Classroom Contexts as the Framework for Assessing Social–emotional Adjustment: A National Study in Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

Contextually based assessments reveal the circumstances accompanying maladjustment (the when, where, and with whom) and supply clues to the motivations underpinning problem behaviors. The Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA) is a teacher rating scale composed of indicators describing behavior in 24 classroom situational contexts. This study examines the Trinidad and Tobago national normative process for the ASCA contextual dimensions with a representative sample of elementary school children (N = 900). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded the same three dimensions (peer context problems, teacher context problems, and learning context problems) observed in U.S. national samples. Dimensions were scaled using item response theory (IRT) and Bayesian scoring methods, with peer and learning context problems scores relating more strongly to clinical behavior disturbances and learning context problems showing stronger association with classroom learning styles. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Effects of Motivation, Basic Psychological Needs, and Teaching Competence on Disruptive Behaviours in Secondary School Physical Education Students

“…According to the self-determination theory (SDT) [6], student behaviours during a class may vary depending on a number of factors, such as motivation or the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (BPN). It considers that the educational context strongly influences student motivation and the control of disruptive behaviours, and is the reason for the proliferation of studies in this regard [12,13]. The explanation for certain personal decisions made by schoolchildren may be based on the relationship between motivation and social, family or personal factors [14].…”