The psychological health of children and adolescents has long been the object of close attention of specialists, because the problem is always easier to eliminate at an early stage. True, to do this it must first be discovered, and this is where difficulties arise. Parents are often prevented from correctly interpreting a child's behavior by lack of knowledge. School psychologists could help them with this, but few reach them for various reasons. In 2021, after another tragedy involving the death of two teenagers, the government began to think about reforming the psychological assistance service in the country. Izvestia looked into how they now care about the mental balance of schoolchildren.
Profession: educational psychologist
A teacher-psychologist is an employee of an educational institution who monitors the social adaptation of students, works to correct deviant behavior of children, and takes measures aimed at preventing psychological deviations.
The job responsibilities of a teacher-psychologist at school include maintaining students’ personal files, monitoring children, and taking measures to eliminate problem situations. The personal qualities of a psychologist play a big role in the organization of his work. Mutual understanding, the ability to listen and make decisions are mandatory qualities that an educational psychologist must have.
The personal qualities of a psychologist must correspond to the position held. A child is more likely to make contact if the educational psychologist has the following qualities:
- communication;
- friendliness;
- justice;
- tolerance;
- modernity;
- intelligence;
- optimism.
Not everyone can become a talented specialist in this field, since the productivity of a teacher-psychologist at school depends on the personal qualities of the person himself.
Teachers
It seems that a psychologist is assigned to the school only to work with students and monitor their psychological health. However, a favorable atmosphere in school depends on both the calmness of the students and the calmness of the teachers. Moreover, in this sense, the latter are entrusted with even more responsibility.
Photo source
“Let’s make it clear that anyone can turn to a school psychologist for advice: a child, a parent, a teacher, even a representative of the school administration,” says Valeria Gennadievna. “Moreover, the question does not necessarily have to concern the school agenda: problems of a personal nature also happen to teachers. Another thing is that they are often wary of the psychologist, they do not like it when someone interferes in the learning process, and the psychologist inevitably has to do this. As a result, a kind of confrontation begins, and, of course, in such a situation one can hardly expect that the teacher will readily come to ask the psychologist for help. The exceptions are, perhaps, acute conflict situations in the classroom, which the teacher simply cannot cope with on his own.”
Why is conflict resolution specifically within the competence of a psychologist? There are several reasons for this:
- The teacher, no matter how hard he tries to abstract himself from the situation, is still at the center of the conflict. The psychologist plays the role of an outside observer;
- Even if a teacher is confident that he has no favorites in the class, he may still unconsciously make decisions in favor of students he likes more. The psychologist is impartial;
- A psychologist, regardless of his specialization, as a rule, is better aware of the methods of resolving disputes: alas, when receiving higher education, not all teachers pay close attention to the psychology of pedagogical activity.
“I believe that teachers of general education institutions should have basic knowledge and skills at least in such areas of psychology as: general psychology, developmental psychology, educational psychology,” Yulia Olegovna is sure. “Such knowledge will help the teacher competently and more effectively organize training and education and the development of the child, taking into account the age, physiological and individual characteristics and capabilities of the child. But not only. In the modern pedagogical process, every teacher or any specialist working with a child simply needs to undergo personal therapy. Personal consultations with a psychologist or psychotherapist will allow teachers to avoid emotional burnout, as well as work through their personal conflicts and ambitions, which will contribute to more successful communication with children and colleagues.”
Job responsibilities of a teacher-psychologist
A specialist can hold this position only if he has a higher or secondary specialized education in the field of “Pedagogy and Psychology”. The Federal State Educational Standard, or Federal State Educational Standard, for a teacher-psychologist at school is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
The functional responsibilities of a teacher-psychologist at school are not limited to resolving conflict situations and working with problem children.
We list the main job responsibilities of a psychologist:
- Providing favorable conditions for the development, learning and socialization of students.
- Identifying the causes of problematic situations between students.
- Providing psychological assistance to children who need it.
- Participation in the development of developmental and correctional programs.
- Control of the educational process.
- Consulting teachers and parents on issues of development, socialization and adaptation of children.
- Analysis of children's creative and educational achievements and their academic performance.
- Assessing the effectiveness of teachers.
This is only a small part of the responsibilities of an educational psychologist. A complete list is prescribed in the job descriptions when hiring a specialist for this position.
Range of duties
But even in cases where a psychologist is allowed to perform his direct duties, their circle has to be seriously limited. Usually the work comes down to diagnosing children's readiness for school, studying adaptation to school education, career guidance and preparing for exams.
