Educational psychologists’ support roles regarding the implementation of inclusive education in Zimbabwe

This article focuses on a phenomenological study of trainee/educational psychologists’ lived experiences regarding the support roles in the implementation of inclusive education practices in Zimbabwe. In‐depth phenomenological interviews were done with 16 purposely selected participants (13 trainee/educational psychologists located at three administrative offices and three experts on inclusion from three universities) and data was transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed. Monthly/annual reports from trainee/educational psychologists were used as reference material. Three major themes emerged from the support roles: (1) diverse views on inclusion; (2) critical roles, successful and unsuccessful experiences in implementing inclusive education; and (3) impact of experiences on rendering support services. Key findings indicate that advocacy and consultation, assessment and placement, and in‐service training were viewed as critical and successful experiences, whereas negative teacher attitudes and limited resources were viewed as barriers toward the implementation of inclusive education practices. The impact of experiences indicates inadequacy in the provision of support services. Annual reports of trainee/educational psychologists indicated inadequate ongoing training on inclusive education practices. These findings are discussed in relation to the inclusive education literature.     

Averting a Recruitment Crisis in Educational Psychology Services: An investigation of psychology undergraduate perspectives on the profession

This paper describes a survey of psychology undergraduates' perceptions of educational psychology, and the factors most likely to motivate or deter them from joining the profession. Results suggest that interest in educational psychology as a career option is at its lowest level for thirty years or more. The paper presents evidence that the current recruitment crisis within the profession needs to be addressed at a number of levels, including: the promotion within first degree programmes of improved understanding of educational psychology as a discipline and a profession, and of the links between basic research and its applicability to educational psychology in practice; the further development of the role which educational psychologists (EPs) fulfil, and the accurate dissemination of information about the profession; stream-lining and rationalising post-graduate training routes for psychology graduates, in order to offer a more accessible career route, and maximising its direct relevance in supporting the acquisition of core professional skills; and attenting to pay and conditions within the profession, so that it competes on more equal terms with other career destinations considered by undergraduates.     

Early Research in Educational Psychology

Twenty-one schools active in training educational psychologists early in the century have been identified. Three major journals publishing educational psychology research between 1910 and 1925 were studied to determine the nature and extent of research performed in the institutions. Productivity ranged from high to low, with about one third of studies devoted to intelligence and its measurement, and one third devoted to other aspects of measurement. Educational psychologists professed to be concerned primarily with learning, but only about 10% of their research focused on learning. Examination of textbooks of the period revealed that authors' sources of evidence primarily came from traditional education (mostly methods) books, secondarily from traditional general psychology books, and very little from educational psychology research. However described, early educational psychologists were primarily psychometrists, depending on traditional education and psychology for the data they espoused.     

Extending Counselor Supervision

This article proposes that supervision of the counselor trainee be extended into the trainee's first employment setting following completion of his master's degree program. This extension would be of benefit to the producer (counselor training program), the product (counselor trainee) and the consumer (local school or agency). The proposed model is suggested as also being relevant to the training of counselor supervisors.     

Is the restructured initial professional training in educational psychology fit for purpose?

Following changes to educational psychology training, the research aimed to examine whether the new training is considered “fit for purpose”, using a mixed-methods design. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via semi-structured online questionnaires completed by recently qualified educational psychologists (RQEPs) who completed training programmes in 2009 and 2010, and principal educational psychologists (PEPs). 64 RQEPs and 15 PEPs responded to the online questionnaires distributed through the Educational Psychology Network (EPNET) and the National Association of Principal Educational Psychologists (NAPEP) forums, as well as via all initial professional training providers in the UK (excluding Scotland). Frequency counts were calculated for quantitative data. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the qualitative data. Findings suggest that RQEPs gain skills and competencies that are used and valued by services, specifically, professional and interpersonal competencies to face demanding roles. Gaps were identified in relation to providing RQEPs with therapeutic competencies that they and PEPs would value. Discrepancies between the training provided and the realistic educational psychologist (EP) role were highlighted, in addition to the impact these seem to have on RQEPs. Facilitators and barriers to implementation of training were identified. The restructured initial professional training appears to have provided RQEPs with relevant training that is used and valued by services. It seems that some level of “mismatch” in training and job requirements will remain until a consistent educational psychology identity can be formed, either through the profession itself or due to enforced Government changes to the role. Recommendations for RQEPs, Educational Psychology Services, including PEPs, and future programme providers are presented.     

Establishing a portfolio assessment framework for pre-service teachers: a multiple perspectives approach

In the field of initial teacher training, portfolios are widely used to assess pre-service teachers' performance as well as the outcomes of university-based teacher preparation programmes. However, little is known about the explicit design of portfolio assessment mechanisms in teacher preparation programmes. Issues related to the design and validation of portfolios for pre-service teacher assessment are a critical area of inquiry for the field of initial teacher training. In this study, perspectives were elicited from school trainee teachers and faculty from a secondary teacher preparation programme to examine the relationships identified among core competencies of a portfolio assessment framework and pre-service candidate learning outcomes. Comparative findings are presented about the relationships identified by the trainee teachers and faculty across the secondary education programme's portfolio core competencies and trainee learning outcomes. A discussion of the findings is presented with implications and future directions highlighted.     

