Cardiff University DEdPsy Professional Training Programme - Open Evening - 18.10.07. 1 Part 1 Description of what educational psychologists (Eps) in the

Cardiff University DEdPsy Professional Training Programme - Open Evening - 18.10.07. 1

Part 1 Description of what educational

psychologists (Eps) in the UK do, their roles and responsibilities

How Eps work with parents and carers The national working party on the

present and future roles of Eps working with parents and carers: what we did and early findings and recommendations

Discussion questions


Domains of interest Problem-solving Individual child Whole class Whole school Local authority

DfEE 2000


Historical landmarks Cyril Burt, the first EP (1913)

Assessment of children’s ability and advice on the placement of children in special education

Development of mental tests. Researching into causes of learning

difficulties.


Historical landmarks Summerfield Report (1968)

To consider role and training of EPs and to advise on numbers

Individual diagnostic and therapeutic work with children

No serious consideration of other possible functions

Central core of activities seen as: the identification and treatment of learning and adjustment difficulties.


Historical landmarks The ‘Reconstructing’ developments

(Gillham 1978) Challenged the central position of

assessment of difficulties. Moved the focus onto alternative ways of

working: Research and project work Working with schools as systems

Criticisms of the relevance of psychometrics


Historical landmarks Special needs legislation (1981 &

1996) Gave EPs a statutory responsibility in the

assessment and reviewing of children’s special educational needs

Every child in receipt of special educational provision would have a ‘Statement’ of SEN based on formal ‘Advice’ from, inter alia, EPs.

Gave EPs increasing involvement with Early Years and with parents


Historical landmarks DfEE working party report (2000)

4 levels of work: Individual child Groups of children Schools LEAs

Other agencies Recommendations about service

delivery


The future?

Extended training ‘Every Child Matters’

Review of role and function (DfES 2006).

Integrated Children’s Services


Debates in assessment? Assessment vs Testing?

Purpose Informs action Tests hypotheses Rigour


Over-riding principles Applied science


Debates in assessment? Normative vs Ipsative?

Normative assessment: Compares a sample of behaviour with the

same behaviour in a sample of the population.

Generalises from that sample Requires validity Requires reliability Issues about relevance & equity



Normative assessment: In the UK, typically involves:

Wechsler Scales: WISC IV, WPPSI III British Ability Scales (BAS) A range of attainment tests

Produces norm-referenced scores, typically IQ (or ‘Standard’) scores or percentile rankings



Ipsative assessment: Compares a child with themselves Can include normative assumptions Can allow a focus on the learning /

behaviour issues themselves.


Debates in assessment? Static vs ‘dynamic’?

Static assessment: Looks at what a child has achieved; Analyses strengths and difficulties; Deals in snap-shots of behaviour/learning Emphasises reliability and validity


Debates in assessment? Static vs ‘dynamic’?

dynamic assessment: Based on Vygotsky’s work, developed by

Feuerstein; Looks at a child’s response to teaching Focuses on modifiability and adaptability

- therefore looks at change


Alternative methods Curriculum-based assessment

Ipsative by nature Based on (social) learning theories Looks at the child in context Attempts to lead directly to action Requires careful monitoring,

evaluation and review


Challenges to practice Keep the psychology To maintain relevance to teachers To understand the difficulties in terms

of the interaction between the child and their environment.

To maintain an objective stance To collect data rigorously and to

transform that understanding of the child’s circumstances


Part 2 History of EP Service They were intended to reflect: a)

growing independence of the profession and professional autonomy

b) The significant amount of work Eps do within schools

EPs are part of the local education authority and local Children’s Services.


The Team EPs teams usually consist of

Principal Educational Psychologists, Seniors and main grade EPs. Each EP is usually allocated to a ‘patch’ of schools

Multi-agency work with other professionals is central to the EP role


Skills Base Up to now, 3 year Psychology degree,

then 1 year postgraduate teacher training, then a minimum of 2 years teaching experience, then 1 year Masters’ educational psychology professional training

Plans for training from 2006 to become 3 year doctoral level and teaching to be optional, not essential


Skills continued Skills base for working with children and

families and schools include: assessment of the ability, educational attainment, social-emotional development, self esteem, also

The theory and practice of intervention (design, operation, evaluation, creating and evidence-base)


Skills base 3 Interpersonal/interactive/interview

skills; counselling; systemic and organisational perspectives

Knowledge-base of child development and many areas of special needs, disability and syndromes


Enduring role National surveys over many years

confirm the enduring core role, which is: Direct work with children, referred from

arrange of sources Advising and supporting individual

parents and carers on behaviour management and parenting skills; running parenting courses


Enduring role continued

Work with individual teachers and whole-school approaches

Co-working with colleagues in other agencies

Project work


The National (UK) context to EP’s work with children and families: key developments in Policy and Practice Government reports over the last 40

years on education, literacy, child health, school governance, special educational needs all stress the importance of consulting and involving parents/carers as partners in service delivery