From hedgehog to hopeless: children's YouTube lives by its own rules
Should you be afraid of talking cats with a million views, a Momo doll and a pixelated psychopathic teacher?
In a bureaucratic environment, this work also takes a lot of time. “Diagnostics at school can often be presented in the form of testing students. Sounds simple: testing. In fact, this process resembles a quest,” says psychologist Svetlana Bogdanchik. — First, you need to collect written consent from all parents whose children must take the test. Then the testing itself, data processing, drawing up a report on the results, writing recommendations to the legal representative of each student who passed the test. In this case, testing can simultaneously involve several classes or even parallels. And collecting 200–250 consents from parents is not an easy task, especially in the case of tight deadlines.”
Sometimes, to make their task easier, psychologists may not report to parents. But this option only reduces the already low level of parental trust in such specialists. According to the head of the psychological service of the Intellectual school, Inga Tolstykh, on the contrary, one should strive in every possible way to establish contact with parents. “Sometimes they don’t know how to build a relationship with a child, doubt his “correct” physiological development, don’t know how to help in choosing a professional profile or university - all these issues can and should be discussed with a psychologist. Schools must have an information stand with a psychologist’s schedule and contact information so that parents can call and make an appointment,” the expert is sure.
psychologist
Photo: RIA Novosti/Grigory Sysoev
It is equally important to help teachers who regularly face professional burnout. “In a good way, you need to work with them no less than with children. It is logical to correct one person’s teaching style than to regularly work with the “victims” of his system - children,” says the coordinator of the psychological service of one of the public schools in an interview with Izvestia. “But there are also many problems here: in some cases, teachers do not trust the psychologist and will not go to him, in others, psychologists themselves have little training in working with such teachers. “Specialists who can do everything don’t often go to work with a salary of 40 thousand per rate.”
All inclusive: what is inclusive education
Disabled children should not be left without knowledge
The shortage of personnel became even more acute with the advent of an inclusive system in schools, the expert shares: “In one of our buildings there are 20 children with disabilities (disabilities - Izvestia), with each of whom you need to work for an hour a week. At the same time, there are still 800–900 ordinary children, and there is no longer enough time to consult with them. According to the recommendation of the Ministry of Education, there should be no more than 20 students per psychologist, but in reality, of course, everything is different. We have already reached this mark, but we don’t know whether they will give us another bid.”
Educational psychologist program
The work program is drawn up for one academic year in accordance with the requirements of the Law “On Education”. Each program is developed with a specific purpose. To achieve the goal, a list of tasks is assigned, the implementation of which leads to the desired result.
Each program has several areas of work, and the activities of a teacher-psychologist at school are divided into the following areas: correctional and developmental, psychological and pedagogical, analytical, counseling and education. For each category of activity, a detailed action plan is drawn up. The means and methods that must be applied to achieve the goal are listed.
The predicted performance results for each category of students are indicated. The program is compiled based on the individual and age characteristics of students. The program should include planning work with students’ parents, taking into account the individual characteristics of families, identifying dysfunctional, single-parent families. The responsibility of a teacher-psychologist at school is also to monitor the upbringing of a child in the family.
New concept
In 2021, the Russian Academy of Education (RAE) prepared a concept for the development of psychological services in the education system of the Russian Federation for the period until 2025. The document generally defines the goals and objectives of such a service, and also talks about the importance of improving the qualifications of specialists, developing a new professional standard and creating a federal coordinating council for psychological services.
psychologist
Photo: Depositphotos
Slanderous attitude: how school bullying works
Why You Shouldn't Ignore Teen Bullying in the Classroom
In fact, psychologists did not feel any serious changes in their work from this. The presence of such a teacher in a school and his range of responsibilities still depend on the will of the leadership of the educational organization.
The current professional standard provides for a wide range of tasks: psychological education, prevention, diagnosis, correction, counseling. At the same time, according to experts, there are no clear standards for practical psychology. On professional forums, specialists often share stories about how, after coming to school for this position, they turned into a “substitute teacher” or a document specialist.
Psychological education
In order for socialization and personal development to proceed harmoniously, it is necessary to create all the necessary conditions for this. In particular, take care of the formation of positive attitudes towards psychological assistance to the child among parents, teachers and the children themselves. In most cases, parents who do not have knowledge in the field of child psychology do not know how to behave when conflict situations arise. Sometimes it happens that adults aggravate the situation with their reaction or incorrect behavior. The responsibilities of a teacher-psychologist at school include conducting classes on psychological education of teachers and parents at regular intervals. If conflict situations arise, the psychologist must begin individual work with the student and his parents.
