educational psychology Flashcards
aims of educational psych.
The goal is to enhance the achievement and wellbeing of children and young people
Schools, nurseries and colleges refer children to educational psychologists (EPs) for additional support. Children who are referred tend to have additional or special educational needs that are causing difficulties at school
EPs do not tend to focus on the ‘deficit model’ which conceptualises the ‘problem’ to a deficit within the child; instead focusing on potential adaptations in the systems around the child to help fulfil potential
what are the core things educational psychologists do?
Psychological consultation
Holistic assessment
Intervention
Professional development and training
Research and strategic development
what are the four areas of special educational need (SEN) ?
Physical and Sensory
Cognition and Learning
Communication and Interaction
Social, Emotional and Mental Health
hypsersensivity
overhwlemed due to stimuli
hyposensitivity
under-responsive to stimulus
what does the physical SEN refer to?
Gross and fine motor skills
Balance, co-ordination and spatial awareness
Manipulation of small objects, control, co-ordination, dexterity
what does cognition and learning SEN refer to?
- atainment in core subjects
- intellectual abilities
- specific learning abilities
- executive functioning skills
- how they approach learning
- their learning mindset (motivation)
what does the communication SEN refer to?
Expressive language skills (vocabulary, articulation, fluency of language)
Receptive language skills (understanding, interpretation of language)
Pragmatic language skills or social communication (turn-taking within conversation, social awareness, appropriateness)
Attention span/capacity
Level of eye contact
Desire/need to communicate with others
social emotional and mental health sen?
Social interaction skills – working with others, co-operation, empathy
Friendships and interpersonal relationships
Emotional literacy skills
Underlying and presenting mental health needs (symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD etc)
Behaviours that present a barrier to learning (disruptive, verbally aggressive, physically aggressive etc)
what is one of the key debates in educational psych?
educational inclusion: acces to fair oppurtunties for education, placement and rescources
what do EPs have a statuory role in?
providing advice for Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans
what is an EHC?
EHC plans are additional packages of support that are provided by local authorities to children with the most severe and complex needs
what does statutory mean?
Statutory means local authorities are legally required to gather psychological advice from an EP
Schools can only make applications for these when they can evidence the support they have put in place and that difficulties have still persisted
what evidence is conciseder before making a EHC plan?
including submissions from school, parents and reports from relevant professions across education, health and social care
if a EHC plan is graned what addidiotnal support must be designed?
-additional funding provided to school for more resources/staffing
-additional therapeutic support from relevant professionals
-additional extra-curricular activities to support the child
what are maslows hierarhcy of needs?
phsyiological –> secuirty –> social –> esteem –> self-actualisation
self determination theory
competence (active in yourself), autonomy, relatedness (connected to others) contribute to motivation and engatement which related to enhanced performance and well being.
bronfenbrenner’s systems theory
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory posits that an individual’s development is influenced by a series of interconnected environmental systems, ranging from the immediate surroundings (e.g., family) to broad societal structures (e.g., culture).
perma
positive emotions
engagement
positive relationships
meaning
accomplishment
consultation
A collaborative process in which concerns are raised within a problem solving framework
Usually involves a meeting of individuals who have different, but compatible skills
Aim is to find a joint solution to a problem
Attended by EP, teacher and parents/carers (could also be attended by other professionals involved with the child such as the social worker, speech and language therapist etc
Prior to consultation, EP usually conducts an observation of the child in class and speak to the child to gather their views on school and their strengths/difficulties
plan do review
plan - initial consultation
do - intervention plane implemented over a time period
review - second consultation - after 6/weeks meet with parents to discuss progress
key tasks of a consultation
To provide an increased awareness of psychology underlying the problem
To discuss potential strategies and evidence based interventions
To collaborate and maximise shared expertise of participants
To agree a plan of action that includes tasks which need to be carried out to support the child in reaching the targets
Managing possible tensions between different stakeholders
Supporting teachers/parents with emotional distress – active listening, empathising, validating emotions, regulation strategies
Looking beyond the ‘behaviour’ to consider what it communicates
meta model (NLP)
Verbal communication is a secondary, rather, than primary, representation of experience
The consultee will be making a verbal description of the content of their model of the world
Subject to interpretation which deletes, generalises or distorts some of the content and meaning
deletion
Occurs when we omit information that prevents us from being able to gain a full understanding
distortions
Occurs when we alter the meaning of information to fit a person’s pre-existing beliefs or expectations
who cn request an assement
schools, parents, local authorities/local governments, courts and tribunal service
what is the aim of an assement request
Aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of a child from a psychological perspective
To establish strengths, areas of need and future targets
To help local authorities assess whether additional funding is required to meet the child’s needs
To help local authorities determine the most appropriate school for the child (mainstream, resourced, specialist)
assesment report structure
Background information – schooling history, family background, family history, medical diagnoses, involvement of other professionals
Strengths and areas of need within all four categories – content can include assessment data, observations and perspectives of key adults within child’s life
Recommended targets, strategies, interventions, success criteria and timescales
assesment methods
Observation of child in class or at home – structured or unstructured
Perspectives from teachers and parents on child presentation, progress, strengths and main areas of need
Perspectives from child on school experiences, preferences, challenges
Perspectives from other professionals with knowledge of other specialist areas
Intelligence or IQ tests – focus on verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and spatial reasoning
questionaires
IQ tests
- ## weschler test
spearmens intellingence model
Spearman’s research indicated a positive correlation between different intelligence subscales
g= general intelligence
s= specific abilities
s is underlyed by g
pros for iq test
Provides evidence of how someone compares to the ‘average’ performance for that age – can be useful when categorising
Can identify ‘gifted’ individuals
Can identify specific strengths/areas of weakness
Approaches to the assessment can be noted and assessed
cons of iq test
Potential to be misleading – other factors can interfere with performance in structured assessments (attention span, anxiety etc)
Don’t tend to account for broader definitions of ‘intelligence’ (Gardner)
Potential to be interpreted as an ‘excuse’ for a lack of progress or as ‘fixed’ abilities
Potentially reductionist/some applications perhaps unethical
