Abstracts - Earli

alerting teachers to the warning signs of memory deficits that will impair learning will also bediscussed.Subversive school leadership in highly disadvantaged communitiesStephen Jones, Sheffield Hallam University, UK, United KingdomThis paper outlines issues and theoretical outcomes from two recent case studies conducted insimilar yet contrasting highly disadvantaged communities in England. The paper outlinesdilemmas and problematic issues concerning leadership and practice in theseschools/communities: -The nature of leadership required -The fragility of leadership -The need foridealism and pragmatism -The difficulties yet leadership necessity of working with parents and thesurrounding community -Raising horizons and expectations -The political leadership task involvedin work with other agencies locally -Raising and maintaining a school’s reputation. Aspects of a"Subversive Leadership" approach are explored. This way of working involves boundary crossing,building networks and operating in a complex micro-political environment. These networks needto operate for the benefit of local people, especially children attending school, with child-centredvalues being essential to providing a positive response to their needs. School leaders are viewed asmost effective where they feel able to subvert external policy imperatives to meet the needs oflocal children in a whilst addressing colleagues’ collective values.The content of the work of classroom assistants in FinlandMarjatta Takala, University of Helsinki, FinlandIn this presentation the role of classroom assistants will be defined, both in mainstream and inspecial education. The assistant is a support for students in mainstream, included students, but alsoa support for students in excluded settings. The focus is primarily on questions concerning theassistants´ function during lesson periods, as well as on the extent of cooperation between assistantand teacher. These questions have been addressed by observing the work of 14 classroomassistants, using the methods of shadowing and interviewing. The results showed that theassistants´ help was used mainly with younger children, generally in assisting individual pupils.The older the children, however, the more time the assistant spent assisting the teacher. Specialand mainstream education differed in regard to work profiles. From 11% to 15 % of the assistants´time was spent waiting during activities. The reasons for this are discussed, as well as other areasof the assistants´ work and also areas for future development.Cognition, Meta-cognition, and TOM as observed in various contextsAdina Shamir, Bar- Ilan University, IsraelZemira Mevarech, Bar- Ilan University, IsraelThe main purpose of the present study is to examine cognitive, metacognitive, and Theory of Mind(TOM) behaviors of kindergarten children as observed during child-child and adult-childinteractions. In particular, the study addresses the following research issues: (a) Finding aneffective condition for examining meta-cognitive behaviors of young children and comparing itsfindings to those obtained in ‘conventional’ adult-child interviews; and (b) exploring therelationships between cognition and meta-cognition of young children (ages 4-5 years old) underdifferent contexts, controlling for verbal ability and Theory of Mind (TOM) development. Thepresent study addresses both issues. Participants were 32 Israeli children (ages 4-5 years old). Eachchild was diagnosed individually, using the following measurements: Recall test, meta-memory,verbal abilities assessed by a subtest of Kaufman inventory, TOM, and learning strategies and– 319 –