On the threshold of becoming an educational psychologist

: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract

How one ‘becomes’ an educational psychologist is an area that is not well researched. Whilst there is a plethora of research on professional identity development, there is little, if any, which explores how one comes to think like an educational psychologist and how this relates to a wider sense of ‘becoming.’

Through the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis, this qualitative study sought to explore the experiences of trainee educational psychologists as they encountered the MSc in Educational Psychology Professional Training Programme at the University of Dundee. The training programme draws students from a range of prior backgrounds who have different experiences from which to negotiate their identity development.

This study looked through the lens of ‘threshold concepts’ and sought to explore whether mastery of particular threshold concepts was implicated in the transition to becoming an educational psychologist. Whilst the overall aim of the research was to explore how one becomes an educational psychologist, of particular interest was disciplinary ways of thinking and practising and how these relate to ‘becoming.’ The research was therefore guided by the following research questions: 1) what does it mean to think like an educational psychologist and 2) in what ways have threshold concepts been a factor in the transition to thinking like and becoming an educational psychologist?

The findings suggest that there is some evidence of threshold crossing, in that the trainees reported a transformed view of some aspects of the EP role and a repositioning of who they are. However, consistent with the existing literature, the findings also suggest that the body of knowledge within the educational psychology profession is not sufficiently well defined and has impacted the trainees’ transition to becoming an EP.

The findings from this study may be relevant to and contribute to existing knowledge about how best to provide professional practice training courses for educational psychologists, especially in the context of a changing training landscape in Scotland.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Dundee
Supervisor	Sarah Hulme (Supervisor) & Mark Smith (Supervisor)