What is Ed Psych?

Summary

This script discusses the role of educational psychologists in addressing children's behavior and learning challenges. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the broader socio-cultural context influencing a child's actions, rather than labeling them as willful. The approach is ecological, involving various adults in a child's life and focusing on strengths to build positive behaviors. The script highlights the significance of evidence-based research and the development of support plans tailored to the child's needs, aiming to foster small but significant growth in their development.

Takeaways

• 🌱 Behavior is learned and can be unlearned, emphasizing the importance of environmental influences on a child's development.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The approach is ecological, involving various adults in a child's life to support their learning and behavior.
• 🧐 The term 'willful' is reframed as 'purposeful', suggesting that children's actions have underlying reasons influenced by their context.
• 🌟 Focus is on the child's environment and the adults within it, as these are the factors that can be influenced and changed.
• 🏡 The child is placed at the center of the support system, with family, extended family (whānau), and community all playing roles.
• 🏫 Recognizes the complexity of children's behavior in modern society, influenced by socio-cultural factors like poverty and food insecurity.
• 🖼️ The goal is to create a comprehensive picture of the child's life for all involved to understand and address their needs.
• 🗣️ Educational psychologists listen without judgment, building trust and confidence to better support children and their families.
• 🔍 They look at the wider socio-cultural context to understand and address the root causes of challenging behaviors.
• 🏗️ Interventions are strength-based, leveraging the strengths of the child and their family as the foundation for support plans.
• 📚 Evidence-based research is crucial in informing the strategies and interventions used by educational psychologists.

Q & A

What is the primary approach educational psychologists take when dealing with children's behavior?

Educational psychologists work with adults in a child's life to support the child's needs, focusing on learning and behavior. They believe that behavior is learned and can be unlearned, and they approach it ecologically, considering the context around the child rather than just the child's individual actions.

How do educational psychologists view challenging behaviors in children?

They view challenging behaviors as purposeful rather than willful, suggesting that it's more about the context around the child than what's happening within the child. This approach allows them to influence the environment to support the child.

What does an ecological approach in educational psychology entail?

An ecological approach means working across different environments and with various adults who are part of the child's life, including family, extended family, and community, to provide comprehensive support.

How do educational psychologists consider the wider socio-cultural context in understanding a child's behavior?

They consider factors such as poverty and food insecurity as part of the bigger picture influencing a child's behavior, recognizing that children's behavior is more complex due to societal developments.

What is the significance of gaining people's confidence in the process of educational psychology?

Gaining confidence is significant because it is built on the foundation of listening without judgment, which allows educational psychologists to understand the challenges faced by those involved and offer appropriate help.

How do educational psychologists address destructive behaviors in the classroom?

They build a comprehensive picture of what influences negative behavior and use this understanding to provide opportunities for children to practice positive behaviors, which are then acknowledged positively.

What is the role of positive acknowledgement in promoting pro-social behavior among children?

Positive acknowledgement serves as an antecedent that increases the likelihood of pro-social behavior happening, as it reinforces the positive actions practiced by the child.

How does a strength-based approach in educational psychology benefit the child and their family?

A strength-based approach involves seeking out the strengths of the family and the young person to use as the basis for intervention work, which can lead to more effective and empowering support.

Why is the support of an educational psychologist valuable for teachers?

Teachers may not be trained to diagnose conditions like dyslexia or dyspraxia. An educational psychologist can help develop programs that support the child both at home and at school.

How does evidence-based research impact the practice of educational psychology?

Evidence-based research is crucial as it provides the latest information and understanding, which educational psychologists use to inform their decisions and interventions in the field.

What steps do educational psychologists take after identifying a child's behavioral needs?

They may return to conduct observations, collect more data about the environment, and then develop strategies and a plan to support the child's growth and development in learning and behavior.

