Abstracts - Earli

students’ personal and social development, support provided by parents and counselling teams andthe diagnosis function of assessment); 2) three predicted factors or effects (guidance towardsstudents’ optimal performance, promotion of the connection to the educational centre on behalf ofstudents and the efficient use of ICTs in the educational centre), and 3) five intermediate factors(collaboration between teachers, classroom and school management, promotion of empathy,efficient assessment and a suitable school atmosphere). Focusing on the methodological part, aimof the symposium, the main conclusion derived from the study suggests that the use of astandardized and validated study method (statistical model) is a strength when generalizing theresults. Therefore, the method itself guides the study design. However, it could be discussedwhether only questioning can determine a complex model on efficient teaching performance.E 729 August 2007 14:30 - 16:30Room: 2.54 NovobátzkySymposiumMeeting special educational needs of young students effectively:Where to start and what to include?Chair: Geerdina van der Aalsvoort, Leiden University, NetherlandsOrganiser: Geerdina van der Aalsvoort, Leiden University, NetherlandsDiscussant: Dolly van Eerde, Utrecht University, NetherlandsStudies about special educational needs with young students show that teachers wishing toteach these children effectively, hopefully look out for reliable tests that can assist themin meeting the needs of students developing at risk at the start of their school career andeliciting their potentionals for learning. The symposium brings together the findings of fourresearch groups that allow a discussion about educational relevance of information about studentsfrom four perspectives. The first paper by Tymms and his colleagues states that reliable predictionof school performance assists teachers in identifying what schooling content is required fromGrade 1. They report about a longitudinal study of 3500 children at the start of school until age 11.In the second paper Aubrey and her team points at the paucity of systematic procedures formonitoring outcomes from different types of provision and hence cost effectiveness. Theyanalysed existing monitoring data for students with moderate learning difficulties in one Londonborough to assist the process of targeting more effectively students with most need. The thirdpaper of Van der Aalsvoort and her colleagues includes an empirical study about the concept ofschool readiness, since teachers in Grade 1 and 2 have strong opinions about students with specialeducational needs even before formal schooling starts. They present the validity of teachers’opinion on school readiness by comparing their views with standardized tests. Janus’ paper is thefourth paper of the symposium that includes a study about the parents of a child with specialeducational needs. Her data show that while the school system may attempt to address the needs ofstudents through individual educational plans, parents often report many problems with the actualexecution of those plans.– 266 –