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School Camp Refusal and Reluctance: The Role of the School Psychologist

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2018

Mary C. Woods  and
John R. Burns
Mary C. Woods*
Affiliation:
Shore School, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
John R. Burns
Affiliation:
Shore School, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Mary Woods, Shore School, PO Box 1221, North Sydney NSW 2060, Australia. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Attendance at overnight school camp is an integral component of the Australian educational landscape. However, some students are reluctant to attend camp, while others refuse to attend at all. School psychologists play an important part in supporting these students and their families, and teachers. While much is published about general school refusal, there is surprisingly little attention given to the specific management of school camp refusal and reluctance. This article summarises the contribution of the related theoretical areas of childhood anxiety, school refusal, and homesickness. It then outlines, through a case study example, a management approach for school psychologists, from presentation of the problem to assessment, through to informed intervention, including a suite of strategies to support the student, parents and teachers, who have duty of care during camps.

Keywords

school psychologyschool campschool refusalanxietyhomesickness
Type
Practitioner Paper
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 28 , Issue 2 , December 2018 , pp. 235 - 247
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018 

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