Outlines

00:00

🌳 Holistic Support for Children's Behavior and Learning

The paragraph emphasizes the importance of understanding that children's behavior is learned and can be modified. It highlights the role of adults in a child's life in supporting their needs, whether it's learning or behavioral. The speaker refutes the notion of willfulness in children, suggesting that their actions are purposeful and influenced by their environment. The approach taken is ecological, meaning it involves various adults and environments to support the child. The paragraph also touches on the complexity of children's behavior due to societal development and the need to consider socio-cultural factors like poverty. The goal is to build a comprehensive picture of the child's circumstances to help those involved understand and support the child effectively.

Keywords

💡Behaviour

Behaviour in the context of the video refers to the actions and responses of children, which are learned and can be influenced by various environmental factors. The video emphasizes that understanding and changing behaviour is central to supporting a child's development. For example, it mentions that 'behaviour is learned, and if it is learned, it can be unlearned', highlighting the importance of recognizing behaviour as a learned response rather than an inherent trait.

💡Unlearn

Unlearn, as used in the video, refers to the process of helping children to abandon or change inappropriate or unhelpful behaviours that have been learned. The script discusses the importance of working with adults in a child's life to support this process, suggesting that by understanding the origins of certain behaviours, they can be altered. This is exemplified by the statement 'if it is learned, it can be unlearned'.

💡Ecological approach

The ecological approach mentioned in the video script involves working across different environments and with various adults to support a child. This approach recognizes that a child's development is influenced by multiple contexts, such as family, community, and school. The video script illustrates this by stating, 'We work in an ecological way, which means we work across environments, with a range of different adults to support a child.'

💡Socio-cultural context

The socio-cultural context refers to the broader social and cultural factors that can influence a child's behaviour. The video script discusses the importance of considering these factors when trying to understand and address challenging behaviours. It is mentioned that 'we need to look at that wider socio-cultural context' when explaining why certain behaviours are happening, such as living in poverty or uncertainty about basic needs.

💡Destructive behaviours

Destructive behaviours in the video are actions that are harmful or disruptive, often exhibited by children in the classroom. The script mentions physical touching as an example of such behaviour, which is a concern for educators. Understanding and addressing these behaviours is part of the educational psychologist's role in supporting positive change.

💡Pro-social behaviour

Pro-social behaviour is the opposite of destructive behaviour, referring to actions that are positive, cooperative, and contribute to the well-being of others. The video script discusses how educational psychologists work to encourage such behaviours by acknowledging and reinforcing them. This is illustrated by the statement, 'When they're practicing that positive behaviour, we can come in with positive acknowledgement,' which suggests that positive reinforcement can increase the likelihood of pro-social behaviour.

💡Strength-based approach

A strength-based approach is a method of focusing on the strengths and capabilities of individuals, families, and communities to build upon and enhance, rather than solely focusing on deficiencies. In the video, this approach is highlighted as a way to engage with families and young people, seeking their strengths as a foundation for intervention. The script states, 'A strength based approach means that we're really seeking from the family, and the young person, what are the strengths that the people, and the family, and the young person, have.'

💡Evidence-based research

Evidence-based research in the video refers to the use of scientific studies and data to inform and support the practices of educational psychology. The script emphasizes the importance of this research in underpinning the interventions and strategies used by educational psychologists. An example from the script is, 'Evidence based research is crucial to the practice of an educational psychology,' highlighting the reliance on research to guide professional decisions.

💡Intervention

Intervention in the video script refers to the strategies and actions taken by educational psychologists to support children's learning and behaviour. These interventions are designed based on assessments and are intended to address specific challenges. The script mentions, 'And then we can move on to putting some strategies in place, and work on a bit of a plan together,' which illustrates the process of developing and implementing interventions.

💡Assessment

Assessment in the video is the process of evaluating a child's needs, behaviours, and circumstances to inform the development of appropriate support strategies. It is a key step before intervention and is mentioned in the script as a part of the ecological approach: 'We start with the young person in the middle, and then we are also engaging with their family... both when we're doing our assessment, and when we're doing our intervention.'

Highlights

Behaviour is learned and can be unlearned.

Supporting a child's learning and behaviour involves working with adults in their life.

Inappropriate behaviour in kids is often purposeful, not just willful.

