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Even if the use of distance learning and E-learning has a long tradition all over the world and both have been used to keep in contact with students and to provide lessons, support and learning materials, there is an open debate on the balance between advantages and disadvantages in the use of distance learning. This debate is even more central in their use to support students with Learning Disabilities (LDs), an overarching group of neurodevelopmental disorders that affect more than 5% of students. The current COVID-19 outbreak caused school closures and the massive use of E-learning all over the world and it put higher attention on the debate of the effects of E-learning. This paper aims to review papers that investigated the positive and negative effects of the use of Distance Learning and E-learning in students with LDs. We conducted a literature review on the relationship between Distance Learning, E-learning and Learning Disabilities, via Scopus, Eric and Google Scholar electronic database, according to Prisma Guidelines. The findings are summarized using a narrative, but systematic, approach. According to the data resulting from the papers, we also discuss issues to be analyzed in future research and in the use of E-learning during the current pandemic of COVID-19.

The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers, particularly on their self-esteem and self-efficacy, their difficulty in the transition to distance learning, the difficulty of students, and specially of students with learning disabilities (LDs students), as perceived by teachers. 226 teachers were invited to complete an online questionnaire. Our results showed lower self-esteem and lower self-efficacy by the teachers compared with the normative sample. Self-esteem and self-efficacy also decrease in teachers with greater service seniority at work. Teachers perceived a greater difficulty in students than in their own difficulty. The concentration of the school system’s efforts on the massive and, for long periods, exclusive organisation of distance learning risks favouring only cognitive aspects to the detriment of affective dynamics. This aspect could make teaching more complex for teachers and learning poorer for students, impoverishing the complex relational process that forms the basis of the learning process.

Several recent studies have considered the relationships among quality of life, social adaption, anxiety, depression, and psychological distress in pandemics. A primary aim of the current study was to explore the relationships among the aforementioned psychological dimensions and worries about Covid-19. Furthermore, we aim to highlight the features of young people potentially at risk of psychological distress during the pandemic. The assessment was conducted by a web-based survey, useful in preserving individuals’ health against the virus circulation. 185 young individuals (under 30 years old), residing in Sardinia (an Italian island characterized by low indices of virus circulation) participated to the survey completing five questionnaires (RDI, STAS, STAI, WHOQOL, SASS) and a group of items inquiring the knowledge and the worries about pandemic. By the application of linear correlations, principal component analysis, cluster analysis and discriminant analysis, we highlighted the role played by each dimension on participants’ self-reported well-being; moreover, we identified four clusters of subjects with different psychological reactions in pandemic as well as the groups of people with higher risk of distress. The suggestions of these results regarding current research trends and clinical opportunities are debated.

What are the main learning difficulties or advantages encountered by students with learning disabilities (LDs) within e-environments? As a result of the Covid-19 emergency, e-learning is being increasingly used to support students’ learning processes. A number of countries closed their schools altogether, so face-to-face lessons were and have been replaced by distance lessons. A search of current literature via Scopus, Eric and Google Scholar electronic databases was conducted according to Prisma Guidelines. Other sources of literature were also considered, starting from the references in the full text of the articles consulted. We used the following search keywords: “LDs” combined with the “AND/OR” Boolean operator and “e-learning platforms,” “well-being,” “psychological factors,” “emotional distress,” and “self-regulation.” One body of literature highlights the lack of inclusive accessibility standards and a lack of attention to specific tools for addressing LDs, which causes students to develop high levels of stress/anxiety and emotional distress, in addition to low levels of well-being, self-esteem and self-efficacy. Another area of literature looks at how students can develop high levels of self-regulation and emotional awareness, as well as high levels of inclusion. Results are discussed in terms of the promotion of e-learning that focuses on the psychological well-being of students and teachers use of technological tools.

Cognitive flexibility (CF) is a fundamental human ability to adjust cognitive processing strategies to deal with new and unpredicted situations. In this sense, using valid and theoretically grounded measures of cognitive flexibility is critical. A new measure of CF, the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, has recently been validated. This measure comprises two subscales: (1) Alternatives, which assesses ability in identifying alternative solutions and generating several explanations; and (2) Control, which assesses ability in perceiving difficult conditions as controllable. The main purpose of our study was to investigate the factorial structure, reliability, and measurement invariance of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory in an Italian sample of university students. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 543 Italian university students. Results showed acceptable construct validity for the Italian version of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory. Specifically, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor model, Alternatives and Control, with19 items. Moreover, multigroup analyses showed structural invariance across sex. In sum, our results suggested that the Italian version of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory is a valid instrument for assessing cognitive flexibility.

