N ewfou~d~~lnd

Departmentof EducationalPsychology Memorial UniverB\ty of

N ewfou~d~~lnd

Newfound land

\

Janl,fary. 1989

l " Y '

. /

A"The.s is

B~bmi~ted_ 'in ~~rti!l~~.i.llmen ~

of the r-equ l.r-eraente-for- the"degree of ...M4~te~_,.Of.-,.Educa~

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE·,ROLE S AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF' THE

EDU~ATION~L

:i HERAP IST

A~

PERCEIVE,?_!l:Y_

ALLIEDPROFESsIoNALS IN'THBPROVINCE.

OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

. /

- - -S t. John' s

developed

II

by't he se^...

_

'bou nda t:y

_ ^{._ -}

'r.ol';

,:~::::':i:~~~f;;;:~i~:-;~.:~~~~l ^,

~ { 'The instrument'u sed,~a s",'survey

for this study. 'The sample-c o n s is t e d of five teachers,

I , 'I ' ' . . ',

inc l udi n g.t he principal~and a.chool co uris e flor , selected...fr:olll'

- ,

^'

.

^{- . ~.}

.

eachofBeventy-t~urjlchools in the,p r ov.i nc e.employing on·, '.

educetiona l therapist,eighte~n:e duca.ti ona l psych~i.oghte~'a~d^.

- , . .. , ~ . ':",•.-. I

seventeenrdinotors of special eer-vdcea,

. -The allied

pro'feBBio~a1s w~re corisi~t~nt.

^itl

th:i:~

perceptionsof is'sues.~e l atingto the'.e duc a t i C:na l role 8UC~a,seduc~ti.onal baCkground._~~\Chl~rtIPll"rle~ce, la be1 lin g , orientation,"and.ne edforaddl t;i·oho l:educa.tiona l

~ ,

. "

.~fthe p'~si.ti?n, mus,t,freque:nUyCr,08t1}hep,,'ii"Si';.S!

bo~ndarieS

';t "Il i e d

profe8~i,~nals. l'n~Ulnbent"

^I),f

positions

l~',th,e 'edu6~~to'n-:~~t~'rq. 8~ch"as: "the

's c h 6 01'

~~~u'!a,e,llor"

^,and,,'

~Ch.~-~I':'P~ y,Ch'~I~~-S~,;

^..

p~?~~:, -~h~~,~: .

t~e.some"ay. Rolec.o. t,o ndrole.all)~i,~ity·have~een"

.identified as pottt!"tial"pr;o~lem^{arl7a_s'that·'may}~e e'xpe~enced

ABSTRACT ~

This study "48 deai'gnedto identifyperce-pt.lons 'heldby

~,

principals, regular classroomte ac he r s,specialeduc~tion

r :

teachers ,a~hoO Icounsellors, and,coo r d i nat of. of specio.i se~vi ce sregarding the role of thee~u,cationai th~rap1st.·

1In.this study the educational ther apistwas l!iee~froman organizational perspecti~ea!' a b?Undary role J)rof,esai,onal.-".'

.; .'.~

:I

..

^-'

;i....-. ','

.\

III

, \

^,

~~hool rev eale dlittle~onSen8U(r'amonl'alli edprofession als ,

J ~ , ~

^{.. . . , -,}

.6'

. J .,. ) ~ .' . . . . . , .

t~eTe.P~III.h·. r -

^{i.ind ing.-,5 1}

~o

^.

i~a.ted ~A\)~:-ar~~~~8

^'OD.tb'.·

part·of alliedilrofe . .

~on~. ~.rnin;tbe goo.l~ o ~· ^{v .}

.. . edut:ation'al

tliera~~. ~hirlng

^{crite r·le ."a nd}

regut1'tl~·.·

governi ng theacqu hitl o n of an ed uc ati o na l therapyunit.

Ho..

e~<1r ;· ot~er :arell'-

^of'thethe rll p h t .' tol e . llu ch ae

, ~ " ,

dutiea•.fun c ti on .:androl e of"al liedpro f n81 onals 1'0

:'d e v e l o p iiig the

po~lU Dn

^of-an

ed~>~ lI.ti.ona l the~ap1s~ ·"~thl ~. Il.

~'j'; Aliiaresult,at:thea eH.ndlnl~, r~co~endllt lon8a~!lIIode

'~>, . l

for:.

.~ur~~~r ~~·~·ell.~~h, a ~d. , ~ct~on~to

^{be'ta ke n}

t~.'helP prO~lde'

⁴

(i~:-·.'A' i" ~ , . .

^{.e or-ecompl e te}

.an::!

.e or-e'c o ns ist ent

under.ta~~nl ~f-

^{the role)of'·}

t " I :; , , :.(~~ e;;~~.t1on.l .t~.r~PI~i l~ '~,,; prof~no~ ot ' ".~~U~~l~~;'~'ir

~;'.' j , \~.. L'~~'dor,

~ .

^'

t, '; " ... _~

~~~.'---_---'-'-_ _ -'-'-_-'---"--"""""'_~_.J. -::-_

V;' , :,., .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I

~ ­

r ---

f

night. 1now look1~ard.^{to our}.f~t ure^a\a"family, thankfullY,withthis thesis behind"us •.

I would ilke to.t h a nk Dr. Glen Sheppard ...,-hoslts,;,ppor.t ", IUg g u t t ODS andgUld~nce^111'48trelllendousthroUlho;~t.ihi'~'s t u d y.

There were't i me s, i t looked as iff thia,thesis"wolil'dnever "see

I ' • . ' ,'. .

completion, ",but Dr. Shepp~rd8·.C?~nfldenceandgentle.pro d,d ~ n g provided an impet.»for'P~tt1hgthe final t;o,uches00'thisr:

proj.ect.. . / -: I •

Throughoutthe pr'o,cBBS. Dr.Kof! 114rf'0

.~8

ever- present."

"t o

'ien~ h;B experU~e,~ ~'~~ourllogement: ~~d f;!eJahl~ ,an~ ~ 4111 ; ".

indebted to him tai'::'lila time

a~d hi~

^pAtience.

\~ . ...

^{. -,.}

'Fin~1 1Y ;' ^{- 1.} ~~terid

^my'

8i~cere,,8t

"I ov'a and"a ppr ec l :i'i o'n.

~o'

" . / .: ', ',

..

^{' " , "}

^{,, ',:}

my,wi fe.~ Dianne,..and,..my,dllUg~teI:'-.Je~.8;~c~/"who,.O ft~~:h:d-;to

put up with an absent'hU~baqdand. father~ringcoIDplEttlonof .thi.:.thesls~ Theirdevot~o~.an~_~...~tiencewere."~ nv~ ~ uab l e";"

dUring"theP08,t tWoye .:u;:s...:...Du d n g IDony etoges.'Dianne helped with t'he

r~ViBi~n~.

^edi

ti~g.

^and

pro6f-~e'4ding

^{h.te lnt'o}

't"h~ "

"

.!,'

'(

1 1 3

"

•

7

n

2'

13

13

2.

30 as 3 •

3'

;:'. '

..

.,' ;.- .;.,

INTR ODUCTI ON•• •••• • ••• • ••••• •• •••• •• ••••••• • ••••••

. t:~~~~~~:~~:

Sta t e ment of Si griifi c lloDc e

~~:~~~~~~~.::::::::::::

~

: : :::::: ::::

-.•.

~::~h~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ . " :: ::: ': :::: : . ::::::.: : '::;: '.:: . ::: ::.

".Li mitat i on s -, . ;. ;.... ... . .•..•. . ... . .•

REVIE WOF THELITERATURE•••••••••••••••••••,',•••••

J " , .,

AD Organ\zatlonal Perspective of the

.f~uc.ati ona lTherapists' R~e_ ~ . Role Conflictand Amblquity48 Experienced by

School coun\e~"lOr8 andsC.h~olP,sychologists .• . 22

i

Suinmary .-_••~'.~ ^{;••••.•.:••••• ...•:.: \•••••••.-27}

ME:::~~:~p~~~~~:~~.

Description_of' Sample .

:::::

• •• . •

: : : : :

•

::

• '•.•

::

• •

: :::

•••

:

•

:;::

.•.•

:

•

::

••

:

• • • •

\

Description'of'I n strument Used-•••• • •. .•••••••••• Sc o ri n gan d Analysis of Data••••'•••.•••••:•••• •• .Summary- •••• • • .'.' •.•••.• • • • :.•.•.•.••.•.• ••• ••• ••

LI ST

OF

FI GURES••• •,',••.••',••,' ,.••• •.;:. .. .•••• • •• • xi '::\'

...

LIST OF TABLES•••••••. .•..•••• •••.• •• • ••••••.• • •. .•••• •• •vii i

<'

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS •••• ••••••• •••••••• • • •• •• ••-•••• ••,... ... iv

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

P.#

••

••

_'1

••

.59 .

