The School Apperception Story Procedure

This paper reports on the construction and application of an innovative tec hnique, the School Apperception Story Procedure (SASP). In this task, child ren select three school-thematic pictures at a time and tell in turn how th ese show ideal and worst types of school. Narrative data are analysed looki ng at the thematic focus of each statement (e.g. quality of classroom relat ionship, school norms) and its locus in the temporal structure of the child 's script. The SASP was piloted in a study of perceptions of school among c hildren with and without behaviour problems, and is evaluated here on the b asis of data collected in that study. Its limitations, scope for further de velopment, and potential utility in counselling and guidance are considered .