The Quebec Association of School Psychologists (AQPS) was overwhelmed to learn, after reading the article by Louise Leduc published on June 161that the allocation of additional scholarships for doctoral students in psychology recently announced by your government applied only to the health and social services sector.
Your decision not to intercede on behalf of the school environment, while our profession is also grappling with major issues of attraction and retention, is not without raising certain questions and concerns among our members about your perception their role in the school system and the pressing issues we face in education.
Challenges which, as you know, are not only exacerbated by the recent pandemic which has caused considerable delays in the development of thousands of students, but also amplified by the constant arrival of many immigrant families in recent years, these families who entrust us with their children in the hope that they will have, in our classes, access to the necessary resources to enable them to calm down, adapt, integrate and flourish in their new environment.
It should also be remembered that school psychologists are part of the first line of defense when the time comes to identify and screen students who present difficulties that risk altering their progress without the implementation of adequate adaptive measures to respond to their needs.
They are also there to support teachers, guide parents who have to deal with complex situations and help establish school environments that are conducive to learning and well-being.
By offering a scholarship exclusively to graduates in psychology who wish to enter the health and social services sector, your government is widening the gap which will be even more difficult to fill for the school network which is already suffering from the exodus of doctoral students towards the private environment.
Recruitment is all the more difficult since only one French-speaking university in Quebec, namely the University of Quebec in Montreal, offers a section devoted to psychology in education in the training of future psychologists. The sustainability of school psychology is threatened today. By not offering conditions comparable to those offered in the private sector and by adding to the disparity with the health and social services sector, it will become all the more difficult to attract students for their internship in school environment and, by extension, for their future practice.
Prevention rather than cure
To add to the urgency of the situation, we must remind you that, for lack of succession, the positions of school psychologists are increasingly being replaced by other professionals in related fields, as if our roles were interchangeable. However, it is not the case. School psychologists have unique expertise that encompasses skills related not only to mental health, but also to overall development, behaviors and learning.
Despite these important functions held by our members, your decision unfortunately suggests that practice in an educational setting is, for you, a sub-category of the profession of psychology.
At the same time, you are demonstrating that your government prefers to focus on healing care rather than investing in prevention by relying on professionals who are able to help young people deal with certain issues at the source. An approach that, in many cases, could allow them to avoid having to call on the health and social services system further along in their journey.
While psychologists are moving away from the school environment and the “one school, one psychologist” objective seems less and less attainable, we believe that it is time to revalue the practice in the school environment and to make significant gestures in that Sens.
This is why we allow ourselves, Mr. Drainville, to hope that you will reconsider your position and give this question all the necessary attention. Greater consideration on your part could prevent the situation from deteriorating further, which would be, you must agree, very unfortunate.