Educator-psychologist: the pros and cons of the profession

The position of a teacher-psychologist in educational institutions appeared relatively recently and quickly became one of the most demanded specialties. This is due to a large number of conflict situations associated with interpersonal relationships in teams, internal problems of children and adolescents, as well as the difficulties of the educational process.

An educator-psychologist is a specialist who perfectly knows two ancient professions - psychology and pedagogy, who is able not only to educate the younger generation, but also to know the subtleties of psychological development and mental characteristics of a child. People in this profession are often called educators of human souls., which very faithfully reflects the very essence of their work. And if a specialist in the field of psychology possesses theoretical knowledge about the human soul, then the teacher-psychologist is able to connect this knowledge with educational methods and adapt children in the society around them.

Besides, teacher-psychologist helps the wards to reveal their personal qualities and act in accordance with generally accepted moral norms, and also models their behavior to resolve conflict situations and emerging life problems. A specialist in his field clearly sees the hidden motives of a child's behavior, analyzes his actions and helps him understand himself. With the help of a teacher-psychologist, the pupil learns to set goals and find ways to implement them.

The specialty of a teacher-psychologist is very popular among university entrants, which is due to a number of indisputable advantages of this difficult but interesting specialty.

• The ability to provide people with practical help is an important moral aspect and allows a specialist to feel useful to society and feel needed.
• Opportunities for part-time work and private consulting provide additional income.
• Knowledge of human psychology helps to build good relationships in the family and, if possible, avoid conflicts.
• The field of activity of an educational psychologist covers many areas and provides a wide choice of employment.

Along with the obvious advantages, the profession still has its disadvantages. These include high emotional stress and worries about their pupils, irregular working hours in organizations and areas such as the Ministry of Emergency Situations, disaster medicine, orphanages and correctional centers, as well as the need for constant contact with the parents of childrenwho are not always ready to follow the recommendations of a specialist, and sometimes are quite hostile at all.

Many people can get the profession of a teacher-psychologist, for this they only need to successfully graduate from a university and receive the coveted diploma. However, not everyone can become a real professional in their field, since a real educational psychologist must have a number of unique qualities. The most important of them are a high spiritual organization and a sense of responsibility for the fate and actions of others, as well as the gift of persuasion and the ability to exert psychological influence..

An equally important quality is competent speech and the ability to correctly and easily express your thoughts. The educational psychologist must have a huge vocabulary and have deep knowledge in the field of history, literature and art... This is necessary for argumentation of a particular model of behavior and its visual examination on the example of the actions of striking historical or literary characters.

The teacher-psychologist should be stress-resistant and balanced, sociable and optimistic, observant and insightful, as well as be able to quickly adapt to the proposed circumstances and mentally put oneself in the pupil's place. In addition, an educational psychologist must have an analytical mindset, have a good memory and have a large amount of knowledge from areas related to psychology and pedagogy, such as medicine, law and correctional pedagogy.

Despite the fact that the functions and professional standards of a teacher-psychologist depend on the field of activity and specialization of the institution in which he works, many points of job descriptions are equally true for specialists in crisis centers and for employees of educational institutions.

The main responsibilities of a full-time secondary school psychologist are presented below.

• Educator-psychologist is obliged to carry out work to preserve the mental and communicative well-being of students and act in accordance with the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of the Child.
• The specialist must analyze external and internal factors, negatively affecting the development of the personality of each individual student, as well as taking measures to provide him with psychological assistance.
• The teacher is obliged conduct research work to assess the psycho-emotional state of children, draw up psychological and pedagogical conclusions and identify deviations in time.
• The school psychologist should provide psychological support to creatively gifted students and foster creativity in other children.
• The specialist is obliged to maintain documentation according to the established forms and upon first request to present it to the regulatory authorities.
• The teacher should help students find a way out of any conflict situations and teach you to deal with your inner problems.
• Besides helping children, the psychologist is obliged to give professional advice to other teachers of the school, as well as to the parents of the students.
• The psychologist must organize and conduct various social and psychological trainings, surveys and testing, as well as conduct classes on the prevention of social maladjustment.
• If necessary, a specialist must develop and adapt developmental and correctional programs for each specific studentaimed at working with children with mental retardation.
• The duty of the educational psychologist is identifying children at risk, which includes students with no friends, schoolchildren with weak emotional stability, conflict lovers and gambling addicts. Even a slight deviation in the student's behavior serves as a signal for the beginning of explanatory, preventive and corrective work with the child himself and his parents.
• An important function of the school psychologist is to identify and monitor children with behavioral disabilities., which are manifested in hyperactivity, excessive anxiety, excessive shyness, aggression, the presence of constant fears and attention deficit. In more serious cases, such as developmental delays, difficulties in mastering the program and difficult thinking, the psychologist is obliged to inform the parents and the school administration and, together with other teachers, start working with the student on an individual program. If the attempts of the teaching staff did not lead to success, and the student continues not to master the school curriculum, the psychologist should raise the issue of convening a commission and transferring the child to a special educational institution.
• Educator-psychologist is obliged to monitor the progress of each student and, if it drops sharply, invite the teacher and the child to a conversation... When a conflict is detected between a teacher and a student, the psychologist must quickly respond and take all measures to level the situation.
• The responsibilities of a school psychologist includes conducting extracurricular activities in order to identify clear leaders and hidden conflicts between children... To diagnose relationships in a team, a specialist comes up with team games and closely monitors the behavior of children. When identifying warring parties, the psychologist creates a situation in which both parties to the conflict find themselves in the same team and are forced to cooperate.

Thus, the range of duties of a teacher-psychologist is not limited to working with difficult children, but includes correctional, developmental, analytical, consulting, educational activities, as well as diagnostics and psychological prevention. The teacher is obliged to draw up annual plans for each type of activity and include them in the work program in accordance with the requirements of the law "On Education".The program should include measures to identify disadvantaged families in the social risk zone, as well as planning work with parents of students in order to monitor the upbringing of children in families.

In order to obtain the profession of a teacher-psychologist, it is necessary to obtain a higher education in the specialty "Psychological and pedagogical activity". The term of study at the university is 4 years for a full-time bachelor's program and 5 years for a correspondence course. If desired, the graduate can enter the magistracy and, after two years, receive a higher qualification - a master's degree. Besides, graduates of pedagogical universities with a teacher's diploma can undergo retraining in the specialty "Psychology" and get the opportunity to work as psychologists in educational institutions.

Applicants to universities for the specialty "Psychological and Pedagogical Education" must have on hand the results of the Unified State Exam in Russian, mathematics and biology. In addition to budget-funded places in this specialty, there are also commercial groups, the cost of training in which varies depending on the status of the university and ranges from 80 to 200 thousand rubles per year.

After receiving a diploma, a teacher-psychologist can conduct classes with children in early development centers, work in preschool educational institutions, secondary schools and secondary specialized educational institutions. Besides, such specialists are always in demand in the centers of correctional pedagogy, military units, units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, rehabilitation institutions, medical centers, children's hospitals and sanatoriums... Psychologists work in various departments of social services, for example, in shelters for people in difficult life situations, as well as operators of "hotlines" and full-time specialists of the police and educational colonies.

Graduates who have completed postgraduate studies have the right to teach and can conduct psychology in universities. More experienced specialists, who are fluent in this difficult specialty, often open private psychological aid offices, where they provide services to everyone in need.