‘If you see something that’s not right, we need to challenge it.’ A critical review and qualitative exploration of Educational Psychologists’ perceptions of social justice and practice in local authority services in the West Midlands

AimsThere has been relatively little research into social justice in educational psychology in the UK. A qualitative exploration of Educational Psychologists (EPs’) views of social justice in educational psychology practice in England was undertaken, aiming to comprehend how EPs understand and define the term in relation to their role; and what EPs can do to work towards social justice, noting perceived barriers to working towards social justice in EP practice.Method11 EPs employed in four West Midlands Local Authorities (LAs) took part in semi-structured interviews, analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis.LimitationsThis was a small-scale exploratory case study design. It was likely to have recruited participants who were already attuned to social justice agendas. Thus, responses were relatively uniform in their orientation. The study also did not capture the voices of EPs working outside of local authority settings, or privately, or outside of the West Midlands who also may have significant contributions to how best to facilitate social justice work.ConclusionsThe final psychological framework presented may inform EP reflection, to develop and further refine cycles of EPs’ own social justice praxis.