SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST’S PRACTICE IN SERVING GIFTED STUDENTS: EVALUATION OF TEACHERS AND FAMILY MEMBERS

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to identify how teachers and family members evaluate the school psychologist’s practice in a specialized educational program for gifted students. Participants included five teachers and six students’ family members. A semi-structured interview was used as instrument. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. As for the results, three categories stood out in the teachers’ evaluation: the importance of the school psychologist in serving the gifted, challenges and limitations faced by the school psychologist, and demands for expanding actions. The evaluation of family members generated two categories: the importance of school psychologist support and access to school psychologist. It is concluded that school psychologists contribute extensively in identifying the gifted and in supporting their development, carrying out practices aimed at students, teachers and families, even in the face of difficulties that prevent even broader actions.

Keywords:
school psychology; psychologist’s practice; the gifted; educational programs

RESUMO

O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar como professores e familiares avaliam a atuação do psicólogo escolar em um atendimento educacional especializado a estudantes superdotados. Participaram cinco professoras(es) e seis familiares de alunos. Como instrumento, utilizou-se a entrevista semiestruturada. Os dados foram analisados por meio da análise de conteúdo qualitativa. Quanto aos resultados, destacaram-se três categorias na avaliação das(os) professoras(es): importância do psicólogo escolar no atendimento ao superdotado, desafios e limitações enfrentados pelo psicólogo escolar e demandas de ampliação das ações. A avaliação dos familiares gerou duas categorias: importância do suporte do psicólogo escolar e acesso ao psicólogo escolar. Conclui-se que as(os) psicólogas(os) escolares contribuem extensivamente na identificação do superdotado e no suporte para seu desenvolvimento, realizando práticas voltadas para alunos, professoras(es) e familiares, mesmo diante de dificuldades que impedem uma atuação ainda mais ampla.

Palavras-chave:
psicologia escolar; atuação do psicólogo; superdotados; programas educacionais

RESUMEN

El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar cómo profesores y familiares evalúan la actuación del psicólogo escolar en un programa educacional especializado a estudiantes superdotados. Participaron cinco profesoras(es) y seis familiares de alumnos. Como instrumento, se utilizó la entrevista semiestructurada. Los datos se analizaron por intermedio del análisis de contenido cualitativo. En cuanto a los resultados, se destacaron tres categorías en la evaluación de las(os) profesoras(es): importancia del psicólogo escolar en la atención al superdotado, desafíos y limitaciones enfrentados por el psicólogo escolar y demandas de expansión de las acciones. La evaluación de los familiares generó dos categorías: importancia del soporte del psicólogo escolar y acceso al psicólogo escolar. Se concluye que las(os) psicólogas(os) escolares contribuyen extensivamente en la identificación del superdotado y en el soporte para su desarrollo, realizando prácticas volcadas a alumnos, profesoras(es) y familiares, aún delante de dificultades que impiden una actuación aún más amplia.

Palabras clave:
escolar; actuación del psicólogo; superdotados; programas educacionales

INTRODUCTION

Giftedness is a phenomenon that develops across the life span, making it possible to identify gifted behaviors in certain people, at certain times and under certain circumstances (Renzulli & Reis, 2021). According to the Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness (Renzulli, 2016), such behaviors result from the interaction among three clusters: above average ability, task commitment and creativity. Above average ability can be general or specific: the first is the ability to process information, generating appropriate responses to the situation; while the second arises from the application of general skill to a specialized field. Task commitment is the energy a person expends in an action, evidenced by the ability to engage in the task for an extended period. Creativity encompasses fluency, flexibility, originality and curiosity.

As the three clusters also interact with aspects of the individual’s environment and personality, gifted people constitute a diverse group in terms of potential and abilities. Furthermore, presenting high potential does not guarantee the manifestation of superior performance: it is necessary to promote appropriate conditions for the gifted person to realize this potential, taking into account cognitive, social and emotional factors (Renzulli, 2016). Gifted people require a vast diversity of educational opportunities and stimuli that regular education does not usually offer (Renzulli, 2016; Renzulli & Reis, 2021). Therefore, meeting the needs of gifted students, offering them differentiated education, is mutually beneficial for students and society, as it favors the personal growth of the gifted, allowing them to contribute scientifically, economically, socially and culturally to the collective good (Renzulli & Reis, 2021). To this end, the school community, which includes teachers and school psychologists, and the student’s family play fundamental roles.