School psychologist
A school psychologist is a psychologist who works in a school.
The goal of the school psychological service is to optimize the educational environment in order to create conditions for the harmonious development of students’ personalities.
Why do we need a psychologist at school?
The psychologist provides psychological and pedagogical support of the educational process in order to ensure the normal development of the child (in accordance with the norm of development at the appropriate age).
The functions of a school psychologist include: psychological diagnostics; correctional work; counseling parents and teachers; psychological education; participation in teacher councils and parent meetings; participation in the recruitment of first-graders; psychological prevention.
Psychological diagnostics includes conducting frontal (group) and individual examinations of students using special techniques. Diagnostics are carried out at the preliminary request of teachers or parents, as well as at the initiative of a psychologist for research or preventive purposes. The psychologist selects a methodology aimed at studying the abilities and characteristics of the child (group of students) that interest him. These can be techniques aimed at studying the level of development of attention, thinking, memory, emotional sphere, personality traits and relationships with others. The school psychologist also uses methods to study parent-child relationships and the nature of interaction between the teacher and the class.
The data obtained allow the psychologist to build further work: identify students in the so-called “risk group” who need remedial classes; prepare recommendations for teachers and parents on interaction with students.
In connection with diagnostic tasks, one of the psychologist’s tasks is to draw up an interview program with future first-graders, conducting that part of the interview that concerns the psychological aspects of the child’s readiness for school (the level of development of volition, the presence of motivation to learn, the level of development of thinking). The psychologist also gives recommendations to parents of future first-graders.
Corrective classes can be individual or group. During the process, the psychologist tries to correct undesirable features of the child’s mental development. These classes can be aimed both at the development of cognitive processes (memory, attention, thinking), and at solving problems in the emotional-volitional sphere, in the sphere of communication and the problem of self-esteem of students. The school psychologist uses existing lesson programs and also develops them independently, taking into account the specifics of each specific case. Classes include a variety of exercises: developmental, gaming, drawing and other tasks - depending on the goals and age of the students.
Consulting parents and teachers is work on a specific request. The psychologist acquaints parents or teachers with the diagnostic results, gives a certain prognosis, and warns about what difficulties the student may have in the future in learning and communication; At the same time, recommendations are jointly developed for solving emerging problems and interacting with the student.
Psychological education consists of introducing teachers and parents to the basic patterns and conditions for the favorable mental development of a child. This is carried out through consultations, speeches at pedagogical councils and parent-teacher meetings.
In addition, at pedagogical councils, the psychologist participates in making decisions about the possibility of teaching a given child according to a specific program, about transferring a student from class to class, about the possibility of a child “stepping over” through a class (for example, a very capable or prepared student can be transferred from first grade immediately to third).
All of the above functions of a school psychologist make it possible to maintain at school the psychological conditions necessary for the full mental development and formation of the child’s personality, that is, they serve the purposes of psychological prevention.
The work of a school psychologist also includes a methodological part. A psychologist must constantly work with literature, including periodicals, in order to track new scientific achievements, deepen his theoretical knowledge, and become familiar with new techniques. Any diagnostic technique requires the ability to process and summarize the data obtained. The school psychologist tests new methods in practice and finds the most optimal methods of practical work. He tries to select literature on psychology for the school library in order to introduce teachers, parents and students to psychology. In his daily work, he uses such expressive means of behavior and speech as intonation, posture, gestures, facial expressions; is guided by the rules of professional ethics, the work experience of himself and his colleagues.
Questions for which you can and should contact a school psychologist:
1. Difficulties in studying
Some children do not study as well as they would like. There could be a lot of reasons for this. For example, not a very good memory, distracted attention or lack of desire, or maybe problems with the teacher and a lack of understanding why all this is needed at all. During the consultation, we will try to determine what the reason is and how to fix it, in other words, we will try to find what and how needs to be developed in order to learn better.
2. Relationships in the classroom
There are people who easily find contact with others and easily communicate in any company, even unfamiliar ones. But there are, and there are also a lot of them, those who find it difficult to meet people, difficult to build good relationships, difficult to find friends and just feel light and free in a group, for example? in class. With the help of a psychologist, you can find ways and personal resources, learn techniques for building harmonious relationships with people in a variety of situations.
3. Relationships with parents
Sometimes it happens that we lose the common language and warm relationships with our closest people - our parents. Conflicts, quarrels, lack of mutual understanding - this situation in the family usually brings pain to both children and parents. Some find solutions, while others find it quite difficult to do so. The psychologist will tell you how to learn to build new relationships with your parents and learn to understand them, and how to make your parents understand and accept you.
