The ENGAGE project (Project Number: 2024-1-IT02-KA220-SCH-000249540) has been co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).

Barin

Age
13
Country
Bulgaria
Description
The pseudonym "Barin" was chosen because it refers to an ancient Bulgarian deity, symbolizing hidden strength and deep emotional power. This name reflects the student’s inner world—marked by emotional complexity, vulnerability, and a strong desire to be understood. Although he exhibits behavioral and learning challenges, beneath his defiance and hurt lies a need for stability, protection, and connection. The name "Barin" captures both his visible struggles and his untapped potential.

SIGNS OF STUDENT DISENGAGEMENT

Cognitive Profile
The student shows signs of poor attention that affect learning. Despite his average intellectual potential, Barin has low grades. He has changed schools three times. The student expresses a lack of interest in school subjects and has low academic achievement. He shows difficulties with concentration, which could be the result of sensory issues.

Academic Performance
Barin reads slowly and understands only some of the texts. It’s hard for him because he cannot maintain attention for a long time. Barin makes many handwriting mistakes. Aware of his difficulties, he refuses to write in class. He feels uncomfortable during written assignments or tests, but he prefers them because they feel more manageable. He has many difficulties in mathematics due to missing a lot of foundational material.

Class Participation
Barin often avoids participating in classroom discussions and group work. He sometimes defiantly refuses to complete tasks given by teachers. He frequently fails to submit homework and other assignments on time.

Social Interaction
Barin does not appear isolated in class, but he often gets into conflicts with classmates. He is new to the class and does not have friends outside of school. At school, he has only one close classmate.

Adaptability
Barin does not often show signs of illness, but he has periods of absence. The student is sometimes emotionally unstable. He becomes very angry, which affects his participation in school activities and interactions with others. His anger is often triggered by classmates’ comments about his abilities, appearance, or mother.

Self-Esteem and Motivation
Barin has low self-esteem. He is very particular about choosing his clothes and often thinks about his peers’ opinions of him. He displays low confidence in his academic abilities. Only his connection with his mother motivates him to behave better.

Behavioral Issues
Barin is involved in behavioral problems such as disrupting class, talking during lessons, disobeying the teacher, and not preparing for class. He frequently gets into conflicts with teachers, leading to disengagement, and shows signs of oppositional defiant behavior. In some cases, he has even left the school grounds. His mother is the only authority figure he respects, due to their special bond. Barin does not show interest in future educational or career goals in class, but during counseling, he has shared some ideas.
The student has been subject to disciplinary actions, such as warnings about suspension, and he receives additional support for learning difficulties.

Support Needs and Recommendations
Barin works with a special education teacher and speech therapist, but it is also important for him to receive support from a psychotherapist. He resists engaging in counseling and sometimes refuses to attend sessions with the school psychologist. However, when he does attend, he shares a lot of personal thoughts and feelings.

LEARNING STYLE
He has significant learning difficulties. Barin needs ongoing support as a child with a learning disability. He is currently working with a resource teacher and a speech therapist.

PERSONAL CHALLENGES

Living Conditions
Barin’s family has moved several times. He lives in a single-parent household with financial difficulties. The student struggles to adapt to new environments, which is understandable given his personal history. He has experienced many life changes. In an interview, his mother shared that their financial situation is very difficult.

Parental Support
Parental involvement in school-related activities is limited. Barin lives with his mother, who is always busy. She is reluctant to engage with school staff or collaborate on support plans. We have scheduled meetings with her twice a month. When we face difficult situations at school, we call her, but she is not always available. If she answers the phone and speaks with Barin, he usually calms down more easily.

Emotional and Behavioral Factors
Barin shows emotional instability, which affects his participation in school activities. He often engages in disruptive behavior such as laughing and talking during class to gain the approval of classmates. He actively participates in physical activities and sports, but often feels insecure when others comment on his performance. He frequently gets into conflicts with classmates, becomes angry, feels offended, and sometimes offends others. Barin is reluctant to communicate openly with teachers about his struggles. Teachers often misinterpret his behavior as rudeness rather than recognizing his underlying insecurity.

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SIGNS OF STUDENT DISENGAGEMENT

Cognitive Profile
The student shows signs of poor attention that affect learning. Despite his average intellectual potential, Barin has low grades. He has changed schools three times. The student expresses a lack of interest in school subjects and has low academic achievement. He shows difficulties with concentration, which could be the result of sensory issues.

Academic Performance
Barin reads slowly and understands only some of the texts. It’s hard for him because he cannot maintain attention for a long time. Barin makes many handwriting mistakes. Aware of his difficulties, he refuses to write in class. He feels uncomfortable during written assignments or tests, but he prefers them because they feel more manageable. He has many difficulties in mathematics due to missing a lot of foundational material.

