Vol 2 No 1 (2023)

• Editorial

  Garry Hornby

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• Guidelines from Educational Psychology for Education Reform in Barbados

  Garry Hornby

  The field of educational psychology has produced extensive research evidence that can inform efforts to facilitate reform of education systems in many parts of the world. Currently, major reforms to the education system at the primary and secondary school levels are being considered in the small island state of Barbados, in the West Indies. This article suggests guidelines for reforming school education in Barbados that draw on international research evidence from educational psychology. The guidelines are conceptualized using the acronym PERFORMING to focus on ensuring that the education reforms are: Practicable, Effective, Relevant, Fair, Outcome-focused, Research-based, Modern, Inclusive, Nationally-equitable, and Globally-Competitive.

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• Learning Support Provisions for Post-secondary Students with Disabilities in Kuwait

  G Elbeheri, F Theofanides, K Al Muhareb, H Al Hamwi, A Mahfoudhi, J Everatt

  This paper presents a study exploring the nature of learning support provisions for higher education students with disabilities in Kuwait. The research objectives were to (a) detail support for students in Kuwait higher education and identify any differences between public and private institutions, and (b) provide data for international comparisons with universities/college with experience of supporting students with disabilities. A questionnaire was distributed to the twelve institutions operating within Kuwait at the time of the study. Responses were received from one public and four private higher education universities/colleges. The data suggested that the levels of support for students with disabilities were relatively consistent with those provided by other countries, with one private college showing a good range of support strategies. However, as in many countries, there was great variability in the level of support offered. Comparisons between public and private institutions considered the number of students requiring learning support, the nature of their disabilities and the types of accommodations offered. The findings indicated that the public university showed levels of provisions that seemed more comprehensive than that reported by two of the private colleges, but less comprehensive than reported by the other two private institutions. Recommendations are shared on how to enhance existing services further.

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• Exploration of Experience of Trainee Integrative Psychotherapists with Remote Counselling in Their Internship during the COVID-19 Pandemic

  Vaitsa Giannouli, Diamantia Symeonidou

  The emotional, social, and mental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is well established. So far little attention has been paid to trainee psychotherapists during this challenging period. This study explores the experiences of trainee integrative psychotherapists, when they had to switch to online psychotherapy via videoconferencing with their clients in the beginning of their internship due to the quarantine. Following the qualitative paradigm six trainee psychotherapists participated voluntarily. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online to investigate in depth their experiences. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and were analyzed by the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis method. Four master themes were identified from the narratives which refer to the quarantine, the challenges of the online framework, being a trainee therapist and the advantages of the online framework. The first three master themes are divided into subordinate themes. Findings were compared and discussed based on the existing literature. The pandemic created a lot of free time, which the trainees dedicated to their studying. Participants were trained to the online psychotherapy throughout the process, as they were unprepared for the sudden change. Most of them presented hesitant with negative attitudes toward online psychotherapy via videoconferencing but over time participants changed. They became more experienced and strengthened their image as therapists. In this process, the supervisor had an essential role. Findings strongly indicate and support the necessity of training online according to the existing literature.

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• COVID-19 Phobia, Dyadic Coping, and Subjective Change in Relationship Quality due to the Pandemic: A Dyadic Approach

  Marcin Moron, Wiktoria Smolkowska-Jedo

  The present study investigated, in a dyadic approach, whether phobic symptoms experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic correlated with conflicts with romantic partners and subjective change in the quality of romantic relationships during the pandemic. Although previous studies investigated stress and partner’s responsiveness as predictors of romantic satisfaction during the pandemic, the present study investigated the phobia as a particular emotional consequence of pandemic-related stress for romantic couples. One hundred fifteen marital couples (230 individuals) participated in the study. Both spouses from each marital couple assessed their COVID-19 phobia, marital disagreements during the pandemic, perceived dyadic coping of their partner and subjective change in relationship quality compared to the quality before the outbreak of the pandemic. We observed that COVID-19 phobia predicted higher marital disagreements in husbands and wives and that the wives’ COVID-19 phobia predicted higher perceived marital disagreements among the husbands. Perceived partner's supportive behavior buffered the actor effects of COVID-19 phobia in men and women. Additionally, higher husband's COVID-19 phobia predicted subjective positive change in relationship quality during the pandemic when the wife's supportiveness was perceived as lower.

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