4. Choosing a life path
Ninth, tenth and eleventh grades are the times when many people think about their future profession and, in general, about how they would like to live their lives. If you're not sure? Whichever path you want to go, there is always the opportunity to go to a psychologist. It will help you realize your dreams, desires and goals, evaluate your resources and abilities, and understand (or get closer to understanding) in which area(s) of life you want to be realized.
5. Self-government and self-development
Our life is so interesting and multifaceted that it constantly poses a lot of challenges for us. Many of them require considerable effort and the development of a wide variety of personal qualities, skills and abilities. You can develop leadership skills or argumentative skills, logical thinking or creativity. Improve your memory, attention, imagination. You can learn to manage your life, set goals and achieve them effectively. A psychologist is a person who owns the technology for developing certain qualities, skills and abilities and will be happy to share this technology with you.
Websites dedicated to the work of a school psychologist
- School psychologist Marina Georgievna Dyatlova - a selection of necessary documents, useful games and exercises.
- Encyclopedia of a school psychologist
Psychological diagnostics
At this stage, the psychologist diagnoses the psychological state of students. Reveals the characteristics of the emotional state, the level of development, and in some cases the degree of social neglect or the presence of mental disorders. Diagnostic testing is carried out in different variations. This could be a test, an event, a group lesson, etc. An educational psychologist processes the information received during the diagnosis and identifies a risk group. Such a group may include children who do not have friends among their peers, students who create conflict situations, and children with weak emotional stability. Any deviation from the norm may be a reason to begin individual work with the child and his parents.
What a psychologist can and should
Many are mistaken in thinking that the job responsibilities of a school teacher-psychologist are limited to conducting tests and diagnosing them. This is far from true. Here is a list of what is included in the job functions of a specialist.
Diagnostics
Let's start, in fact, with this most common professional duty. Psychologists study the level of development, state of memory, thinking abilities, communication skills, emotional component and “draw” a portrait of each individual student. They do this in groups or approach each individual individually.
As a result of psychological diagnostics, a so-called “risk group” is formed. It will include students who could use correction of their behavior so that they “don’t screw things up” in the future.
Corrective activities
This is the official duty of a school specialist arising from diagnostics, otherwise why collect material just to put it on a shelf in the school principal’s office and wait “for it to explode”? No, the right psychologist will give teachers recommendations on what to pay attention to and how to behave with a problem student.
He will talk with the parents and offer activities for the child that will correct his behavior and resolve existing painful problems in the emotional-volitional sphere.
Consulting
This is the job functionality that is present in both diagnosis and correction. Introducing parents and teachers to the results of research, making predictions, warning about potential difficulties that may be encountered - all this is part of the daily job responsibilities of a school psychologist.
Education in Psychology
Yes, there is also a professional function that, alas, not all full-time teachers are involved in, but the best of them do not ignore this area.
Not only to help when “well, it’s begun,” but to tell parents and teachers in time about what can and should be done for the comfortable psychological development of the child at certain stages of his growing up, in order to reduce the number of requests for help when nothing works out , - this is the task of a real master of his business.
Conclusions
The right school will definitely consult with its in-house psychologist when it comes to choosing a program that suits a student if he is unable to cope with the course load. Teachers will also turn to a specialist if a particularly successful student intends to step across the classroom, and, for example, from the first to go straight to the third school desk.
In general, being ready to help, being nearby every day, every minute - this is what a real school teacher-psychologist can and should do.
Psychological correction
Once the problem is identified, the behavior correction stage begins. The educational psychologist must prepare a program to correct the existing deviation. The activities of specialists and teachers should be carried out in conjunction with the activities of parents. A positive result of psychological correction will be the complete correction of deviant behavior.
Correction of deviations is carried out individually or within a group. In 1st grade, for example, group correction is practiced, which allows children to get to know each other better and unite into one team. This event is held in the form of a game.
Corrective work is aimed at children who have the following deviations from normal behavior:
- hyperactivity;
- aggression;
- excessive anxiety;
- excessive shyness;
- presence of constant fear;
- attention deficit;
- poor memory;
- difficulties in mastering the material;
- difficult thinking.
If the deviation manifests itself very acutely, cannot be corrected, and at the same time there is a complex failure of the child within the framework of the school curriculum, then the psychologist should raise the question of transferring the student to a specialized educational institution.
Psychological prevention
Includes a set of measures aimed at creating favorable conditions for development, social adaptation and learning. An educational psychologist must prevent deviations or problems that a child may have when communicating with peers or teachers.
