My Ideal School: A Personal Construct Psychology approach to understanding the school ...

224 Pages·2016·4.42 MB·English

My Ideal School:
A Personal Construct Psychology approach
to understanding the school constructs of
children described as anxious

KEITH IAN PIROTTA

A research study submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements of the University of East London for the
Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology

APRIL 2016
ABSTRACT

This research explores the school constructs of children described as anxious. Little
research exists that looks at understanding children’s school-related anxiety through the
lens of Personal Construct Psychology (PCP). This qualitative research design includes
semi-structured interviews that followed a PCP theoretical framework. The interviews
were carried out with five children aged between 7 and 11, who attended state schools in
Malta, and who were experiencing school-related anxiety. Participants were asked to
comment and produce drawings about the kind of school they would like to attend (their
ideal school), and the kind of school they would not like to attend. The children’s
constructs were organised according to whether they related to adults in school, their
peers, the school and classroom environment, and the participants themselves in each of
these two imaginary schools. Participants were also asked to think of how the school they
currently attend can become more like their ideal school. Findings indicate the importance
of relationships between teachers and pupils, relationships amongst pupils themselves, a
positive learning environment within the classroom and the belongingness to a common
value system and school ethos to which anxious children can relate. This research aims
to shed light on the responsibility of professionals working with children with school-
related anxiety to look beyond within-child factors and understand possible stressors in
the child’s environment as potentially contributing to heightening their anxiety.

Key words: Personal Construct Psychology, anxiety, school constructs, ideal school.

i
Dedicated to my wife Sarah, and son Jack.
You have been my inspiration.

ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank the children who took part in this study and their
parents. I had great pleasure in working with you. Had it not been for your participation,
this study would not have been possible.

I would also like to express gratitude to my Professional and Academic tutor, Dr Mary
Robinson for her continuous support and invaluable guidance throughout the whole
course of this study. Her professional expertise and encouragement were significant for
completing this research study.

I would like to thank my fieldwork supervisor, Mr Stanley Zammit for continuous support
and reassurance throughout my practice and studies. Appreciation also goes to my seniors
within the Directorate for Educational Services and colleagues at the School
Psychological Service in Malta.

Finally, I would like express my sincere gratefulness and acknowledge that these three
years would not have been possible without the unconditional love and dedicated support
of my wife, Sarah, the energy and inspiration of my son Jack, and the continuous backing
of my parents, Patricia and John, and my sister Ilona. Thank you all for your patience and
encouragement and for always being there for me.

iii
STUDENT DECLARATION

University of East London
School of Psychology
Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology

This work has not previously been accepted for any degree and it is not being concurrently
submitted for any degree.

This research is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Doctorate
in Educational and Child Psychology.

This thesis is the result of my own work and investigation, except where otherwise stated.
Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references in the text. A full list is appended.

I hereby give my permission for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying
and for inter-library loans, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside
organisations.

Keith Ian Pirotta
April 2016

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ........................................................................................................................ i
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... iii
Student Declaration ................................................................................................... iv
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................ v
List of Tables .............................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures ............................................................................................................ ix
Table of Abbreviations ............................................................................................... x

Chapter 1 - INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1
1.1 Overview ............................................................................................................. 1
1.2 The educational system in Malta .......................................................................... 2
1.3 Anxiety ................................................................................................................ 3
1.4 The researcher’s position ..................................................................................... 7
1.5 Personal Construct Psychology ............................................................................ 8
1.6 Research rationale ............................................................................................. 10

Chapter 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................... 13
2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 13
2.2 School interventions for children with anxiety ................................................... 16
2.2.1 CBT intervention ........................................................................................ 17
2.2.2 Effects of music on anxiety ......................................................................... 18
2.2.3 Loss and grief ............................................................................................. 19
2.2.4 Modular CBT programme ........................................................................... 20
2.2.5 The roots of anxiety .................................................................................... 21
2.3 Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) with children in schools .......................... 22
2.3.1 Risk of exclusion ........................................................................................ 23
2.3.2 Attendance and behavioural difficulties ....................................................... 24
2.3.3 Special needs and the use of drawings ......................................................... 25
2.3.4 Pupil Referral Units .................................................................................... 26
2.3.5 Interpersonal difficulties ............................................................................. 27
2.3.6 Model of Counselling .................................................................................. 27
2.3.7 Relationship with school staff ..................................................................... 28
2.3.8 The uniqueness of one’s story ..................................................................... 29
v
2.4 Thinking about the ideal .................................................................................... 30
2.4.1 Children’s school realities ........................................................................... 31
2.4.2 Drawing the Ideal Self ................................................................................ 32
2.4.3 The Ideal Self and ASD .............................................................................. 33
2.4.4 The Ideal School ......................................................................................... 34
2.4.5 Exploring children’s constructs through drawings ....................................... 35
2.5 Summary ........................................................................................................... 36

