The Changing Role of the School Psychologist

Lord, Margaret; McKenzie, Vicki; O'Brien, Sue; Semmens, Cheryl

doi:10.1017/s0816512200025049

The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist

1984

DOI: 10.1017/s0816512200025049

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The Changing Role of the School Psychologist

Margaret Lord¹,

Vicki McKenzie²,

Sue O'Brien³

et al.

Abstract: School psychological services in Victoria are provided by Student Services, which is not a school based service. The staff includes Guidance Officers, Psychology Officers, Social Workers, Welfare Officers, Interpreters and Speech Therapists. Services are provided to pre-schools, special facilities, government and registered schools. This paper focuses on the psychological services provided.

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1997

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Taking charge of the future. From states of anxiety and dependence to becoming actualised professionals

Drent

1997

Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling

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Between the mid 1940's and the mid 1980's psychology, guidance and counselling services were established and rapidly expanded within Australian state departments of education. This occurred in a socio-political context where the values of social justice and concern for the disadvantaged were regarded as important by communities looking to governments to reflect these values through appropriate policies and programs. Since then a distinct change has occurred. Economic Rationalism and the move to greater school autonomy has led to the abandonment of central structures and centralised training that supported professional psychological services in schools. Schools increasingly will be expected to “buy in” contracted services as perceived needs arise. The resulting deprof essionalisation, whilst shared at this time by psychologists in other agencies, is particularly threatening in the case of school psychology. By destroying continuity of service and the possibilities of building of long-term relationships, it will reduce opportunities to initiate those school-wide initiatives that can maximise the impact of case work. The authors are of the view that, given the prevailing ideology, governments will persist in ridding themselves of responsibility and the expense of providing psychological and counselling services to school communities. At the same time information from principals suggests that schools' will find it difficult to afford these services from their limited global budgets, despite urgent and growing need for more, not less school-based support for teachers, students and parents. As a profession we must look to old and new models of service delivery and devise practical ways of providing cost-effective, equitable and high quality services to schools. This paper attempts to bring forward the issue as one for urgent debate and planning by our professional associations. Rather than let the profession wither away or end up providing services for the wealthy only, we must take action ourselves to see that it not only survives, but thrives. ( In this paper, the terms guidance officer, school counsellor and school psychologist are used as if they are interchangeable. The reason is that education departments around Australia use different names for those of their student support workers who have qualifications in education, psychology and counselling.)

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Taking charge of the future. From states of anxiety and dependence to becoming actualised professionals

Drent

1997

Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling

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The Changing Role of the School Psychologist

Cited by 1 publication

References 3 publications

Taking charge of the future. From states of anxiety and dependence to becoming actualised professionals

Taking charge of the future. From states of anxiety and dependence to becoming actualised professionals

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