This study examined the contribution of working memory (WM) above and beyond other domain general (e.g., processing speed; PS) and domain specific abilities (e.g., Approximate Number System; ANS) for mathematical performance in low achieving (LA) preschool children. Pre-schoolers aged 3 to 5 years (N = 139) were included in the study. Children performing below the 35th percentile on a Test of Early Mathematical Abilities (TEMA-3) were considered LA and at potential risk for later mathematical learning difficulties (MLD). First, the relationships between measures of simple and central executive visuospatial and verbal WM tasks (forward, backward, and dual processing tasks), ANS, PS abilities and early mathematical abilities were explored. Then, the contribution of these measures in predicting low mathematical performance was examined in several stepwise logistic regressions. The results showed that all measures were significantly correlated, and that ANS alone explained only a smaller amount of variance in low maths achievement. Surprisingly, PS did not contribute to prediction of low maths achievement and when visuo-spatial and verbal WM measures were added to the analyses they alone explained variance to a large degree. We concluded that central executive WM and particularly backward processing ability seems to play an important role in the development of mathematical abilities in LA preschool children. Results were discussed in relation to research on WM, executive functions (EF), and early mathematical development. Conclusions for early screening and intervention in preschool were also drawn.

Purpose: National surveys of speech-language pathologists’ (SLP) practices play an important role in professional development, and previous research show that many challenges faced by the profession are similar across the globe. This study aims to describe Swedish SLP assessment practices, examine factors that may affect this practice, and discuss the results in the light of international studies. Methods: Data from 584 SLPs were collected through an online questionnaire with multiple choice and open-ended questions. A mixed-method design was deployed where a deductive qualitative analysis of free-text responses complemented quantitative data. Results: In line with previous results from English-speaking countries, both standardized discrete skill tests and contextualized assessments were used by the respondents but fewer used language sample analysis and dynamic assessment procedures, despite international recommendations. There were few differences based on experience, work setting, proportion of multilingual assessments and socio-economic status of the health catchment area. Main challenges reported were lack of time and difficulty prioritizing, and assessment and/or diagnosis of multilingual/L2 children, which is similar to challenges faced by SLPs in other countries. Swedish SLPs also reported lack of national clinical guidelines as a main challenge. Factors contributing to better assessments included experience, and the combination of many sources of information, including professional and interprofessional discussions. Conclusions: The accumulated evidence from this and previous studies show that to address challenges and build on strengths, changes on a systemic level are needed. This includes more time and resources for continuing education and implementation of recommended assessment methods, as well as professional and interprofessional collaborations. 

This article reports the results of the European "DAFFODIL" (Dynamic Assessment of Functioning and Oriented at Development and Inclusive Learning) Project on the question of how functional and learning assessment systems facilitate or inhibit participation of children with developmental difficulties in inclusive education. Questionnaires were sent to medical, psychological, educational professionals, and parents in Sweden, Portugal, Hungary, Belgium, Romania, Norway, and the Virgin Islands. Interviews and focus groups were organized. Results (95%) showed that static standardized psychometric tests of intellectual, behavioural, and language functioning were mainly used, with the WISC-III being the most frequent test applied. Less than 5% of the 166 professionals in our sample used formative assessment and contextual observation to reveal learning or developmental potential in a process-oriented way. Experts were generally not satisfied with current assessment practices. Reported weaknesses included lack of time, human resources, materials, cooperation, and follow-up. Assessment practice was mainly used to determine whether a child should be placed in a special needs programme, a special school, or an institutional setting, depending on whether a country has inclusive education practice or not. Parents were satisfied with static functional assessment when its purpose was to obtain disability benefits (financial, special education resources, recognition), but were unhappy with the negative outlook of reports. The main complaint of teachers and parents was about the poverty of recommendations on how to work with the child. Our conclusion is that the current practice of standardized psychometric testing seems to contribute to barriers to learning if it is used in a deterministic or predictive way. In this regard, dynamic and functional assessment methods that are qualitatively oriented seem promising in addressing the issues of learning and development in a different way. The methods also contribute to an understanding of the child's needs in learning and development. However, interpretation and communication of assessment results in a way that emphasizes a more adequate and challenging educational intervention for the child seems to be central.

The overall aim of this thesis was to explore the role of different assessment tools and training regimens in assessment and remediation for children with special educational needs in school. A central purpose of assessment explored was that it should inform remediation, teaching and instruction. The concepts of working memory, complex executive function and metacognitive strategy training for children with special educational needs were specifically explored in relation to this purpose of assessment. Complex executive function refers to planning and metacognitive ability, that many children with special educational needs struggle with, and which they are expected to handle in learning during school day. Of particular interest in the thesis was the contrast between working memory and complex executive function and how these concepts inform assessment and remediation practices. In this context, special attention was given to mathematical learning difficulties.