••

.7

7.

77

. .

er

^,

.4

,(

!

Allie~Profesa'ioD.llla' Perceptionsof theDu t i e8. Functions.Ilnd Goal . of the'Educational Therapists' Role ...';,:... "." . Allied

Pr~fellBionllls

^I

~l·~.e

^{Regarding ...}

~~;~';~~~~:~~g~i:~t~:~~~~!1:nd

Educati onaJ Be.ckgrourtd

of the Educational, .-TherapistI · . .,. Perceptions

of

AUied,'Pr of e s s i o nal s

Re,ardinr Professional' Contact Withth eThe,r,apiat.IActive\Stij)ier v 1s or Iln4 Pez-aon Primarily.Res p on sib l e for

·Moni t o r i ng the Educational .

.Therapist P08\, t.l.0n,'t';':"f " ~" "'_," " " " " " " ": All ie dJ)rof8saionllls' ,Perceptions~f ^{. •}

the"Kodel for TherapySt!rvlces and . ,of La bels,Used\~o..Ide~t.i.fytheStudents··•

lindthe Educ ation aiiTher~pl~tin the ~ ~ . SChOOIS.tHO." "\,

'I "

~

.. ._ ... _

~

....': ' - '...'- '" . - ...

Al lied ProfessioDals' Underat4nding of the Role of the S'chool Counsellor end Educational Therapist-,Hiring . Cr i t e r i a . Regul4tionll.40d Need for

a~ditio~41EdUC4ti:.f4.1~erapi8tB •• •.• .•::...:••• Al l i e d Professiona ls,!'"perceptions'About

~e~~e:~:~ti~fo:t~:l~!;~e:~~:~:Dl:~,~~~~~C,\

^.

Expe ctations , Und e r~ t ~nd in g . 40d , , Appropri.(!teness ofrt h e Role••••., ••...• •.•.... The princiP41s·'·Perce

'ti~nB'

^{of.the . .}

EducationalTbe1'4pi t Position48 an

~dminist~~\1ve~b4.11en,e\•... .. ...i,,.•• ••.••••• CONCj-USIO NSAND"CO""'iDATIO~.S^{',.:.....,'') '}

.c. ,,

. :::::::~:t,;~~~' :~:: : " : ::: : :::: : : : :: : :: : : : , : ::: : :

IV

...

I I _ l'l . ~

BIBLIOGRAPHY,... .•••.•• ••.•••••.•• •:•• ... ,.. • •••• APPEN.DICES.

Appendix A••..• •:.': .••.•• .

.)~ . : . ~

^{••• •}

Ap p e n di x B

Appendix C.••••••. '" .

Appendix D." ••', ...'\••...•.'.' •••• •.••.•.••••,:,,' Appendi:r: II

Append,ix F

"'.Appendix G

, "Ap p e n d i x H.••••• •••!..:~ ', ' .

.App e n d i :z: I'••~••••••.•.••• •.••• •.•' ••••.••••:.••~

Appendfx

i' ' ' :; .- ,: _~ :.. '" : '

Appe~dixK•••••• ••.••.• ;•••.• •• ••.•:•.• • •••••j••••

....

"

_vii

~~

Page 9ij,~'0,

104

. '

10'

1\3

117 120

1'22

127

12'

133 13>

140 14 2

6.Percentageof/Re s pon d e n t s R.!Ioting the

Adequacy Q<f Orientation By Poaition.. •... ... 50

t

/ "'

'0

40 Page_

I

LIS"J' OF,TABLES ..

3.Dilltribution. in Percentages, of.1Ji.e Frequency With Which the,Al li e d Profeniorlals.RbRked the.a e v e n

...Duties.of ..Hducation41_Ther,apUta ,

Across Seven Ranking;Categories ' :.

' . / , , '

4. D1str,ibut~on^..In£.rc~n/tag,es. ^{o,t-the ,} Frequency.With'Wb ch tlie Allied',

,pro f e~s..onala Ra dthe Five Functions' o_~Ed 10nal'TherapistsAcros.,F iv e

R~nk1n

C.r.,or". I' ..: ;;,: : ; .

5.

'::r~~~:~::t~~n~:;r~~:e::~e~~ ~':~eived

^"

~

Edu'cationalTh~IjapistBy,Position ,.... ...•.. .~••....

!

Tahle

.~^l. Sample· Population. Reepcndentsand

,pe r c e nt a g e of~eturnsByp~s1tion

. ? :.., .

2. PercentageofReapon~entsAgr"eeing -With the'Threep'osaible Goalsot '

Educationa,1 Therapy ....•..•.: ••••••.•. .. ..:... ... .. 41

7.

~:~ ~~:~t~t~~. ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~.~~. :~~ .

I. ' , . .

B.

H~' 7 theOriento~:on

^{pr-ovIded? ••••}

~

^..'••••: . . . ..." "

9.

H~sAbe

Staff l:'articipated,in·t h e .

. ~~:~~~i:~~i ~e~:=i:~l:i%~l~h:he

'~ChOOI ?By:Oait~on.•••.•. :•.•:... ..•••.. .. .:....• •.

)

I'1'1

h

· .r

.. . . . ... <. .

!

t. I

5.

55

"'.!l' 57

60

61

63

63 .t

\.

65

66

:''; ' ,ii" 10. Fo~Partici pa tion ha aTaken In the

.Deve lopmentofthe Ro I'e of th e

• "~duca~iOnQI Th~~aPiBt With\(theScho:l

18.L'abe1&,Used to"'Identifythe EducCl~ionlll ^rr:\ Therapist in,Formal COfttllCtB •••••• •.• .• .•...• ••••'I"

11. ~~:~~:~;i:.~^thi~r~~c:~;a~~~.e~f^.the ProfessiODalsRank edTheirExpectations forDevelbpmen t a..the Roleof the;,:..

Educa tiona l Ther'apiat .••• • • ••..••• ••.••• ••... •.. .