Preventive measures may include the following behavioral tactics:
- friendliness in communicating with children;
- teaching correct behavior through the personal example of an adult;
- showing greater interest and attention towards hyperactive children;
- providing a state of rest for children who are prone to fatigue;
- gradual development of self-control skills in children.
Not only school staff, but also parents and relatives of the child should show a loyal attitude towards children. Classes on psychological prevention are conducted both within the class and between parallel classes.
Helps you get rid of complexes and fears
If children have character complexes or fears, a school psychologist will also help get rid of them. To do this, you should go to him for an appointment and tell him in detail about the child’s problem. Non-pathological fears can be corrected: fear of darkness, loneliness, public speaking, animals, water and others. The specialist works with personality complexes: increased aggressiveness, low self-esteem, refusal to communicate with children, shyness, isolation, modesty and other problems. In his work, the psychologist will use individual lessons that correct children’s processes, beliefs and attitudes in the child’s psyche.
Psychologist's work with parents of students
If situations occur in the child’s family that provoke any deviations, then the educational psychologist is obliged to conduct a conversation with the student’s parents. Without an integrated approach, it will not be possible to correct deviant behavior. The psychologist should pay special attention to children from disadvantaged families. Problematic parents are not always ready to interact, so it is necessary to choose appropriate communication tactics and outline the arguments and prospects for effective cooperation.
The psychologist must actively interact with parents and help them resolve controversial situations with the child. Parenting counseling can take place on an individual basis, if necessary. The parent's behavior tactics should not differ from the behavior patterns of teachers at school. Parents should consider the process of cooperation with a school psychologist as an opportunity to replenish their knowledge in the field of child psychology and pedagogy. A psychologist should not overload parents with work, this may scare them away. Interest in such cooperation will quickly disappear.
My child is healthy, why do we need to see a psychologist?!
Without taking into account the specialized correctional institutions where this person simply must be, we note that the full-time position of a psychological teacher was introduced into Russian school education about a dozen years ago.
They appeared in a number of schools, and subsequently many educational institutions, either in order to keep up and be “in trend”, or really convinced of the positive effect of their work, introduced this unit into their staffs. Moreover, some educational institutions have moved significantly forward in this regard and have acquired entire psychological services, staffed by more than one specialist.
If previously everyone in a friendly school team worked as psychologists - the school principal, head teachers, teachers, and even the school cleaner Baba Klava tried to take part in our social development, today this responsible task is entrusted to experts with professional education.
However, the Russian educational system still, in most cases, considers such a teacher as a formality, and the school administration is often only interested in formal replies in the form of documentary reports.
Only when a loud emergency occurs within the walls of an educational institution does everyone immediately remember about the staff psychologist and look into their eyes: “Why didn’t you pay attention to this problem student in time?!”
A school educational psychologist is not a doctor. Unlike someone who works in clinics, he does not make diagnoses or prescribe pills. In general, the main task of a psychologist is to be able to timely find a problem in the development of an absolutely psychologically healthy child and eliminate it not with medication, but with a pedagogical method. At school, this person is the link in the chain of the “teacher-student-parent” triad.
It is very important to build relationships in elementary school, when the main participants in the learning process are just becoming acquainted and getting used to each other, when adaptation to school occurs and the level of self-esteem is established. But the observational role of a specialist is no less important in high school, when the so-called “transitional age” begins, known to everyone for its emotional outbursts and difficulties in finding a “common language.”
Difficulties in learning, problems with classmates, quarrels with teachers and parents, lack of educational motivation, anxieties and fears - this is what a school psychologist faces.
Psychologist's work in primary school
Starting school is a very important stage for a child and his parents. It is at school that the child begins to actively develop and adapt to society. Relationships with peers are built on the basis of a certain scheme, which is worked out by teachers and parents. Before a child enters first grade, a psychologist must determine readiness for school.
At the stage of starting children's education, the psychologist's task will be to adapt the child among his peers and teachers. Gifted children with a high level of development need to be given special attention so that they do not lose interest in learning. Students who have difficulty mastering the school curriculum need to be provided with timely assistance. Monitoring children's school progress is one of the responsibilities of an educational psychologist at school.
If a psychologist observes inappropriate behavior by children or teachers, he must respond immediately. The activities of a teacher-psychologist in elementary school are based on the characteristics of the perception and development of children of a given age. A trusting, collaborative relationship should develop between the child and the teacher.
