How educational psychologists speak of their reports: exploring the available discourses

Although considerable time and energy is spent by educational psychologists (EPs) on the creation of their reports, there has been surprisingly little research in the field. Much of what is available is more concerned with the structure, content, or utility of the report for different audiences than with meaning for the professional. This research explores how reports are spoken about by an educational psychology service (EPS), and the meaning this speech may hold for the EPs as report writers. Being immersed in team practice provided the opportunity to adopt an ethnographic methodology within the EPS base. Here, the lead author collected the language used about reports from two sources: field notes; and the recording and transcription of a journal club held by the EPS. Using discourse analysis drawing on a critical framework, seven discourses used when speaking of reports were proposed: “reports as just acts” (where “just” is synonymous with “fair”, “objective” or “unbiased”); “reports as psychological”; “reports as helpful”; “reports as defining EPs”; “reports as difficult”; “reports as expert”; and “reports as a purchase”. Some of the implications for practice that these discourses may suggest are considered.