A Qualitative Exploration of the Role of the Educational Psychologist : Pupil Voice and Future Direction

Fallon et al. (2010) described EPs as being scientist-practitioners who utilise psychological skills, knowledge and understanding through the means of consultation, assessment, research, intervention and training at individual, group and systemic levels across a variety of educational, community and care settings, with a number of role partners.

This multi-faceted definition sheds some light on the role of the EP, however this role has evolved in in light of changing legislation.

To that end, Stobie (2002) stressed the importance of evaluating the professional identity of Educational Psychologists within the context of socio-political changes.

Kennedy, Cameron and Monsen, in their 2009 review, referred to the complexity and demands of a working context which "has resulted in a push for continuous and demonstrable improvement in service delivery" (which can be interpreted as doing more, with less) immediate responsiveness to 'customer' demands and unrealistic demands on professional accountability."

Cameron (2009) spoke of the negative impact of the Revised Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (DfES, 2001); summarising what he deemed to be a loss of autonomy for practitioners, a "psychologically crude" shared framework of assessment, and a requirement for information sharing.

Since the publication of this article, a more recent Code of Practice (2014) has emerged, bringing a new set of guidelines and expectations for practitioners to the fore.

In light of this Code of Practice, this empirical paper explored the perceptions and experiences of nine EPs working in a Local Authority in London.

Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and a one off focus group, and then analysed using IPA.

A number of themes emerged from the data. Implications for practice and future research are discussed in light of methodological limitations.

RQ 1: What is the unique contribution of an Educational Psychologist?

RQ 2: What are the barriers and facilitators to eliciting pupil voice?

RQ 3: What is the future of Educational Psychology work?