My ideal school: using a personal construct psychology technique to explore and understand the school constructs of children and young people identified as having selective mutism.

Wade, Rachel (2022) My ideal school: using a personal construct psychology technique to explore and understand the school constructs of children and young people identified as having selective mutism. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

This study applied a qualitative, flexible design to explore the educational views and experiences of CYP with Selective Mutism (SM). Ten CYP aged 7-17 identified as having SM, participated in a series of semi-structured interviews centred around a non-verbal adaptation of the PCP approach, the ‘Drawing the Ideal School’ technique (Williams & Hanke, 2007). Utilising this creative, flexible approach, the participants’ perceptions of an ‘ideal’ and ‘non ideal’ school were elicited before capturing views regarding their current school and ways in which this could become more like their ideal school. The data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Common themes were identified regarding the perceived important features in an ‘ideal’ and ‘non-ideal’ school including the layout and landscaping, ethos, person characteristics and the climate. Findings further highlighted a combination of external factors in school (e.g., the role of others such as staff and peers) and internal factors within the participants (e.g., speaking identity, construing of events, personal competences) that may play a role in the maintenance or protection of CYP in school. Finally, the findings revealed both internal (managing the underlying mechanisms, assertiveness and determination) and external factors (relaying the foundations, paving the way to a better understanding and applying the ‘Goldilock’s Principle’ e.g., just right) perceived as important for improving the participants’ current experiences in school. Conclusions illustrated that Educational Psychologists are well placed to support CYP with SM using this creative technique whilst illuminating the implications for future research and practice in this area.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	26 Oct 2022 08:29
Last Modified:	26 Oct 2022 08:29
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/89364
DOI:

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