The Work of the School Psychologist with Underachieving Children

Abstract

In the mid ХХ century teachers left most underachieving students in the second year. Now problem becomes hidden. The compulsory education led to passing underachieving students from class to class. Research Questions: Modeling of the school psychologist working with underachieving children. Difficulties and failure causes diagnosis and the student personality development according to individual program developed by psychologist and teachers in conjunction. Purpose of the Study: Development of the system of school psychologist work with children with a hidden underachieving, revealing the causes and designing development programs. Research Methodsanalysis, synthesis, generalization, modeling, observations, conversations with teachers and headmasters, registration, scaling. Diagnostic tools: diagnostic technique of self-esteem by Dembo-Rubinstein (modification of A.M. Prihozhan), the test “Express diagnostics of level of self-esteem” (Fetiskin N. P. etc.), questionnaire for identifying school motivation by N. G.Luskanova. Findings: The study involved 109 Almaty 5th classes pupils. 30.2% of students have a hidden failure. From self-assessment diagnostics by Dembo-Rubinstein 5th classes underachieving pupils estimate their learning abilities low and do not seek to improve their performance, have low level of aspirations. Students focus on satisfaction of not properly cognitive, educational but communicative and emotional needs in the school. Conclusions. System of school psychologist work with children with hidden failure, diagnostic and training developing program for underachieving students were developed. They are aimed at raising students’ learning motivation and aspiration level. The children could look at themselves from the other side, analyze their own personality characteristics and individual features. Consulting with headmasters and subject teachers of underachieving children was performed.