The informal curriculum - The latent aspect of psychological training

It has been argued that the nature of academic school psychological program mes and the training provided by them are revealed mainly by the informal a nd often more latent, messages delivered to students. These informal messag es indicate the extent to which the programme treats students as partners i n a complex learning process who may participate in determining its course or as those who should be informed; they may regard students as developing adults capable of responsible problem solving in the school setting or as t hose who still have to learn by watching others; and they determine the com plementary roles of students and faculty members. We posit that these infor mal determinants of the training programme determine to a large extent the role definition of school psychology that guides them and is conveyed to th e students.