Difficulties in identification of psychosocial problems of schoolchildren

Abstract

The study presents the analysis of the identification of deficits and the evidence of effectiveness for refining the provision of psychosocial services for children in the educational system of Georgia. The study identified discrepancies in problem identification at the referral stage. It proposes an explanation of the reasons for erroneous referrals and assesses the potential for reducing them. The results suggest that teachers more than others are able to identify children’s mental, emotional and/or behavioural problems if they are well aware about child development and protection and their responsibilities in enforcing referral procedures. The study used an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design.