17.R~ 8pondent8"Cho iceofen Active

~~~;:;i:~rB::e~h~nE~~~~~~~;II~nd

^Experience

19. LebeIs Used to Desert

be

Students Who areReferred to'theEducationalTh.erapist

./

-rg.Respondents' Selection of Per son Pr-imarily Reapona Ib l e for Monitoring theEducat,ion llo l ~rllopistByPosition

,1 2.Shouldthe EducationalTherllpht Have

TeaC!ling Experien.ce?By Position .

'13. Distribution . in pej-cen'tagea,.e r the Frequency Witl1 Which the Al-I,i ed Profes sion ahRa nkedTheir VIews

on tho·.Profenio"naIBackgroundof ' ."

the EducaUon41.Therq.pfst :•••••••. .•• • • • • ••• •

x.

14.Frequ~mcy of Professional ContactWith

th e Educ ational,T-herapist By Position.; •.. .•• • •.•.• •

1.5.

~~r~h

_Withthe

_Bducati~l pr~fe -" iona

_Therapist

l

^Contact_By^{Tak es}_Position

/v

~

^26.

:~~~~~:~i:· B:.t~; ~;f:~;e~a{~r

^t::oblems/

Educational Therapist •.. ... .. .,... ... ... 76 20.~spondents' Recommendation of A Model

for'"'orldng"With Studen1:s With

tmotional &:nd Behavioral Disorders .

21.Withthe Appointmentof an Educational

Therapiet.Respondents State -.

22 .Respondents' View on theRatio Required· to Obtainan .Edu cationalT~erapyUni t .

'"

23. Respondents· Opinion on RegUlations for Obt}liningan Educational'Therapy Uni t

24 .Pereen~are-ofRe.pondentsWho Feel,There

.Le:a Need tor AdditionalEducational

""etapyUnits ;'t •••~••• • ••••• •• ••• •.••• ••

: O;- ••

2S. Percenta'geofReBpondent8.;Rat~ng^{the Role}

~;p~~~a~~~::t~~n~~e~~1:~i~~~ ;::;~~p~iatenesa

of theRole and Their Understondi!)g

of

^the

RoleByPosition.. . . ..•.•..~. ::..•-...~...• ••: ....;.. . Pare

-,

.,

••

72...,'1

73

27.R{spondents ' Opinion on the Effect an Educ~tional Therapisthu,had.on t1ah\streamingof Behavi orallyDisorde r e d

Students intothe Regular Classroom •.•...••.~... . 77

'28.-Ha~~-~cti onof theEducational

Therapist Poaition in Your.a e n e e t PressntedAny'Challenges toYou as an

Administrator ?By Principals •• •••....•• . .•...••,. .... 78

.

',

.. .

:'

LISTOFFIGURES ....

FI GURE

'"

Hypothetioal Rol e Set

Schoo lCounsellor'sRol eDefiners .. : . Page

16

17

/"

Several.Elementa..of Role

,,> ... .

¹⁹

t1

'/

"

\'.

xl

INTRODUCTION

..

,J~

TheDepartment of 'Educ at f on's Po ll eysht eme nt on the

"

,

Bllckgroun dtothe Pr ob lem

Thepu r p os e of this investig a t ion was todeter:mine the

perce p tion s held bYlill i e d profes8 ion llh of'th e Dewestmember 'i-,.

ofthe teach i ng~in theprovJ.nce of Newfoubdhnd,and

ik.brador~ the~ 'duc~ional

^{therapia\. . '}

and pa rents . IloSwellliSthe stu den ts,themse l ves"~p.l}. I t Educ a t iona l.Therapist POs1t1~n in New f oundland and'Le.brador

.Inrec~ntyear s ane" and uniqUe pos ition he.1~een creet e d to me e t t.h enee d sOf.st uden t sin thepu b lic.8cb oo ls,of Newfou n d h n d a~dLap rll d o I;: Thispo sit i on. th~ educ,atlo~al

• therap i st' . has h manda t e towork. i th the s e Itude~ts

"ident ffied ashav i n g severe behavio u r di s orders. Wi t h

t~e

eeretrveuewn e s e ~f th~s'po s ~ti on, ther e exists 110 lack of re'search on its'o v eral l acc ep t a nce amongst. tea chers.

The,Depar tment of Educllot i onhas produ ced a poii c y. s'tGteme nt (1986) fo r school boards andeducati onaltherapist s

, i '

toserve IloBII.fra me work'for theimp~ellentationof,thisnew posi t i on . Inthis itate ment i tsays,"t h e units (educatio n a l

• I '

.ther aphtl ) '~ lloca ted"" are bea t t.hought. ofa8' ~ruource person s appoint ed for thebenefit ofadministr~,tors.

.

^,', t"ac h e r^" ., 1

,

.

^.;:

- 2-

~~£0.1-80 acknowledges that-t heeducatione:l therapi st 's...fOOl e.. ill

•cveerep.• lth the sch ool couns e l lor's .ro l e , but wlH be- directedat a seerter and mor e narrowlydefined st\ldent population.

t'

The depart mentalpol i cystatementiI'divided into a number of secttons ai med a~def in i n g theex te nt of the educe-tional therapist 'srole,~equired.aliflcatio.ns. and his/her .clientel e.. Sect i on1 of~~estatem entdeals withth ~ leghla.UoRanddefln it ~o n sof educetl~n41 therApy. pr o c edure s fot obtaining beunit andcomp e t e nc i e s required of the

~ducetionll.l

t.herl'lpkt.

S~ct'i~n

^2.looks

a:. ~e ·

^{rOle'of ·t he}

edU~1I.t10~~~_~~~ei(l~ist,^{. ..}hi~e ^{se c tion3.,}f~Cu~~s^{on the} rouU.n~s ,~f

the

^p·osltion. Fi n a M y , 8e~tiDn^{+,discuues evalu~tionat: the educ.ati on~ltheraplst's 'r ole andthe importanceof the rolein

tb~ ~chool sYlte~ . '

In order tor a schooltoquali~ytoestablish an educationaltherapy unit. a minimum of four"(4) students who aredeemed '~mot i ona l I Ydis furbed' ne e dtoDeidentifi ed. These students, up toa maJ:llllum of

S'lx

(6 ). tormthe core0&

t"heeducational therapist·^&workl oad. These cor e etudente mustha'lef~ildocument a tio n (Le.testing information), ne ce aser-yto demonstrate theseveri~ Of.eillnifican.tbehaviour patterns toestobl isha \lOU. ,The ed u c ati o n a l the:r:-Ilplst can, al so, serve a number of "r e fe r red students" who ,.f o ll owing a morethoroughaS8e~sment. mllY becomepart

of

the cor e unit.

Thecore and referredstudent~arethefoc us of the

.:

- 3-

educat ional the ra t1fs t 's res poDslbilitle lpnd'determiDe the ma jor part of he r ro le in theachool.

. v ;

The role of the educ ation al th tlrapllt. allou t lin e d inthe Dep~rtmentof Educ:at~ ~n I8po~l cystatement. 11 made upof f ive maj or function s. Thesefuntio n s are 1) identification and dlagnos16 of'ne wreternl\s 2) in d i vidualchil4

cou~88i.linl

^3')

te ecne r- ,ona 7 ' t i o i 4)J.r ant consutt.et ron end ')cc...unlty . -tteec n, wi i 1 neachof thes efuncti oD s,.thetherapia\: car ri e s

au! e number- o f Il.c t i v l tl e 6 geared to me e tingthe ne eds ofthe 'c o r e'. as.~1 1^4S, 'refe r re,d' students in theunit. ,To per f orm..thi s rol e. 1:118,~ ~ucat iono.l thero.pls.tmust come l.n contac t with.numerousprof e s slona18, ...par entaand stude n t•. Thero le

'inc lUd~8

^{'wo rlti ng.el cee Ly}

w1.~h~ algni.ft~ant ~th~r·"

ⁱⁿ

the st ud en ts' life ; teachers"parents,princi pal. &.Iwel l 8S co mmu n i t y based profel8 ion als suchas socialworkers, 'Psychiat ris t s . and justicepersonn el. The .uccnsof the educ ationlll ther llpi st may depe n d , toa la r g e.exten t ,onthe qualityof't.h esecollabor a t ive~e l8ti onshipsand on th e exte n t to whichther eisa ahare d perce pti on ofthis newpro fess iona l ro l ewi thin thepubl·icschool s)'stem.

·Th epos i tionof the,educati onal therapis t is int endedas

a re s c ur-eeto chss room.teacher slindadminlstrato r s

'-...

whowor k

.

·w itht'tude~t 6 with beha vi oural and··eljijoU onal dh o rde rs and·,

also,ja sa di r ec t servicepro~idedto tne s e stud e nts. 'I n hie

n

^J ':,^.'

- 4 -

I

\

.

.

.

be:congr ue nt... ith thosehe l d ,by the'educa ti ona l the r a pis t',

Dep artme n t of Edu cati on;"

himse lf. Obviou&1y,.~heneedsof the student areof·u~.os t

.

importanc e,'butthe expe ct at i ons placed onthe therap ist J.o ,meet theseneeds fro mvario~sper s pe ct ive s of signifi can t

oth e rs .. il l'ha v e adi~e cteffect', not on ly.o n thetherap i,at , but on the st u dents, as we11.

, " ,

.

^"

