When the word psychology is mentioned to a person, it is normal that the stereotype of the clinical psychologist comes to mind (Vera, 2020; Sanfeliciano, 2019), that person who is in the office, in a white coat, sitting in the chair near the patient. However, according to Sanfeliciano (2019), psychology is a very broad scientific discipline that studies, fundamentally, human behavior and mental processes.
What are the Functions of Educational Psychologists?
Within psychology, various specialists can be found, such as educational psychologists or educational psychologists, whose mission is to study and intervene in human behavior, specifically in the educational context. According to Vera (2020) and Sanfeliciano (2019), professionals focus their professional intervention on developing the skills of individuals, institutions and collectives.
In the same vein, according to Arvilla, Palacio & Arango (2011), this professional can be integrated into the different levels of education, such as primary, preschool, secondary, high school and higher education, but is not only incorporated in these areas, but is also set in non-school contexts, such as adult education, families, health programs, addiction prevention and social rehabilitation.
However, the disciplinary field of educational psychologists is often confused with other educational professionals such as pedagogues, guidance counselors or clinical child psychologists (Vera, 2020; Sanfeliciano, 2019). In this sense, the pedagogue is responsible for the study of education and educational models; the role of counselors is to guide people throughout their academic and professional life and, finally, child clinical psychologists aim to treat mental disorders that arise in childhood (Sanfeliciano, 2019). Although they are very different professions, according to Sanfeliciano (2019), working together is necessary to achieve quality education.
Areas of Activity
Professional and Vocational Counseling
From his position, the educational psychologist is able to work on the development of vocations, talents and skills of students, in order to clarify their personal, professional and vocational projects and improve, in an assertive way, the achievement of professional goals and decision making (Vera, 2020; Sanfeliciano, 2019; Universidad Internacional de Valencia, 2015). According to the International University of Valencia (2015), it is not about the professional choosing for them, it is about trying to align their expectations with their personality, skills and abilities.
Preventive Functions
The educational psychologist understands the family and institutional environment in which students develop and thus, manages to elaborate a diagnosis about the performance of the entities involved (Vera, 2020; Sanfeliciano, 2019). With this in mind, according to the International University of Valencia (2015), the professional plays a key role in the prevention of conflicts, thus helping students to develop an optimal level of emotional intelligence, which will help them to face the inevitable conflict situations in an effective and non-violent way.
On the other hand, it is important to highlight that this professional must act on all educational agents, such as, for example, parents, teachers, children, counselors, among others (Sanfeliciano, 2019). For this reason, it is common for the educational psychologist to develop various training activities with parents, teachers and managers on various topics (Arvilla, Palacio & Arango, 2011), such as how are the teaching-learning processes, teaching and evaluation methods, evolutionary development, learning difficulties and their relationship with psychopathologies, disciplinary problems and the management of the norm, psychosocial problems and school adaptation.
Intervention in the Improvement of the Educational Act
According to Uribe (2012), educational psychologists perform institutional assessments and diagnoses, articulating the knowledge of organizational psychology with the educational sector, since, the working conditions of teachers and principals of the educational institution also influence the teaching-learning processes that take place there.
In this field, activities related to conducting interviews and diagnostic impressions of admission, monitoring and promotion of students to new courses, as well as the evaluation and redesign of curricular content and teaching methods stand out (Uribe, 2012). These activities allow advising on the distribution of students by courses, based on an articulation of psychological knowledge of evolutionary development (Uribe, 2012). Similarly, according to Vera (2020) and Arvilla, Palacio & Arango (2011), the professional is responsible for assessing the educational needs of each student, in order to devise an action plan that enhances the educational experience, as well as other psychological skills.
Intervention in the Face of Educational Needs
Educational psychologists are responsible for studying and anticipating the educational needs of each student (Sanfeliciano, 2019). According to the International University of Valencia (2015), this professional participates in the educational attention to development from the early stages of life, in order to recognize and prevent functional, psychological and social disabilities and maladjustments.
In the same way, professionals must address the problems that some students have to learn at the same pace as their peers (Regader, n.d.), proposing the most appropriate measures to deal with each case. They also play a fundamental role in the identification and treatment of problems of a non-specific nature, such as students with depression, anxiety or other disorders that require individual treatment and, in some cases, curricular adjustments.
Finally, educational psychologists deal with psychosocial problems, such as bullying, school harassment, discrimination, social exclusion, among others (Regader, n.d.). This is because, according to the International University of Valencia (2015), these problems, especially bullying, have become a problem of the first order of magnitude for the school community.