There an increasing number of examples of home-school links and parent-professional cooperation


Such as Contemporary initiatives and

examples of parental involvement Family literacy and family learning;

joint family reading and other activities


Other examples Home-school Agreements: school,

parents and children sign these to show mutual cooperation and commitment

Parenting Education & Support: as above, individual and group work

Early Years Sure Start and Children’s Centres: Government initiative to offer services to young children and families in need


Further examples Extended Schools: opening up schools

to offer local and community services for children and families

Special Educational Needs and families: systems of support for parents of children with special needs

Parents as Partners in Assessment: involving parents as co-assessors of children’s development and learning


Parental involvement There is a growing evidence-

base indicating positive impact on children’s achievement of parental involvement. Educational Psychologists are involved in a number of these initiatives.


The Programme is based on the BPS Core Curriculum and Accreditation Criteria for EP Professional Training Programmes.

The programme is designed to provide a wide-ranging overview of issues and practices in educational psychology. There is a balance struck between developing professional skills and competencies and developing an understanding of the theories and process issues, which inform good practice.

Part 3 What does the DEdPsy Initial Training Programme provide? - 1


What does the DEdPsy Initial Training Programme provide?

The programme consists of: university-based sessions (blocked weeks); investigative visits and practical fieldwork placements in Local

Authority settings and Educational Psychology Services (blocked weeks);

reading and directed study (blocked weeks); research projects, both collaborative and individual; and private study time.


What does the DEdPsy Initial Training Programme provide?

Arrangements across the three years are likely to be as follows (approximate percentages).

Year 1 - University - including research (63%) Fieldwork - including investigative visits (37%)

Year 2 - University - including research (46%) Fieldwork (54%)

Year 3 - University - including research (20%) Fieldwork (80%)


What does the DEdPsy Initial Training Programme provide? - 4

The following themes underpin University-based sessions.

Research Methods in Educational Psychology. Processes and Methods of Assessment. The Psychology of Learning: Managing Change. The Psychology of Behaviour: Managing Change. Understanding and Working with Organisations,

Systems and Groups: Managing Change. The Role of the Educational Psychologist.


What are the main features of the DEdPsy selection process? - 1

Two stage selection process Stage 1 (probably in late February) - Individual

interviews (about 20 minutes) for a long list of approximately 100 applicants.

Stage 2 (probably two weeks later in March) - A range of selection activities (all day) for a short list of approximately 24 applicants.


The programme team is looking to recruit trainees who: have made good use of their relevant experiences of working

with children and young people in education, child care or community settings to prepare themselves for professional training as an educational psychologist of the highest quality;

have a good understanding of the needs of children and/or young people, especially in educational contexts;

have a good understanding of schools, local authority education systems and/or children’s services, and the broader systems to which they relate;

are able to apply psychology appropriately in their work with children, young people and adults; continued…



The programme team is looking to recruit trainees who: have a good understanding of the key issues and debates in

education; have a good understanding of the role and function of

educational psychologists; have maintained a keen interest in psychology itself (since the

programme will not involve the re-teaching of undergraduate psychology);

have a good understanding of the key issues and developments in the profession of educational psychology;

have excellent interpersonal skills and manage their interactions with others sensitively; continued…



The programme team is looking to recruit trainees who: have excellent self-management skills and can demonstrate

these skills in stressful and complex situations, e.g., the selection process;

can reflect on their own experiences in order to identify salient aspects of learning;

are able to communicate effectively to a high standard – orally and in writing;

would participate enthusiastically in all aspects of the programme and be open to new learning and experiences; and

would also be willing to undertake placements in any area of Wales or in parts of England.



What are the entry requirements for the DEdPsy Programme starting September 2008? - 1

Applicants must be eligible for the Graduate Basis for Registration (GBR) of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and must provide written confirmation of this

To be eligible for GBR applicants must either have: undertaken a qualification in psychology (usually a Bachelor

(Honours) degree) which has been approved by the BPS as conferring the Graduate Basis for Registration; or

passed the Society's Qualifying Examination; or undertaken an appropriate Society approved conversion

course. Further details can be found on the BPS website.


What are the entry requirements for the DEdPsy Programme starting September 2008? - 2

Applicants must also be able to demonstrate that they have gained relevant experience of working with children (0-19 age range) within educational, childcare or community settings.

The programme team is not in a position to comment on the suitability of particular experiences.

The programme team is most interested in the use applicants have made of their experiences to prepare themselves for training as applied psychologists of the highest quality in education contexts.

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Cardiff University DEdPsy Professional Training Programme - Open Evening - 18.10.07. 1 Part 1 Description of what educational psychologists (Eps) in the