Belgium
Question 2: Approximately how many school/educational psychologists work in your country? Number of educational Psychologists
N.B. Numbers below are mostly estimates.
Answer:
1550
3: What is the ratio of school/educational Psychologists in your country?
N.B. Numbers below are estimates
Answer:
Flanders 1350 – Wallonia: unknown
4: Who are the main employers of school/educational Psychologists?
Answer:
Centres Psycho-Medico-Sociaux (PMS), either in municipalities, provinces or national government
5: Are school/educational psychologists represented by any general or specific association or union in your country?
Answer:
- Flanders: “Vlaamse Wetenschappelijke Vereniging van Psychologen in PMS-Centra”,
part of FBP-BFP (Belgian Federation of Psychologists) - Wallonia: l’Association Francophone des Agents de Centres PMS”
and “Fédération des Centres PMS Libre” (includes non-psychologists too)
N.B. PMS-centres = centres for psychological, medical and social services
6: How do school/educational psychologists become trained?
Include details of length of the training period, the additional qualifications and professional experience which are required (e.g. teaching), whether and how your training courses link with other courses of training in professional psychology.
Answer:
basic training: ‘la licence en psychology’, university graduation after 5 yrs of study.
After that ‘on the job training’ in a PMS-(psycho-medical-social) centre
7: How many universities provide this training for school/educational psychologists?
Answer:
7 (3 French speaking; 4 Dutch speaking)
8: What are the employment prospect for newly trained school/educational psychologists?
Answer:
bad prospects now
9: How many school/educational psychologists are currently unemployed in your country?
Answer:
no response
10: What are the key tasks that are undertaken by school/educational psychologists?
(e.g. assessment, recommending special provision for children, consultation, counselling…)
Answer:
- orientated in schools
- monitoring pupils with school problems
- guidance and counselling for pupils and parents in case of problems
- referral to more specialised institutes
11: Are school /educational psychologists licensed? Is this a legal rquirement?
Answer:
some functions (e.g. managing director of PMS) are reserved for qualified psychologists
12: What are the current issues facing school / educational psychologists at the present?
Answer:
- the high number of school dropouts, frequently children do a “repeat” year
- the number of groups at risk and the help they need
- intensification of cooperation between professionals working for pupils.