Characteristics of interprofessional collaboration between educational psychological services and schools: A scoping review

Interprofessional collaboration is the preferred working approach for supporting children with special educational needs. Furthermore, educational psychology services (EPS) have been identified as a significant means of realizing the ideals of inclusive education for at-risk children. However, the literature on interprofessional collaboration is highly dominated by research in healthcare context with limited focus on educational settings. To address this gap, this scoping review provides an overview of research on interprofessional collaborations in educational settings, specifically between EPS and primary and lower secondary schools.

A systematic search was conducted in the PsycINFO, Pro Quest, and Web of Science databases yielding 1212 references. After screening, 156 references were reviewed in full text and 46 records were included in the final sample. These records included a wide range of methodologies (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods) and document types (articles, doctoral theses, and handbook chapters). After extraction and analysis, our results revealed inconsistent terminology related to interprofessional collaboration and identified three levels of rationale for collaboration: individual, systemic, and a combination of both. Organizational issues were the most commonly reported challenges. Notably, few studies incorporated the perspectives of children and caregivers, and there was limited exploration of student outcomes. We conclude this review by providing implications for future research.