Children
It is generally accepted that only “difficult” children fall under the responsibility of a school psychologist, and this is partly true: the load on the psychologist is so great that he simply does not have time to diagnose all the students.
“The opinion that educational psychologists work only with “problem” children has spread in mass circles for a reason,” says educational psychologist Yulia Olegovna. “This happens because, first of all, teachers and parents pay attention to children with problems in development, behavioral abnormalities, difficulties in communication or learning. Noticing such behavior, teachers or parents sound the alarm and seek help from an educational psychologist as early as possible. It is very often difficult for teachers and relatives to find a common language with such children, since it is usually simply impossible, for example, to accept the capricious behavior of a “screaming” and “aggressive” child who constantly gets involved in conflicts with the class teacher and fights with peers. Such behavior and disobedience of children attracts the need for an adult to educate, “remake” the child, “adjust” him to his subjective ideal. But they can’t solve the problem this way, so they turn to the school psychologist.”
Photo source
“Gifted children, with special potential, who are ahead of their peers in intellectual development, more often than not cause special problems for teachers and mothers and fathers,” continues the expert. “They are calm, diligent, and fulfill the demands of adults. Therefore, unfortunately, such children receive less attention, and the development of their abilities, intelligence and creativity recedes into the background. Also, a teacher-psychologist in a general education institution does not always have the opportunity to work with gifted children. This is also due to a lack of time, energy and the fact that this area of work for a school psychologist is not a priority. The Department of Education may set more “meaningful” goals for the school for the school year. Or the director of an educational institution puts forward more important and voluminous tasks for the educational psychologist.”
At the same time, it is naive to believe that well-bred excellent students do not face psychological problems: the pressure on gifted children from teachers and parents, as a rule, is much higher than on noisy, cheerful poor students, whom everyone has long given up on.
“Usually, children turn to a school psychologist for help only in rare cases on their own initiative,” says Valeria Gennadievna. - However, a lot also depends on the specialist himself: he can come to the class, introduce himself, get to know the children, and then they are more likely to want to listen to him and ask him questions. Teenagers, for example, are often worried about family difficulties and conflicts with parents. Of course, they do not talk about this directly when they come for a consultation with a school psychologist, but in the process of conversation it usually turns out that the pressure from teachers is very great, and parents at home are more concerned not about the harmonious internal state of the child, but about his entered a prestigious university."
Carrying out extracurricular activities
An extracurricular activity, depending on its specifics, may have different goals. The educational psychologist selects tasks or games that can provide the necessary information about children. In this case, the purpose of the event will be diagnostics, identification of problematic situations in the team, and observation of children’s communication. Team assignments are suitable for this purpose. The guys will immediately identify several leaders who will lead the teams.
If children already know each other, but there are conflict situations between certain representatives of the class, then the purpose of the extracurricular activity will be to unite the team and form friendly and trusting relationships between students. In this case, the parties to the conflict must be on the same team. It is necessary to create a situation that will encourage children to cooperate.
The program of an educational psychologist at school should include various activities. They are held throughout the school year in all classes.
Analysis of the work of a psychologist at school
At the end of the academic year, a detailed report is compiled. An analysis of the work of a teacher-psychologist in a school should include conclusions about the fulfillment of set goals and objectives. The report lists the activities that were carried out by the psychologist, provides a list of problem children, and also describes in detail the progress of work with them. In the report, the psychologist indicates the names of the students with whom individual lessons were conducted.
The analysis includes a psychologist's conclusion about the readiness of high school students to choose a profession. A list of academic performance for each grade and a list of career guidance for students in grade 4 are compiled. This is done if the school provides career-oriented classes. The prospects for children's development for the next school year are also indicated.
ACTIVITIES OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTconsultation on psychology on the topic
School psychologist - main areas of activity
The main areas of activity of a psychologist at school
There is a psychological service or a service for psychological and pedagogical support of the educational process in every school. But her activities are still a mystery to many teachers. The author of this article, a methodologist at a psychological laboratory that actively interacts with teachers and head teachers, will talk about the main areas of activity of a psychologist in a school.
Psychologist and school
During seminars or trainings for teachers, I have repeatedly heard questions: “Tell me, can our school psychologist do this?”, “How can a psychologist help me in such a situation?”
The activities of a school psychologist are organized in two directions. The first direction is planned. These are the types of work that are planned in advance: monitoring, preventive classes, speeches at parent-teacher meetings. However, it is impossible to predict what difficult situations will arise at school during the school year. Therefore, the second direction of work of a school psychologist is work on request, that is, in response to difficulties that arise in students, and the psychologist himself cannot directly find out about these difficulties. Even in a small school, it is impossible for a specialist who does not teach lessons or resolve organizational issues with children to immediately understand that some kind of problem has arisen in the class, and even more so in a large school.
