School psychologists shortage in Poland. Situation is dramatic
In just over a month the new school year will begin. For too many pupils it could be a time without any psychological care.
The GrowSPACE Foundation has asked all municipalities about the number of school psychologists employed. Over 90 per cent of local authorities responded and the data they provided is alarming.
Related
- Intervention letter to board of education. Shortage of school psychologists in Podkarpacie
- Driving children to school: A bad idea?
- Is "my ex a typical narcissist"? Not likely
- "This is madness". Spain’s labour minister proposes closing bars and restaurants earlier
- Diagnosis of "overwork" is being heard by younger and younger people: a psychologist's advice
Out of 8400 vacancies only 6105 are currently filled. 27.3% remain vacant which means there is a shortage of as many as 2295 psychologists. The situation may yet change by 1 September. As GrowSPACE reported: "Currently there is only one full-time school psychologist for every 785 students."
There is not a single school psychologist in 450 municipalities
The GrowSPACE Foundation has prepared a map marking those municipalities where there is not a single school psychologist employed. There are as many as 450 of them, or 16 per cent of all local governments. The situation is worst in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship where as many as 52 per cent of vacancies are unfilled.
Dominik Kuc of GrowSPACE raises the alarm: "The whole report shows how urgently specialists and professionals are needed. It is worth adding that, unfortunately, sometimes the mere presence of a psychologist is not enough as proper social embeddedness, trust and agency within the school is also essential."
Why is there a shortage of school psychologists?
The work of a school psychologist is a responsible and complex task. It requires not only supporting students, but also working well with parents and teaching staff. Particularly now, when many students are still facing the consequences of forced distance learning in the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic.
The problem with filling school psychologist vacancies are of course salaries which is also the case with teacher vacancies. As reported by magazynprzedsiebiorcy.pl in October 2022 the median salary for this position was 3800 PLN (gross pay).
It is true that psychologists do not choose their career path because of how financially lucrative it is. Nevertheless, they have the right to expect salaries that are commensurate with their workload and responsibility. A further problem (also concerning teachers) is falling pay levels that comes with the feminisation of industries.
