Supervisors info:
Ιωάννα Γιαννοπούλου, Επίκουρη καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεράσιμος Κολαϊτης, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή,ΕΚΠΑ
Κατερίνα Παπανικολάου, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Introduction: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of multifactorial aetiology that is usually diagnosed when a child enters primary school, as the increased requirements for adapting to a given structure makes symptoms (inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity) more obvious and dysfunctional. In order for teachers to meet the needs of a student with ADHD, they must have accurate information about the disorder. International and a few Greek studies up to date that have examined teachers' knowledge and beliefs relating to ADHD have highlighted gaps in knowledge and misconceptions, especially regarding the aetiology of the disorder and its management. Despite the increased scientific interest in ADHD and the special educational needs of students presenting with the disorder, there are no studies examining whether teachers' knowledge and perceptions of ADHD vary according to whether a psycho-pedagogical service operates within the school unit.
Purpose: The present study aims to investigate whether or not the operation of a psychopedagogical service within the school impacts on the level of teachers’ ADHD knowledge and beliefs about the disorder and how these relate to teacher’s demographic characteristics (gender, age) and teaching experience (in-service years, experience of teaching student/-s with ADHD, attendance of ADHD seminars). A total of 181 primary school teachers of the Prefecture of Attica who worked in public schools, without a psycho-pedagogical service (N = 101) and in private schools with a psycho-pedagogical service within the school unit (N = 80) participated in the study. Data collection was carried out during December 2018-February 2019, through the completion of self-report ADHD Knowledge Questionnaire (ADHD-KQ, Giannopoulou et al., 2017) and the Beliefs about ADHD Questionnaire, which was developed for the purpose of the present study. The internal reliability of the overall ADHD-KQ scale and the overall Beliefs scale was satisfactory (Cronbach's alpha 0.86 for the overall and 0.87 respectively).
Results: Regarding the teachers’ beliefs relating to legitimacy of the ADHD diagnosis (the disorder exists and is not just a result of child’s intentional behaviour or parental inadequate child rearing practices/parental care) no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups of teachers. Likewise, no statistically significant difference was found in the overall level of ADHD knowledge, but also in knowledge in specific domains, depending on the operation or non-operation of a psychopedagogical service within the school unit. The teacher’s ADHD knowledge overall was low to moderate, with the exception to the symptoms domain, as the percentage of correct answers ranged from 18.2% to 97.8%. The multiple linear regression analysis, using the total ADHD-KQ score as the dependent outcome variable and demographic characteristics and work experience as independent variables indicated that the teacher’s attendance of seminars focusing on ADHD was the only significant predictor of the level of their ADHD knowledge. The multiple linear regression analysis using the total beliefs score as the dependent variable and as the total ADHD-KQ score, gender, age, years of teaching experience, attendance of ADHD seminar/-s, having taught a student with ADHD, indicated the level of ADHD knowledge the strongest predictor of the beliefs total score; higher levels of ADHD knowledge were related to fewer misconceptions about the disorder and consequently to more positive attitudes towards students with ADHD. The attendance of ADHD training seminars was also found to be associated with a more positive attitude.
Conclusions: It is necessary to take measures to properly inform teachers about the etiology, the main cognitive deficits associated with ADHD and their effect on learning and behavior, the implementation of special teaching approaches for students with ADHD, the benefits and the limitations of the available therapeutic interventions including medication, as the increase in knowledge from their participation in a training programme on ADHD will bring about a change in their attitude towards students with the disorder.
Keywords:
ADHD, Teacher attitudes, Teacher knowledge, Teacher’s beliefs, Psychoeducational service
