In a three-part series, six trainee psychologists reflect on their experiences gained from a three-week intensive placement in England. Juan Camilleri and Jennifer Cini describe their experience as educational psychologists.
In September last year, six trainee psychologists reading for Master's degree in Clinical, Counselling and Educational Psychology at the University of Malta, visited psychological services within the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and the Educational Psychology Services in Salford and Warrington on an intense three-week placement.
The placement was carried out through the Community Vocational Training Programme of the Leonardo da Vinci EU-funded programmes. The general aims of this placement were to expose the trainees to innovative ways of applying psychological interventions with various client populations not available within the local more restricted scene, to improve standards of practice and contribute to the development of the profession and the quality of the mental health and educational service provided in Malta, and to expose future Maltese psychologists to new models of practice that they can translate into new work opportunities in the local setting.
The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) in Britain exists primarily to attempt to promote learning, attainment and the healthy emotional development of children and young people aged 0 to 19, through the application of psychology, by working with early years settings, schools (and other education providers), children and their families, other local authority officers, practitioners and other agencies. The educational psychology service (or education psychology service) is a statutory service provided by the local educational authority (LEA).
However, the profession in Britain is currently passing through healthy soul-searching. Although the educational psychology service has now been established for the past thirty years or so, working among students and across schools, many newly-qualified educational psychologists (EPs) are finding it difficult to develop their professional identities as distinct from, but fitting in with, other professionals.
The tragic and horrific death of Victoria Climbie in February 2000 has sparked a thorough investigation of the role of all social services and the National Health Service in Britain. In the wake of such measures the government published a key document in December 2004 called Every Child Matters: Change For Children which attempts to devise a new approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19.
Through the newly developed Common Assessment Framework (CAF), the organisations involved with providing services to children will deliver frontline services that are integrated and focused around the needs of children and young people so that they will have far more say about issues that affect them as individuals and collectively. Meanwhile, in February 2005, the government announced its intention to commission a 'fundamental review' of the function of educational psychologists to be carried out within the wider context of the changes taking place in children's services as a whole.
Despite the evident difficulties encountered as a result of this time of transition, the EPSs the trainees observed and worked in are still actively involved in trying to ensure "the effective application of psychological theory and practice in education and other settings, in order to maximise the learning and psychological well-being of children and young people in Warrington."
One major positive development the trainees noted was the psychologist's consultative approach that contrasts sharply with the more traditional role of educational psychologists (sometimes also referred to as school psychologists) as psychometricians and assessors. Although the EPs the trainees shadowed still conduct cognitive assessments of individual pupils and attend transition and case reviews, they often do this in the light of collaborative consultation with teachers, parents/carers and other adults.
They are also frequently involved in delivering staff training and contribute to the development of whole school policies and initiatives. Hence the move from client-centered to systemic consultancy work was very evident. A strong emphasis is also placed on the early years, a trend towards preventive approaches in the context of school-based and community-based consultation.
The trainees were able to appreciate directly the schools' and parents' ability to retain ownership of issues and potential solutions related to the child's difficulties rather than expect the EP to come up with a magical solution.
Although school-based consultation is emerging as one of the professional activities most preferred by school psychologists this reality is still a far cry in Malta as the few educational psychologists locally are often called to deal with crisis situations in schools or carry out endless individual cognitive assessments (IQ testing) that are required by statementing panels or other relevant boards. For example, in the LEAs where the trainees worked, teachers and SENCos are trained to carry out examination concession procedures by identifying individual educational needs using achievement tests rather than standard IQ testing. This practice is most relevant to the Maltese context where EP time, especially in state provision, is frequently disproportionately devoted to process demands for examination concessions rather than constructively supporting children, parents and schools in a more direct manner.
The EPs observed by the trainees often work in partnership and collaboration with others, triangulating views, perspectives and information and acknowledging and combining their skills and knowledge with those of school personnel, parents/carers, the children themselves and other relevant professionals. Gutkin & Conoley state that "to serve children effectively school psychologists must, first and foremost, concentrate their attention and professional expertise on adults", that is those that are in direct and regular contact with the children who require their support.
What is also striking about the psychologists, the trainees observed and worked with is the autonomy and flexibility that they enjoy within their role. They frequently create their own initiatives in and for the schools they work in, e.g. teacher training or parent support programmes. There is a noticeable sense of respect for the profession and the EP is generally highly regarded by other professionals, especially teaching staff and senior management personnel. The salary they receive is also a reflection of the identity, recognition and esteem they enjoy, another situation that does not seem to resonate well in Malta.
Educational psychology in Malta is relatively at its infant stage although the advantage of avoiding the pitfalls that experience overseas has indicated as potential perils exists. However there is a need to acquire the necessary experience and develop a service that not only meets the overwhelming demand but also gives space to the EP to develop professionally. In this respect, the current lack of EPs catering for a school population that approximates 60,000 is certainly an issue to grapple with.
The trainees believe that this experience has highlighted the importance for them to remain rooted and grounded in the academic and empirical foundations of mainstream child psychology lest running the risk of becoming a profession of functionaries and form-fillers.
Neither can the future lie within the narrow functions of special educational needs and statutory assessment. Rather, the trainees learnt that a much wider and positive challenge must be embraced, to promote effective social inclusion, actively advocate for children's well-being, enhance work satisfaction and motivation among children, parents and educators, build harmonious relationships and communities and, in relation to education, foster learning, success and personal achievement.