Poas i b le, und e rl yi ng potenti a l for rol,eambr-gufty 'orrol e con flict may e'x ist i~ the'l ackof 's uffi cien t informa ti on ava il abl eto.allied..pr o fe s si ona l s reg ard i ng·t h e'r ol e of the educatiobAl ther~p is t. Therefore, the seprof,es 81onalsmay def i n e. t heirexp~ct~tion8_fo r'lt h e"ro l e ba~edonthei r perc e iv ed needs of th e stud e nts. Ho.. ever , thos eperception . lIlay not ne ce ua ril y be thO,hel d by. the educati ono'l ther ap 1at or that fo und"in thepol icy stateme nt providedbythe rol e

r tne

educ at l ona~ therapi B.t"mu s t dealwith stude nts.' teacher a . paren t e'and wi t h many.ot~er~rOfe 8 B i DnIlo 1 8 . ^{Si nce} the educetfcne l therap is t podU o n1&re lativel ynew, the

. .

ther op is ts' rolebound aries·'oRe:s tabl l s he d POSitiOD'!'in the schoo l4n~tli.~c.ommunlty. He mus t attempt~functi o nimd~ ca r ryout hisowndutie sllo~reB PonBibilitie. while, lilt tbe la me.t,~ m e .attemp ting tomeetthedemandsof ot heral l i e d . pro felll lon llis. Thes e dema n d slllay invol v e con s u l t a t ivetask s , cl as sr~omand.c r1si B.\interventi on s,or los ervice',tor exeeapt e,

~U 8.th ere1&IS.p~tlnti'lll for

'\0 1 8

con f lic t

tDd

^{r,P.1e , _ .•}

.amb i gui ty.tI.S,the ,pe rceptio ns.and.expec taU On ~\h4t others .

hol d abo utthe educa tio na l t.h e rap ist po s iti on may not Ilhray s

r.

for role confliet and ambiguity.,

- , ^-

'....,'.'"

.... .

con flic t i n g role expe ctationsmay cause, f'!.r

organiz a t ion.

I fthi~^is 11.9 of the schoo lcoo,.a~' "'>r ' a

'conf li c tin gsxpe c ta t ions ha venum~rouB i~pl i cat l,on8.;o~ \he Ac cordingto contemporaryrole tbe,ory,"behavi.ouria the produ ct of the interaction of . . U and ro.I8,withse lf des cribed4S,the interna.l oJ:;.llanh a tlo nc_.~._pera~('.'^{B qual}it~_ee - while rol eis seen to be thespecified'act i o n l hat^II.perl on pe r fo r ms inII.given posi ti on " (Ba r b i n,as

Cit~d _ .i

^-Inragan,

I

L---

198 1,p.le ) . However, II.pr-ofeasIona l roleis defined notonl y .by how.the pro'. . . 'on.'·vte we bar

f.a~onalblllt1

^{....hu; also}

by theb~~a~i ~uralex pecta t ions of!si'gni'f~ c4ntothersin the workenv i ro nmen t.

In

a'rev~ewof tJ:1ere,s earch·forthe P&st'·thi rtyyears,'

Dr a ga n(.19 8 1) fo und viv i dlyconfl ie.U ng expe ctati ons for the

\roleof th e,s ch ool'cou~se l lor. studi~s ⁱnd ica te that sucb·

pr-ofeae dcne le.inthi s.poflit io n.

Hass a rdt1 98 1) states tha t "thepr o blem of role

· 1 ...

defi nit ~on, rol e con f l ict androles~r:a~n

r:

"br ou g h t It r e n uni quetothecoun s ~. orwork ing in ed ucatio.Da lsst t"tngs "

- 6'-

thllt e.ducat~onaltherapistaand alliedprotelsionals wor k together to.e ns ur e sha r e d percepti.onsand e:rpe'cteUons for the

th/erllPI:~.ts'

^role.

l_ ,.

^0;0

J Statement of Significance

.. , I

;'

Bentley (1968),s t a tel that-role lar e lea r n e d; theya:e ret'ipr'bcal ('shared) ; the y are a !Per ie , of ~ctionsand they

, I

performed in interaction ait uat~ on 8" (p.74). ~eth e~ goes on

toSAy "Whe n,role expectations are inadequate,'cautious,

unce rtainrole.en e cteen e is likel yto follow"(p.7.5). Dragan

" ,

(1981 ) states~'if

the,

cou·n.e ll or'p~ercelve 6t,be ~:l:pectat1ons . ''''"u pon~iUm. tobeleg-Himate,that'is. helllfrees,that othershave

a right to,hold,them.he w111ac c ~p t't he se III .role obligations. But, ifhe feels'that theae .a r e not leg1"tillll.te.

'hed l l

vi~w

^{them as}

pres8ure~'-end'

^{mey or mey}

no~t

^them"

(p.16 ).

,

,

, Thepracticalsi gn 1f ic a~ceof this relearchis that IlllPro~ed c.olDm~ i "a tion6 alllo,ng.r olesenders.(i. e~ allied prof e lJsi onals)and rol e'receivers (i.e.educational

,thera~ is ~8 ).WU:.leadto improvedrole'per'forlJl4~ce'. Th~~, dny

pohntial role conf li ct and,ro leambiguitY..Maybe avoided throughori e n ta ti o n ond inser vicetrainingfor allied prcree atcneteto.t~,'roleof t'he educll't1onal'ther.epist position . H~"ever. it is~et:essllryto determineifsuch role co'ntlictlind ambiguitydo ind~d^exist.

2..Wha tare~11iedprofe aai onals' 'viewsregar~:nngthe Research Questions

\ .

signific« n.c:e . the follow ing research~ions.were .'~•• ''"-'-_ _ ~~

., .

\ / .

\ .

L ? a t are alliedprofeaa ionals'psrcepti ~ns of.th.~duties, functi onsand goa~B of'the?du c a tion a l.t he r a ph t ·&ro l e?

. . .

i~port a n c eof teaching'experience foredu~ational the therapists· pod t lon

~epreuures end expect.ll.t1ons lI.noc!ated with

.'

performanceof any.role" have a11gnlflc~ntaffect'on",t he interact1on~be::.een alliedprOf.'ssion,aI8: The het. ~bat the!,ear e a n~berof ot h er -p rof e 8 . i o\.n a ~ sco n raec ted.t o,4 core gr oup of,c l i ent s w111de t ermineto a largeext. e nt theway in whI chthose'clie n tsar e serve d. Thatta." th~derree towhicb each professional

I s

able 't o meet the expectation. end

. "

perceptions ofhiBall leidependa upon how'these are,.-

cOl!llD,;nic4t.-e~."ithin ~h,: r~le

^set: The rote conf1.l.et-o,r

rai.

alllbigu ityaffectseachpr~fe8-eional·a nd.1.8a.~~l(I~Cfatedwit1;l.

p:essur':8'placedon an indi yidual·t operformh~.·role.,llnd-meet th~ e~p~ct~t_~~m8 ^of~thers', as,we.ll41,

tJ'ios:

^of'him8ftl~.·

, II

~ setting?

7. Whet areprincipal s'viewsof the ch a'll en gell po. edte;».them with the introducti onofeducaU~ma ltherapist positi ons?

- 8

4. Whatarelllii edprof essionals' be! l e fl regarding the

\ -

!Iervl c ~delIverymodel for educettonet therap y c.dd their V~ 8lfS on la beis.u,,:ed to iden t i f yth estu d ents endthe educat.1o tlal.ther a.p{stIn the school setting?

3. what a~e^al'lied'p r o fe s si ona l s ' exp eri enceregarding their "

prOf ~8 i,onal ecn'e ect.11"1 ththe,therapist. their views oftrAn. a~ti ve 8~p e rv18o r . and thepe r so n pri maril yrespons lblefor 'monitoring the ed ucatio n al the rll pi stpositi on in the eebe et

s , What are a,ll ledpro~e8si o.n·!llS · un~erBta~di"!1g8 ^{of the}

.

"

diBtinc tl on llndre latloill h1p behe enthe ro l e of th e Bchoo l' couns e llor c.nd

't~

^{rof e}

':. Of ',~be ~d~ce.t10na~ ther.~p1st..

'"t he i r :I view on the st ud e n t to ther apistratio'of'4t.o

.-1;

re ru 1at'ions for~iring a therap,ist a.ll~the ir views onth~

need for ad d itio n a lthe r api sts? .~.

6. What are

an

ledprof.es~ion~le ' ~pd~r6tand1n8'of stud ent problemsreferred toan educo. t io na l ther a p ist, their view onthe'eff e ctof 'the'therap ist on'!Iainiltreoming ,their rating'of theove r a l l role , t hei rexpectations fo~^the

p~sition

a&d their vie ws onthe

appro~riateness

^{of-t h e}

educa t i ona l therapists ' rol e?

- . ^-

The tol lowin g,a re de fin i t i o ns of particular tenD.,used in this stud:y:

Edu cationalTher,plet: is e professi onalwho ba. "re cei v ed apee Le I training" render

lor

him SUihbl\ toworkwithellotionally disturbedch.11dr e n i·t he therapist 18..

be)ltthought of as ftresourc eperson Ioppo;oto" for thebeo e"t of

..admin istrators

i

.teachers ~ndparents.

1. . ,

4Swell as the students . theme.el v8s .

I ' .

(Dep~rtJilent Of,Education.Pol1c~

.Alited Profe s si one l:

:

...

\

BoundaryRole Professional:

perso ns'hol d i n g·P~J:,O f es ll:,l onll. lpO,sitious. ,in the school.system Wfthwholll,the

ed uc e t io.Dlll therapist,m.us t interact

in.

orderto'pe r f o rm his duti es(Le. teachers, co o r dino torsof specia'l gerv i~.e8, spe cial education-t e a che r s . scb ool .counsell ors and

,(' administrllitors ) . r' ,

i~'^1Iiprc.ofessloDlIil whose rolein~o1ve8 cr~8~ i nl.organ1zllt·i onlllboundarys which arephysical , tempora lIlnd

" ,

\

./