Learning how to 'Count us in'

Can parents learn how to help their children with mathematics through programmes like those for raising reading skills? Janine Woolgar, educational psychologist, London Borough of Bexley, describes a pilot study which may encourage teachers and parents to work together and which was completed while the author was a trainee on the educational psychology course at North East London Polytechnic.     

The challenge of shaping socially responsible teachers*

It has been vigorously argued over decades that trainee teachers hold entrenched, stereotypical attitudes and beliefs about diverse groups of pupils. These assumptions have been shown to create discriminatory teaching practice which affects the educational attainment of pupils as young as five. This article reports on a study of the complex issues involved in challenging trainee teacher assumptions in an attempt to address the cycle of perpetuating stereotypes. The study was carried out within the context of Initial Teacher Training during a 10-month primary PGCE programme at an English university. The professional reflections of a participant sample of trainee teachers were analysed to ascertain the participants’ awareness of their own socio-cultural beliefs and assumptions and how the variety of instructional pedagogies supported or inhibited their examination of those beliefs. The findings provide implications for all teacher training programmes that attempt to ensure educational equality for children.     

Gender variance and educational psychology: implications for practice

The area of gender variance appears to be more visible in both the media and everyday life. Within educational psychology literature gender variance remains underrepresented. The positioning of educational psychologists working across the three levels of child and family, school or establishment and education authority/council, means that they are well placed to support knowledge, understanding and practice in this area. The literature highlights the importance of the terminology around gender variance, the differing representations of gender variance and the potential impact upon young people. Three practice examples demonstrate potential roles for educational psychologists and together with the literature highlight possible implications for educational psychology practice.     

Leadership supervision for managers of educational psychology services

A growing body of literature surrounds the development of effective supervisory practices for practitioner and trainee educational psychologists. To date, none of this has addressed supervision for managers of UK educational psychology services, despite evidence that they may be under increasing pressure to make difficult decisions, respond to changing economic and political contexts and experience greater scrutiny in relation to service performance. In this study, 10 principal educational psychologists (PEPs) took part in a focus group to explore the supervisory needs and experiences of service leaders. Emergent key themes revealed differential patterns of entitlement and support, with PEPs often reporting innovative practice in order to access supervision. Supervision often had a duality of purpose, with PEPs advocating and promoting service delivery, rather than seeking personal support, potentially eroding the notion of supervision as a “safe space.” Implications for future practice are discussed and a potentially supportive leadership supervision framework proposed.     

The Impact of a Modified Initial Teacher Education on Challenging Trainees' Understanding of Neuromyths

Initial teacher education (ITE) offers an underutilized opportunity for bridging the gap between neuroscience research and educational practice. This article reports on innovations embedded within an ITE program to support trainee teachers to recognize and challenge the persistence of neuromyths. Education researchers, neuroscientists, and psychologists collaboratively applied design‐based research to create, improve, and reflect on original neuroeducational teaching/learning resources for university‐based primary (elementary) ITE trainees. Encouragingly, pre and postsurveys showed reductions in trainees ' beliefs in neuromyths and a shift to responses showing uncertainty that suggested their beliefs became unsettled. The most persistent neuromyths were those regarding fish oils, left brain/right brain, and learning styles/visual, auditory, or kinaesthetic (VAK). Trainees retained their initial interest in knowledge about the brain and education, gained confidence, and became more critical about applying the learning sciences in educational contexts.     

Cognitive behaviour therapy in schools: the role of educational psychology in the dissemination of empirically supported interventions

Educational psychology has recently experienced something of a revival in the provision of psychological therapy. This revival has aligned with general developments in evidence‐based psychology. A product of this has been more frequent delivery of empirically supported therapies in practice settings, for example, anxiety reduction programmes in school classes. This has enriched educational psychology practice and increased its opportunity to participate in therapy services through engagement with multi‐professional teams, coordination of training providers, training of trainers or indeed direct delivery. However, there are concerns that over‐commitment to simple intervention protocols has undermined educational psychologists’ wider role as highly skilled therapist/generalists. This article summarises the terms of debate in which empirically supported research practices have developed. Following an overview of the most common therapies, a series of questions challenging current research practices are posed. This paper finally reconsiders the impact that patterns of research and provision have had on educational psychology in practice.     

