Practice Placement Experiences and Needs of Trainee Educational Psychologists in England

As part of initial professional training, educational psychologists in England undertake substantial periods of practice placement, within which the role of supervision is instrumental to their professional learning and effectiveness. The research reported here provides up-to-date and comprehensive information on the experiences and needs of trainee educational psychologists within practice placement. Focus group meetings were held with trainee educational psychologists from each year group at four English training universities. Through a rigorous process of thematic analysis, data from the 12 focus group meetings identified the valued processes and learning outcomes of practice placement in the context of a facilitative supervisory relationship and service context. The need to understand more fully the patterns and dynamics of trainee educational psychologists’ practice placement experience is highlighted.