Problems and interventions in Educational Psychology - PowerPoint Presentation

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Problems and interventions in Educational Psychology

PROBLEMS IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Researches on educational psychology have helped the psychologists

to understand how and why the problems in pupils learning

how social and emotional adjustment can occur.

helped to develop effective strategies to intervene the development of such problems, or even to prevent them from occurring.

Educational psychologist one of the major goals is to encourage all children and young people to flourish at school.

it

is very important for an educational psychologist to understand the range of characteristics and difficulties that lead some pupils to have special education needs and to help them understand and support the pupils.

Special educational needs code of practice( SEN Code of practice)

Schools in England and Wales are guided by the SEN code of practice, concerning the provision of education for those with special education needs.

Additional support needs(ASN)

In Scotland, the Education Act 2004 replaced the term SEN with the broader concept of ASN, bringing with it new responsibilities for local authorities in regard to the introduction of Coordinated Support Plans and transition planning and more rights for parents.

The SEN Code of Practice provides guidelines for how people should handle pupil difficulties.

The details vary depending on the age of the child, but the guidelines essentially involve 3 phases:

School action:

The focus is primarily on strategies delivered at schools existing resources.

Educational psychologists may be consulted for advice and support.

School action plus:

External support services are brought in

Educational psychologists can play a key role in providing specialized assessments of the pupil’s abilities, difficulties, and attributes.

Designing, implementing and monitoring intervention strategies to help the pupil.

Statutory assessment:

Comprehensive assessment of the pupil’s history, characteristics and needs are done and give rise to statement of special education needs.

Difficulties associated with cognitive functioning

:

Pervasive learning difficulties

Those are difficulties of varying level of severity, which manifest as deficits in ability across many or all areas of performance.

Moderate learning

difficulties(MLD)

, :Mild retardation, associated with IQ scores of 55-70.

problems with independent activity and learning, but acquire social, communication and motor skills fairly and also they can achieve primary school level academic skills.

difficulties in literacy, numeracy, and conceptual understanding than their peers.

other associated problems, with social skills and self esteem as a consequence of their academic difficulties.

Severe learning difficulties

(SLD): Moderate to severe retardation, associated with IQ scores 25-55

marked by levels of academic progress

to some extend slower acquisition of language and communication skills.

Specific learning difficulties

Developmental dyslexia

: It is a specific learning difficulty, involving problems in reading

Dyscalculia

: specific difficulties in recognizing and working with numbers

Developmental Coordination Disorder(DCD):

also known as

clumsy child syndrome

and as

developmental dyspraxia

. It is a specific learning difficulty involving problems with movement and motor coordination, characterized by difficulties in object recognition and planning of movement.

Difficulties associated with behavioral, emotional and social functioning

:

According to UK government’s code of practice for special education needs, difficulties associated with behavioral, emotional and social functioning includes;

Withdrawn or isolated

Disruptive or disturbing

Hyperactive and lacking concentration

Having immature social skills.

Internalizing disorders

These are disorders primarily involving negative emotions or emotional disturbances, such as anxiety and depression. These disorders are associated with poorer social adjustment, and peer relations, and sometimes even poorer academic performances. The isolation caused by early internalization in students can further lead to increase in these difficulties.

Externalizing and Attention deficit difficulties

Include disorders involving problems in behavior and conduct such as excess aggression and defiance. Includes conduct disorders, oppositional defiant disorders and ADHD . They potentially create disturbances in classroom.

Attention deficit difficulties include disorders primarily involving difficulties in concentration, such as ADHD.

Communication and interaction difficulty

:

Specific

language impairment

(SLI)

delay

in language development that cannot be explained by other health conditions mentioned above.

The specific language impairment can be due to:

Speech and language difficulty

:

The children with SLI can have problems in any of the sub systems of language (phonology, syntax, morphology, semantics, pragmatics)or in the combination of these areas.

They

experience problems in expressing language, understanding and applying the rules in areas such as sound production, etc. they have slower reaction times on a wide range of verbal or non verbal tasks.

Autistic spectrum conditions

The term ‘autism’ was introduced by

Kanner

, and is characterized by a triad of impairments in reciprocal social interaction, verbal and non verbal communication and

behavioural

flexibility

.

Children with autism have delays in language development and, in the most severe cases, may fail to develop verbal language.

Difficulties associated with sensory and physical needs:

Visual impairment:

Hearing impairment

Physical

disabilities

These are the major problems in learning to be considered by an educational psychologist

.

INTERVENTIONS OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Inclusion is the process focused on fulfilling each child’s entitlement to high quality education.

The focus of SEN policies over the last decade is to clearly focus on effectively integrating special children to mainstream education.

The results imply that although inclusion in mainstream classes can expand social as well as academic activities of pupil, the sense of being different in comparison with one’s normal peers can potentially have negative consequences.

All the teachers working in mainstream schools will have to support the learning and development of at least some pupils with SEN in school.

The nature of intervention and support strategies varies a great deal depending on the needs of the pupil.

For e.g. ,

Waves of intervention

: it is a three tiered model of intervention to support pupil’s learning. From universal provisions intended to benefit all pupil’s, to additional support for some groups of pupils, to intense individual support for pupils with severe difficulties.

Wave 1: (universal) describes general teaching and behavior management strategies and curriculum lessens/activities for all the children in the classroom.

Wave 2: (targeted) Small group work to support pupils with particular difficulties who need help to accelerate their progress to enable them to work at or above age related expectations.

Wave 3: ( specialist) One to one support by specialist staff to help pupils with severe disabilities (e.g. Pupil’s with profound hearing or visual impairment)

Individual

education plan

: (IEP) in many countries, including UK, this is an individualized plan for a child in education that identifies the child’s needs, profiles his/her strengths and weaknesses, sets targets for the child, plans specific interventions to achieve those targets for the children and reviews the child’s progress towards the target. Work at this level often includes direct work with parents, e.g. group meetings, regular telephone contact, home work assignments.