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The Short Form of the Neonatal Intensive Care Units Family Needs Inventory is a brief, simple, and valid instrument with a high degree of reliability. Further studies are needed to explore associations with practices of family-centered care.

RESUMO -Este estudo pretendeu caracterizar os estilos interactivos das educadoras do Ensino Especial ao se relacionarem com crianças com Necessidades Educativas Especiais (NEE) integradas em creches/jardins-de-infância do Porto. Participaram 50 educadoras e 50 crianças. Os comportamentos interactivos foram avaliados utilizando a Escala de Avaliação dos Estilos de Ensino. O envolvimento das crianças foi codificado por meio do EQUAL-III. A análise de clusters identificou dois subgrupos: (i) educadoras que utilizam mais frequentemente comportamentos directivos; (ii) educadoras nas quais predominam comportamentos elaborativos e responsivos. Os subgrupos distinguiram-se em características de qualidade estrutural da sala, da educadora e do envolvimento da criança. As crianças com NEE parecem se beneficiar de interacções baixas em directividade. Interacções elaborativas-responsivas tendem a promover níveis mais sofisticados de envolvimento, pelo que são recomendadas.Palavras-chave: interações educador-criança; necessidades educativas especiais; creche/jardim-de-infância; intervenção precoce. Special Education Teachers' Interactive Styles in Early EducationABSTRACT -This study intended to characterize special education teachers' interactive styles while interacting with children with disabilities, in day care/preschool contexts in Porto. Fifty special education teachers and 50 children with disabilities participated in the study. Interactive behaviours were rated based on the Teaching Styles Rating Scale. Child engagement was coded by means of the E-QUAL III. Using cluster analysis, two subgroups of teachers were identified: (i) teachers using more frequently directive behaviours; (ii) teachers with predominance of elaborative and responsive behaviours. Subgroups differences were found for classroom structural quality, teachers' characteristics and children's observed engagement. Children with disabilities seem to benefit from low directive interactions. Elaborative-responsive teacher's interactions tend to promote more sophisticated levels of children's engagement, and are thus recommended.Keywords: teacher-child interactions; special education needs; day care/child care centers; early childhood intervention. A qualidade dos contextos de educação de infância é, em grande parte, determinada pelas interacções que ocorrem, nesses contextos, entre os educadores e as crianças (de Kruif, McWilliam, Ridley & Wakely, 2000). A National Association for Education of Young Children -NAEYC (1997) enuncia orientações sobre práticas adequadas para trabalhar com crianças e advoga que os melhores ambientes são os que permitem que a criança tenha um papel activo durante as suas interacções com pares, adultos e objectos (Bredekamp, 1987;Bredekamp & Rosegrant, 1996). A NAEYC define ainda normas para as práticas desenvolvimentalmente adequadas, incidindo em quatro áreas específicas: (1) currículo; (2) interacções adulto-criança; (3) relações entre a família e o programa; e (4) avaliação do desenvolvimento da criança.Relativamente às inter...

This study aims to explore the role of three specific factors within the childenvironment interaction process-engagement, independence and social interactions-in influencing development and learning of children with disabilities in inclusive preschool settings. The main question is whether children can be categorised in homogenous groups based on engagement, independence and social interactions (proximal variables within a biopsychosocial framework of human development). The study also examined whether children with the same diagnosis would group together or separately, when trying to identify clusters of engagement, independence and social interactions, and additionally whether such clusters vary as a function of individual child characteristics, and/or as a function of structural and process characteristics of preschool environment. Data was taken from an intervention study conducted in mainstream preschools in Portugal. A person-centred cluster analysis was conducted to explore group membership of children with various diagnoses, based on their engagement, independence and social interaction profiles. Results show that children clustered based on similarity of engagement, independence and social interaction patterns, rather than on diagnosis. Besides, it was found that quality of peer interaction was the only predictor of cluster membership. These findings support the argument that participation profiles may be more informative for intervention purposes than diagnostic categories, and that preschool process quality, namely peer interaction, is crucial for children's participation.