Anies M . Al-Hroub
Anies Al-Hroub is a Professor of Psychology and Special Education and the former Chairperson of the Department of Education at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Al-Hroub has been the Convener of the Graduate Program of School Guidance and Counseling and the Diploma Program in Special Education since 2012. Al-Hroub completed his Ph.D. and MPhil in the Psychology of Education (both focused on researching the clinical diagnosis and intervention for vulnerable twice-exceptional individuals) from the University of Cambridge, and his M.A. (Special Education and School Guidance and Counseling), as well as his B.A. (Psychology), from the University of Jordan. He was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Connecticut (2018-19), the British Academy Visiting Scholar to the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge in 2010, and a Visiting Scholar at the School of Advanced Social Studies (SASS) in Slovenia. His publications have appeared in leading international journals in psychology, in addition to three published books. The latest books focused on the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD and gifted students are entitled, “ADHD in Lebanese Schools: Diagnosis, Assessment and Treatment” [Springer, 2016], “Giftedness in Lebanese Schools: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice” [Springer, 2018], “School Inclusion in Lebanon: Integrating Research on Students with Giftedness and Learning Disabilities” [Springer Nature, 2023], and “Serving Vulnerable and Marginalized Populations in Social and Educational Contexts” [Frontiers, 2024]. Al-Hroub's research interests focus on the clinical assessment and intervention of marginalized and vulnerable populations, such as street children, out-of-school children, refugees, migrants, children with special needs, and others with special concerns. Al-Hroub has extensive experience in clinical psychological assessment and intervention. He is an elected executive member of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children. He has led projects with support from UNICEF, UNRWA, UNESCO, the British Academy, USAID, the World Bank, the European Union, the Welfare Association, and the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI). Al-Hroub serves as the co-founding academic advisor of the Middle East Professional Learning Initiative (MEPLI) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/1257255/overview.
Address: The American University of Beirut, Department of Education, PO Box: 11-0236, Beirut, Lebanon
Address: The American University of Beirut, Department of Education, PO Box: 11-0236, Beirut, Lebanon
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roles of parents and educators in SEL implementation. Additionally, the paper highlights challenges in deploying SEL in crisis-affected regions and offers strategies to address systemic barriers.
Recent Findings Recent studies show that SEL interventions significantly foster emotional regulation, resilience, empathy, and social integration, vital for personal well-being and successful social adaptation. However, the effect of SEL on academic performance, particularly in literacy and numeracy, remains inconsistent. Cultural adaptation of SEL programs is critical to their success, especially in non-Western settings, with a growing focus on trauma-informed approaches to address the needs of children affected by crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these benefits, challenges such as resource limitations, lack of policy support, and the need for educator training continue to impede effective SEL implementation.
Summary SEL offers a vital framework for supporting traumatized children, particularly in crisis-affected regions. This review explores five key themes: the enhancement of emotional regulation and social integration, the necessity of cultural adaptation, the involvement of parents and educators, the challenges of implementing SEL in crisis contexts, and the importance of developing trauma-informed policies. The article also identifies future research directions, emphasizing the need for systemic reforms and culturally adapted SEL models.
Keywords: giftedness; learning resources; educational capital; learning capital; refugees; Systems Theory and the Actiotope Model of Giftedness; Palestine.
stress disorder (PTSD) levels in refugees, and (b) the quality of empirical evidence for each of the reviewed studies. The authors adopted the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) evidence-based practice (EBP) standards and quality indicators to evaluate the methodological soundness of the reviewed studies and the evidence-based classification of art therapy as a treatment intervention. We systematically searched
electronic databases of pertinent review articles for the period from 2010 to 2020 using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Systematic searches identified 70 research articles but yielded eight eligible journals as per the inclusion criteria. Results indicated that, though considered a promising treatment approach, art therapy is presently classified as an intervention that falls under the category of practice with insufficient evidence. The findings suggest the need for further methodologically sound experimental studies to strengthen the evidence behind art therapy as an intervention to reduce PTSD symptoms in refugees around the world.
Keywords: art therapy, trauma, refugees, post-traumatic stress disorder, systematic review, evidence-based, practice, quality indicators, mental health
roles of parents and educators in SEL implementation. Additionally, the paper highlights challenges in deploying SEL in crisis-affected regions and offers strategies to address systemic barriers.
Recent Findings Recent studies show that SEL interventions significantly foster emotional regulation, resilience, empathy, and social integration, vital for personal well-being and successful social adaptation. However, the effect of SEL on academic performance, particularly in literacy and numeracy, remains inconsistent. Cultural adaptation of SEL programs is critical to their success, especially in non-Western settings, with a growing focus on trauma-informed approaches to address the needs of children affected by crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these benefits, challenges such as resource limitations, lack of policy support, and the need for educator training continue to impede effective SEL implementation.
