Abstract:

In recent years, psychological research on children has stated significant developments, arising from the childhood scientific reconceptualization. A transversal critical issue to this conceptual evolution is psychological assessment of children. In fact, psychological assessment of children is a difficult task and is sometimes underestimated by psychologists, teachers and even families. In any investigation, defining the issues to be assessed and the best way to evaluate them is recognized as one of the key subjects for a successful research. When the goal is to assess children, by positioning them as participants and social actors, this becomes even more critical and even sensitive. If it is totally uncontested the relevance and beneficial aspects of a psychological assessment when performed in a scientific and ethical framework, the process of doing does not gather broad consensus.

All these concerns were taken into consideration when it was conceived a research study with the main goal of contribute to understand the phenomenon of success and failure in the elementary/primary education, from a longitudinal perspective. As a result, the aim is to identify predictable success or failure profiles, creating an early detection system that works as an efficient decision support system enabling school managers to identify the risks and opportunities of intentional and early intervention. To do that, psychological assessment on children between the ages of 8 and 10 years old had to be planned. Considering that the evaluation of the target children should take place in the classroom context and should cover both intra, inter and transpersonal aspects, the challenge of achieving results with a sample of 2000 child took on a highly intricate nature. So, Thus, to overcome these challenges, present study aims to present a technological tool (app) to be used to overcome not only the difficulties expected to administer a large number of psychological tests to children, but also to treat their results efficiently without losing their rigor. In this way, all ethical issues were also safeguarded. Thus, GPS4Success is a digital application with a built-in mascot, the GPS, thought out and conceived with features that facilitate the children’s ability to relate to it and with whom they are invited to interact. Throughout data collection, the mascot provides tasks alongside their step by step guides and positive inputs stimulating children’s awareness and engagement, decreasing the risk of demotivation and the monotony resulting from the task. This app enables: collective data collection, autonomous and independent task execution and respect for individual pace. The creation of this resource – GPS - as a built-in mascot stimulates children, raising their attention and simultaneously helps them to perform the tasks requested in a fun and pleasant way, emphasizing the playful aspect of the assignment. The implications of using a technological tool as a data collection strategy for psychological assessment, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of its use, and the possibility of being tailored to and used in the teaching-learning process will be discussed in the light of current educational policy trends.

Keywords:

Psychology of education, research methodology, technological tool (app).