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Understanding Diversity in Educational Psychology Teams

Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand, j.annan{at}massey.ac.nz

Jo Bowler

Ministry of Education, Special Education, New Zealand, jo.bowler{at}minedu.govt.nz

Mandia Mentis

Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand, m.mentis{at}massey.ac.nz

Roger Phillipson

Ministry of Education, Special Education, New Zealand, roger.phillipson{at}minedu.govt.nz

Educational psychologists' work routinely involves facilitation of teams in which participants hold diverse points of view. In this article, the authors discuss diversity in team work and its place in the development of shared goals. They describe, as an example of educational psychologists' work team interaction, the structure and functioning of communities of practice. Particular attention is paid to the tension between commonality and diversity of team-member knowledge in determining the course of professional practice. The authors consider a particular aspect of diversity regularly encountered by educational psychologists: differing beliefs regarding the reasons for, and origins of, child behaviour. They suggest that educational psychologists can support effective interventions by recognizing, understanding and utilizing the diverse views of the people involved in their consultation work. A matrix of common perspectives of human development illustrates a range of diverse views and shows how fluid beliefs about the contexts of learning and behaviour problems influence interpretations of events and the nature of interventions. The authors illustrate, with reference to case examples, how the matrix can illuminate the nature of diverse viewpoints and support educational psychology teams to utilize difference to construct applicable interventions.

Key Words: communities of practice • diversity • educational psychology • interdisciplinary teams

School Psychology International, Vol. 29, No. 4, 387-399 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0143034308096440


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