Class Participation
Barin often avoids participating in classroom discussions and group work. He sometimes defiantly refuses to complete tasks given by teachers. He frequently fails to submit homework and other assignments on time.

Social Interaction
Barin does not appear isolated in class, but he often gets into conflicts with classmates. He is new to the class and does not have friends outside of school. At school, he has only one close classmate.

Adaptability
Barin does not often show signs of illness, but he has periods of absence. The student is sometimes emotionally unstable. He becomes very angry, which affects his participation in school activities and interactions with others. His anger is often triggered by classmates’ comments about his abilities, appearance, or mother.

Self-Esteem and Motivation
Barin has low self-esteem. He is very particular about choosing his clothes and often thinks about his peers’ opinions of him. He displays low confidence in his academic abilities. Only his connection with his mother motivates him to behave better.

Behavioral Issues
Barin is involved in behavioral problems such as disrupting class, talking during lessons, disobeying the teacher, and not preparing for class. He frequently gets into conflicts with teachers, leading to disengagement, and shows signs of oppositional defiant behavior. In some cases, he has even left the school grounds. His mother is the only authority figure he respects, due to their special bond. Barin does not show interest in future educational or career goals in class, but during counseling, he has shared some ideas.
The student has been subject to disciplinary actions, such as warnings about suspension, and he receives additional support for learning difficulties.

Support Needs and Recommendations
Barin works with a special education teacher and speech therapist, but it is also important for him to receive support from a psychotherapist. He resists engaging in counseling and sometimes refuses to attend sessions with the school psychologist. However, when he does attend, he shares a lot of personal thoughts and feelings.

LEARNING STYLE
He has significant learning difficulties. Barin needs ongoing support as a child with a learning disability. He is currently working with a resource teacher and a speech therapist.

PERSONAL CHALLENGES

Living Conditions
Barin’s family has changed their home environment many times. He lives in a single-parent family with financial difficulties. The student has difficulty adapting to new environments, which is understandable given his personal background. He has experienced many changes in his life. In an interview, his mother shared information about their socio-economic status. Their financial situation is challenging for her.

Parental Support
Parental involvement in school-related activities is limited. The child lives with his mother, who is always busy. She shows limited engagement with school matters. Barin’s mother is reluctant to collaborate with school staff or participate in support plans. We have scheduled meetings with her twice a month. When there is a difficult situation at school, we call the mother, but she is not always available to talk. If she answers the phone and speaks to the student, he usually calms down more easily.

Emotional and Behavioral Factors
Barin shows signs of emotional instability that affect his ability to participate in school activities. He often engages in behaviors that disrupt learning, such as laughing and talking with classmates, as he seeks their approval. He is actively involved in physical activities, sports, and physical education classes, but he often feels insecure when others comment on his performance. He frequently gets into conflicts with classmates, becomes angry, feels offended, and sometimes offends others. The student is reluctant to communicate openly with teachers about his struggles. Teachers often do not recognize his insecurity and perceive him as ill-mannered or rude.

Data Collection Methods
  • Questionnaire for functional assessment of special educational needs based on ICF-CY
  • Questionnaires, discussions with child
  • Checklists and Rating Scales to observe engagement, behavior, and executive functioning skills.
  • Observation over behavior of the student feedback by teachers
  • Academic progress notes: his grades
  • Family meetings – class teacher, psychologist and parents
  • Interview with mother
  • Communication logs with mother
Subjects involved
● Student: Barin: I am too emotional. I would change something about my body. I wuold like to be better at sports. I wish I had more friends and I wish my friends would like me more. I fear my classmates won't like me. Sometimes my classmates make me feel incompetent. I am a good son. My parents would like me to be different. I do poorly in some/many subjects. I don’t like learning, school and a lot of teachers. I feel very uncomfortable during a written assignment or test even when I am well prepared. ● Teachers’ of Barin There are emotional instability that impact their ability to participate in school activities. The student often avoid participating in classroom discussions or group work frequently fail to complete or turn in homework and other assignments on time or have difficulty forming and maintaining friendships with peers showing signs of poor attention ● School leaders Barin is a student with a problematic behavior. We organize meetings with the mother but there is a lack adequate family support for academic success. She can not help him and she is often absent. My role is often connected with supporting teachers to do with stress teaching and communicate with Barin. ● Counselors of Barin Barin is very different in individual meetings. Sometimes he refuses to come to my office, but when he comes he shares a lot of personal information and feelings. He has his own dreams, but he has very low self-esteem. ● Parents – mother of Barin Barin is a good boy. He had a hard story. His classmates isolate him. He is very emotional child. I wish I could buy him more expensive phone and clothes, but I can’t. That’s the reason they don’t want to communicate with him. He is intelligent, but he doesn’t want to study.