Inter Professional Work in Schools: Changing Trajectories of Vulnerability to School Dropout Among Secondary Students

Authors

  • Carmen Montecinos Pontificia Universidad Católica in Valparaiso
  • Gabriela Castro Pontificia Universidad Católica in Valparaiso
  • Rocío Díaz University of Chile
  • Manríquez, Lizette Manríquez, Lizette Pontificia Universidad Católica in Valparaiso
  • Anne Edwards University of Oxford

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/relieve.24.2.13386

Keywords:

school-dropout, inter professional work, vulnerable students, school leadership, psychosocial interventions

Abstract

Preventing school dropout requires interprofessional work that addresses in a coordinated
manner the multiple individual, school and structural factors that lead a young person to leave
formal schooling. This study examines the configuration of interprofessional work that is
designed and implemented in two Municipal Departments of Education in Chile to prevent the
truancy and dropout among students in secondary education from becoming a situation of
social vulnerability. Data were produced through in-depth interviews with a total of 63
individuals, including municipal-level and school level professionals, parents and students.
These two cases show contrasting models in their approaches. The first model is oriented to
offer psychosocial support so that adolescents can develop their life project. Psychologists,
social workers and teachers, under the leadership of the municipal-level coordinator and the
school principal, deploy relational agency and relational expertise to develop common
knowledge; and students feel that their needs are addressed. In the second case, the model
focuses on the prevention of truancy and school dropout. The expertise provided by
psychologists and social workers fails to expand the practices of teachers; and students point
out that psychosocial intervention is more of a barrier than a support. These results highlight
the importance of designing psychosocial supports that consider students' voices and the need
to prepare professionals for coordinated interprofessional work that aligns motivations to
work together

Author Biographies

Carmen Montecinos, Pontificia Universidad Católica in Valparaiso

Doctor of Psychology. Associate Professor in the School of Psychology and Executive Director of the Leadership Center for School Improvement at Pontificia Universidad Católica (PUCV) in Valparaíso, Chile. She has completed numerous publications on issues of professional learning and school improvement

Gabriela Castro, Pontificia Universidad Católica in Valparaiso

Bachelor´s Degree in Psychology. She participates in different research projects on issues of public policy and works as a psychologist in schools

Rocío Díaz, University of Chile

Bachelor´s Degree in Anthropology. She participates in different research projects on issues of public policy as a researcher in the Center of Advanced Research of the University of Chile

Manríquez, Lizette Manríquez, Lizette, Pontificia Universidad Católica in Valparaiso

Bachelor´s Degree in Psychology. She participates in different research projects on issues of public policy and works as a psychologist in schools

Anne Edwards, University of Oxford

Professor Emeritus of the Department of Education at the University of Oxford. Her research and numerous publications address professional agency, interprofessional work, and learning from a focus on cultural historical theory of activity.

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Published

2018-12-31

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 2 (2018)

Section

Special Section

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