University of Leicester Educational Psychology: Applying Psychology in Education

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University of Leicester Educational
PsychologyApplying Psychology in Education

• Presented by
• Mohammed Bham
• Senior Educational Psychologist
• Leicestershire
• Educational Psychology Service
• mbham_at_leics.gov.uk

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Every Child Matters

• Unified services for children and young people
  to reduce overlaps and to fill gaps!
• Everything we do must contribute to helping
  children and young people feel better about
  themselves and to enjoy productive and satisfying
  relationships. We contribute to the following
  five outcomes for children and young people
• Be healthy e.g. mentally and emotionally
  healthy
• Stay safe e.g. safe from bullying and
  discrimination
• Enjoy and achieve e.g. ready for school
• Make a positive contribution e.g. positive
  relationships
• Achieve economic well-being e.g. engage in FE

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Applying Psychology on six levels

• Educational Psychology Services operate on six
  inter-related and equally important levels
• Multi-agency work
• Work within Childrens Services (County Council)
• Work with schools and other organisations
• Work with the adults who care for and educate
  children and young people
• Work with groups of children
• Work with individual children and young people

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Multi-agency work

• EPS Priority Improving Behaviour Emotional
  Well Being
• a Joint Mental Health Strategy EPS involved in
  implementing a Behaviour Support Plan with
  Health, Voluntary Sector, Education and Social
  Services Departments, in Leicestershire,
  Leicester and Rutland
• Multi-agency Working Groups, e.g. Revising the
  Care Pathway for Children and Families with ADHD
  early identification, coordinated assessment
  and support

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Multi-agency work

• EPS Priority Improving Behaviour Emotional
  Well Being
• Jointly funded projects, e.g. Family STEPs
  Specialist Teachers (Education), Family Support
  Workers (Social Services) and Primary Mental
  Health Workers (Health)
• Promoting good psychological health
• Explore family issues, social context and
  learning environments
• Deliver effective coordinated services that
  address concerns about the behaviour of children
• Training and raising awareness of mental health
  issues are central

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Work within the Childrens Services Authorities

• The EPS contributes to strategy and development
  within the Childrens Services, within the County
  Council.
• We have a role in responding to the County
  Councils Strategic Plans Education, teaching
  and learning, Behaviour, SEN / Inclusion, Early
  Years and Childcare.
• EPS Priority Reducing Bullying
  www.beyondbullying.com
• Anti-Bullying Strategy, includes EPs and
  Specialist Teachers promoting general approaches
  to reducing bullying in education settings and
  evaluating its effectiveness, for example
• R Time for creating effective relationships
  with other children (for children in Nursery to
  Year 6) www.rtime.info
• Throwing Stones (Video) Resource pack to tackle
  racist bullying (for young people aged 9 to 13
  years old)

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The Psychological Basis of Racism

• Prejudice as Group Conformity
• Scapegoat Freuds concept of displacement,
  substitute targets for aggression
• Social learning theory Reich Adcock active
  discrimination comes from an already existing
  prejudice, which is maintained and legitimised by
  conformity
• We learn to become prejudiced as we learn other
  kinds of attitudes, e.g. through observational
  learning involving parents, peers, media and so
  on
• Henry Tajfel social identity, in-group and
  out-group
• Muzafer Sherif Robbers Cave Experiment, strong
  preference for the in-group. Conflict of interest
  or competition is sufficient to lead to conflict
  or hostility

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Work with schools and other organisations

• Organisational psychology describes the variables
  that influence members of organisations. Schools
  and early years providers, as organisations, are
  crucially important influences on childrens
  learning and development.
• Fundamental to increasing inclusion is a social
  psychology model that considers that difficulties
  arise as a result of interaction between children
  and their environments.
• EPS staff make a significant contribution to
  building the capacity of schools / settings to
  meet individual needs

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Example of work at Organisational Level
Promoting Positive Behaviour Environments (for 4
to 11 years old)

