A Study Protocol for an Online Intervention to Promote School Engagement

Plain-language summary

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a neurological, non-progressive, and permanent developmental disorder that mainly affects movement and posture, with a prevalence of 3 to 4 children per 1000 live births. CP's motor impairments are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication, and behavior. These impairments echo in the activities of daily life, as well as in the learning process. Importantly, children with CP are especially prone to display working memory and EFs deficits, as well as difficulties in self-regulation, which might help explain some of their social and learning problems. These children have a high risk of showing learning disabilities, which may arise before the schooling years. This risk is not exclusively determined by cognitive impairment, with children with a normative cognitive level still presenting specific learning difficulties (e.g., mathematics, reading). Due to their clinical picture, children with disabilities, including CP, struggle with their difficulties in school. Consequently, they are prone to develop a poor School Engagement (SE) - multidimensional and multifaceted construct involving three interrelated dimensions: students' behaviors, emotions, and cognition. In children with disabilities, one of the factors that contributes to lower SE is their high level of school absenteeism. These children miss, on average, 3 weeks of school in a school year due to health issues, which may hinder their academic performance. The promotion of SE in children with disabilities is, therefore, a priority. To promote SE, Gamification strategies can be used. Gamification is the use of game elements (e.g., points, rewards, feedback) in non-game contexts. The potential of using Gamification is high and constitutes a unique opportunity to engage participants in specific activities, such as in intervention or learning contexts. Therefore, through game mechanics, Gamification can be used as a tool to promote SE. This is because, it offers an attractive learning environment and converts difficult tasks into more appealing ones, motivating individuals to perform. Moreover, it enhances the degree and depth of participant engagement, rises behavior and lifestyle changes, promotes learning opportunities, motivates students, and improves intervention appeal, especially for youngsters. To conclude, this project aims to increase SE through Gamification in children with CP. Literature has highlighted the need to focus interventions on SE and self-regulated learning (SRL) on a specific domain. Because children with CP are at high risk of presenting learning difficulties, especially in mathematics, this project will focus on mathematics performance. Moreover, SE is multidimensional, including behaviors, emotions, and cognitions related to school. Specifically, behavioral SE can be conceptualized in three levels: 1) school attendance and fulfillment of school work, 2) participation in class, and 3) active participation (e.g., doing extra school-work). Emotional SE refers to students' affective reactions and sense of connectedness with school. Finally, cognitive SE is related to personal investment in academic tasks, self-regulation, and value of the learning process. Because SRL may be compromised in children with CP, mainly due to difficulties in planning and setting goals, this project will promote SE in mathematics by developing SRL strategies in these children. SRL processes are key for students to attain their self-set goals and include competences of planning, execution, evaluation, and monitoring of the learning process. SE and SRL will be promoted through Gamification strategies on the Canvas platform. Thus, the main purpose is to assess an intervention program with children with CP to increase SE, and enhance SRL, through Gamification Strategies in mathematics. Specifics aims: * Embed Gamification Strategies (e.g., rewards, collaboration, competition) in the Canvas Platform using the tools already available (e.g., forum/chat); * Develop and assess the efficacy and impact of the intervention in promoting SE, and SRL competences, through an integrated assessment approach (functional, educational, neurocognitive, and neuroimaging).

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