isd Lr-e c't Iy, ind ire c tl y or remo,telY con nected.to ot heroffices in th e-

. -

eachoffice inan organiza tion-~h1ch

/.

be id entifi ed .

rejects

.

hi,S role.

occur s when ro l e'expectat ions androle~-~ con cept~on8 atta chedtoaposition .' varyfrom eachother orwh e nro l e

per f o r man ce Is"very4\f f e r e nt fr om roleexpectati~nsendwhe n role ';cceptance 1 S80low that the pe r s on

given organ i zationalposition. To the extent that such informat ion is

- l()-

( .'

.,'..~w .'or goni z a'tion.

normet~~~^__~~_ie . b~ll ding8t ruct·ur.e, 'le n gth ofworkdeyend ve tue s of, ( ..akers and workroutine8 : (I II bock

/ - an \ ah er, 1,' 04) . I>

any individu a l who a ero l e isunde r conaideratiop"

o~~

^{wh a l ero l e B,e t isto/}

" ).8 con,ceived ast~edegreeto whi ch' required inf o r ma ti o n re4~aLl o.b le^{to •} Foca l Pe r s o n:

Role-Amb i gu itv:

)

RoleConflic t:

. ,

J

Bece uee ofthefOllo~ingfa ctors,10lDecau t io n mus tbe e:r:erc i~~dⁱⁿ Interp~eting^llnd generllliting from the reltUlts of this study ,

Role Expectations :

Role Concep tionsl

.RoleAc ceptance:

Rol e Perf or mance:

- 11 -

hck i n g ,th e.indi vidual will exper-Le nce ambifUi ty. _

areth e actionsexpect e d of the ' occup a n tof a positionandYbe adions heexpe c ts tope rf orlll.

thes e

are~'the

c08'fli tion s -:"f the indi v idua l \II'h~nhe considersthe or,a n i zatio n; they are

i~terna'}hed

^\

expe c ta tions oneholdsfor h.lm. elf.

/ . ..J

•theexten t towhich occu p ant s of pcis-it i o nsac ceptthe way thei:r.- ectrvitiesare defioed,by othe rI and conce iv~d

r

thelDle l ves.,

',l

thewa ya

perBo~s.

^{his ro1e}

behav iouras re latedto rol e acceptance , roleexpectati ons and role conce ptions.

Limitatioos

- 12 -

1: 'Si n c e thequeationntlir~atte mp ta to~uuJ'>eattitudes and 118,rcoapti0f Bof~sllondenta. ^cau ti o n :gouldbe usedIn

interpretingthe dete colle c t e d.

2. Thest. udywas descript ivein netur- e.

'Y

, .

3. Th~ s.cho o l counsel lor s cOlllpl e t.in rf h eque.st1on~a ire were not madeupsole y of fu ll~t i Du:lco~sello r8. Theref or e,the .tr ai n ing andbo!lck g ro u nd ofthe re{ pondent s'in th ilposi ti o n wil l var yandmay bias thedat.a obt.ained for that positi on.

" . .

4. Thepercept io n a of the variousrt;lleslindresponsl bil i t.iea

. .

or:the educ a tiona lth.erap ht_hel d by11.11iedprofe\r i onal a isconting e nt upon th eanfoun t of info rma t ionav ailab le .conce rn i n g therol ein agiven.sebc e r ,

'-.

'I

ambiguity as th,eyaffectsi mil ar boundary rO,le pr ofessionals (i.e.tbe echocIcounse llorandtheechoo l psych ol oght ).

.v

- 13 -

In order to.conside rhow the educ at iona l theraph t in teracts with-etHed-pro fes s io n a lsto me ett·heirneeds. i tis

"

- - - "

us e f u l to considerhe r rol e an~functi onfrom an

organizst lono. l persp ective. wi'thin theschool andcOlDlllunity ,.

the educa tional th~r8pist^{mu s tcr08Bthe}boun d a r i e s defi n i n g

h . e~ ,

^POBitoi.on,i nt o .the domainsof ot he r

prote8~iona18

^to

obto.i~

ll.~~prov ii::lene c e s s ary infor matio n re rardingbehavioura ! ilia agement of her coreand re f erred stud en ts. This'r equ i r e s An Organi za ti ona l Perspect ive

o f

th eEducati ona lTherapists '

the educet.LoneI theTapJst:to.take on manyrol e e in thec;1aih

,f u nc ti onin'g of he rpos iti on. In this- regard, the';ed uca t i onal

the rapist may beref e r r edto al anor g a n iz at iona lbOUn~ary

\ ' ..

.

r'):)1.8profesa ional. .'>I,-J

I1lbackand Maher(1984) atate~ha t_"t o perform?n the job in anef ~ ect lveway."Onorga n i2 11ot i o n al bou ndl1r y rO,le

CHAPTER II REVIEW OFTHB -LI TBRATURE

. ' ^'\.

\Th.e purpo 8 e ~of th is rev~eware: 1) to.preaent.a~ , organiza t io na l par.ape etIveof theeducat ional therapis trole ; to es tebf ish th atthe educetion41't her a pist is abo\l~dary ro le - prOle SBi ona land'thus. maybe s'iJbjec t" t o rol e ~onf l~ctand rol Ilmb i gui t y. and 2) to examinero l e conflictand ro l e

professional must identify. assess and adapt to various set\th1gs •.7I~ectations.,'personn~l,^{rules and}procedure~"

(p.64). The educational therapist must.interact with per.Bonne} in a rGoge ofsc ho ol organizatiODGl work units such

~as classroo~teachers. ceuneeirer-e ,8P~cial education teachers

•an~ admin~strators. Outsideof school , theedUCa~GI therapist must interactJith other e1ucationGI therapists, parents , social

,,~vices .

the police and other law enforcement

~genc~llnd

of·ficiGls at the school boar-d, Thus,an

, , l

or~ion4l bo~ndat:'y roleprofe_tional is involved in c~o88ingorgaDizayt0nal boundarie's that are physical (e.g.

arcilftectiJralstrJcture of abuilding)~ temporal (e.,. the lengthof a work day )andno rllla ti ~ e (e.g. the values of

/

.

workers and work routines) (lllback and l"Iaher. 1964). An

.

^educationaltherapist needs to be aware of^,', eecb of these areas

..

when

perf-ormi~g

^{her.·rolein or;1erto'}be effe;ctive Gnd satisf\ed. ;,.!;. " ..- • '

The organizationalperspecti ve recognize sthat to be effecti 'le, theva r i ou s units,..!e.g:educatione.l therapist) must interrelate s.lIIoothlywijjl. other units (e.g.coun s e l lin g and specialeducat ionservices ) so that programs are imp l e me n t e d and coordinated in an

effeet~

^effi'cient'manner (111back

&Mahe r, 1964).AliJ.he focal person of the serv f ee e prov.ided

to"b e h avi o u r a l lydisturbedchildren, the educational there.piBt

. . .tr :ve to,

f/fllI

the expectation.

of

hl ••elf, .llled

-.

- l' -

profeuionals, the co mm uni ty and thestudents withinon~

organization, the school.

Kahn, Wolfe,.Quinn.Bnoekand Rosenthal,(1 96 4 ) provide a

re p r~ae n t a t i veor hypotheti cal roleset for a focal position.

whicb·canbeadapted to identify the role set in"whichthe educational therapi ~tfunc ti ons (seeFigure 1).

In this role set, the various professionals with whom the educational therapi stmuat interactare,'re pr e se nt e d from an organizational view with the dt e t-ence betweenthe bbxes providing some approximationof distancebetween orltanhational un(ts~ ^{The distance between the}edu c a ti on al' therapist and theprincipal'i~ ^Lesst~anthe distancebetween'. the th~api'ot.^and~each'ers^{or those}pro'f~Bs.iona18~ffiCeS ou't s Ldeof the ecbcci suchas the superintendent: ThiB ,fi gu r e indicatesthat the'educationaltherapistDIllYhave asDIany as'

rcur(4) Dlain role definers (i.e. student s, teache rs, ecb ocl

""""?" ""

administrators). but that t,hesep,~OPle~ISO

r>

functiona& part of,o,theraocial sy~ms. Theother ksy.role de-finersou.tsideof the

schOO~ '

fo-Ahe educet tonet th era p is t tt'elveor more role senders"in her role set, de~ertdingon the.

~size of the school in whichebeperforms.he r role.

Iveyand Rob i n (1966) provide a representation of role definers in the,schoo l social system and other 80cia1 systems

\

.

^.

.

for school cou n s e ll o r s which ca n be-'adapted to the educatl'onal therapist. Fi gure:itshows that the primary social systemin whi chtheeducationaltherapht functions (schoO 'I) contains

Figure 1

Hypothetical Rol eSet

---)Bounda r y ofwo r kunit

Adap t ed fJ;' om Kahnetal.• Or gan izational·St r e s e . (1 96~) .p.41.

I.'

0.

¹

1 1 Tu cbHI"

~IOIr.d Cf6nltut (Pn}1

lebo l Cn nellor

DODD

School Couns ellor'sRole Definers

InJ. C.

•

Bentley(Ed.).

- 17-

Fi gure 2

SchoolSoci~lSyste.

~

