PEDAGOGICAL STAFF MEMBERS PERSPECTIVE: CHANGE OF EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS OF SPECIAL SCHOOL STUDENTS

The goal of this study was to examine, from the perspective of pedagogical staff, the differences between emotional and behavioral problems of SEN students in one special school in Estonia in two timepointsat the beginning and end of the school year.A sample of all SEN students (n = 51) in one special school was rated individually by their teachers (n = 12), assistant teachers (n = 12) and support specialist (n = 3) at two timepoints.For all the students, the three same members of the school pedagogical (one teacher, one assistant teacher, one support specialist who deal with students daily) staff completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire -Instructor Version.Research results indicated that special school students' emotional and behavioral problemshyperactivity, emotional problems, conduct problems and peer problems, at the beginning of a school year were more frequent compared to the results at the end of the school year.Also, it was found that prosocial behavior was more prevalent among students in the special school at the end of the school year compared to the beginning of the study.Additionally, in terms of gender differences, the results of this study are in line with the other studies suggesting that boys were more likely to have higher behavioral problems scores and girls have a significantly greater level of prosocial behavior and emotional problems.The results of this pilot study extended research findings in this area identifying the improvement of behavioral functioning among special school students with intellectual disabilities during one full school year as assessed by pedagogical staff.