Of course, the first person to face children's difficulties is the class teacher. Therefore, it is he who most often solves the problem of involving a psychologist in working with a child and/or family. And when the class teacher understands how he can use the resources of a psychologist, their professional interaction becomes more effective and productive.
How can a school psychologist help the class teacher?
Psychologist working with the class
One of the most typical tasks that a school psychologist traditionally solves is frontal diagnosis (or monitoring). In addition to the inevitable monitoring studies required under the new educational standards, the class teacher can turn to a psychologist with a request for some specific diagnostics necessary to solve pedagogical problems: identifying the emotional state, anxiety, characteristics of motivation, identifying preferred and rejected students in the class. Of particular interest may be the diagnosis of personal and characterological characteristics of children, which can help the teacher at the initial stage of working with the class. In addition, a school psychologist can help the class teacher when difficult situations arise in the classroom. Such problems may include conflicts, bullying (now this is often called the English word “bullying”), the appearance of rejected children, and a low level of class cohesion. A psychologist can conduct an in-depth diagnosis of the causes of such problems and take part in the development of a system of measures to resolve difficulties. The psychologist’s ability to work with the class, using elements of training, and conduct various group games and exercises can also be used when conducting educational events, for example, thematic class hours.
Working with individual students
A psychologist can provide great assistance to a teacher in working with individual students. The presence of educational problems in a child may be associated with an insufficient level of development of mental functions or psychological skills, and the same difficulties of students can have a variety of reasons. For example, low academic performance can be caused by undeveloped educational motivation, a low level of self-organization, high fatigue, and high anxiety. Some of these reasons are quite obvious; the teacher himself can see them by observing the child. However, in some cases, special diagnostics are required to identify why a child has difficulties. A psychologist has professional tools that allow him to determine the specifics of a child’s development of certain psychological characteristics and functions: cognitive abilities, personality traits, communication skills. Such diagnostics allows us to better understand the causes of students’ problems and more accurately choose a behavior strategy in relation to them, as well as identify ways of pedagogical support.
SEE THE ACTIVITIES OF A SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST.
Based on the results of the diagnosis, the psychologist can formulate recommendations for the development of these functions or skills, as well as organize individual and group classes aimed at their formation. For example, if it turns out that a student’s low performance is mainly due to his lack of self-organization skills, the psychologist will tell parents ways to develop these skills in the child and (if possible and necessary) will conduct classes with the child aimed at developing these skills.
Working with children who have problem behavior causes even more difficulties. Often, a request for help from a psychologist is formulated approximately like this: “Talk to him,” “Tell him,” “Explain to her.” However, it is extremely rare that the reason for a child’s undesirable behavior is precisely his lack of understanding of the rules and requirements of the school. In most cases, children know perfectly well what is required of them, and do not do it for two reasons: either the child, again, has not developed the mental functions that ensure the fulfillment of these requirements, or failure to follow the rules is more attractive than fulfilling them (for example, allows you to get more attention from adults).
Let's say a teenager talks rudely to a teacher, although he is well aware that this should not be done. The reason for this may be the inability to express one’s disagreement in a correct form or the desire to feel one’s power by making an adult lose his temper.
An explanation can be effective only when the child finds himself in a situation that is new to him and it is not very clear to him what is happening and how to behave, for example, in a conversation with a fifth-grader who finds it difficult to adapt to the conditions of high school. In all other cases, it is pointless to explain and explain anything to a child. Therefore, most often, a child’s session with a psychologist does not involve an explanation of how to behave, but certain games and exercises aimed at developing the functions the child needs or expressing emotional experiences. So you shouldn’t be surprised if the question: “What did you do with the psychologist?” - the children answer: “We played.” For a child, a meeting with a psychologist is truly, above all, an exciting game.
Since the formation of new skills and the development of psychological functions is a rather lengthy process, a certain number of sessions will be required before their results are noticeable. As practice shows, it makes sense to expect visible changes in the behavior of a child studying with a psychologist after at least eight to ten regular sessions.
Every class teacher is faced with the need to help children who find themselves in difficult life situations and experience strong feelings. For example, one of the students’ parents get divorced, or someone close to them dies. A psychologist can help a child express his feelings and tell adults how best to interact with him at such a difficult stage in his life.
Working with adults
A school psychologist can also provide great support to the class teacher in working with parents.