The school is one of the main spaces for development, presenting the potential to influence the students’ trajectories of life. It is the role of school professionals to encourage student engagement in meaningful, challenging activities that promote development and well-being, in addition to monitoring the progress of activities. Given this, it is necessary to identify who gifted students are, to first assess what their interests, preferences and needs are. From this, it is possible to plan and implement strategies compatible with the characteristics of each student, ensuring that the school environment actually fosters their development (Fleith, 2018; Renzulli & Reis, 2021; Silverman, 2018).

Just like school, the family also plays a critical role in the development of individuals. The family is the child’s first socialization space. To understand a person’s development processes, it is necessary to know their family dynamics (Olszewski-Kubilius, 2018). In the case of gifted people, it would be no different. The family constitutes a fundamental development context for them, being able to enable the gifted to explore their interests and develop abilities in specific domains, in addition to offering support during this process. However, gifted education requires time and involvement from family members, making it imperative for the family to understand the student’s needs and how to be responsive to them (Delou, 2007).

It is important to highlight that the myths about giftedness - associated with the lack of knowledge about the development of potentialities - make it difficult to offer an adequate education for the gifted, generating resistance to the implementation of specialized service for this student, by reinforcing the misconceptions that the environment does not affect the realization of its potential (Fleith, 2009; Renzulli & Reis, 2021). The lack of social support for such services can also make it difficult for families to seek support, not to mention that the lack of support from society can cause suffering, doubts and anguish in family members and students, intensifying their demand for specialized service (Delou, 2007; Fleith, 2009).

As the main role of school psychologists is to improve development and learning processes through actions anchored in the articulation of psychological knowledge, instruments and techniques (Conselho Federal de Psicologia [CFP], 2007; Oliveira & Marinho-Araujo, 2009), they can help planning and implementing strategies and interventions that encompass special education, a public of which gifted students are a part (Anache, 2010; CFP, 2007; Fleith, 2009; Nakano, 2020). Conceived as a field of activity, research and construction of scientific knowledge for psychologists at school (Oliveira & Marinho-Araujo, 2009), school psychology allows psychologists to work alongside educators, families and students to promote development and well-being by implementing practices based on knowledge and professional practice restricted to psychologists.

Therefore, the school psychologist has the potential to play crucial roles in serving gifted individuals, working with a focus on everyone involved in the student’s education, in order to contribute to: (a) the deconstruction misconceptions on giftedness; (b) identification of the gifted student; (b) offering relevant support and guidance; (c) planning and implementing strategies and interventions to serve gifted individuals; and (d) advocacy for the rights of these students (Dixson, Olszewski-Kubilius, Subotnik, & Worrell, 2020; Fleith, 2009, 2018; Shaunessy-Dedrick & Lazarou, 2020; Stephens, 2020; Silverman, 2018).

However, the school psychologist’s practice in the scenario of giftedness still falls far short of its potential, especially in the Brazilian context, due to multiple reasons, such as: (a) the frequent belief that the school psychologist’s role is to carry out diagnoses and/or implement strategies aimed at student adjustment; (b) the insufficiency number of school psychologists working in the educational system, even more so in providing service for gifted individuals; (c) the lack of professional training in the field of giftedness; and (d) the scarcity of empirical research that focuses on the school psychologist’s role in the gifted education (Dixson et al., 2020; Fleith, 2009; Nakano, Carvalho, & Morais, 2021).

Despite the scarcity of empirical studies with an emphasis on the practice of school psychologists in the field of gifted education, we have identified a few ones (Aston & Brown, 2020; Cross, Cross, & O’Reilly, 2018; Oliveira & Anache, 2006; Vialle, 2017). However, even mentioning the figure of the school psychologist or school counselor - a regulated profession in several countries, whose duties are similar to those of the school psychologist -, the evidences of these studies bring relevant reflections and contributions, but do not provide consistent directions to support the school psychologist’s practice regarding education for the gifted.

Although the literature discusses possibilities regarding the role of school psychologists in gifted education, especially in theoretical studies, it is necessary to expand the framework of knowledge based on empirical evidence, in order to guarantee better understanding of how psychologists contribute to the development of gifted individuals. After all, when there is no clarity about what practices school psychologists perform in serving the gifted, it is complex to think of new forms of action through which they can expand and improve their contributions. Based on this, the purpose of this study was to identify how teachers and family members evaluate the practice of school psychologists in specialized educational services for gifted students.

METHOD

This study consisted of exploratory qualitative research, a useful and appropriate approach to investigate topics that have not yet been extensively explored in the literature in the field (Creswell & Creswell, 2021).

