Publication Date

5-1-2006

Degree Program

Department of Psychology

Degree Type

Education Specialist

Abstract

This research project is an electronic survey of Western Kentucky University graduates of an OSEP funded personnel preparation project (Project TEAM) from the years 1993-2000. The program trained graduate students in transdisciplinary play based assessment from the disciplines of psychology, speech/language pathology, and Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (IECE) through a series of coursework, seminars and an internship. Transdisciplinary play based assessment (TPBA) is recommended by experts and learned societies in the early childhood field and is considered to be child friendly, provides a holistic view of the child and promotes communication and collaboration between the professionals and family (Linder, 1990; McGonigel, Woodruff & Roszmann-Millican, 1994). The purpose of this study was to obtain information about current practices of professionals who have received knowledge and supervised experience implementing TPBA and what they consider are barriers to using TPBA. A response rate of 40.6% (n = 35) was obtained for the 86 participants surveyed. The majority of respondents hold a graduate degree and are employed as educators or related service providers for children 3 to 12 years of age. Results of this study indicated that respondents considered themselves knowledgeable in TPBA practices, although some group differences were noted, as school psychology respondents frequently rated their knowledge below the other groups. Further, respondents viewed TPBA practices as important to learn and use for eligibility assessment and ongoing educational assessment. However, IECE respondents rated the importance of TPBA for ongoing educational assessment higher than the other disciplines. Respondents also felt TPBA provided better information than traditional assessment approaches, yet the majority of the respondents are currently implementing either a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary approach for assessment. Only the IECE respondents indicated they would prefer to be implementing transdisciplinary practices and were advocating for its use. The top three barriers to implementation of TPBA approach included coordinating team member schedules, federal and state requirements and time constraints for team members. Results are discussed and implications for further study are noted.

Disciplines

Education | Psychology

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