Every child matters: Can educational psychology contribute to radical reform?

This is a time of radical change for all services working with children in the UK. For educational psychologists recent publications outlining government strategy have created an urgent need to consider future directions that go well beyond those discussed in the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE, 2000 Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). (2000) Educational psychology services (England): Current role, good practice and future directions London The Stationary Office  [Google Scholar]) report on educational psychology services. In this paper we suggest that decisions about strategic direction and developments in practice should be based on a shared set of values focused clearly on the rights of children and young people. In particular, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989 United Nations (1989) Convention on the rights of the child Retrieved 16th November 2003 from www.unhchr.ch./html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm.  [Google Scholar]) could provide the framework for a compact between the profession and children. This will require an evaluative focus within educational contexts that goes beyond school satisfaction surveys. Both schools and support professionals will need to demonstrate the achievement of improved outcomes for pupils. Difficult questions about the value added by educational psychologist involvement can no longer be evaded.     

School visits to zoos and museums: a missed educational opportunity?

Recent studies in exhibitions have begun to consider the cognitive content of the ‘dialogue’ between visitor and exhibit designer. Such studies have focused on the leisure visitor and not on organised school visits. The study reported here compares the conversational content of primary school and family visitors at the London Zoo and the Natural History Museum, London. The data show that there are common features to the children's interactions with animal exhibits and that the content of the conversations varies little between family groups and school groups both within an institution and between institutions. The lack of any marked distinction between school and family visitors strongly suggests that schools are failing to make effective use of the educational potential of zoos. Secondly, the findings of this study are important in pointing to the features of animal exhibits to which children, and their accompanying adults, attend. The data suggest that there is a gulf between the level of knowledge and understanding visitors bring to the exhibits and the message that the museums and zoos may wish to communicate. It is suggested that more successful education will only be achieved when museums and zoos give more credence to understanding what the visitor already does, or does not, know.     

When does an opportunity become an opportunity? Unpacking classroom practice through the lens of ecological psychology

Drawing on ecological psychology, this paper considers how student engagement is an accomplishment of the classroom system. Specifically, this paper presents an analysis of two teachers and their students who were using a project-based unit in their mathematics classes. The two teachers used identical curricular materials, but had dramatically different personal histories of teaching and different instructional practices. Our goal is to investigate the role of the teacher in supporting student engagement by considering the kinds of opportunities to learn that were presented by the teacher, and the relationship between those opportunities to learn and the ways their students engaged. Pragmatically, this paper contributes to our understanding of how teachers’ framing of activity significantly impacts the ways that students are likely to engage tasks. Theoretically, this paper highlights the interactional nature of learning, with the goal of clarifying why learning is not simply an individual accomplishment.     

How useful is Dynamic Assessment as an approach to service delivery within educational psychology?

Dynamic Assessment would appear to be an appropriate tool for educational psychologists (EPs) as it is concerned with how children learn and has a wider social remit of promoting inclusion. Yet the literature consistently shows this approach has been one of the least utilised methods in educational psychology practice. This paper addresses the role of Dynamic Assessment within professional practice and critiques what this model of service delivery can contribute to the four stages of assessment according to the Division of Educational and Child Psychology guidelines: what is happening; who is concerned; why there is a problem, and what can be done to make a difference to the situation. Both theoretical and practical aspects will be analysed, supported by practical examples. The implications for EPs are discussed.     

Online video gaming: what should educational psychologists know?

Based on a significant increase in correspondence to the author from parents, teachers and psychologists concerning “addiction” to online video games like World of Warcraft, this paper provides a brief overview of the main issues surrounding excessive video game playing among adolescents. As an aid to educational psychologists, and based on two decades of the author’s own research in this area, this paper briefly overviews: (i) online gaming addictions, (ii) the differences between online and offline video gaming, and (iii) video gaming benefits. The paper ends with some practical advice that educational psychologists can give to parents about the safe playing of video games.     

Review: Approaches to educational psychology‐some recent textbooks

Blair, G. M., Jones, R. S., and Simpson, R. H., Educational Psychology (4^th Ed.). New York: Macmillan, 1975. 624 pages. $8.95

Craig, R. C., Mehrens, W. H., and Clarizio, H. F., Contemporary Educational Psychology: Concepts, Issues, Applications. New York: Wiley, 1975. 558 pages. $9.95

Gage, N. L., and Berliner, D. C., Educational Psychology. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1975. 869 pages. $9.95

Lefrancois, G., Psychology for Teaching (2nd Ed.). Belmont, Cal.: Wadsworth, 1975. 372 pages. $7.95

Packard, R. G., Psychology of Learning and Instruction. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, 1975. 480 pages. $9.95

Smith, M. D., Educational Psychology and its Classroom Applications. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1975. 574 pages. $9.95     

Listening to children’s views of spiritual and metaphysical concepts: A new dimension to educational psychology practice?

Educational psychologists (EPs) have for many years been developing techniques for listening to children. The aim of the present research was to investigate ways of listening to the “spiritual” views of children in order to develop questions that educational psychologists might use as part of the assessment repertoire. The study explored children’s spiritual concepts such as their purpose for “being on the planet” and the “meaning of their life”. The findings suggest that primary and secondary school children from mixed religious backgrounds can respond to spiritual questions in a clear way. In addition, most children believed that spiritual views influence how children behave. Further research is required to explore whether children’s views of spiritual concepts are linked to learning and progress in school and in life.     

