Learning and teaching psychopedagogical praxis. An inevitable encounter with tensions and challenges

Abstract

This paper presents conceptual and methodological definitions that support the teaching and learning approach to the subject Práctica Profesional Psicopedagógica en Educación (Professional Psychopedagogical Practice in Education) for the Bachelor's Degree in Psychopedagogy at the Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Likewise, certain problematic issues inherent in this formation are identified. Psychopedagogical intervention is conceived as a complex practice that seeks to understand the subject in a learning situation, considering subjective and intersubjective dimensions, as well as contextual conditions. It involves critical and reflective actions based on contextualised knowledge and influenced by ethical and political aspects that significantly impact educational and social (in)equality. Supervision spaces are considered particularly relevant to support students in developing their pre-professional practice processes, which they undertake in response to genuine needs of educational institutions and organisations. Some problematic issues are raised, addressed in terms of challenges, which refer to the mismatch between the learning pace of praxis and the timelines of institutions, to students’ interpretations that tend towards individualistic and deficit-based perspectives that contradict the course’s approach; to the complexity involved in constructing collaborative contexts, to the teaching and learning around the writing processes that praxis involves, and to the need to sustain the specificity of psychopedagogy in the face of varied institutional demands. The central challenge in training is considered to be the possibility of building spaces that become educational experiences and guide future practice.