• This Learning Environment Checklist is intended
  to offer assistance in identifying those aspects
  of the learning/behaviour environment that are
  working well, and those that may need attention.
• It may be used in various ways. For example
• A member of staff may wish to make a private
  audit paying attention to particular aspects of
  the checklist.
• A member of staff may prefer to complete the
  checklist with the help of a colleagues
  observations and comments.
• The checklist may be used across different staff
  groups in order to arrive at whole-school
  priorities for development.
• Once the checklist has been completed, it
  provides the basis for forming a Behaviour
  Environment Plan.
• 1 Priority for development / action
  
• 4 Working successfully / no action needed

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B. Out-of-Class Environment
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Examples of Interventions or Projects

• Self-Organised Learning Coaching Partnerships
  with Secondary School Staff
• Thomas, L.F. Harri-Augstein, S.H. (1985),
  Self-Organised Learning Foundation of a
  Conversational Science for Psychology. London
  Routledge Kegan Paul
• Bridging the Gap Between Learning Support Centre
  and School
• Burns Hulusi, Educational Psychology in
  Practice, Vol.21(2), 2005
• The Relationship between Student Behaviour and
  Patterns of Teacher Burnout
• Hastings Bham, School Psychology
  International, Vol.24(1), 2003

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Work with adults who care for educate children
young people

• EPs consult with adults who care for and educate
  children and young people
• Adults are in the best position to bring about
  positive change for children. This is
  particularly true of parents and teachers whose
  influence on the development of children is
  profound
• Advice and Training is provided to raise
  awareness and to develop skills and confidence in
  adults to feel more successful in their work with
  children

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Leicestershire Portage Service

• EPS Priority Developing Inclusive Practice
• Educational Psychologists manage Leicestershire
  Portage Service
• We provide necessary training and supervision for
  the team of Portage Home visitors
• Approaches from Developmental and Behavioural
  Psychology are taken into the home for the
  benefit of vulnerable infants and very young
  children experiencing delays with development
• The childs home becomes the setting for teaching
  while the parents become the teachers
• Weekly home visits from Portage, involves working
  via the primary caregiver, reviewing childrens
  progress and devising activities primarily
  through play, to help promote the next steps of
  the childs development

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Work with groups of children young people

• Social psychology stresses that individuals
  behave in different ways according to the
  dynamics of social groupings. So when issues
  affect more than one child, the most effective
  work may be with groups or whole classes. This is
  often a better response for social issues such as
  bullying, self-abusive behaviour and friendship
  skills.

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Examples of Interventions and Projects

• Social Skills with a Tutor Group
• Circle of Friends
• Yr10 Peer Mentoring to support transfer from Yr6
  to Yr7

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Work with individual children and young people

• Developmental psychology takes an holistic view
  of children
• Psychologists consider that observations and
  judgements have more validity if children and
  adults are seen within a natural setting
• Any psychological assessment that Educational
  Psychologists may undertake both takes account of
  what the child brings to the situation and what
  affects the child in order to inform planning and
  review of intervention

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A Psychological Assessment Framework

• Work with individual children and young people
• Developmental psychology takes an holistic view
  of children
• Psychologists consider that observations and
  judgements have more validity if children and
  adults are seen within a natural setting

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Casework Examples

• Pupil at risk of exclusion
• Listening to children reflecting their own
  learning and their own learning styles See DVD
  DfES
• Listening to children and involving pupil in
  reviewing progress and target setting See DVD
  DfES

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Using Psychology as a basis for action

• Understanding the childs perspective
• Using theory to inform practice
• Importance of context and environment
• Teacher as learner
• Including all children
• Managing change positively with systematic
  reflection of practice
• Knowledge management ? sharing with and
  informing others of lessons learned

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Concluding comments

• Psychology is a dynamic, developing and
  infinitely applicable discipline
• The application of psychology to education is a
  process that reveals possibilities for real
  change in the lives of the individuals concerned
• the future we inherit will be the one that we
  create
• Educational Psychology in Practice, Vol.18,
  No.3, 2002
• Reference
• Leadbetter et al, 1999. Applying Psychology in
  the Classroom. David Fulton Publishers.