Abstract:
Children with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) that remain unaddressed through effective early intervention often continue to experience not only academic problems, but also other negative outcomes throughout their lives. Children’s social and emotional development is a critical factor in determining their ability to engage with academic learning at primary school (Peters, 2010). Yet a large number of children enter primary schools without the social and emotional adaptability needed to enable them to participate effectively in the strange and unfamiliar world of the classroom as described by Jackson (1968). Few interventions exist in New Zealand primary schools that meet the targeted needs of children with SEBD. Many of these children do not cope with immediate full inclusion in mainstream classrooms when they start school. This inhibits not only their own academic learning, but also that of their classmates. Situated within an interpretivist paradigm, this study employed a case study methodology to conduct an initial, short-term evaluation of the effectiveness of one intervention, a nurture group. Nurture groups are grounded in attachment theory (Bowlby, 1982; 1988), recognising the importance of secure, positive relationships with significant others in children’s development of age-appropriate behaviour that enables academic learning to take place. The study used interviews, observations, and document analysis to provide a rich description of the children’s experiences prior to and during the intervention from their own perspectives and from those of their parents and teachers. Data were analysed according to descriptive themes within the framework of the broad categories from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, Lamping, & Ploubidis, 2010), and are reported as a series of narratives, providing an indication of the positive gains made by the children in the group over a 3-month period. The study’s findings reflected those of overseas studies, suggesting that the intervention’s positive effect on children’s social and emotional behaviour is applicable to the NZ primary school context. This thesis argues therefore that interventions such as nurture groups are worthwhile investments in an inclusive education system, not only because of their positive effect on children’s engagement with learning, but also their potential to prevent the need for more costly intervention in the long term.