Educational psychologist and special educational needs co-ordinator constructions of effective collaborative working: an exploratory study
The author used questionnaires and focus groups with educational psychologist and SENCos to compare and contrast perceptions of the effectiveness of roles and/or functions of the educational psychologist; and to explore perceived facilitators and barriers to effective collaborative working.
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Theme: Strategic partnership working/leadership and governance
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Strength: Robust
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Breadth of Impact: Robust
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Status: Quality Assured
The author used questionnaires and focus groups with educational psychologist and SENCOs to compare and contrast perceptions of the effectiveness of roles and/or functions of the educational psychologist; and to explore perceived facilitators and barriers to effective collaborative working.
They found that both groups displayed an acknowledgement that collaborative working was facilitated greatly by interpersonal relationships, recognising the value of EP involvement and an understanding of roles. The key differences were expectations of effective change, the EP as an expert and an expectation for the EP to provide new and different information.
This grey literature was appraised using a validated checklist. The AACODS checklist provides guidance when dealing with diverse formats of grey literature (Tyndall, 2010). AACODS includes the following items: Authority (who is responsible for the intellectual content) – Accuracy – Coverage (parameters which define the content coverage i.e., reference to a particular population group, or certain type of publication) – Objectivity (identify bias, if it is unstated or unacknowledged) – Date (that confirms relevance of information)- Significance (value judgment in the context of the relevant research area). The checklist can be used for any discipline area and prioritises expert opinion and expertise over source format (Tyndall, 2010).