Dialogic Process and Psychological Assessment: A Case Study.

Abstract The recenl movement locating community mental health services within urban schools signals an enhanced role for school professionals in caring for youth, and presents opportunities for furthering the connections between children, schools and communities. When psychological services are located in schools, opportunities to challenge the borders which traditionally exist between education and psychology are created. Location, however, does not guarantee that these connections will be made, or that the divide between education and psychology, bridged. Psychological assessment especially, which continues to be the primary function of psychologists in urban schools, has traditionally taken place outside of the contexts in which children live. It has historically been viewed as a shorthand for learning about people, offering a quicker and more efficient methodology than in-depth interviewing. As education increasingly turns towards reconceptual-izing learning and school practices as meaning making acti...