Chapter 3 - METHODOLOGY ................................................................................ 39
3.1 A scientific attitude in qualitative research ......................................................... 39
3.2 The ontological and epistemological position..................................................... 40
3.2.1 The real world ............................................................................................. 41
3.2.2 Researching individual experiences ............................................................. 42
3.2.3 Language .................................................................................................... 44
3.3 Research Questions ........................................................................................... 44
3.4 Purpose of the research ...................................................................................... 45
3.5 Research design ................................................................................................. 46
3.5.1 Data gathering ............................................................................................. 47
3.5.2 Pilot study ................................................................................................... 50
3.5.3 Participants ................................................................................................. 51
3.5.4 Transcriptions ............................................................................................. 54
3.6 Data analysis ..................................................................................................... 55
3.6.1 Thematic analysis ....................................................................................... 55
3.6.2 Seeing themes in data .................................................................................. 57
3.6.3 Using thematic analysis ............................................................................... 58
3.6.4 Developing a meaningful thematic code ...................................................... 60
3.6.5 Units of analysis and coding ........................................................................ 61
3.6.6 Organising themes into clusters ................................................................... 62
3.7 Ethical considerations ........................................................................................ 62
3.8 Trustworthiness ................................................................................................. 64
3.9 Reflexivity ......................................................................................................... 66

Chapter 4 - FINDINGS ............................................................................................. 68
4.1 Overview ........................................................................................................... 68
4.2 Values / Ethos (Theme 1) .................................................................................. 71
4.3 Curriculum (Theme 2) ....................................................................................... 79
vi
4.4 School features (Theme 3) ................................................................................. 80
4.5 Adults’ professional role (Theme 4) ................................................................... 85
4.6 Inclusion (Theme 5) ........................................................................................... 89
4.7 Limited learning readiness (Theme 6) ................................................................ 92
4.8 Positive sense of being (Theme 7)...................................................................... 95
4.9 Creating an ideal school ..................................................................................... 97
4.9.1 Adults’ responsibility at school ................................................................... 98
4.9.2 Pupils’ exemplary behaviour and avoidance of trouble ................................ 99
4.9.3 Peer relationships ...................................................................................... 101
4.9.4 The role of ‘others’ ................................................................................... 101
4.10 Summary ....................................................................................................... 103

Chapter 5 - DISCUSSION ...................................................................................... 105
5.1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 105
5.2 Discussion of the findings ................................................................................ 105
5.2.1 What are anxious children’s constructs of their ideal school? .................... 106
5.2.2 What are the differences, if any, between the school they would not like to
attend, and the school they would like to attend (their ideal school)? .................. 112
5.2.3 Do the children think they have any influence in making their own school
more like their ideal school? .............................................................................. 116
5.2.4 The school constructs of anxious children ................................................. 117
5.3 Critical evaluation of the research .................................................................... 118
5.4 Ethical implications ......................................................................................... 123
5.5 Ensuring a trustworthy research ....................................................................... 124
5.6 Reflexivity ....................................................................................................... 126
5.7 Opportunities for further research .................................................................... 128
5.8 Implications for EP practice and the wider educational context ........................ 130
5.9 Concluding remarks ......................................................................................... 132

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 134

APPENDICES
Appendix 1 – Information letter for parents ........................................................... 142
Appendix 2 – Information letter for parents (Maltese version) ............................... 143
Appendix 3 – Parental informed consent form ....................................................... 144
Appendix 4 – Parental informed consent form (Maltese version) ........................... 146
vii
Appendix 5 – Children informed consent form ...................................................... 148
Appendix 6 – Children informed consent form (Maltese version) .......................... 149
Appendix 7 – Information letter for Head of school ............................................... 150
Appendix 8 – Interview questions .......................................................................... 151
Appendix 9 – Interview questions (Maltese version) .............................................. 153
Appendix 10 – Audit Trail ..................................................................................... 155
Appendix 11 – Example of interview transcript ..................................................... 156
Appendix 12 – Example of coded transcript .......................................................... 164
Appendix 13 - Codebook ....................................................................................... 170
Appendix 14 – Organising data (Preliminary stages – Ideal school) ....................... 184
Appendix 15 – Organising data (Preliminary stages – Non-ideal school) ............... 185
Appendix 16 – Process of grouping data into themes ............................................. 186
Appendix 17 – First attempt at thematic maps ....................................................... 207
Appendix 18 – Ethical approval from University of East London .......................... 208
Appendix 19 – Approval form issued by the Research & Development department
within the Ministry for Education & Employment, Malta ...................................... 211

viii
LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria for article selection ................................. 16
Table 2.2 Summary of the critical analysis of 4 articles relating to ‘School
interventions for children with anxiety’ ................................................................... 17
Table 2.3 Summary of the critical analysis of 6 articles relating to ‘Personal Construct
Psychology with children in schools’ ....................................................................... 23
Table 2.4 Summary of the critical analysis of 5 articles relating to ‘Thinking about the
ideal’ ....................................................................................................................... 31
Table 3.1 Summary of participants’ details .............................................................. 53

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Overview of the systematic literature review .......................................... 15
Figure 3.1 Phases of Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) ............................. 58
Figure 4.1 Thematic map ......................................................................................... 70
Figure 4.2 Bullying and violent behaviour at school ................................................ 76
Figure 4.3 An ideal school ethos .............................................................................. 78
Figure 4.4 Happiness during Physical Education ..................................................... 80
Figure 4.5 Difficulty to concentrate in a class with a lot of shouting ........................ 81
Figure 4.6 Difficulty to concentrate due to disruptions in class ................................ 82
Figure 4.7 An attractive school ................................................................................ 84
Figure 4.8 Fostering inclusion amongst children ...................................................... 91
Figure 4.9 Finding it hard to understand in class ...................................................... 93
Figure 4.10 The struggle to do well and avoid trouble in a non-ideal school ............ 94
Figure 4.11 Happy and enjoying time with friends ................................................... 97
Figure 4.12 Creating an ideal school ........................................................................ 98

ix