Bridging the Gap: probationer educational psychologists' use of computer-mediated conferencing

Twelve educational psychologists in training on the M.Sc. course at the University of Strathclyde were provided with e-mail and on-line computer conferencing facilities with the aim of developing critical thinking and transferable information technology skills. A follow-up 6 months after the end of the course revealed that the use of computer-mediated conferencing increased the amount of and improved the structure of exchanges between educational psychologists in training, which helped them to bridge the gap between the course and the commencement of their probationary period. The findings from this case study highlight the importance of computer-mediated conferencing for the training of educational psychologists. The implications for educational psychology services are also discussed.     

A Model of Effective Fieldwork Supervision for Trainee Educational Psychologists

This study seeks to provide current survey data from qualified psychologists about effective supervision, in view of increased fieldwork supervision demands, due to restructured initial professional training. A model of effective fieldwork supervision emerges in which a well‐managed and communicative partnership between trainee psychologist and supervisor is formed, in the context of the psychological service, its partners and clients. The authors anticipate that this may support the supervision needs of qualified colleagues, and speculate upon what additional provisions might be relevant in Years 2 and 3 when trainee psychologists will have a dual role as university students and practitioners within services.     

Escaping into a master's degree in times of crisis? Master's degree applications and enrolment over the business cycle

The consequences of graduating in a recession could be severe and long-lasting. Bachelor's graduates can, however, avoid entering the labour market by continuing their education. Using a Norwegian dataset containing information on all graduates and their applications to and enrolment in master's degree programmes over a 15-year period, we find that a one percentage point increase in the field-specific unemployment rate results in a 6.5 percentage points increase in applications and a 3.9 percentage points increase in enrolment. Moreover, using a survey of the 2020 bachelor's graduates cohort, that is, the Covid-19 cohort, we find evidence indicating that those pushed into a master's degree by conditions in the labour market differ substantially from those whose decision to enrol in a master's degree is not driven by labour market conditions.     

A snapshot of multicultural training in school psychology

With the rapidly increasing racial and ethnic diversity of the school-aged population, school psychologists must be properly trained to engage in culturally competent practice; however, little is known about how school psychology programs prepare their trainees to serve diverse populations. The purpose of this study was to update Rogers et al.'s study on multicultural training by examining the extent to which school psychology programs use multicultural training recommendations noted in the literature. Thirty-eight school psychology program coordinators completed the Multicultural Environmental Inventory-Revised (MEI) to assess their perceptions of their program's multicultural environment. Participants were also asked about their training in multicultural and diversity issues and how their program conducts multicultural training. Findings suggest that programs most frequently used the integration and separate course models for multicultural training along with clinical experiences serving diverse students. In addition, multicultural coursework was associated with higher scores on the MEI Curriculum and MEI Research subscales. With regard to program environment, the percentage of racial and ethnic minoritized (REM) students was positively correlated to the percentage of REM faculty and the number of required multicultural courses. However, programs lacked specific strategies to recruit and retain diverse students. Findings and implications for training programs are discussed.     

White clinical psychology trainees' views on racial equity within programme selection in South Africa

The issue of diversity in both physical and epistemological access to programmes in higher education is an important concern worldwide. In South Africa, as elsewhere, access to professional clinical psychology training programmes is extremely competitive, and there is an important imperative to diversify the student profile. Perspectives of black students on access to clinical psychology training in South Africa have been extensively studied, but the views of white students are minimally documented. We interviewed four white professional clinical psychology trainees on their views about the role race plays in selection for professional training. Four major themes arose from the participants' responses: uncertainty versus transparency; internal shame versus external blame; race versus socio-economic status and language and relevance versus irrelevance. Participants expressed discomfort with selection procedures, and though there are several limitations to this study, such as the small sample size, the need to open the door to discussions on the frightening topic of race is essential for a socially responsible approach to future equity, diversity and representativeness in professional training in higher education in South Africa.     

Generating a desired state for master's degree programs in science education through grounded theory research

This is the report of a two-year study using qualitative research methods to assess the training needs of science teachers in southern Florida. The respondents included individuals and groups comprising the educational enterprise and those outside the enterprise with the ability to influence policy in science education and implementation of that policy in Florida. The study resulted in recommendations describing the desired state for graduate training leading to a master's degree in science education and has implications for noncredit inservice activities.     

Video Enhanced Reflective Practice (VERP): supporting the development of trainee educational psychologists’ consultation and peer supervision skills

This article aims to seek trainee educational psychologists’ (TEPs) views about their experiences of using Video Enhanced Reflective Practice (VERP) to support their professional development, with a particular focus on consultation and peer supervision skills for the VERP guider. Participants engaged in three cycles of VERP, reflecting upon their practice using video clips of themselves. An action research design was implemented and views from trainee EPs and the Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) supervisor were sought, using semi-structured interviews. Hybrid Thematic Analysis was used in order to analyse the data. Findings suggest that VERP was generally a positive experience for trainees and their experiences highlighted the impact of observing themselves in practice, as opposed to retrospective reflection. Trainee EPs selected factors to consider within a ‘shared review’ and reflected on their experiences of being filmed, the strengths and the challenges of which are considered.