Research Context

This study scenario was a Specialized Educational Service for Students with High Abilities/Giftedness (SES-HA/G), offered by a State Department of Education in the Brazilian Central-West region. The purpose of this service is to supplement the regular education curriculum, taking place in resource rooms located in hub schools. It adopts the Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness (Renzulli, 2016) as a theoretical framework to support its practices, which are conducted by specialized teams, made up of teachers and school psychologists. This research investigated seven resource rooms, and data collection took place virtually, due to the suspension of school activities caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Participants

Five teachers working at the SES-HA/G and six family students’ members who attended the service participated, totaling 11 participants. The sample was selected by convenience. In the group of teachers, four were female and one was male, aged between 37 and 52 years old (M = 45.40; SD = 5.94). All of them held a postgraduate degree, in addition to a degree in pedagogy or other undergraduate courses. Their time working at the SES-HA/G ranged from two to 14 years (M = 7.6). The group of family members had five mothers and one stepfather, aged between 32 and 53 years (M = 41.83; SD = 8.40). This group included two individuals with secondary education, one with incomplete higher education, two with higher education and one with a postgraduate degree, whose professions included: micro-entrepreneur, accounting assistant, housewife (n=2), teacher and notary. The time that the daughter or stepdaughter attended the service ranged from one to five years (M = 3).

Instruments

A semi-structured interview was used to collect the data. The interview guide for the teachers included questions about the relevance, contributions, challenges and limitations of the school psychologist’s practice at the SES-HA/G, as well as suggestions for future practices. The family interview guide included questions about the psychologists’ contributions to the service, in addition to their expectations regarding other actions they could take.

Procedures

The first steps were requesting authorization from the State Department of Education to carry out the study at the SES-HA/G and submitting the research project to a Research Ethics Committee. After both positive responses, some of the teachers were contacted via WhatsApp, so that the first contacts provided recommendations from other teachers and students’ family members who attended the service. Then, the others were contacted via WhatsApp, scheduling individual and virtual interviews with those who agreed to participate, through the Zoom Meetings platform. Before the interviews, the participants signed two forms: Free and Informed Consent Form and Authorization Form for the Use of Image and Voice Sound for Research Purposes. The interviews were recorded (via Zoom) and transcribed in full. The lenght of interviews with teachers ranged from eight to 50 minutes (M = 29.20) and with family members ranged from four to 11 minutes (M = 7.67).

Data Analysis

For data analysis, qualitative content analysis was used (Bardin, 2016), which includes four phases: (a) pre-analysis - organization of data, systematization of ideas and establishment of an analysis plan; (b) coding - systematic transformation of raw text data, aggregating them into recording units that make it possible to describe pertinent characteristics; (c) categorization - classification of these units by differentiation and regrouping, in order to generate a simplified representation of the data; and (d) inferential interpretation - logical deductions and establishment of connections among the information produced.

RESULTS

To identify the reports, the initials P were used for teachers and F for family members, followed by the numbers 1 to 5 and 1 to 6, respectively corresponding to the number of participants per group.

Teachers’ Evaluation of the School Psychologist’s Practice

The teachers’ reports highlighted three categories to describe their evaluation of the psychologists’ practice at the SES-HA/G: (a) Importance of the School Psychologist in Serving the Gifted, (b) Challenges and Limitations Faced by the School Psychologist, and (c) Demands for Expansion of Actions.

The Importance of the School Psychologist in Serving the Gifted

All teachers pointed out that the psychologist is essential in student assessment - which consists of mapping characteristics, interests and needs, in order to analyze whether the student presents gifted behaviors and, from there, define its effectiveness (or not) in the SES-HA/G. Working in partnership with the teacher, the psychologist makes it possible to assess significant pedagogical, psychological, social and emotional aspects to identify the gifted student. Some of the interviewees added that the psychologist’s unique perspective and active listening are even more important in the assessment of gifted people with twice exceptionality and/or underachievers. According to them, knowledge of psychology helps in mapping the potential and difficulties in these cases, since certain characteristics may not be identified by other professionals. The following report illustrates the importance of the psychologist: “The presence of a school psychologist is sorely needed at this time. In my class, we have been without it for three years. It’s needed, because it’s also a different perspective. We need another gaze in this partnership” (P1).

The majority of teachers stated that the psychologist contributes to the development of gifted individuals who attend (SES-HA/G), by helping them manage socio-emotional issues characteristic of giftedness. Especially in crisis situations, which require interventions, the psychologist’s support for teachers, families and students is crucial. Most teachers highlighted that, during the pandemic, the role of the psychologist was even more necessary, as it was an adverse time, in which students, families and teachers demanded support to adapt to virtual service and to deal with emerging issues.