The thesis was based on four studies (I‑IV). Study I explored the prevalence of different assessment tools, and dilemmas and challenges as perceived by assessment professionals, teachers and parents, in the work with children with special educational needs in Europe. In Study II, a metacognitive strategy training framework was developed as a training regimen, guided by research on complex executive function, and applied on working memory training. Effects of working memory training were compared between the two training regimens, with and without metacognitive strategy training, and also the overall effect of working memory training on cognitive functioning and the school related skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. In Study III, different types of measures of working memory and their predictive capacities in relation to mathematics achievement in national curriculum assessments were explored, as well as the effects of working memory training on mathematics achievement. In Study IV the role of working memory and complex executive function in identifying risk for mathematical learning difficulties in children with special educational needs was explored.

The results from Study I suggested that assessment and remediation practices can contribute to a deficiency‑oriented outlook on children with special educational needs. In contrast parents and teachers in Sweden also reported that assessment could help them to better understand the needs of the child. Results from studies II-IV showed that only the use of a metacognitive strategy training regimen targeting complex executive function resulted in improvements following working memory training. The results also indicated that working memory training strongly predicted mathematical performance in national curriculum assessments of mathematics in school, and that a more complex change measure of working memory was a better predictor than simple working memory measures in this regard. Finally, the results also showed that complex executive function, defined as planning ability, was a better predictor than simple working memory in the assessment of risk for mathematical learning difficulties.

The results from the studies were discussed in relation to the purpose of assessment to inform remediation, teaching and instruction for children with special educational needs. It was concluded that, in addition to working memory, as complex executive function – planning and metacognitive ability - seems to be an important cognitive function related to learning, this should be addressed both in the assessment of children with special educational needs as well as in the remediation when designing training regimens and interventions for children with special educational needs in general, and children at risk for mathematic learning difficulties in particular. It was also highlighted that in remediation, the role of the teacher as a mediator of metacognition and complex executive function seems vital.

Barn har olika förutsättningar i sin ryggsäck när de kommertill förskolan. I den finns både frisk- och riskfaktorer.Hur vi förstår dessa och kan arbeta både främjande ochförebyggande för att utjämna skillnader och öka likvärdigheteni barns lärande och utveckling är en viktig del avförskolans uppdrag.I denna bok beskriver Petri Partanen hur vi kan förstå barnstänkande och kunskapsutveckling inom olika områden, så somtidig matematik- och språkutveckling. Vidare beskriver han hurvi kan stötta utvecklingen av barns förmåga till självreglering,uppmärksamhetsförmåga och uthållighet.I boken kopplar Petri på ett lättbegripligt sätt ihop kognitions-,hjärn- och undervisningsperspektiven. Han ger konkreta exempelpå hur vårt bemötande och förhållningssätt och vår samtals- ochsamspelsmetodik kan främja barns lärande och utveckling.Han knyter ihop detta med lekens och både den spontana ochplanerade undervisningens roll i lärandet.

I denna artikel presenteras hur vi kan förstå elevers varierande kognitiva förmågor (tankeförmågor) och hur dessa hänger ihop med deras studiestrategier i lärandet. Vidare beskrivs vad dessa kan innebära för elevernas möte med undervisningen och de olika kunskaper som de ska lära sig. I artikeln berörs forskning kring elevers självregleringsförmåga och metakognition och särskilt den så kallade PASS-teorin för kognitiva förmågor. Den variation av kognitiva förmågor som eleverna har med sig av förutsättningar är särskilt relaterad till elevers förmåga att ta eget ansvar, arbeta självständigt, kunna planera, genomföra och utvärdera sitt lärande samt göra självbedömningar – förmågor som betonas i gymnasiets läroplansmål. I artikeln berörs hur man som lärare kan uppmärksamma sambanden mellan dessa och elevers kunskapsutveckling inom olika områden, hur man kan främja elevernas egen medvetenhet, och som lärare öka sin förståelse för vilka konsekvenser elevers varierande kognitiva förmågor kan ha i mötet med undervisningen och dess utformning.

Forskning visar entydigt att det finns ett starkt dubbelriktat samband mellan studieresultat och hälsa. Goda resultat leder till bättre hälsa samti-digt som god hälsa ger bättre förutsättningar att nå kunskapsmålen. Vad innebär detta samband mellan hälsa och lärande för undervisningen, för en förskolas eller skolas samlade hälsofrämjande och förebyggande arbete, för utformande av lärmiljöer, för rektorns roll i ledarskapet och för personal som möter barn och unga i vardagen? Vilka frisk- eller skyddsfaktorer kan förskolan och skolan främja och hur kan förekomsten av olika riskfaktorer minskas genom förebyggande arbete?

