Psychologists, Psychiatrists and Special Educational Needs in Britain since 1944

Abstract

Abstract This paper provides an historical survey of special educational provision in Britain by tracing the part played since 1944 by psychologists, psychiatrists and guidance clinic personnel in meeting the requirements of children with special educational needs. While the pre‐1944 story is covered in such standard works as Pritchard (1963), discussion of the period since the Education Act of 1944 is scattered in research journals and isolated book chapters. The present account attempts an initial synthesis, outlining the history of educational psychology since the appointment of Cyril Burt in 1913; the change from a medical to an educational model of special need; the growth of child guidance clinics; the role of the psychiatrist; development of new guidance concepts in the 1970s; and an outline of treatment approaches in child guidance. The paper concludes by referring briefly to the allied fields of counselling and research in education for children with special needs.