Teamwork has never been more topical. This is evident not only in the practice of educational psychologists but also in the dominant discourse surrounding government policy. Multi-agency collaboration lies at the heart ofEvery Child Matters. The underlying assumption is that multi-agency teamwork is the best way to work, ensuring the most complete and effective service to children and their families. While not disputing this, we feel that the complexities of teamwork are not sufficiently considered. This paper will address some of the central issues related to the psychology of teams from the experience of three educational psychologists. We consider the complexities of teamwork by drawing on psychodynamic, systemic and social constructionist thinking. A grounded understanding and practical application of the psychology of teams is essential to effective practice. We support this with some reference to our own varied experience of work with multi-agency teams. This understanding will be used to suggest some ways to develop effective teamwork. Our focus throughout will be on adult, professional groups: the dynamics, group processes and our psychological understanding of them. Our intention is to provoke debate and to provide a ‘real’ account of the experience of three educational psychologists, all of whom have worked for a number of years within teams and independently of teams.
This study investigated the effect of a positive relationship between adult and child within the learning to read process in school. Seven children, identified as having difficulties with reading, were interviewed. Two months earlier they had taken part in a two-week reading project that had involved daily reading for 15 minutes with an interested adult, who was not their teacher or classroom assistant. A social constructionist perspective informed the research. The emphasis was on reading as a ‘social act’ rather than merely a cognitive process.The two main areas of interest for the researchers were to find out how the children had experienced the specific intervention and to see what discourses the children used in their construction of reading.The participants’ language displayed complex discourses. Emotional factors connected with learning to read were strongly evident as were the individual learning approaches of the children. Reading was constructed as a powerful and desirable commodity by the children. All children drew on discourses of educational attainment and avoidance of failure and humiliation. A strongly positive response to the adult interaction was registered. The possible implications of these findings for the school in question and for further research areas are considered.
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