Challenges and Limitations Faced by the School Psychologist

All teachers agreed that the psychologists of the service face challenges and limitations in their practice, such as: (a) the negative impact of myths and misconceptions regarding giftedness and their role in providing service for the gifted, (b) the lack of psychologists, and (c) the absence of adequate resources. According to teachers, myths and prejudices make it difficult for psychologists to work. Some of these teachers highlighted that it is common for students and families do not know the role of psychologists in the service, so that some families expect them to do psychotherapy in the school context, at the same time that there are cases in which gifted students do not want to be assisted by a psychologist because they consider it unnecessary.

Some of the teachers pointed out that both family members and regular school teachers are still unaware of the characteristics and needs of gifted individuals. In these cases, the school psychologist’s practice becomes more difficult: in addition to demanding more efforts from the professional to deconstruct misconceptions about giftedness, it is usual that the family and the regular school do not provide the appropriate conditions for promoting student development outside of the SES-HA/G, which can have impact in their lives, such as their performance in the program and their mental health.

Another difficulty that school psychologists face is the insufficient number of psychologists at the service. Teachers highlighted that the number of available psychologists is incompatible with the demand, generating an overload of work that prevents the provision of services and limit the scope of the psychologist’s actions. Therefore, part of the teachers recognized that the focus of the psychologist’s practice at the SES-HA/G is psychological assessment due to the high number of students whose decision as to whether or not they will become effective in the program is still pending. There is not always enough time to plan and implement other practices, as revealed by P4’s report: “There is an insufficient number of psychologists. They rush to deal with a huge number of students. So the quantity is below” (P4).

Another point that some of the interviewees highlighted was the inadequacy of the resources available to psychologists to use in their practice, which includes the difficulty and/or impossibility of purchasing psychological tests, as well as the lack of appropriate physical spaces to carry out services, such as interviews (with students, families and teachers) and administration of tests. Such limitations arise from the scarcity of government investments in the service, often associated with misinformation about giftedness on the part of principals. As a consequence, there are not enough resources to meet the demands, so that the funds allocated to acquire the materials the psychologists need to evaluate students is quite limited.

Demands for Expansion of Actions

With the exception of one teacher, the others highlighted the need to expand actions that psychologists already carry out at the SES-HA/G, such as: (a) increase monitoring of resource room activities; (b) more group interventions with students; (c) periodic promotion of lectures, meetings and groups focused on families, in order to learn about family functioning and to provide support and guidance; and (d) new psychological assessment of the gifted person after joining the program. P3’s report illustrates part of these demands: “I believe that the psychologist could provide greater monitoring. Maybe stay together more, make group interventions, together with the teacher, during our own activities” (P3).

Only two teachers suggested new actions to be implemented by the school psychologist: one of them signaled the possibility of promoting integration among the activities of the resource room and the student’s regular classroom; while the other suggested offering psychotherapeutic service to students, to help them deal with psychological issues that they usually present, in addition to enhancing their development.

Family Members’ Evaluation of the School Psychologist’s Practice

According to reports from family members, two categories stood out: (a) Importance of School Psychologist Support, and (b) Access to the School Psychologist.

The Importance of School Psychologist Support

There was a consensus among families that the role of the psychologists at the SES-HA/G is fundamental for the development of the gifted person. All of them positively evaluated the actions that these professionals carry out with students and families, describing their practice as important and necessary. Based on the reports, the psychologists in the service are considered essential because they: (a) map and meet the student’s socio-emotional needs, (b) provide support and guidance to the student and family, and (c) complement the teacher’s pedagogical work.

All participants pointed out that the school psychologist helps in identifying the characteristics and needs of gifted individuals, especially in relation to social and emotional aspects, such as difficulties in interpersonal interactions, regulating emotions and developing motivation to finish tasks. One of the mothers mentioned her satisfaction with the practice of the school psychologist. This mother also highlighted how significant the role of the school psychologist was during the pandemic, pointing out that the practices this professional carried out with the students facilitated the management of emotional issues that arose and/or became more accentuated due to the atypical situation they were experiencing. At critical moments, which required specific interventions, the psychologist also provided support to the gifted student and her family, according to the mother.

