Teachers’ Perspectives on Working with Students with Selective Mutism

Teachers play a vital role in the early detection and implementation of support for children and young people with selective mutism (SM), yet little is known about their lived experiences of working with this group. This webinar presents a theoretical framework which highlights the core elements of teachers experiences’ of working with pupils with SM. Some teachers view SM as state anxiety, i.e., an anxious responses to stimuli, while others view SM as trait anxiety, i.e., a shyness model. Each view is associated with different strategies and supports teachers will seek out to support their st...Read moreudents with SM.

The webinar will present the nine categories that make up the theory used in our research. We will describe the research study with this theory and the qualitative methods used to gather and analyze data. The implications of the theory will be highlighted, most notably the ways in which teachers beliefs' about SM guide thinking and influence the support that is put in place for pupils. Broader implications for professional practice and the scope for further research will also be discussed. Less...

Learning Objectives

name and define the 9 categories of the presented theory
state 2 implications of the theory for professional practice and guiding research.
state the different implications of teachers who conceptualize SM as state versus trait, i.e., shyness, anxiety

Learning Levels

Intermediate
Advanced

Friday, May 28, 2021

Live Interactive Webinar

12:00 PM EDT - 01:00 PM EDT

EARN 1 CE Credit Hours

About the speaker

Claire E Williams BSc Hons, PGCE, D.EdPsych

Doctor, Brighton and Hove City Council

Claire E Williams is an Educational Psychologist currently practicing within the Educational Psychology Team in the city of Brighton and Hove, UK. She graduated from the Doctorate in Educational Psychology Course at the University of Southampton in June 2017. Her doctoral research was concerned with teacher perceptions of pupils with selective mutism.

Dr Williams currently works with pupils, teachers, and parents in mainstream and specialist schools. She has a special interest in pupils with social, emotional, and mental health needs.

Dr Williams has previously worked as a primary school teacher. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from The University of Durham in 2007, and a Post Graduate Certificate of Education from the University of Brighton in 2010.