Child Rights Symposium: Part I. A Child-Rights Empowered School Psychology—Toward a Better Future

 

Submission type

Symposium

Scheduled

Room 114, 10-07-2019, 09:00 - 10:30

Keywords

child rights, professional school psychology, advocacy, child well-being, education, consultation

Summary of Symposium

This two-part symposium highlights the work of chapter authors from the 2019 International Handbook on Child Rights and School Psychology. Part I focuses on conceptual foundations for integrating child rights with school psychology and the implications of child rights advocacy for quality education, school consultation, and systemic reform. The final paper in the symposium highlights the implications of child rights for making meaning for the present and future of professional school psychology. The session concludes with discussion by a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Professor Philip D. Jaffé

 

Auteurs

Child Rights and School Psychology: A Context of Meaning—Present & Future

Hart, S N (Stuart)¹, Hart, B W (Brannon)^2
1International Institute for Child Rights and Development, 565 Brighton Dr., 32162, The Villages
²Jane Pauley Community Health Center, 46229, Indianapolis

 

Abstract ID

-4

Submission type

Oral only

Keywords

child rights, professional school psychology, future,

Summary

 

School psychology’s relevance for, and its historical, extant and potential contributions to and benefits from the ascending recognition and application of children’s rights are explored.  Particular attention is given to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Applying the child rights lens, a new social contract between the profession and those it serves is proposed.  Consideration is given to the values of the profession, the scope of its roles and functions, its need to more clearly establish a central purpose and primary client, and to the foundational themes and strategies promising fulfillment of its great potential to serve children, their families and societies. Implications of this new social contract for the present and future of international professional school psychology are discussed.

 

Auteurs

A Child Rights Framework for School Consultation and Educational System Reform

Naser, S C (Shereen)¹, Verlenden, J V (Jorge)^2
1Cleveland State University, Department of Psychology, 2121 Euclid Avenue,, 44115, Cleveland
²Eagle Medical Services, LLC, 207 Huron Street, 30030, Decatur

 

Abstract ID

-3

Submission type

Oral only

Keywords

child rights, school consultation, system reform

Summary

 

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child offers a guiding framework for educational and system reform as school psychologists work to promote institutional change to promote the health and psychological well-being of children and youth. School psychologists, uniquely poised within schools and school systems, have the capacity to serve as both guardians of, and advocates for, the rights of children at the individual, systemic, and broader advocacy levels. Specifically, the Articles of the Convention are consistent with the overarching principles of school consultation and the goals of school psychologists who are frequently engaged in this process. The Convention offers unifying language that enables school psychologists to articulate a consistent rationale for the protection of children and promotion of their rights through the consultation process.  In this presentation, we provide an overview of ways in which the Convention can serve as a guiding consultation framework for the school psychologist and for the alignment of school policies, programs, and practices without impeding cultural values of communities served. A case example illustrates the application of rights-based consultation for children made vulnerable through intersections of poverty, race, gender, sexual-identity, disability status, and ethnicity.

Auteurs

The Child’s Right to Quality Education and the School Psychologist

Guillemard, J C (Jean-Claude)
International School Psychology Association (ISPA), 9 allée Brahms, 91410, Dourdan

 

Abstract ID

-2

Submission type

Oral only

Keywords

child rights, education, school psychology role

Summary

 

The role of the school psychologist in promoting and securing the right of every child to a quality education must respect two central factors: (a) education is the key for sustainable development, and (b) school psychologists, as facilitators of development through education, have a prominent role to play in close cooperation with other actors, including children, families, professional educators and other stakeholders.  To play this role efficiently and effectively, school psychologists will benefit from the guidance of the “Framework of Education” adopted by UNESCO in 2015.  It describes the following 4 themes for contributions by school psychologists to establish quality education in the school environment: (1) preventing dropping out and fostering a safe and pleasant school to contribute to efficient learning; (2) providing professional training of teachers and school staff; (3) making the school more inclusive; and (4) emphasizing a child-centered approach in early child care and education.  These ends will be advanced through advocating for child well-being, achieving a balance between individual needs and contextual needs, and changing the social contract between school psychologists and their clients to give these purposes high priority.

 

Auteurs

Conceptual Foundations for Child Rights and School Psychology

Nastasi, B K (Bonnie)¹, , , ,
¹Tulane University, Psych Dept, 2007 Percival Stern Hall, 70118, New Orleans

 

Abstract ID

-1

Submission type

Oral only

Keywords

child rights, professional school psychology, child advocacy

Summary

 

The conceptual foundations for integration of child rights within school psychology draws on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological-developmental framework to depict the child’s ecology as a nested set of systems that influence the child’s development and well-being. The school psychologist is pictured as a central “mesosystem” that facilitates the integration of child rights throughout the child’s ecology. A “meta-macrosystem” is added to represent the all-encompassing influence of child rights on the macrosystem and throughout the ecology of the child. The role of the professional school psychologist as child rights advocate requires the active integration of the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child with professional ethics and practice standards, as well as consideration of the contexts and stakeholders (socialization agents) that influence child well-being. The presenter describes the conceptual foundations for child rights advocacy within professional psychology and the implications of these foundations for research, policy, practice, and training within international school psychology.

Auteurs