The Role of the School Psychologist in the Promotion of Children’s Well-Being: Evidence from Post-Soviet Kazakhstan

Abstract

There is widespread agreement that school psychologists are in a unique position to contribute to the promotion of the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents in school settings. However, results from national and international surveys indicate that school psychologists tend to adopt traditional roles and spend most of their time conducting psycho-educational assessment and counselling students. This qualitative study aims to contribute to the international research literature by examining how Kazakhstani school psychologists conceptualize students’ well-being, how they promote students’ well-being in schools, and some of the major challenges they face in their daily practice in this role. The results showed that school psychologists share generally positive, strength-based notions of child well-being, consider themselves as active but not major agents contributing to the promotion of student well-being, and acknowledge the influence of contextual factors (e.g. family, teachers, peers, physical environment) in the well-being of the students. However, this work is predominantly realized within a deficit-oriented model of school psychology mostly concerned with identifying and addressing ill-being rather than with promoting positive states of being. Moreover, school psychologists reported facing a myriad of structural, social, financial and professional challenges that hamper their ability to foster children’s well-being. The results are discussed and practical implications for the promotion of child well-being in school settings and the development of school psychology as a discipline in Kazakhstan and elsewhere are provided.