Syftet med Hälsa för lärande – lärande för hälsa är att inspirera till diskussion och egen fördjupning kring hur hälsa och välbefinnande kan främjas och hur problem och svårigheter kan förebyggas av alla som arbetar i skola och förskola.

National curricula in many countries increasingly stress mathematical reasoning and problem solving skills from early age in primary school, an international trend seen for several decades. For children with special educational needs and at risk for learning difficulties, this may constitute a barrier in mathematical learning, since demands on underlying neurocognitive abilities related to mathematical learning increase. In his presentation Petri will share some insights from his research in this area. He will particularly address therole of metacognition and executive functions,and how school systems in most countries tax different neurocognitive abilities in learning, by the way curriculum is constructed,and learning environments and instructional approaches are formed. This development calls for a needs-based assessment practice where teachers, school and educational psychologists and other professionals increase their understanding of how underlying neurocognitive abilities interact with learning in school. Petri will present some emergent themes from research on how these types of neurocognitive abilities in general, and metacognitive awareness and executive functions in particular, are related to academic achievement. Consequently, he will also describe a framework for metacognitive strategy training as a way of coaching in school, a promising area for intervention.

The role of different neurocognitive abilities in learning is well documented. Research also shows that neurocognitive abilities, such as different facets of executive functions (EF) as well as analogical thinking and fluid reasoning abilities (FR) are challenged among children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and/or Learning Difficulties (LD). However, research on neurocognitive abilities in larger representative samples as well as subgroups of children eligible for SEN support in Swedish school context is sparse. This is of particular interest since the Swedish SEN support eligibility system stresses curricular and knowledge based goal criteria (and not diagnostic (LD) criteria). The Swedish SEN support system is organized in three tiers, offering differentiated and individualized instruction to all children (tier 1), intensified adjustments to some children in an inclusive classroom environment (tier 2), and more prolonged SEN support outside classroom and/or reduced curricula (tier 3). The current study is a first exploration of data drawn from a large study on the relation between different neurocognitive abilities and their role in learning in general, and in children eligible for different type of SEN support in particular. The study reports data from children aged 6 to 16 drawn from a representative sample (n = 471) of Swedish school children on three indices of neurocognitive abilities (attention EF, planning EF and FR). Three groups of children are compared: children without explicit SEN support (tier 1), children with intensified inclusive classroom adjustment support (tier 2), and children with more persistent/outside classroom SEN support (tier 3). Results show that there are significant differences between the three groups with regards to neurocognitive abilities. Preliminary conclusions are drawn about the role of neurocognitive abilities in children with and without SEN in a curriculum-based SEN support delivery system. Also, conclusions for future directions for research are drawn. 

The effects of computer-based Working Memory (WM) training using two training procedures were examined among sixty-four primary-school children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Measures of general cognitive ability, auditory and visuospatial working memory, arithmetic ability, and reading and writing skills were gathered and analysed. The referred group of SEN children predominantly had lower performance in auditory WM, arithmetics and reading and writing skills. The SEN children within respective school were randomized into either an active WM training group or a control group and ten schools participating in the WM training study were randomized into one of two different training conditions. At five schools the SEN children received regular WM training and at the other five schools the children received WM training with the addition of metacognitive strategy training. Results showed a significant difference in WM performance during training in favor of the metacognitive intervention. Furthermore, transfer effects occurred on visuospatial WM measures at posttest and at 6-month follow-up. Post-hoc tests showed that the effects pertained only to the metacognitive intervention. No transfer to arithmetic or reading and writing skills occurred after training in the two training conditions. Results were discussed in terms of metacognitive factors being important in optimizing performance in WM training, and that such factors should be taken into consideration when designing interventions for children with SEN. It is also suggested that in referral of children with SEN to remediation with WM training the WM profiles should be taken into consideration to a greater degree. 

The demands on mathematical problem-solving have increased in almost all school systems internationally and may constitute a barrier for children with special educational needs (SEN). This study explored the role of fluid reasoning (FR), working memory (WM) and complex executive function of planning (EF) in children (N = 62) referred for assessment of SEN, and specifically of risk for mathematical difficulties (MD). Performances on FR, WM and complex EF of planning were used to predict risk for MD. Results showed that planning ability predicted children at risk for MD, beyond FR or WM ability, when comparing with children not at risk for MD. It was concluded that assessing the com- plex EF of planning in addition to FR and WM ability is crucial in identifying children at risk for MD. The importance of understanding how planning ability affects children’s mathematical problem-solving is discussed, in relation to assessment and teaching practices.