La intervención psicopedagógica en Cataluña

Resumen

En este escrito se asume que los servicios de intervención psicopedagógica en Cataluña son una condición necesaria para asegurar la calidad de la educación. Desde esta perspectiva, el artículo se propone reflexionar sobre las condiciones actuales en que dicha intervención se lleva a cabo para garantizar que la calidad se desarrolle de modo efectivo en la práctica. Dado que en Cataluña en los últimos años la responsabilidadde la intervención psicopedagógica en contextos escolares es una tarea compartida entre los Equipos de Asesoramiento Psicopedagógico (EAP) y los profesores de psicología y pedagogía de secundaria, el análisis que nos proponemos realizar se vertebra en torno a una y otra de las realidades de los diferentes profesionales. El trabajo se organiza en tres partes. En la primera de ellas se reflexiona sobre la estructura de los servicios de intervención psicopedagógica, sus antecedentes históricos y la organización actual. La segunda parte analiza las diferentes funciones encomendadas a los equipos psicopedagógicos y alprofesorado de psicología y pedagogía. Finalmente, en la tercera parte se definen las dificultades y tensiones derivadas de desarrollar la tarea de intervención, en las condiciones actuales previstas por la administración, para garantizar la calidad de la educación escolar.

Abstract

Psychopedagogical intervention services in Catalonia play an essential role in ensuring the quality of education offered in schools. The aim of this article is to reflect on the conditions in which these interventions are currently carried out in order to guarantee their effectiveness and quality. Over the last few years, the responsability for psychopedagogical intervention in in Catalonia has been shared by Psychopedagogic Assessment Teams and secondary school psychology and pedagogy teachers. The paper therefore focuses on the realities facing these two different professional groups. The study is divided into three parts. In the first, we reflect on the structure of psychopedagogical intervention services, their history, and how they are organized today. The second part analyses the different functions assigned to psychopedagogy teams, and psychology and pedagogy school teachers. Finally, the third part describes the difficulties facing intervention to guarantee the quality of school education under the conditions currently imposed by the educational authorities.

Extended Summary

Psychopedagogical intervention services in Catalonia (Spain) play an essential role in ensuring the quality of education offered in schools. The aim of this article is to reflect on the conditions in which these interventions are currently carried out in order to guarantee effectiveness and quality. Over the last few years, the responsability for psychopedagogical intervention in Catalonia has been shared by Psychopedagogic Assessment Teams and secondary school psychology and pedagogy teachers. The paper therefore focuses on the realities facing these two different professional groups. The study is divided into three parts. In the first, we reflect on the structure of psychopedagogical intervention services, their history, and how they are organized today. The second part analyses the different functions assigned to psychopedagogy teams, and psychology and pedagogy school teachers. Finally, the third part describes the difficulties facing intervention to guarantee the quality of school education under the conditions currently imposed by the educational authorities. Rather than a technical analysis and evaluation of psychopedagogical intervention, this appraisal seeks to describe its development against the background of official guidelines aimed at a preventive, educational, institutional, and cooperative intervention model. We concentrate mainly on school contexts.

The specific aim of psychopedagogical intervention is to aid others to respond to students educational needs based on the objectives set out in the school curriculum. Primary and secondary school teachers decide on the types and the degree of educational aid assigned to meet these needs on the basis of the educational guidance they receive from professionals in psychopedagogy, and drawing on their support as they carry out the intervention. Psychopedagogical intervention recognizes the integrated nature of all professional activity as part of a complex structure in which each element should be evaluated in relation to the others. It also acknowledges that its influence on pupils is mediated by the teachers' intervention. As a result, intervention professionals need to take into consideration the particular nature of each school as whole. It is important to create an atmosphere of mutual cooperation with teachers geared to selecting and applying interventions in a collaborative fashion, and which encourages an appraisal of their effectiveness.

The article adopts this intervention model as a reference point and defines a series of useful criteria for assessing the quality of the intervention. Potentially, one of the most important is the programme's suitability to the teachers needs in terms of the type and degree of involvement, which is necessary if they are to perform their duties in an efficient manner; that is, adapt educational activities to the needs of pupils. Finally, the article analyses the organization of education professionals' involvement in relation to the types of task proposed, and based on the possibility of adapting the intervention in order to improve the quality of education. However, as those professionals studied carried out varying types of interventions, the conclusions on the difficulties and tensions encountered also vary.

Palabras clave:

• Intervención psicopedagógica
• orientación educativa
• asesor psicopedagógico
• atención a la diversidad
• formación de asesores

Keywords:

• Psychopedagogical intervention
• educational orientation
• psychopedagogical consultant
• attention to diversity
• consultant training