Educational psychology and special educational needs: How they relate and where is the relationship going?

Abstract

This paper raises questions about the relationship between educational psychology and special educational needs. In addressing these questions it is argued that we need to take a broader view of educational psychology as a field of psychology which includes, but goes beyond, the field of professional educational psychology. Similarly, we need to consider special educational needs not as a separate sector but as an aspect of education which includes those with difficulties and disabilities. The paper argues that there is a common cause between all psychologists involved in education, including professional educational psychologists, wherever they are based. There is also the need for educational psychologists in this wider sense to have distinctive contributions compared to other allied professionals. The paper also presents an analysis of the relationship between social and psychological models of special education and disability and uses this to demonstrate the inter-connections between education and psychology. While it is argued that the specific organisation of support services in education needs to be changed, this does not affect the continuing relationship between professional educational psychology and special education which derives from these basic links.