^• (Pri.ary Social Syste.

, ', SIn Which'IbeEducational . ~erapia;t.Functions)

r-'-'-~,----f.l ^• _I ^. _. j iii _{. ..}

. !!! ^I

IIII i

j i i ^j i

other SocialSy~teu. (KeyRo leDefinersNoted)

, I

~Adapte dfr~.lYey.A.E.., Robin,s'.B. (1966), COWl.8e l or'sRol e ,(p.228).

poll1tion are the school board"the parents, the cOllllllunityand the counsellingprofe s&lon.

~re

^{:2also i}l l u strat e s 'th a,t there isco n s t ant feedba ck betweenthe the rapistand her role. d~finers ^{in eac h's o cial} sys t e m and that the rei " constant feedbackbetweenthesy s t e ms ~~J Wh iC hthe role definers exist.

~erefore : thJ'.~~~_~~tione.(the~i8t, as a focal.pe rs o n in tlae scho o l system,must Lnte rec t; with and meet the needs of numerou spro fes si onal s and signif1 c4nt ot h e r s as partof her mdn functi on .

The roleof the educationaltherapist is influen c ednot on ly bythe individualswithin the social system and roleset of the theraplst,-but by herownperso~al1^{ty,ae we ll.} Be ntl ey (1968) deecri~edthewayA pers onacts.o r perform g in

~r-cte.,(rol eperformance)~srelatedto\thre e.f a c tor s: role expect a t i o n s,rol e,concep ti o n s afldrole ac c eptan ce.

The roleexpe ctatio n s "Of othe rs for the educati onal therap ist infl ue nc e the r-oje con c ep t ions an drol e ac ceptanc e. she holds forhers elf, Role exp e c t atio n s are extremel y Le por-terrtto rol e enac tmentandas Barbin (cited inBentley, 1968, p.7S ) sta tes, "co n f l icts are like l y to followfrom a,mb iguou srole exp ec t Gt i ons. " If theex p ect ati o ns forthe educat'fo n a l therapistbelong to"0eign i fic Gn t pers on, then'

,

" - -'

th;ey mu'i1tbeattend ed to. Roleconf lic t may arisewhen,the actions of "oned u c a t iona l th e r a p lll t dif (e r appr,ciablyfrom .the roleexpect.e-tLon s of signi ficant·ot he r \. (Be n t ley , 1968 )_~

'Th e

indivi~udl , r . ^h~'1n

Fi gu : e 3;

br1~gs

^with'hera

set of pe rson a lized~xP,ect8t i ons for the roleshe isto ./

,

..I'Y

Adapted fr o.J.C.Bentley (Ed.)(1968).Coun sellor's"llo le, (ph6).

'i,

Pre sc ri ptions in the Social9ystell

(others)

- 19-

I

Figu r e,3

SeveralEle'mentsof Role

Per s on41i t y (Self)

Re:'1lTdsist ell Capacities At tJ. t udes Needs Cognitivestyl e

Bebavl orin thesocial system

•

- 20 -

perform

~hich

^are

~notm.

^as

r~le. Toncep~i"ons

a",d are held hlterDally byt~etf(erapist, herself. These conceptions,"li ke

e~pectations, carry with them certain rights or privileges end certain obligations or dutIes which the individual per.ceives . as pertaining to her position. The educational therapists may. hold differing viewe'o f the1.r role than't ho s e held by significant others and this may lead to role conflict and role

v

;.

"I,'

.

-.'-:'.,,' ,,',

...,

1. Unclear about the scope of thei.rresponsibilities; simply do not kno• •hat (they are supposed to do. ambi.!.~ty.

The e.xtentto which one apcepts roleexpecta~ionsheld by others and by oneae Lf is known as role"a c ce p t a n c e" The educational~h~rapistsmay f,e!,1 resentful of thev~eWBothers

have:o f them and attempt to pe'rform'!;hei~role to meet their

own'r,ole.~onc ePtio~s.,for the positl09:._Howe~er. the,actjf

W,GY1"nwhi~htherapistspe~formthdr roteis related,to each 'o f roleeXllect~tions,~e.c onc e p 't fona-a nd r-c Lell.CcePh';~"e·-an~

how these

, ·iriter~elate .

^...'.......::

Bent ley(1968) s'aysthGtI perhaps. the role expectations and role"concept ~.).11 never coincide.

.

rheretore^. ,the

ext~,t o which they vary trom~is.c~,o t h e r r«fresents,poten~1ll.1

role conflict endambi~ity. This ambiguity mllOY ?ccur when the required Worlllation for an o!'ganizational pos! t.ion is lackiI!g and is not forthcoming to an individual. Kahnet et• (1964)'have developed £i-ve important areas o~ambigu!-ty in occupational roles:

r:

.(

.. 21 ",

, J.Play know what to do. but not know how. This

~nce:rt51nty^{mcay orise}be c e u e e the 8][pectation.

defining the roleare, tbeIDBel~ve8. vague and Inconsistent.

3.Uncertain 4S~owhose expflctationsthe y are required to meet: unable to dhtinru1sh between bis legitimate rol e sendersand otherswhoseexpe c t a t i ons he can sarel yignore.

4. The eroee r we cometo^II.foell,I..posit ~l'n, we find<a a e l!

,in.hlC~ information .isevetteb te hithero~et,but isnot commun ic a ted tothet~.clllperson.

S.Where.8 e v,:r a l r~le ^{eende z-s}ar~c6mmun-ic~tln8'

\0

^{·t.h e}

foca l'per so n r

.

e ga r d i n g the some co nd i t i o n or~

.

^" ~ev~nt.

themessagesmay be con.t:lldi ctoryand, thus;.

produce .

co!\fuslon~ndunc~rta inty. .(AmbiguityIn this situationresemblesrole conflict)•.

The reIOti6n~h~pb~t.ee'ambiguity and confli ct ha B alBabeen.

.outlinedby.Kohnet 01. (1964) in the following'woy)

1. The pres en c eof conf.lictingrole preal\urea maycreate uncertaintyfor the focalperson.

'2. I fthe r~l e ^isombiK\l~u.B fo r",the focal person. it is...

probably BOfor ma"nyof hisrole sendera"',

.

,a s welL

. ^..

^{" ~}

1. Or ga n h .a tion a l Bh~, 90lllp lexi t y , raJ;'idcha~ le, o~d" "

different"l~1 Object~ves'-~f'subp a r ts are ecur-ce a ~f';

both co nf lict and ambiguity.

,:...",

.

'":~

• ... . .

- 22 -

Thus;theeducaUonal~therapist · s ro l e performance is ..in f l u en c e d toa lar gedegree,not only byhimself.. but by

ot h e r s in pOlitionl wh c e e rol e

.

boundariell he mustcro.~in orde~to! !r t o r m his r.ol e . ,This situationcreates a wide scope of potential for role ,::;on fl i cf and role amb i gu ity.

Rol e confl: c t and Role Ambiguity aB-"Experiencedby School Co u n se l l"o r s and Sch oolPsychologists

The majority of research

..

in the arelll of role'co nf li c t and ambiguityhasfocus ed on the en c ue b e nt inthe focal

r

po.,tl~n

^{of the role}

. e,.

^{Ro1> co}n f li ct end

c~un.e llor

^{e tr e s _ ....}

we r e the main

r:»

^{r~tresearchin whichsc h ool .}

cou.nsel~lors were seen to

C

on 'the receiving..end of'a va s t ~ a~ray

01-

conflicting performanceexpectations (Dralen, 1981;

G~rtley, ^1981; Hassllrd, 1981;'&Me c cer, 1981): Bv idenc e .i n d i c at e s that for some individuals.~uii~ertainand con flic t i n g

role exp e ctationsfostertnt e rue I motivational con f lict s (Dragllon, 1981). Ac cordingto~Hercer(1981) ..i f a jobisnot co rrg r-uent;with careermotive~or doe s not meeton e's needs in factors'such as workingcond itionsor geographic lo c a t i on, then cha n ge is"e sse n tialfor personalwell being. Couns ell ors who ar edi68atisfiedwith their jobs mayve nt their frustrations i.nmanyways such as"absenteeism, con f ~ i ctwith stu d e nts, pe ers

.

and su p e rv i s o rs and critici sm o^. f school polLcLea whi ch may be damaging to theirca ree r and reputlltidDIl (G4rt l ~y,·1 98 1 ) . Thus, the st~e68 aSlloc hted-~ithrole

(

__.)3-

co n f 1ict ha s implicaU on ~ ,not on l y for the workplace , but for persona l well-b e i n g, as we l l.

In a st udy of schoo l cou n sellor s, Ichool princ ipa lsand coun seliar educat o rs inManitoba, Dragan (1981 )conc 1uded that

"t h e school coun se llor,mu st indee d be re g a,rded as high risk ; 'ro l~conf lic t,atr e sa mate ri a l" (p.21). 811findings in d ica te