Training and Family Counseling
An important part of education is provided by the family (Sanfeliciano, 2019). For this reason, another of the functions of educational psychologists is to act as a bridge between teachers, students and their families, in order to promote social and family relationships and effective collaboration between families and educators, as well as to promote the participation of parents in the educational community (Universidad Internacional de Valencia, 2015). In the same way, according to Sanfeliciano (2019), through the study and accompaniment directed towards parents, efficient family education models are achieved, and with this, the quality of life of all family members is increased.
Socio - Educational Intervention
Academic and family life are not the only ones that educate people, but their entire environment, for this reason, the educational psychologist must examine how the entire social system affects the student's academic performance (Vera, 2020; Sanfeliciano, 2019). In this way, he performs assessment activities through home visits, which allows him to consider various aspects related to the primary group of students and their relationship with the social environment in which they live, which implies the consideration of some theoretical, conceptual and methodological aspects of social psychology (Uribe, 2012). And thus, according to Sanfeliciano (2019), the professional will have sufficient knowledge to be able to intervene in the aspects that can be improved.
Research and Teaching
Research is an important element, since it allows them to validate each of the methods and even develop or modify learning strategies and models (Arvilla, Palacio & Arango, 2011). Thus, the professional studies educational theories and the field of psychology in general in order to be able to explain certain behaviors and help in the orientations and procedures to follow in cases that may arise (Vera, 2020; Arvilla, Palacio & Arango, 2011; Sanfeliciano, 2019). According to Uribe (2012), the professional can perform quantitative and qualitative studies about the mental health of the educational community, which provide elements that allow the improvement of the teaching-learning processes.
The Reality of the Educational Psychologist Today
The community of parents and representatives, as well as those responsible for public power, are unaware of the existence of this profession, this leads to the fact that educational psychology has no visibility, hinders the dissemination of their knowledge and the arrival of resources to support research in the field (Sanfeliciano, 2019). For this reason, the dissemination of the existence of this professional and his work is necessary to improve the vision of this discipline that is so important for the quality of people's education (Sanfeliciano, 2019). In the same way, according to Vera (2020) and Sanfeliciano (2019), its inclusion in all educational centers and a mandatory postgraduate degree in educational psychology are considered essential.
On the other hand, due to poor governmental organization, there is professional confusion between the functions performed by different professionals (Sanfeliciano, 2019). In the eyes of the state, those trained in this discipline are recognized as counselors or psychopedagogues. In the same job position, one person often performs the functions of pedagogue, educational psychologist and guidance counselor. Instead of one person doing everyone's job, there should be a well-coordinated team of professionals working for the education of students. In that sense, according to Sanfeliciano (2019), the current educational system is plagued with flaws that hinder the practice of educational psychologists.
Currently, people are faced with an educational system whose objective seems to be different from what was originally intended by its design (Sanfeliciano, 2019). Moreover, decisions ultimately correspond to a political power that ignores the recommendations of scientific research on the value of this professional in the school setting (Sanfeliciano, 2019; Vera, 2020). This lack of support is not only at the level of label, since, neither are they generous with the resources they add to the discipline to promote its development (Sanfeliciano, 2019), so, according to Vera (2020), theoretical contributions in educational psychology are decreasing.
References
Arvilla, A., Palacio, L., & Arango, C. (2011). El psicólogo educativo y su quehacer en la institución educativa. Redalyc.org. Recuperado 1 March 2021, a partir de https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/5121/512156315017.pdf
Hernández, P. (2009). Campos de Acción del Psicólogo Educativo: Una Propuesta Mexicana. Journals.copmadrid.org. Recuperado 1 March 2021, a partir de https://journals.copmadrid.org/psed/archivos/ed2009v15n2a7.pdf
Regader, B. Psicología educativa: definición, conceptos y teorías. Psicologiaymente.com. Recuperado 25 February 2021, a partir de https://psicologiaymente.com/desarrollo/psicologia-educativa
Universidad Internacional de Valencia. (2015). Psicólogo escolar: sus principales funciones. Universidadviu.com. Recuperado 1 March 2021, a partir de https://www.universidadviu.com/co/actualidad/nuestros-expertos/psicologo-escolar-sus-principales-funciones
Uribe, N. (2012). FUNDAMENTOS TEÓRICOS Y FUNCIONES DEL PSICÓLOGO EDUCATIVO. Tesis.udea.edu.co. Recuperado 1 March 2021, a partir de http://tesis.udea.edu.co/bitstream/10495/8973/1/UribeNicolas_2013_FundamentosTeoricosFunciones.pdf
Vera, A. (2020). El Psicólogo Educativo: Quién es y sus Funciones. Psiquiatria.com. Recuperado 1 March 2021, a partir de https://psiquiatria.com/bibliopsiquis/blog.php?wurl=el-psicologo-educativo-quien-es-y-sus-funcione
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