Greek teachers' perceptions of school psychologists in solving classroom problems

Abstract

The perceptions of Greek teachers and teacher trainees were studied regarding school psychologists. A survey that presented descriptions of three children, each of whom represented a different type of classroom problem (learning, conduct, or attention) was completed by 108 Greek teachers and teacher trainees. For each problem the teachers and trainees rated the usefulness of a school psychologist, the amount of confidence they would place in interventions suggested by a school psychologist, and the extent to which they would follow through on recommended interventions. Overall results on all problems suggested that teachers and trainees held positive perceptions about school psychologists. Willingness to follow through with recommended interventions was correlated with confidence and usefulness ratings. Experienced teachers rated the psychologist similarly across the three problems. Trainees rated the psychologist significantly more useful for the conduct problem than the learning problem. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the future development of school psychology in Greece.