eo highdegr~eof con fl i c t intbepe rc eive d ro l eof the scho ol cc un eetIer-, Sch o ol,prin ci palswere of theop i n i o n that coun se l lo rssho u Id conce n t r a t e ~nco unaellingst u de n ts and supplying post- se c ond a r y ana ca ree r rel a t ed informati o n . wh i'le counse llored uca t o rs felt that the couns ellor shou l d not be re s p on sibl e,to r.curricu lum an dclaB~.room,:learD:i ng envi ro nments, scho'o! cl i ma te or operati on. Ad dl't i on a l l y , i t was fo u ndthat principal s andcoun sell or educators fe l t the

.

. ,

sclio ol counse llor shouldconce n t r a tehiseff or ts inthe area of progra msre l a t edto,...'~ee li n g8 ,val u e s, commu n ication and' decis i on -m aking. That is, th ecou n s e l lo r shou !dbe ' student-ce n t e r e d

.

and

,

, lygel y ,

.

tradlU Qna l. The school counsel lors-fe l t ca s e conferen ce s invCll vlngparents arid

. " .

teachers.eva lu ating how cou r se s meet st u d ent·need s"and .worki ngona schoolphilo so phyofed uc a t i o n were out si de the

focus of their rol e. .Ov erGll, Dra g a n(1981)co~cl1.ided."thGt

. . ^.

the threegr oup swe r e ab le toGgre e mor e on;th a t the r counsel lo r sho':!l d not do:IlB,opposed to>'. .hllt he sh oulddo.

I

Consl d" r ab leot.he:res'earc~.·inactua l schoo l settlng.has

i '

^{found a}ll\iaund~rstand1 ~gbt ^l!chool administrators of the

I '.

counsellor's role and functions. Hart and Prince (1910) have

,

.~

sh o wn that the school couns e l l o r ' s freedom,toimplement his role"lt~ln't he schoola&t'ti ng ~8oftenlimitedt«the.Bchool adminIstrator who hasdifferent 1'ole8:zpectatioDsfor hi m.

Kemp (19 6 2) found

thll(

the

prl~C~PIl~

^{WlI8 mostcommonlY'the}

major influen c e upon,

c'~UnB~l l?r

role and function In the school building. An area.Q~thyof note in 4"stud y by Brown (1980) h'thene8'lltl ~eotiitude of'~lldllll n iat rator8towo.rd

•certo.i ntypesof eeu neetrLng, mo~t'n o t a b lygro~pcou Ds 8 1 1 1Iig'r_ Researchintpteachers: perception~~f coun s e li or saho ..

the yhavethe Imlllge of ccun e e t tes-edoing primari Iy eae-ee-ene

(

.

cO\l08e111nga-nd,t h Gt mosttea chers'( BS," )do notkno", ho'"

counsellirsspend their time (Alla;n : Doi &.1\eid. '19 7 9 ).

<"S t u d ie sclea r l y indic~te,JI, leck of awanneu.ir. relJar~inB

't h e'cou n s e l l o r' s ,\ole and.functi~nin the'school.' However, otherr-ea eez-cbshows that -thearea~of ro le con f li c t and ll.~billU1tycan beImproved<t h roughcounsei lo r~becomingbetter. adv ocatesof,t h e i r responsibll1tie,8andbyimproving their public relati onswiththe sch o ol stll.ff tosho'; they~rea'part of the school end ca n be identified with it. Frank('l 9,~6) indicates that if co unse llors are ~ingto mov e cl o ser.to....

the i r pe r ceived dde al

.

^, rol e. theymust-cc e e u n rce

^.

tethill role to ac;ministrat ors. Allan etAI. (i97~) co n c l u de d in their

•_re~eArchthat It••• ccun aeL'l.er-eneed toaler:t \he teachers and ... rlncipalstothe servic es theyprovide , how..the ydlatrlbute

their time~ndtoask how the y con best be

o t

^{servicetothem"}

(

"

~). :

Shertzer and Stone (1963) determinedthat the q~un'.. 11or. areof t e n' perceivedas administrators and 'c odd le~ 8'wh'o pamperthose student! who would and should drop out .

Tbi.r.

the re f o re,view theresponsibilityof the ee c neeracr 4Sbeingto "r e d i r e c t

.-

people'sIlottitudeli toward his

rol ean~'t ocUltivate'publi cunderstandingsod support"· ';:

(p.69 1 ) and tocommu n ica t e his role to his publics. WhUe there i~recognitionthat ro l econflict and 411lbl~ltyexists for IIcho~ lcou ns e l l ors, these reeee r-cbe r-eseeit 48 bel~g p'arH",l'lythe ccunae'Lr cr-t e r-espona iblli ty~otake action to eft'l ev!at'e the problem .

~._..Re8earchhasalsobeen conducted inthearea of role

,co n fl ict and amb iguit y48 i tre14tee to theservicesp.r:ovided

"by,the.schoo i

psych~l~giBt.

,Th is research

h.~8

^{focused on}

te'acher's ,k?o wl e d ge IIond.per ceptionsof the school p,ychol ogl stI as well'as-accountabL~i.ty (Benn"tt, 1970;

Fairchild,1975;Gil more&Chandy ,1973 : IllbACk&Maher, 1964

.&MedWAy, 1977). A salient hypothesisarising'f r o m thia

researchLathat the echocI psychologi$t 'Bwork is .substantiA'lly Affe ctedby the WAy in whichot h e r Bc h o o l

pers onnel,perceivehis role. Medway (1 977 ) found that teec b e r-e have littleaWAreneSI o.f the~,rviceprioritiesof s c hoc I..pBycholoilst8,~inco~81stentIl.ttitude~ toward their actIviti esandinaccurat~ p~rceptioneofth"eJ:t~ntto which va r-tou e, service sare provided.

,

' .

A atud:y byGillDor~AndChandy (1973)was interestedin teacher s' perceptions of\ what schoolpsychologistsdo . tbeir compete nc i e s and teaeohe rrecotlUlle n d a t io Ds for ch a nge. This study ,rouped teacher s ont..o dimensionst.degree of contact with psy'cho l og ists and amount of teachi ng expe r ien c e,'to de te r mi ne·i f t.eecbe rs groupedin this way~~iff~rentviews ofserv i cesprovided by a achool psy chologi llt. The general

""

fin din gs illuetratedthot tea c h e rsvie" e dth e'scho ol

,

^.

psychologista6 e spe c i al ist in emo ti.ona lprobl ems, te st ing

~ndr-ec ceeendattcnof treatm ent.for such problems. Gr ouping of tea cheT 6by expe r-Le nce- anb'co n t a c t withps ych olo gi sts ", fndd ceted thattihee e fJlc t o rs dff f e re~t1ll t edbet.'lIDtellch~ra ' --,perceptions0'£ the scho ol'pSYChologis ts' funct io n'ing. Gi l more

.an d.Ch an dy ,(1 9713) wereableto conc l u de tha t

"it

isdeceptiv e todiscussteachers ' perc eptions'of 's ch o o l psychol ogi cal servic es inte~ms,o fthe'ave r a gete a cher ••. the groupingus ~d in thisst u dy il,lu s tra t etha t te a chershav equit e.var ie d and di v erseperc eptions ~tthe schoo l psychol ogi st ~ (p.14'). The ,ch o ol psyc ho l"og iBt Isvie wed as an or ga n izatio n a l bounda r y r~l eprof essional fac i ng am~igu it yprodu c edby thecu rr e n t lack of rol e con s en su s in the pr of e s s i 0.n (I l l b ;ck&:,Haher 1984 ) . .The~eIs no cne deter mI ned way for sc h oo l ps y chol ogis ts to func tion ,4~di t I,!IfutU sto ' en d le ss l y speculate on hisrol e (Ben n e t t , 1970).

Ove~ a ll , the "studies stronglyindi catethat rol e - - ' confli ctlindambiguityexists ~orboundary rolepr of e sai o nah

. 1

\ .

confl lo t.

euch as the sch o olcou nse llo r and school paych olog i 8t . There ,isan ob vi ousnee d for commun icat ion llnd educationofrole .

amcing professiona lstoimprove role expe c t at i o n s in order to

\

- .

he l ppractition e r s exper ience rol esatisfaction and tocop e with rol econ fl1 ctmo re effective ly. Jo b 8atlBfa ct.l on~actua l cou n se l l or roleendperceptio nsof cou n s el l o r.re spo ns ibi l i tie s represent arell Swhe r e furt~er investigation Is requiredto .fi nd exp l a n at ions for counsel lorfr-u etr-et Lone end role /

e~ucat i on;1^{'t he r api st.}

"

,,", - 27 -

The educ at ionalth e rapi s t position te IIne wl yest a b li shed posit ion,tha t can beconsidered 0.8 e bounda r y relspror~88ion•

•,Q The st udiesreview~thi~^re s earch in d i ca t e that ~ole conflict.and am~ i gu lty exlBtforsimilar.\bou ndcu::yro le profe s sion.... suchas the s:hoo t counse ll o~and theschool psycholo gist. Teach~rs, admi~istratorB^{,a n dccuneej lor} educato r s all ho l d\a ~Y i ng^pe 'r-ce p 't.Lc n s of. the role sthese profes si onclsshoul dbe"p e r f or min'g,end these perception s vc ry C~g^{these"stu d ie·s..} ~hUS, ^thespecif i c rol e of the scho ol ecunsettce end.th e schoolp1Iycholo.gis t asper,cai ved by their·