Two family members added the importance of the school psychologist’s practice in partnership with the teacher, claiming that the specificity of training in psychology complements and optimizes the teacher’s pedagogical work in the resource room - as evidenced by F6’s report:

The role of the teacher in there is a mediator of knowledge. And sometimes he gets a little lost with the emotions of the boys there, you know, a thousand emotions. And then I understand that it’s really necessary this psychologist, so she can help, even if the child needs monitoring outside [the SES-HA/G]. She can help parents. Make recommendations. So, I think it’s super important. I think it’s a team work. The teacher and the psychologist. Because the teacher is the content. But if the emotional aspect isn’t good... There’s no point in the cognitive being up front, but the emotional in the back, right? (F6)

Access to the School Psychologist

This category describes how family members evaluate the access that families and students have to school psychologists, including: (a) the evaluation that family members make of the availability of psychologist in the service, (b) the impact of the pandemic on the performance of this professional, and (c) the demand for increased support from school psychologists. Among the six participating family members, five mothers reported that the psychologist in the resource room is present and available. According to them, in situations where they needed and requested it, the psychologist offered support and guidance based on their demands. In addition, regarding the remote modality, a mother claimed that the pandemic affected the practice the psychologist carried out, because virtual service was not as effective as face-to-face care, as illustrated by her report: “So, because of the pandemic, everything became very difficult, right? Because the face-to-face service is very good, it’s much better than what we do [virtually]” (F4).

Although the majority of family members reported that the psychologist is present and available, only two mothers stated that this professional fully meets the demands of students and families. The other participants pointed out the need for more psychological support. The following report exemplifies this demand:

When J. went to the resources room for gifted students, she started to put into practice what she likes, which is drawing and such, and having support from a psychologist, even if not as often - at least, in my opinion, it could have been more - we noticed that she improved a lot. I think she could improve on that. Have more frequency. Have more access. The support of a psychologist for the student and the student’s family at school makes a big difference. (F4).

DISCUSSION

The results of this study indicate that teachers and family members consider the role of the school psychologist in serving gifted students to be fundamental, because this professional uses practices that include students, teachers and families. Considering that school and family environments are two crucial segments for the development of gifted individuals (Fleith, 2018; Olszewski-Kubilius, 2018), there is support in the literature for the role of the school psychologist to include not only the student, but also other people that influence their educational process (Dixson et al., 2020; Fleith, 2009). However, reports from some of the interviewees revealed that school psychologists are not always able to provide broad and consistent support to everyone involved in gifted education, due to barriers present in their setting of work.

From students’ identification to their participation in the service, it is worth highlighting the importance of the partnership between school psychologist and teacher: by establishing a constant dialogue, each of them can act accordingly with the specificity of their training. Fleith (2009) points out that the school psychologist can assist teachers in conducting the teaching and learning process, keeping in mind the student’s characteristics and needs, which perhaps would not be perceived without the psychologist’s perspective - as happens, for example, in cases of twice exceptionality (Shaunessy-Dedrick & Lazarou, 2020). Shaunessy-Dedrick and Lazarou (2020) add that, in addition to directing the implementation of educational interventions relevant to gifted individuals, the school psychologist can also guide teachers with the aim of offering theoretical and methodological support so that they themselves can identify and respond to certain student demands.

Due to the unique perspective and active listening, the psychologist plays a prominent role in crisis situations: when there is a need for specific emergency interventions or in adverse moments that demand changes and readjustments - such as the Covid-19 pandemic. In both cases, Pfeiffer and Prado (2018) emphasize that the psychologist can help the student to cope with the situation, through psychological counseling: intervention aimed at solving a specific problem, improving interpersonal relationships and promoting psychological well-being, differing from psychotherapeutic service due to its brief, situational and present-focused nature. When necessary, the psychologist provides referrals to follow these brief interventions.

Regarding the pandemic period, SES-HA/G psychologists contributed to mediating crisis situations, but it is worth highlighting that their practice was not limited to specific assistance to students. Although there were disagreements among teachers regarding the way in which the pandemic impacted the role of the psychologist in the program, most of them emphasized the importance of the psychologist school in supporting students, families and teachers during this very atypical moment. In this sense, Camargo and Carneiro (2020) state that, through the continuity of online services, school psychologists provide support, qualified listening and guidance to students and families, including helping them to deal with emerging challenges during this period - and the present study also revealed that teachers can also benefit from the support of a psychologist.

