Welcome to a richly diverse collection of articles in this last issue of 2016.
In the first paper, Johan Malmqvist engages with the thorny issue of the inclusion/exclusion debate for young people whose behaviour causes concern in school. This Swedish study carries some provocative arguments that transcend national boundaries.
Paulo Tan provides a very helpful review of the literature on developing mathematical understanding in students with emotional and behavioural disorders. Unlike many reviews that have been undertaken in the past, which mostly focused on the outcomes and the rigour of existing studies, this review uses a teaching-for-understanding lens to examine existing research interventions in mathematics.
Silje Hukkelberg and Terje Ogden (a member of our editorial board) report the investigation of dimensionality in the Home and Community Social Behaviour Scales that assess social competence (Peer relations and Self-management/Compliance) and antisocial behaviour (Defiant/Disruptive and Antisocial/Aggressive behaviour) in children and adolescents. This technical paper will be of great value to readers who are engaged in practices of assessment.
In the next paper, Julia Ryan, Samantha Ross, Rebeca Reyes, Stacey Kosmerly and Maria Rogers discuss social functioning among college students with ADHD diagnoses. Whilst this topic has been considered in school settings there is little research in college settings. This is a very welcome contribution.
Steve Cobbett provides a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of school-based art therapies with young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. He suggests that justification for their use would seem to be largely based on the subjective experience of education managers and anecdotal evidence as empirical evidence for their effectiveness with this client group is scarce. This article provides an important step towards objective justification. There will be a special issue of the journal concerned with Drama published next year.
In the next paper, David Granot discusses the significance of teacher–student attachment-like relationships with respect to the socioemotional and behavioural adaptation of students with disabilities; another important and under explored issue.
In the final paper of this issue, Nicos A. Georgiou, Panayiotis Stavrinides and Stelios Georgiou consider the mediating role of self-esteem and peer relations. They do so in the context of parenting and children’s adjustment problems.
So, as I suggested at the outset, this issue engages with a wide range of issues all of which are relevant to the readership in one way or another. This could be taken as a testament to the breadth and complexity of the challenge that faces researchers and practitioners in this field.