Teachers’ Perspectives on Psychological Issues among their Students

Abstract

This study has two aims: 1) to explore classroom teachers’ experiences regarding the presenting psychological difficulties of their students; and, 2) to understand how they try to help those students and whether or not their intervention is effective. This study is qualitative in nature. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 35 volunteer teachers from primary and high schools located in different parts of Ankara. The subjects taught by the participating teachers varied. Each participant was asked the following
questions: 1-Based on your experiences, what are the psychological difficulties most often faced by your students? 2- How do you respond to their presenting psychological difficulties? and, 3- Do you think that your responses are effective? Descriptive and content analysis procedures were utilized. Four categories of psychological difficulties and six categories of widely used intervention strategies were identified. Results and implications are discussed.