Summary SEL offers a vital framework for supporting traumatized children, particularly in crisis-affected regions. This review explores five key themes: the enhancement of emotional regulation and social integration, the necessity of cultural adaptation, the involvement of parents and educators, the challenges of implementing SEL in crisis contexts, and the importance of developing trauma-informed policies. The article also identifies future research directions, emphasizing the need for systemic reforms and culturally adapted SEL models.
Keywords: giftedness; learning resources; educational capital; learning capital; refugees; Systems Theory and the Actiotope Model of Giftedness; Palestine.
stress disorder (PTSD) levels in refugees, and (b) the quality of empirical evidence for each of the reviewed studies. The authors adopted the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) evidence-based practice (EBP) standards and quality indicators to evaluate the methodological soundness of the reviewed studies and the evidence-based classification of art therapy as a treatment intervention. We systematically searched
electronic databases of pertinent review articles for the period from 2010 to 2020 using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Systematic searches identified 70 research articles but yielded eight eligible journals as per the inclusion criteria. Results indicated that, though considered a promising treatment approach, art therapy is presently classified as an intervention that falls under the category of practice with insufficient evidence. The findings suggest the need for further methodologically sound experimental studies to strengthen the evidence behind art therapy as an intervention to reduce PTSD symptoms in refugees around the world.
Keywords: art therapy, trauma, refugees, post-traumatic stress disorder, systematic review, evidence-based, practice, quality indicators, mental health
This book addresses the impact of inclusion on the performance of students with and without special needs in Lebanese schools. It examines the performance of regular students to the performance of students with learning disabilities (LD) and gifted students as perceived by them to identify the population that is best served by inclusion. The book investigates three domains affecting student performance in inclusive settings: management and organization. Teaching and learning, and student support and school ethos. In addition, it compares the ways in which these domains affect student performance for each population.
In addition, the book presents a detailed description of the inclusive practices that affect student performance and the indicators that contribute most positively to fostering the performance of regular students, gifted students, and students with LD. Finally, it describes the inclusion model applied and proved empirically to affect the positive performance of all student groups as a response to the increasing call for inclusive schooling in Lebanon.
Key areas of coverage include:
Inclusive education, social justice, and equity in Lebanese schools.
Student perceptions of inclusion in Lebanon.
Inclusion of gifted learners and students with learning disabilities.
Comparison of student performance among different populations in inclusive settings.
Domains affecting student performance in inclusive settings.
Proposed model of student inclusion in Lebanese schools.
School Inclusion in Lebanon is an essential resource for researchers, professionals and policymakers, and graduate students in such interrelated fields as school psychology, inclusive education / educational psychology, and social work.
inclusion in a Lebanese school on the performance of students with and without special needs.
The group of students with special needs included a group of identified gifted students and a group of students with mild to moderate identified learning disabilities. This comparison included investigating what are the perceptions of the students with and without special needs of
their performance in an inclusive school, which population of the three populations at the school is best served by inclusion from students’ perceptions, what are the inclusive practices that affected students’ performance and which indicators contributed most positively to foster
students’ performance as perceived by them. The design used in this study is a mixed design where participants (students of 18 inclusive sections from grade 7 to grade 12) answered a questionnaire on student performance to compare the impact of inclusive education on their
performance, and six focus groups(threein middle school and three in high school: one group of gifted, one group of regular and one group of students with learning disabilities at each level) were conducted to describe the practices that affected their performance,helping to identify the differences in perceptions among the three populations.Both the questionnaire and the focus groups wereconducted usingIndicators for Inclusion issued by Education Bureau, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (2008). All gifted, regular and students with learning
disabilities perceived inclusion as positively impacting their performance. A significant difference in impact of inclusion was noted between the gifted population and the other populations: perceived impact of inclusion was higher for gifted students. Inclusive practices in
three domains were explored and found to impact positively the students’ performance with discrepancy among populations and domains of practice. No differences were noted at the gender
level. Further research on inclusive practices is recommended for decision making on inclusive education to be based on empirical evidence instead of the human rights approach.
The book (Yates and Boddison, 2020) is comprised of five chapters; dense in information regarding the over-identification of and differential intervention for dual and multiple exceptionalities (DME). The book discussed two respective topics: the collaborative strength-based model, and the person-centered approach, and detailed case studies to explain these topics. Chapter 1 presents the importance of a multidimensional identification of dual and multiple exceptionalities (DME) due to over-identification, overlooked gender discriminants, and the need for harnessing DME individuals’ economic and social potential. Chapter 2 states that the role of the teacher is a facilitator for change and not an expert, with the need for high learning potential (HLP) and special educational needs and disability (SEND) experts to be present in school environments in addition to training for the development of staff. Chapter 3 explains that successful identification and intervention require a strength-based collaborative model. The special needs coordinator and gifted (SENCO) and talented coordinator (GATCO) school collaborate to identify and intervene with school leaders to review performance and effective provision. The
governor’s role, in this case, would be to structure, evaluate, and hold accountable for any errors. Chapter 4 presents a person-centered co-production approach to DME. The zone of effective coproduction would come from the learner, professionals, and family. Chapter 5 explains the efficient implementation of such identifications and interventions in case studies, concluding policy reform.