We have prepared, validated and published a battery of original psychodiagnostic instruments to assess various aspects of infants’, toddlers’, children’s and adolescents’ language competence, namely the Communicative Development Inventories, the Checklist of Titles and Authors of Children's Books, and the Test of General Language: Written Communication and the Storytelling Test. We have educated and trained the professionals to use the instruments for the purposes of screening, psychodiagnostic assessment of various aspects of toddlers’/children’s/adolescents’ language and monitoring the effects of various intervention programs or formal education on language development over the developmental periods prior to adulthood.
F.21 Development of new health/diagnostic methods/procedures
We have created, additionally validated and internationally published original instruments to assess five aspects of individuation in emerging adulthood (ITEA), and constructed a measure to assess significant life events (specifically in emerging adulthhood), their connotation, and self-perceived influence on an individual's life (SSLE-EA). The ITEA is a reliable, valid (construct and criterion validity) instrument to assess aspects of individuation in relation to mother and father separately (connectedness, support seeking, self-reliance, perceived intrusiveness and fear of disappointing the parent). We also validated the ITEA with samples of Austrian/German and U.S. emerging adults, and partly with samples in Turkey. The instrument is predictive of psychosocial maturity and life satisfaction, and proves to be a useful tool in developmental assessment and professional work with emerging adults, along with its utility for research purposes. It is meant to be employed in pychological counselling, health-care institutions, employment services, and is especially valuable in folowing-up the effevts of professional treatment. A great interest in the application of the linguistically adapted forms of ITEA international-wise provides a valuable acknowledgment to the Slovene psychology. The SSLE-EA was also validated and suggested a relevant supplement to assessment of difficulties in emerging adulthood. Due to the international interest the instrument is in the process of adaptation for its use in different cultural environments.
F.21 Development of new health/diagnostic methods/procedures
Visiting professor at the University of Jean (Spain), two invited lectures at the University of Zagreb and an invited lecture at the University of Vienna (Puklek Levpušček), a cycle of guest lectures at the University of Trieste (Kavčič), an invited lecture at Festive Symposium at the 90th Anniversary of Developmental Psychology in Vienna (Zupančič), invited lecture at the Gainsville State Collega (Colnerič), invited lecture at the conference The Tuscan Approach to Early Childhood Education to a View Addressed to 0-6 Children, Florence (Fekonja Peklaj), organizer and convenor of the invited Syposium Young people's perceptions and experiences of emerging adulthood in different countries at the European Congres on Psychology in Istanbul with a presentation of the Slovene contribution (Zupančič). The invited lectures performed by the members of the Program group present a great international acknowledgement to the Slovene developmental psychology and contribute to an increase of reputation of our research in international research and professional community, and also to the reputation of our country.
B.04 Guest lecture
Guest editor at the British journal BMC Neuroscience (Jaušovec); editor-in-chief of the digital library Documenta (Gril), editor of the Documenta 5 (Puklek Levpušček); editor at the journal Planning the Activities in Preschool (Marjanovič Umek); field editors at the journal Horizons of Psychology (Podlesek, Kavčič, Sočan, Gril), The School Field (Gril, Rožman); members of the editorial board at the international journals Psicologia Conductal (Puklek Levpušček), Early Child Development and Care (Cugmas), The Open Neuroimaging Journal (Jaušovec), national journals The School Field (Marjanovič Umek, Zupančič, Gril), Horizons of Psychology (Podlesek, Kavčič), CEPS journal, Journal of Elementary Education (Marjanovič Umek), School Counseling (Puklek Levpušček); guest editors at the journals Horizons of Psychology and Contemporary Pedagogics (Marjanovič Umek); members of the editorial council of the Horizons of Psychology (Sočan, Cugmas, Zupančič) and Preschool (Marjanovič Umek); editors of mongraphs Developmental Psychology: Selected Works (Marjanovič Umek, Zupančič), Vygotskij. Thought and Speech (Marjanovič Umek), Students on their Way to Adulthoodt (Puklek Levpušček, Zupančič), The Perspectives of Psychology on Efficacy (Sočan); editors Context in Psychology. Book of Abstracts (Podlesek). Enhancing Academic Achievement in Slovene Adolescents. Book of Abstracts (Gril).
C.04 Editorial board of an international magazine
The research findings have been embedded in university programs (the old program, 1st and 2nd Bologna level) and doctoral programs at the three Slovene universities (Ljubljana, Maribor, Primorska) and internationalwise, e.g. at the University of Vienna, Grand Valley (Allendale), Longwood, Gainesville (USA), Akademgrodok and Perm (Russia). The findings have been disseminated through lectures, practical excercises and seminars within a variety of courses across several educational programs at the university level, i.e. in psychology, neuropsychology, educational sciences, pedagogy, adult education, preschool education etc. The data collected by our research has also been used to present the usefulness of multivariate statistical methods to Slovene psychology students. Current findings are embedded in newly defended MA, MS and doctoral thesis of the Slovene students as well as in dispositions of doctoral dissertations. The research results have been included in our recent monographs, textbooks, chapters of monographs and papers published annually (see Cobiss/Sicris). Those provide valuable academic material to the students in support to the lectures based on our latest findings.
D.10 Educational activities