Another action conducted by school psychologists, that the majority of participants evaluated as essential, was the support and guidance to the families. As Pfeiffer and Prado (2018) argue, including family members in planning and interventions aimed at gifted individuals usually contributes to the success of these practices. Dixson et al. (2020) and Oliveira, Gerone and Miranda (2021) reinforce that the school psychologist can work together with family members, in order to help them lead the process of realizing the potential of the gifted, starting from awareness about the role of the family along this trajectory. According to the authors, this can be done by holding periodic collective meetings, with the aim of promoting discussions, exchange of experiences, guidance and access to information about giftedness and the role of the family in such a context. López-Aymes, Acuña and Damián (2014) found that family members of gifted individuals recognize that they need guidance throughout the student’s development, teaching and learning processes, so that they become able to offer conditions that enable and/or optimize student’s potential and development. Most part of the participants in this study pointed out the need to expand the services provided by school psychologists to families.

Among the difficulties that the SES-HA/G psychologist faces, as mentioned by the participants, the existence of myths and misconceptions about giftedness stands out. An example is the belief that giftedness is innate, which would imply the absence of the need for differentiated service for gifted people to develop their potential (Fleith, 2009, 2018). Renzulli and Reis (2021) add that society often expresses opposition to programs for serving the gifted, precisely because it questions the relevance of investing in the students’ education who are (supposedly) already so privileged. However, as Renzulli (2016)argues, varied stimuli and support (professional and family) are necessary for gifted individuals to transform potential into superior performance. In the scenario investigated in this study, the lack of support for the SES-HA/G is evident through the insufficiency of human and material resources to enable a broader and more diversified service.

Added to this, the confusion regarding the school psychologist’s role in the SES-HA/G makes it difficult to understand the need for their presence in gifted education. According to Farrell (2010), misconceptions about the role of the school psychologist are usual, so that family members and teachers may present unrealistic expectations regarding the actions that this professional should carry out. In recent decades, it has been noticed a movement towards the increasing of educational opportunities and reduction of barriers to access those opportunities. However, the historical view of school psychology marked by focusing on identifying disorders and difficulties still influences the role of school psychologists in the schools (Hess & Waggoner, 2020; Oliveira & Marinho-Araujo, 2009). Attention is drawn to the importance of psychologists understanding what school psychology is, what its possibilities for action are (Guzzo, Moreira, & Mezzalira, 2016) and what its role is in serving the gifted (Dixson et al., 2020; Fleith, 2009). From this point on, these professionals are responsible for clarifying which actions are their responsibility for those involved in the educational processes. In this direction, Anache (2010) reinforces the importance of building new ways of practice as a psychologist, not only in different contexts, but also with broader goals than just identifying school problems.

It was also found a lack of articulation between the SES-HA/G and the regular education, constituting a possibility of action for school psychologists. Attending a curriculum enrichment program as the one provided by the SES-HA/G may not be sufficient to meet the student’s need. It is not only possible to combine gifted service strategies (Wai & Benbow, 2021) but also often necessary to implement strategies in the regular classroom, such as acceleration, ability grouping and/or other forms of enrichment (Shaunessy-Dedrick & Lazarou, 2020). Furthermore, as Silverman (2018) highlights, the referral of gifted individuals to an extracurricular enrichment program results from the identification of needs that regular education does not meet. The psychologist’s role in integrating regular education and the resource room would make the student’s educational experiences congruent with each other, optimizing the work carried out at the SES-HA/G.

It is concluded that teachers and family members recognize the relevance of the role of the school psychologist in serving gifted individuals, especially in evaluating the characteristics and needs of this student and supporting the student and the multiple actors present across the life span. Although psychologists carry out essential practices to enhance teaching, learning and development processes for gifted individuals, they face difficulties that prevent the expansion and improvement of their performance, even when they try to offer an even more effective service. Therefore, it is worth highlighting the urgency of greater investment in the SES-HA/G with the purpose of ensuring improvements in the working conditions of school psychologists and, therefore, a more complete service in terms of availability, access and training professional to meet emerging demands. Furthermore, free from work overload, psychologists will have the possibility of expanding their activities to other fronts, such as the advocacy for the rights of the gifted.

Finally, this study had limitations, such as: (a) small number of participants, (b) use of a convenience sample, (c) use of a single data collection method, and (d) virtual interviews. With this in mind, some suggestions for future research are: (a) investigate the evaluation of other groups regarding the practice of school psychologists, (b) investigate the practice of school psychologists in programs for gifted children in other Brazilian regions, (c) combine multiple data collection approaches, and (d) conduct studies using face-to-face methodologies.

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• This research was funded by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), through a master's degree scholarship.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  15 July 2024
• Date of issue
  2024

History

• Received
  08 Apr 2022
• Accepted
  20 Nov 2023