School psychology in Estonia - Expectations of teachers and school psychologists versus reality

This article describes the results of an empirical investigation, studying the expectations for school psychological services of Estonian teachers and school psychologists, and the real problems psychologists deal with in sch ools (as evaluated by psychologists). 190 teachers and 30 school psychologi sts were questioned. The results are discussed in international and histori cal perspective. It was found that the majority of teachers questioned cons idered having a psychologist in school important or very important. The pro blems that need the intervention of a psychologist are perceived differentl y by teachers and psychologists. Teachers tend to consider child-centered s ervices (to deal with pupils' learning, emotional or behavioral problems) w hile psychologists also stress the importance of helping teachers - to coun sel and consult. The real situation as evaluated by the psychologists is mo re similar to teachers' than to psychologists' evaluations.