No description available.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology, University of Zululand, 2002. / This study investigates the expectations that primary school teachers have of educational psychologists' role-functions. The study aimed to investigate what services primary school teachers expect school psychologists to render. The second aim was to determine what role-functions teachers feel are most important for educational psychologists to fulfill. The third aim was to investigate what modes of service delivery are preferred by teachers and the fourth aim was to investigate whether there is an association between teachers' characteristics (age, gender, teaching experience) and their expectations of educational psychologists' role-functions. The present study revealed that teachers expect psychologists to conduct assessment, counseling, research, make recommendations, follow up on cases, give advice to parents, provide preventative programs, provide written evaluative reports and be available as a consultant to staff. When respondents were asked to make recommendations regarding what they thought were the most important role-functions for educational psychologists, assessment was ranked as the most important role-function. This was followed by consultation, giving advise to parents, counseling of children, making recommendations, providing a written evaluation of results, following up on cases, remedial assistance and research. Regarding psychological service delivery, teachers felt it was important that psychologists work both on an individual basis with children and with groups of children. .They also believed that it was important to work with school management, parents and staff. In the current study, there was no association between teachers' characteristics (gender, age and teaching experience) and their expectations regarding educational psychologists' role-functions and preferred mode of service delivery.

Burnout is considered the final step in the progression of unsuccessful attempts at coping with a number of stressful conditions. The present study aimed to explore the perceived effectiveness of training of educational psychologists at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg to manage and cope with stress and burnout. The study also explored the perceived effectiveness of training to cope with demands of the profession, and the choice of coping mechanisms in stress management. The sample consisted of 8 educational psychologists who had completed their degrees at the University of Natal, Pietermartizburg. The sample comprised five males and three females. The study was qualitative in nature and the data was analyzed employing Kruger's phenomenological approach. A semi-structured interview was conducted consisting of four questions. The data received was thereafter analyzed by the phenomenological steps stipulated by Kruger (1988). Categorization of the data revealed the following themes: (a) incongruencies in practice and training; (b) perceived influence of professional training on the choice of coping skills and stress management techniques; (c) stress management techniques and elements that psychologists thought should be included in the training programme; (d) contributory factors of stress and burnout in psychologists, and society's perception of psychologists. A gap was perceived between the training received and practice. The respondents felt that there was a lack of focus on issues pertaining to educational psychology. The meta-issue that arose was that the professional training received was incongruent with work demands. With regard to the choice of coping skills, the training received was perceived as being unhelpful, but aided in the refinement of existing coping skills. The findings of the study are discussed, limitations of the study considered, and suggestions for further research offered. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

Dynamic assessment represents an opportunity for educational psychologists to utilise a play-based approach for assessing the functional behaviour of children who struggle to perform in formal testing situations (Tzuriel, 2000; Hill, 2015). A systematic literature review aims to evaluate available empirical research on the use of dynamic assessment approaches within the early years to provide a clearer view of the evidence for their use and to support educational psychologists' development of such approaches within their professional practice. The review of this evidence indicated mixed results for the usefulness of dynamic assessment in the early years phase and warranted closer inspection of the use of dynamic assessment by educational psychologists. In the empirical project, a purposive convenience sample was used. Two practising educational psychologists were interviewed using semi structured interview schedules and observed delivering dynamic assessment in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis and a content analysis was used to analyse the videoed observations. The findings of this empirical project highlight the type and level of mediation required for dynamic assessment of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage; how educational psychologists evaluate the usefulness of dynamic assessment for assessing and identifying the needs of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage; and the implications of dynamic assessment for intervention for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Implications are discussed for promoting the use of dynamic assessment among educational psychologists as a useful tool for assessment of children in the early years age phase.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The pressure exerted on schools in South Africa to provide student support is ever increasing. This is directly attributable to the lack of support in the child’s home, often with both parents being absent due to work obligations. As a result, the growing need for classroom support rests solely upon the teacher. Teachers are finding themselves in a very difficult position, firstly to find the time with already full schedules looking after the curriculum and extramural activities, and secondly feeling incompetent to adequately provide the learner with the required support. The need for inter-professional collaboration between the teacher and the educational psychologist is clear. The educational psychologist is adequately trained to provide the necessary learner support, albeit facing a logistical problem of reaching all the learners in the school. To overcome this problem, the help of the teacher is vitally important. The question that arises and which is investigated further in this study, is: What is the nature of this inter-professional collaboration between the teacher and educational psychologist that is required to address the learner’s need for classroom support? To fully grasp and understand this concept of collaboration, the analysis has been applied within the framework of the existing interaction model which classifies it into two dimensions, one being relationship interaction and the other the interaction with the organisational milieu. The research methodology used in this study can be described as a qualitative study. The study took place within an interpretative paradigm with participants being chosen using a goal-orientated sample. The participants were selected from a single school within the Gauteng educational system, to ensure the study remains focused. The data were collected from research journals, semi-structured individual interviews and uncompleted questionnaires. Finally, the data was analysed by making use of a qualitative content analysis method.