Teachers’ resilience and well-being: a role for educational psychology

The retention and resilience of teachers are subject to many influences. Children’s behaviour is often cited as a major source of stress for teachers and a challenge to their resilience. We suggest that an understanding of teachers’ attributions and efficacy beliefs may provide the foundations for work to support teachers. We outline findings from research that has examined teachers’ attributions for the causes of children’s misbehaviour, teachers’ beliefs in their efficacy as classroom managers of children’s behaviour as well as how, in principle, such beliefs may be supported and enhanced. We also relate these findings to those associated with educational and developmental outcomes for children. We conclude with some illustrative evidence of ways (involving consultation and other interventions) that applied psychologists have contributed to the professional well-being and resilience of teachers.     

Interpretation of children’s views by educational psychologists: dilemmas and solutions

This paper considers how listening to children’s views and taking account of them is understood in different ways by educational psychologists. Rationales for listening to children include (1) supporting their rights to express views, (2) therapeutic benefits of participation, and either (3) valuing their views as insightful contributions to problem-solving or (4) considering them as contributory factors to the problem. This creates dilemmas about interpretation on different occasions, and a range of theoretical stances are discussed in terms of how far they can support robust decision-making about this interpretation, and a practical way forward is suggested using principles based on critical realism.     

How can educational psychologists support the reintegration of children with an acquired brain injury upon their return to school?

This study explores the process of reintegration into school for children with an acquired brain injury (ABI) and considers the role of the educational psychologist (EP) in supporting these children. Interviews were conducted with a range of professionals in two specialist settings: a specialist rehabilitation centre and a children’s hospital with a specialism in paediatric neurology. The findings highlight a number of potential areas where EPs could contribute to the support of children with ABI including facilitating communication between professionals and providing training for school staff. The training implications for EPs are also considered.     

Educational psychologists’ report-writing: acts of justice?

One of the major tasks of educational psychologists is the writing of reports. Often, all involvement, assessment and intervention culminate in the production of a report. This paper explores critically the tensions involved in writing reports which are closed down in their conformity to requirements of different bodies, while looking for possibilities of openings in this closure. We acknowledge that report-writing is caught in the economies of exchange and the impossibility of gift-giving, based on the writing of Jacques Derrida. This paper will draw upon a small qualitative study of seven experienced school psychologists, and using a Derridian framework, it makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar [Biesta, G., J. Allan, and R. Edwards. 2011. “The Theory Question in Research Capacity Building in Education: Towards an Agenda for Research and Practice.” British Journal of Educational Studies, 59 (3): 225–239.] on the process of report-writing.     

Replication crisis or an opportunity to improve scientific production?

Science is undergoing a crisis that has been referred to, since the early 21st century, as a crisis of confidence and a crisis of replication. This article reviews questions pertaining to the replication crisis; questions addressing the quality and credibility of the sciences; specifically, questions linked to what are known as false positives, null results, and questionable research practices (p-hacking, harking, cherry-picking). As an outcome of our review and analysis, a set of recommendations to strengthen the elaboration of reliable and valid research studies is provided. Changes are needed in order to foment meta-research, open science practices and replication studies; notably, changes are needed in the instruction of research methods; in the use and interpretation of statistical data, as well as in research culture in general. We conclude that the replication crisis presents an opportunity to improve research practices and the quality of scientific production in all fields of research, including research in education.     

The social psychology of education: New field of study or just educational psychology? 1

The social psychology of education is examined to determine its status as a unique field of study. Recent research in five areas of specialization, attribution theory, school organization, group dynamics, teacher‐pupil relationships, and affective learning is summarized to indicate substantive advances in the field. The contribution of educational social psychology in interpreting school learning is cited with a corresponding theory of learning. Two themes which are pervasive in the social psychology of education, the importance of attitudinal outcomes and the influence of interactions between each person and school social structures on individual behavior, are summarized with implications for educational psychologists.     

Policy makers’ rhetoric of educational change: A critical analysis

Reforms in education often fail due to insufficient time to implement them, too few charismatic leaders, the influence of the preceding culture, scarce resources or an incapacity to comprehend the complexity of the education system. Most studies dealing with the cognitive aspects of educational change investigate the meaning of change through the lens of the educators and principals and there is not as much research available on the perception and interpretation of change by policy makers and the language they use to communicate messages about policy that affect sensemaking–sensegiving during the process of learning about the changes. Guided by the premise that the language of a reform movement is shaped by its ideology, this article illustrates how press releases of the Ministry of Education in Canton Sarajevo in Bosnia–Herzegovina reflect an exploitation-oriented dominant reform logic. The results of frequency analysis, hierarchical clustering and multidimensional scaling imply that MoE is driven by a top-down perspective to educational change, with a focus on the procedural, organizational and collaborational aspects of reforms that primarily alter the structure of the education system but not its internal substance. We end this paper by suggesting that educational system as complex adaptive system cannot be controlled, but effectively managed through distribution of control and creation of few attractors, benefiting from self-organization in the technical core and making change in the official top-down rhetoric.     

‘Ordinary kids’ navigating geographies of educational opportunity in the context of an Australian ‘place-based intervention’

This paper addresses the vexed educational policy aspects of area-based interventions (ABIs) in neighbourhoods designated as ‘disadvantaged’ in an Australian context. We find that the way in which the policy of ABIs is supposed to operate and impact education is highly problematic. What we present instead in this paper is a much more complex process by which aspirations are formed, sustained, contested and maintained by young people who regard themselves as ‘ordinary’ and as being engaged instead in a process of navigating educational opportunities on the basis of resources available to them.