In the literature there are more and more works dealing with cyberbullying and adolescents’ perception of this phenomenon. In particular, we are interested in cyberbullying and the effects of cyberbullying on adolescent life. What is more, in 2020 the impact of COVID-19 has increased the digital presence of cyberbullying behaviours. This phenomenon is extremely complex, since it is multicomponential and multifactorial, and many components act on it. Starting with an analysis of the literature, this work offers preliminary data towards the validation of a self-reporting questionnaire;it was administered to 650 adolescents, to evaluate their perceptions of the victims of cyberbullying. The questionnaire consisted of 33 items;Principal Component Analysis was applied, which identified the dimensions resuming the items’ variability. The findings confirmed the multidimensional nature of the issue covered by the questionnaire and highlighted three psychological dimensions: Internalisation, Counterbalance and Marginalisation. The results support the structure of the questionnaire, useful to quickly collect information about adolescents’ perception of cybervictimisation. The assessment of this information might help teachers, educators, and tutors to formulate targeted interventions to combat the spread of cyberbullying aimed for example at improving emotional intelligence, starting from the construction of emotional contagion. © 2021 by the authors;licensee CEDTECH by Bastas.

At the end of 2019, COVID-19 (an infective respiratory disease caused by SARSCoV-2) was discovered in Wuhan, China [...]

This study analyzes if motivation, academic self-concept, perception of the time perspective, self-regulation, and the attendance of specific online laboratory activities influence academic retention and achievement of two group of freshmen attending the first year of their Bachelor’s Degree. The freshmen were monitored along their first academic year. In particular, we try to understand which factors can help student to overcome the transition gap created by the passage from high school to university. The choice of the implementation of an online lab is due to evidence that online platforms are tools that can help to reduce the academic dropout. These platforms allowed students to use a supporting network, but, at the same time, students can autonomously take advantage of suitable materials to achieve their learning goals and to bridge an orientation gap. In Italy, this gap is often present in the transition between high school and university. In general, we can say that the experience of the online laboratory was positive and combined with the enhancement of motivation, academic self-concept, vision of the time perspective, and self-regulation can represent an important support above all for the Italian freshmen.

The aim of this study was to verify the efficacy of two pencil-and-paper trainings empowering numerical and visuo-spatial abilities in Italian five-year-old kindergarteners. Specifically, the trainings were respectively carried out by the curricular teacher or by an external trainer. The former received a specific training in order to use the psychoeducational programmes with her pupils, whereas the latter received a specific education about the role of numerical and visuo-spatial abilities for school achievement and she was also trained to use psychoeducational trainings in kindergarten schools. At pre-test and post-test nonverbal functions and numeracy knowledge were assessed through a battery of standardized tests. The results show that both the numerical psychoeducational programme and the visuo-spatial one are useful tools to enhance mathematical achievements in kindergarteners. However, when the trainings were proposed by the external trainer, the efficacy of the psychoeducational programmes was more significant. These outcomes seem to be related both to the expertise and the novelty effect of the external trainer on the classroom.

A body of literature evidences the importance of enhancement in the development of mathematical abilities. The most recent researches showed that infants are capable of discriminating different sets of numbers, so it is important to understand the role of the environment and educational system in the promotion and development of this potential. The main role in the enhancement in mathematical abilities is played by the interventions which support the development of these abilities in concomitance with their emergence. The present study has taken into consideration a number of variables in order to promote the best development of emerging skills and to prevent some difficulties related to the development of mathematical abilities. In this regard, the enhancement is the result of the combination of cognitive and metacognitive factors. Among the cognitive factors, as the literature shows, the visuo-spatial component has a very important role in the development of mathematical abilities. Also, the introduction of technological tools is useful to create a systemic approach in the development and enhancement of mathematical abilities. The main goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of a systemic intervention on the improvement of mathematical skills in 144 third graders of several schools located in Italy. Participants were subjected to the training (paper and/or multimedia) for enhancing numerical abilities and/or visuo-spatial abilities. Our findings evidence the positive effect of the different types of training for the empowerment of numerical abilities. In particular, the combination of computerized and pencil-and-paper versions of visuo-spatial and mathematical training are more effective than the single execution of the software or of the pencil-and-paper treatment. Our results show that, when properly stimulated, the subject’s cognitive and metacognitive processes can support the improvement of individual skills. The enhancement tools are essential for school and families (they can use the same trainings). The design and the implementation of educational interventions with a systemic vision aimed at producing a cognitive enhancement that can be effective in the course of time.

A body of literature shows the significant role of visual-spatial skills played in the improvement of mathematical skills in the primary school. The main goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of a combined visuo-spatial and mathematical training on the improvement of mathematical skills in 146 second graders of several schools located in Italy. Participants were presented single pencil-and-paper visuo-spatial or mathematical trainings, computerised version of the above mentioned treatments, as well as a combined version of computer-assisted and pencil-and-paper visuo-spatial and mathematical trainings, respectively. Experimental groups were presented with training for 3 months, once a week. All children were treated collectively both in computer-assisted or pencil-and-paper modalities. At pre and post-test all our participants were presented with a battery of objective tests assessing numerical and visuo-spatial abilities. Our results suggest the positive effect of different types of training for the empowerment of visuo-spatial and numerical abilities. Specifically, the combination of computerised and pencil-and-paper versions of visuo-spatial and mathematical trainings are more effective than the single execution of the software or of the pencil-and-paper treatment.