Paper 1: This first of three papers identified current areas of educational psychologist (EP) scholarship across key publications read by a sample of 13 EPs working in three different models of service delivery in England on the topic of developmental dyslexia (henceforth, dyslexia). Findings imply that the EPs sampled do not access high quality scientific research literature on dyslexia; most of the literature accessed appears to be non-peer reviewed and there is little information to support the development of EP practice for assessment and intervention, understanding the link between literacy failure and mental health, or how all this contributes to a consultation method of service delivery. Paper 2: The focus of the empirical paper was to describe and analyse how EPs currently conceptualise dyslexia and delineate what they do with regard to assessment and intervention. Furthermore, it explored how EPs' beliefs about dyslexia, and the wider social context, impact on practice. Findings suggest that dyslexia remains an area of significant confusion and contradiction for the EPs interviewed. Most continue to rely on the British Psychological Society's (BPS, 1999) definition but this appears to add to their confusion rather than clarify their thinking which, in turn, seems to reinforce their beliefs or 'world view' about dyslexia. A very narrow range of actual practice in terms of assessment and intervention was described by the participants. Paper 3: The final paper discussed evidence-based practice (EBP), effective dissemination strategies to promote and measure outcomes, and the impact of such research. To conclude, some thought is given to ways in which the current research contributes to EBP and possible media for dissemination.

Thesis (M. Ed.), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1999. / Bibliography: p. 61-65.

With vast changes occurring in the South African context since 1994, it is clear that the role of educational psychologists has also shifted. While changes have occurred, numerous difficulties still exist within the education sector highlighting the need for educational psychologists. However, there appears to be disagreement about how the role is perceived in the Health Professions Council of South Africa, training institutions and in practice. For these reasons, this study seeks to unpack educational psychologists' perceptions of their role within the Pietermaritzburg area. A qualitative methodology is employed using semi-structured interviews with a number of practitioners in the area. The study found that the role of educational psychologists is complex, affected by individual variables and various contextual shifts and tensions. This finding has implications for the training of educational psychologists and raises questions around their place within education itself. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

The aim of this study was to ensure that the Sefton Educational Psychology and Portage Service (SEPPS) maintained a high quality service to very young children, their families and settings while responding to the national changes in Children’s Services prompted by Every Child Matters (ECM) (DfES, 2003) and changes in team structure and personnel at a local level. The methodology used was based on the appreciative inquiry (AI) 4-D cycle described by Coghlan, Preskill and Catsambas, (2003) and consisted of four phases which were implemented over a period of eighteen months: Discovery, Dream, Design and Destiny. During the Discovery phase of the project, three educational psychologists (EPs) provided rich narratives illustrating what drives them to work with very young children, families and settings and the contribution that they think EPs make to this area of work. Individual EP’s views of their own skills were corroborated by interviews with parents and analysis of all seven parental stories confirmed that the service that they received met the EPs’ expectations of best practice. In Phase Two, (Discovery/Dream) a workshop was held with representatives of the EP team’s other early years stakeholders to introduce them to AI and to elicit their perceptions of best practice in partnership working. The findings from the inquiry were then used to inform the work of the team during the period from April 2009 to February 2010 (Design/Destiny). Progress was tracked both formally and informally. At the end of the Destiny phase, the stakeholders involved in Phase Two of the project were interviewed to gather evidence on whether they had been able to apply AI in their own work and whether they had noticed any differences in the early years’ work of EPs since attending the initial workshop. The data collected by the author and other members of the EP team (who acted as co-researchers) included interview transcripts, worksheets, flipcharts, reflection/evaluation sheets and minutes of meetings. Each of these elements was analysed individually and collectively by the author according to the principles of thematic analysis, as described by Attride-Stirling (2001), Carter (2004) and Braun and Clarke (2006).At the end of the project, some of the stakeholders interviewed reported that the AI workshop had transformed their way of working from a deficit model to a strengths based model. There was also evidence that attendance at the workshop had changed participants’ perceptions of the role of the EP, facilitating improved channels of communication and the development of a shared vision. Each member of the early years EP team was mentioned in at least one positive story, indicating that high standards of service delivery were maintained during a period of considerable change. The extent to which AI contributed to this process and the challenges presented by this methodology are also discussed.

In order to address the managerial leadership challenge of the educational psychologist cohort, it seems fundamentally superficial to make direct use of conventional management theories, scientific data, and empirical evidence from managers’ work practices in other contexts. The current research explored the influence of managerial leadership on the professional performance of educational psychologist in relation to service delivery models, management appointments, workload management and educational psychologists’ engagement in clinical supervision. Managers need to gain better understand of the influence of managerial leadership on the professional performance of educational psychologists and use contemporary empirical and scientific data to guide their managerial leadership practice. The explanatory sequential mixed-methods research approach was best suited to the early stages of research in this arena. The research findings elucidated the influence of service delivery models, described the ideal management appointment, proposed a formal structured workload management system and provided activities for managers to encourage educational psychologists’ engagement in clinical supervision. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)