First of all, interaction with a psychologist allows you to more effectively solve problems related to increasing the psychological and pedagogical competence of parents. During parent-teacher meetings, a psychologist can introduce parents to the age-related characteristics of various periods of development, draw their attention to ineffective methods of upbringing in the family and ways to change them, show techniques for developing cognitive characteristics in children, and solve many other pedagogical problems. The psychologist also knows techniques for working with a group, which he can use to diversify the forms of work with parents. In addition to new methods of work at parent meetings, the class teacher, with the participation of a psychologist, can implement new forms of work with parents: parent clubs, living rooms, lecture halls.
A psychologist can provide great support to the class teacher in working with parents of difficult students or students experiencing difficult life situations. During individual counseling, the psychologist helps the parent understand the difficulties that arise in interacting with the child, see what the parent himself is doing to aggravate or resolve the child’s problems, and find new ways to communicate with his son or daughter. In contrast to a conversation with the class teacher, the individual work of a parent with a psychologist is more aimed at reflection, analysis of communication with the child, understanding of effective and ineffective interaction strategies, and formulation of recommendations. Psychological consultations will not replace the work of the class teacher, but will help to significantly enhance their effectiveness.
In addition to working with children and parents, a psychologist can provide support to the teacher himself. Of course, a school psychologist is not a methodologist; he will not tell you how best to plan a lesson or organize educational work. But it can help the teacher conduct a self-analysis of teaching activities, see his strengths, and pay attention to insufficiently effective ways of interacting with children and parents. Finally, a school psychologist can help teachers prevent burnout by noticing its signs and finding personal ways to maintain a positive emotional state.
The limits of a school psychologist's capabilities
However, it is necessary to understand that solving some problems of both the child and his parents requires long-term regular psychological work, which will lead to results only if it continues for several months, or even years. A school psychologist cannot carry out such work, even if he has the necessary knowledge for this: this is not part of his functionality. In this case, individual work with the child can be carried out by a specialist - a psychologist from another institution, for example, a psychological, medical and social center.
In order to better imagine the specifics of the work of a school psychologist in comparison with psychologists in psychological, medical and social centers, let us compare him with a school nurse. The school nurse does not treat chronic diseases, she provides emergency medical care, gives vaccinations, and carries out preventive work. If the child needs specialized medical care, she can advise which specialist is best to contact. The role of the school nurse in ensuring the health of children is very great, but no one even thinks of turning to her for a prescription for glasses or about a bad tooth. The same goes for psychologists: a school psychologist cannot solve serious, deep-seated problems of a family; this requires outside specialists.
A psychologist cannot solve problems related to education. He cannot teach children to say hello, value friendship, change shoes, and so on. However, this does not mean at all that he cannot be involved in the discussion and search for ways to solve educational problems. A psychologist can help analyze why these problems cannot be solved.
No amount of psychological work can make a child want, want or love something. If a child does not respect his grandmother or does not like to read, sessions with a psychologist will not change this. Even though the child will develop the necessary functions and skills through individual work, the transfer of these new skills into the child's daily life and their consolidation should be facilitated. Providing assistance to a child requires the cooperation of all adults who interact with him in one way or another.
Professional ethics
An important condition for the effectiveness of psychological assistance is the principle of confidentiality, which is also considered one of the main ethical requirements in the work of a psychologist. The information received by the school psychologist is confidential. Confidentiality allows you to establish contact with children and adults and build trusting working relationships. It is precisely because of this principle that a number of school psychologist’s documents are closed or encrypted.
The rules of professional ethics prohibit a psychologist from disclosing information that became known to him in the course of his work. Therefore, he does not have the right to talk about what the children or parents said during the consultation, retell their words, or report the information he received from the life of the family. A school psychologist can share with the class teacher general thoughts about the problem, his observations of the child or parent, but he cannot tell what was discussed during the individual consultation.
However, you should not be afraid that the psychologist will not share really important information. The same rules of professional ethics require a psychologist to violate the principle of confidentiality if he becomes aware of information that there is a threat to the life and health of his client, be it a child or an adult, or someone from their environment. In most cases, such situations will first of all become known to the social teacher and the class teacher. If this happens, it is important for the class teacher to discuss with the psychologist what steps should be taken and how to provide them with the necessary help in the most gentle way possible for the child and family.
Of course, a school psychologist can never replace either a class teacher or an organizing teacher. He has completely different functionality, a different professional knowledge and skills. But if a teacher uses this baggage, he thereby greatly facilitates the solution of many pedagogical problems.
