likely due to increased exposure to further training measures. These findings illustrate that teachers’ competencies can develop differently throughout a reform process, highlighting the importance of targeted professional development programs. The study provides valuable empirical findings for educational research and offers practical implications for the design of future reform processes.

Understanding Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on its way to becoming a key competence in the coming years due to its rapid advancements and growing societal impact. Learning about different paradigms in AI, particularly in machine learning, is crucial to enabling students to critically engage with and shape an AI-driven world. The study investigates how students of three grade levels (5th, 8th, and 11th) understand AI concepts, addressing the challenge of widespread misconceptions and the limited presence of AI in school curricula. A deductive qualitative analysis was used to analyze the students' preconceptions. The results indicate that younger students typically exhibit minimal or anthropomorphic views, reflecting limited exposure to basic AI principles. Older students show somewhat more advanced, yet still partial, understandings, with misconceptions persisting across all groups. The findings underscore the importance of integrating AI literacy into school curricula and aligning instruction with students' developmental stages. For younger learners, hands-on activities can introduce basic AI functionality while dispelling human-like attributions. Older students benefit from exploring ethical, technical, and societal dimensions of AI. This research highlights the need for age-appropriate AI education to foster informed, responsible users and creators of AI systems.

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is highly prevalent in autistic individuals with an intellectual disability (ID). However, only a few studies have focused on autistic adult populations, and no data on prevalence, treatment, and impact on the day-to-day lives of adult residents is available for Germany, in particular. We conducted a postal survey of residential care facilities. We assessed different topographies, severities, and frequencies of SIB, as well as treatment strategies and the impact of SIB on day-to-day life. The overall prevalence of SIB reported by 60 residential care facilities was 51.3%. Autistic residents with ID who exhibit SIB displayed more than 4 topographies of SIB, on average, nearly half (47%) displayed multiple topographies daily, and approximately 17% engaged in severe SIB daily. Of those residents, 67.7% were reported to receive some systematic intervention within the facility, and 95.6% experienced at least one type of impact on their day-to-day life due to SIB. This study provides the first prevalence data for SIB in autistic adults with an ID in Germany and the first data on treatment within facilities, as well as the potential impacts on day-to-day life. The prevalence results fell in line with previous research, and we provide a more detailed picture of the forms, frequencies, and severities of self-injurious behavior in the German adult autistic population.

Mentalizing is linked to mental health development and psychosocial functioning. Identifying and understanding the factors that may be associated with ineffective mentalizing is crucial for creating targeted psychosocial or psychotherapeutic interventions. This exploratory study assesses whether experiences of childhood maltreatment, along with attachment insecurity and epistemic mistrust, are associated with limitations in mentalizing abilities. A total of 382 primarily young adults from different universities completed questionnaires about their childhood maltreatment experiences (retrospectively assessed), attachment insecurity, epistemic mistrust, and ineffective mentalizing, using a cross-sectional study design. All participants were pursuing a degree in educational fields. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypothesized framework. There were significant positive associations between experiences of childhood maltreatment, epistemic mistrust (β=0.32 [0.17-0.46], p=.001), and attachment insecurity (β=0.29 [0.18-0.40], p<.001). Epistemic mistrust fully mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and ineffective mentalizing (β=0.17 [0.08-0.28], p=.001). However, attachment insecurity did not mediate this link. This exploratory study sheds light on the development of mentalizing impairments, though it is limited by its cross-sectional nature, reliance on self-reporting, and the uniformity of the sample with mainly female, primarily young adults from different universities. The preliminary findings suggest the role of attachment insecurity might have been overemphasized previously. Moreover, the link between childhood maltreatment and mentalizing deficits appears more intricate, as it was fully mediated by epistemic mistrust in this study. The findings support the notion of addressing epistemic mistrust in psychosocial interventions designed to improve mentalizing abilities that have been compromised.