Influences on a child's behaviour come from their context, not just the child themselves.

An ecological approach involves working across different environments to support a child.

Assessments and interventions should consider wider socio-cultural influences on a child's life.

Children's behaviour is more complex due to societal development.

Understanding a child's behaviour requires looking at their wider socio-cultural context.

Building a comprehensive picture helps everyone involved understand the child's situation.

Gaining confidence involves listening without judgment.

Educational psychologists start with a child's abilities, not their deficits.

Positive acknowledgement can reinforce pro-social behaviour.

A strength-based approach seeks to use the strengths of the family and child as a basis for intervention.

Teachers are not trained to diagnose learning disabilities, but Ed Psychs can support them.

Evidence-based research is crucial to the practice of educational psychology.

Observations and data collection are key steps in understanding and addressing behaviour.

The plan acts as a roadmap for tasks that support the child's development.

Educational psychologists support small growth and development in children struggling with learning and behaviour.

Transcripts

We know that behaviour is learned,

and if it is learned, it can be unlearned.

We work with the adults in a child's life

to support the child's needs either with their learning or with their behaviour.

Often we hear that kids are being willful

when they're engaging in inappropriate behaviour.

but it's not so much willfulness as purposeful.

It's less about what's happening within the individual child

and more about what's happening in the context around the child,

because that's what we can influence.

We work in an ecological way

which means we work across environments

with a range of different adults to support a child.

We start with the young person in the middle

and then we are also engaging with their family,

with their extended whānau, with their community,

and so we are working in all of those contexts,

both when we're doing our assessment, and when we're doing our intervention.

We need to think about some of those wider influences in the child's life.

School, or early childhood facility.

Nowadays, children's behaviour is so much more complex than it used to be

because of the way society has developed.

But, if we're going to be even more sophisticated about explaining why the behaviour is happening

we need to look at that wider socio-cultural context.

Perhaps they're living in poverty.

Perhaps they're not sure about where the next meal is coming from.

So you're starting to build up a much bigger picture

of what is influencing the child's behaviour.

I'm painting this picture so that everyone that's involved in this life

sees that picture

and they can understand what's going on for that child.

We gain people's confidence because we're prepared to listen.

We don't judge.

And we recognise, yes, this is challenging for you. I think I can help.

This is how best I can help.

Can I ask you a little bit more about

what destructive behaviours look like in the classroom?

Some of the challenging behaviours that I'm seeing

is just the physical touching,

to other students. So that's been a really big concern.

When we can build up that bigger picture of what influences the negative behaviour

it also provides us opportunities to think about how we might

provide some opportunities for the child to practice the positive behaviour.

As educational psychologists, we start off working with what children can do,

and not with what they can't.

When they're practicing that positive behaviour

we can come in with positive acknowledgement

which then becomes an antecedent in itself,

increases the likelihood of that pro-social behaviour happening.

Some days something will take and he'll become really interested in something

and that could be like the Lego.

A strength based approach means that we're really seeking from the family,

and the young person, what are the strengths that the people, and the family, and the young person, have.

And we're going to use those as the basis of any intervention work that we do.

Teachers are not trained to diagnose things like dyslexia, or dyspraxia, or any of those things.

With the support of an Ed Psych we can look at developing a programme

that can support the child in the home and at school.

The evidence that underpins our practice is hugely significant.

I found this really awesome resource about selective mutism.

Evidence based research is crucial to the practice of an educational psychology.

And I'm just looking at what the latest research has to say about it.

It's the ability to draw on research and psychological theory, and knowledge,

to inform the decisions that we make in the field.

Just thinking about the next steps for us, we'll probably come back, and

do some observations and try and see this behaviour for ourselves.

Collect a bit more data around what's happening in the environment at that time.

And then we can move on to putting some strategies in place

and work on a bit of a plan together.

The plan is a road map, I suppose, that identifies

key tasks that we need those people around the child to do.

We can't change the world in a minute

but what we can do is as educational psychologists is support the small growth and development

of people working with children who are struggling with learning and, or, behaviour.