| Abstract |
Attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) is the behavior disorder that is most frequent in school age children. These children are often at a very high risk for academic underachievement. Teachers have generally little knowledge about ADHD, and educational practices recommended for them. Many have beliefs and values that go against the recommended practices. Teachers’ training regarding ADHD turns out to be a good way to improve practices with ADHD students. However, when teachers’ training is limited to workshop, there is little reinvestment in their classroom. In an action-research, we have developed a support service for helping teachers to renew their practices toward ADHD students. This service includes a training workshop on ADHD followed by practice analysis group for teachers having at least one ADHD student integrated in their classroom. These groups play a role of supervision and support for participants. Two tools were particularly used in the meetings: learning diary and group problem solving process. The diary is characterized by a deliberated reflexive process on consigned data on a problematic situation with ADHD student in order to better understand it, and to bring out principles or solutions to apply in the future. To evaluate the impact of this service, we used a qualitative approach to have a more in depth perception of the participants’ experience. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all the teachers participating in the practice analysis group (N =18). A systematic approach was used for the data analysis, and the work environment of ATLAS-ti was used. Many positive impacts emerge from the data, among others: a better knowledge and understanding of ADHD students’ problematic and practices to meet their needs, the establishment of cooperation between the teachers who support each other to better understand the problematic of a particular student or to find solutions. |
| Summary |
Attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) is the behavior disorder that is most frequent in school age children (Dulcan & Benson, 1997). Moreover, this disorder is often associated with important psychosocial problems, particularly in school where demands for attention, concentration, and self-control are higher. Furthermore, this is in the school environment that the ADHD symptoms are more harmful for the children (Hinshaw, Klein & Abikoff, 1998), and although these students are most often of average to above intelligence, they are often at a very high risk for academic underachievement (Barkley, 1998), especially if their ADHD is unrecognized and not managed appropriately. Teachers have generally little knowledge about ADHD, and educational practices that help those children. They fell often helpless to deal with the situation (Cipkala-Gaffin, 1998). On the other hand, many teachers have beliefs and values that go against the recommended practices and refuse to apply them in their classroom (Couture et al., 2003). Teachers’ training regarding ADHD, its evaluation and its treatment turns out to be a good way to follow to improve practices with ADHD students. However, when teachers’ training is limited to workshop, there is little reinvestment in their classroom or changes in their practices (Fullan, 1992). In the context of an action-research funded by the Ministry of Education of the province of Quebec (Canada), we have developed a support service for helping teachers to renew their educational practices toward ADHD students integrated in regular classroom. The project took place in three different schools. This service took the form of a two days training workshop on ADHD and recommended educational practices followed by teachers’ practice analysis group (8 meetings throughout the school year). Workshops were offered to all school’s staff members. Afterwards, practice analysis group of teachers were implemented in each school for teachers having at least one ADHD student integrated in their classroom. Based on a socio-constructivism approach, these groups play a role of accompaniment, supervision, and support for the participants. Their aims was to help the teachers to better understand ADHD and the special needs of students, and to choose appropriate educational practice to encounter those needs, to support the implementation of the chosen solutions, and to give them tools to support this changing process. Two tools were particularly used in the meetings: learning diary and group problem solving process. The diary is characterized by a deliberated reflexive process on consigned data on a problematic situation experimented with ADHD student in order to better understand it, and to bring out principles or solutions to apply in the future. Between each meeting, participants could also communicate with the animator par Email for sharing their reflections or for an individual advice. To evaluate the impact of this service on teachers, we used a qualitative approach to have a more in depth perception of the participants’ experience. At the end of the school year, semi-structured interviews of approximately 1 hour were conducted with all the teachers participating in the practice analysis group (N =18). A systematic approach was used for the qualitative data analysis, and the work environment of ATLAS-ti was used in order to facilitate the content analysis. We used a mixed categorisation system: categories emerge from the systematic reading of data, and certain categories were established based on the research aims. Many positive impacts emerge from the data, among others: a better knowledge of ADHD problematic and a better understanding of student’s difficulties and needs, as well as practices to meet theses needs, the establishment of cooperation between the teachers who, between the meetings, support each other to better understand the problematic of a particular student or to find solutions to the situation without waiting for the advice of the professional. These meetings seem also to reinforce teachers’ self-efficacy feeling, to motivate them to renew their practices, to help them to modify their inappropriate attitudes or beliefs regarding ADHD that persist in spite of the workshop, and to develop their autonomy in the problem solving process of problems that occur in the school environment with ADHD students. |