al li,ed professional s ill vague . The perce p t i o ns of i chool couns e llors'a nd schoo l ps yc ho i o g is ts as reportedin the liter a t u re have many impli cation s.fortherol e'of the

- 28 -

A school aiey be

l ~oked

et from e"Organi2,lItional perspective with various work units interocting and c~arrYing ou t specific roles witht'~it , where an educational therapist isone unit whose fu nc tio n and rolehave to be cl e a r l y

. .

(

delineatedand specified tothose with .hom she interacta.

. ,

The sch oc L, os an institutionwithin the community, is part of ,th e'social organizat ionin.which th e educati onaltherapist

must perform. Thus, .a s the educationaltherapist'a t t e.mpt s to carryou~her role to meet.her own role conceptions, ahe lDust also.~~ t emptto meet the perceptions of herr-oje~sheld by . 's i gn ific a n t othersin bothth e8~cho olaRd.the community. The

pecplewith wholll the edu cational therap-iati,nteracts, her allied pr-e feae Lone l e, will,to a "large extent, de~ erminethe degreeof ecccese she experiences in her role .

.

'

Therefore, the

.:-.~:;;">,

per.ceptions~h~eeallie dpr ofe ssionalshave of the edJJcational/

therapht s' role is0 majorcOJ)cern.,

The literaturere vi ewpoint s ou t lDanyareas in which ro l econ f li c t an d ambiguity need tobe alleviated. A 'c on s c i ou s eff o r t on the part~f everyone involvedwith the

rof~^{is-neeihid-tollceoDipl}i'iK-1mp~oved^role~mllluni cati on^and rol e perc e'pti on . The qUlllity of roleperforman c,ein the po " { t i onof the educat ional therapi s t . i l l'greatlyimpr~~e^as role.c onf lict andro le

ll~bigU1tY

^{lirereduced in}

r;:;

workpla c e. Theref ore', it is

imperati~e

that the educational th erapht

0,-0 • . •

cceeunf ce t.e her role an d funct i onclearly80as toev oId role co n f li c t andllomblguity.

.. ( .

^-,.~.

- 29 -

CHAPTERIII I1ETHODOLQGY

I. Sampl ingProcedu re

The foll owing 11anout l ine of:theprocedurea follo:-ed in th is study .

Thesa mple forthisstu dyincluded .Ch~ ol prin cipa h.

reguI ar-cI a8lroom teach ers. spe cial educ a tio n te c c.hersIschool coun ~ e l l or s. lt~uca t iono. lpsychologi st.and coordinatorsot spe c i a l

8ervi~es .

^The educ a t i ona l therapists

the~~el:V"

^were

not includedin thesa mple beeeu e e the-goalof the study,was to ex a min e ther.ol . .otedu c a t io n a l the r a pht a alpez- c el vedby. thei r ot he r alliedprof e. .ton e re. It.asdeci de4 to include in th e etu d yall schools that employedthe services of an educa tion a l ther e pht. A lis t of allof theeducational thera pis t s pres ently employ edin theProvince Wil.lob t a in~d .fro,mtheDepartmen t of EducGtionin"or d e;' toidltlttify'nch

Ich ooh. The sa mplesofpri nc i pa l•• regu h r e re..roo..

teac h e n . spe.ci GI edu c a ti on teach erscnd coun . ell or s obtaine d wu\basedonthis. .Iection ofechoo!'l. The total'nu mb'!r of edu c e ~ lona l psycho logishemployedwith

a.,!.!

school boards in the Provinceandeach coord i n a t or of sp e c ia l eervte •• in boar~ 8 e~P\OYingeducGt iona l theraphts wereetee incl~ded."

Ea ch subjectns ee nt a c:opy·ofthe reaeGrch quest i onna ireand uked to respond anonymou sl'yto the

questionnaire concerning 4ep'bctaof the roleof the educational therapistin Newfoundlandschools.

,.

- 30 -

...

II. Descriptionof Sample

A. Principals

An eff ortW06 made to.question as many of the professional a880ci4t~\of educationaltherllpis,tsAI possible. Since each of the BeVen\;Y-fPU~,.sch OO l s inCIUde \in the survey had "',principal who "58

u~timately re~pon.ible~r

^the

educationaltherapist on staff. i twas decided to includeall suchprinc ipalsin thestudy. Thus, it was488u~.edthat the princip~ lwas in,a po&ition to beparticularlly fomlli:r.r with the roleof theed~_~llinClJ~erll.pi8t. ·Ou 't.of the seve nt y - f o ur principa ls. lifty-two(701) responded.

B. Regular ClassroomTeach ers

Rerutar clu sroomteacherswere dividedinto two distinct ca t e go r i es a6 fo llows : teacherswho wereassu med -tchave a lot

, .

of contactwith the educationaltherapi8tby virtue of.t he factthat the theraph t'iii co restudentswere members of the cfee seeof theseteecher s (Typ e'A) and tea cherswho had much len con t a c t with theeducationaltherapist becausenon,: of their stude n t s rec ~i ved service sfromthe edu~onal ther api st (T y p e B). The principalwa6 asked to take responsibil ity fo r selectingtheteachers, one te-Gchet- for eeencategory,who fit thesedescriptions (seeAppendix F for,

\

'" ,J-'~. ~,

- 31-

selec ti on criteria ). For t y -seven out of se~enty- f our(63'1.) of TypeAteacherslind fort y-e ight 'o u t of sevent y-f our(6!i~) of Type B tea che rs resp o nde d tothe quest ionn a i r e.

",

C. Schoo l Coun s e l lo r s

f ..

Alist of all sch ool ee une etrers, alao obtainedfr om th e Depart mo'n t of Educati on,was matched with the li8t of ed ucat io n al

'. the;aPi8t~.

The samp l e of

.ChOO ~ c~un8e l lor8

sele c t ed fromthla l is t was emp loyed In sch ools in wh i ch an educati on a ltherapi stwas also emp l oy e d . It WllolAS!UDled that the scho o lco u n se l lo r wa s perhapsthe alliedprofe ssi onal

, -. '

who se-role wasmost silllflartoth a t of the educational therapi st. The large stre s pons erate for thestudyoc curred. withth e sch o ol cou lltJ el lo r s; as'thir t y- fi ve ou t of forty-six

(76'1.) ret urnedque sti onnaire s. ,

J .

Spec h l Education

Teach~rs . · t

One special educa tion tea che r basedin.ee schoo lthat.. employed an educationalthe rapistwas included,intheIt u dy.

The seal li e dprof e s s i onals work with ,s t u de n t s with similar spl;c1a l ne edsarid may tn fact sharea numb e r of theircor e et uderrt s with th eeduc at ional th e r ap is t .' If there wer.etwo or . mo~esp.e c hl ed u cationteacher s on It af f,the pri~ci pal'

.as

aske dto'se lectthe onewhohad themo st can t oct with the educ atio n al the r ap ist.' Forty-six out of leventy'tour (62'1.) of spe cia l educetrcnteachers resp on d e d to.the study.

- 32 -

E. Edusationll1Educational ps y chol ogi stsPsychol ogi s t s

.

are responsiblef~rcondu c ti n g^. the Initial assessmentof student.sto determinethe needfor servi cesof an educationa l theroPi~l. Sinc e there were onlya amlSl l Rumer of educettcnet psy ch ol og ists in the Provi nce, they were al l includedin thest u dy. Itwas assumed that the edu c atio'!,a ~^psychol og'i s ts.co·uld~rovide^{ve tueb}rein fo r mat i on with regard toth,ei r vi ewof the role of the educetional therapist. Educet ionalps yc hologi st. hed the lowest response rate of all allied profes sionals inc l ud e d in this.study 'lfith, only ni n e of eighteen (SOi.) ~~enti fi e~returning'the questLonneI r-e ,

F. Coordi nators of Spec11S1Services

The seventy-four ecucetIeaet therapist s lirted with the departmentof educationwereemployed by sevente en schoo l bear-ds in the Provinceof Newfoundlendend J.e.bredor. As board

..pe rs o nnelwith dire ct adm~nistr'~tiveand supervis ory

respo.nsibilfties for theeducati ~n~l therlSpists~ special educat i oncoord inetors were incl udedin the sample. Twelv e ou t ofse v ente en of the coordinators (71'10) respond ed to tbe questi onnaire .

G. Nature of SamplingBiae

Table 1 d6picta thebreakdownof tllepopulationfrom whi chthe sampl e WISS drawn. I twas the intentlon~of'the preaent

atu~

aemp1e the m.dmum number of e111ed