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THE ROLE OF STUDENT RECORDS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STUDENTS PROBLEMS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY. LA CONSTRUCCION DE LOS PROBLEMAS DEL ALUMNADO EN LOS LEGAJOS ESCOLARES. UN ESTUDIO EXPLORATORIO. Silvina Cimolai PhD student. Institute of Education. University of London ABSTRACT ENGLISH This paper presents some of the conclusions from a research project carried out during 2004 and 2005 in a school district in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. As part of a wider research programme directed towards analysing the process of school failure and the role of psycho-educational interventions within schools, this particular project looked at the structure and uses of school records of students that were identified as having some learning or emotional problems. Following the socio-cultural approaches (Wertsch, 1992; Mehan, 2001; Mc Dermott, 2001), it was understood that student records were not only a document where professionals write about students and their interventions, but also a tool for configuring practices in certain ways. 127 students records from 2 district schools were analysed, documents and regulations related to the topic were collected, and interviews with a variety of professionals involved in writing and reviewing the records were held. The strategy for analysis required firstly the quantitative analysis of the distribution of frequencies from different categories, followed by qualitative analysis of the structure and contents of the records. This paper will present the strategy for analysis and the categories developed in this exploratory study, and will analyse how the structure of the records contributes to the definition of the students problems in certain ways. Finally this paper will analyse how this type of record promotes a psychological definition of the situation under review. Keywords: School failure, students records, learning difficulties, socio-cultural approaches SPANISH En este trabajo se presentarn algunas conclusiones de un proyecto de investigacin llevado a cabo durante 2004 y 2005 en un distrito escolar en la provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Siendo parte de un programa de investigacin acerca de la produccin del fracaso escolar y el rol de las intervenciones psico-educativas en las escuelas, esta investigacin tuvo como objetivo especfico analizar la estructura y usos de los legajos escolares de alumnos con problemas en su desempeo escolar. Siguiendo los aportes de los enfoques socioculturales (Wertsch, 1992; Mehan, 2001; Mc Dermott, 2001), se entendi que los legajos escolares no eran slo un documento donde los profesionales escriben sus diagnsticos e intervenciones, sino ms bien instrumentos de mediacin que contribuyen a configurar esas mismas prcticas. Se analizaron 127 legajos escolares de dos escuelas del distrito, los documentos y normativas vigentes

sobre legajos escolares, y se llevaron a cabo entrevistas con los profesionales que escriben o leen los legajos. La estrategia de anlisis implic una primera etapa de anlisis cuantitativo de distribucin de frecuencias de ciertas categoras construidas en el estudio, y una segunda etapa de anlisis cualitativo en profundidad de la estructura y contenido de los legajos. Este trabajo presentar la estrategia de anlisis y las categoras desarrolladas en este estudio exploratorio, y analizar los modos en que los legajos escolares contribuyen a la construccin de los problemas del alumnado. Finalmente, se analizar la tendencia en este tipo de documentos de promover una definicin casi exclusivamente psicolgica de la situacin. Palabras clave: fracaso escolar, legajos escolares, problemas de aprendizaje, enfoques socioculturales

1) INTRODUCTION Argentina is one of the Latin American countries that have significantly increased primary school attendance over the last few decades, achieving an almost universal access to primary school (99% for the period 2000-20051). However, the country still faces several challenges to guarantee equity in the provision of education. Certain groups of children, specially those coming from poor families, are more likely to dropout, repeat grades, enter the system at a later stage, or lack access to early learning activities that would prepare them for primary school. Moreover, there is a significant difference in the provision of quality education among regions and sectors, and this contributes to the generation of very different learning opportunities among students. While the educational system seems to be successful in guaranteeing universal access to primary education, it presents difficulties in achieving the permanence in the school and learning of all the students. Over the last decades, several strategies have been developed in the country to try to address the problem of school failure, including national and local government policies and programmes, projects promoted from different NGOs, institutional strategies carried out by particular schools, and so on. At present in the province of Buenos Aires, a great proportion of the schools rely on the support of interdisciplinary teams (called Equipos de Orientacin Escolar), whose aims are prevention and technical support, from psycho-educational and socioeducational perspectives, of situations that negatively affect learning and adaptation to school (Direccin de Psicologa y Asistencia Social Escolar 2000). These teams are responsible for a wide variety of activities within schools. However, their most common activity seems to be the one to one work with students who are having some kind of

learning or emotional problem that is affecting their performance at school (Baquero 2000; Erausquin et al 2000; Selvini Palazolli, 1985). This research looked at the daily practices carried out in schools with students who were identified as presenting some type of learning or emotional problem, and who previously received support from the interdisciplinary teams. Specifically, it focused on the records that were set up and maintained by these teams, and used to record and review the diagnosis and interventions relating to each of these students. It was understood that these documents were not only a record of the different strategies and appreciations developed by different professionals, but also an instrument or tool that guides the creation of these strategies and approaches in certain ways. The project was the result of a collaboration between the Research Programme Subjects and Policies in Education at the National University of Quilmes and the Inspeccin de Psicologa y Asistencia Social Escolar, which is the sector that supervises the work of the interdisciplinary teams, located in one of the districts in Buenos Aires province,. The common objective of the Inspection and the Research Programme was to analyse and re-think the psycho-educational practices that are used in public schools in the General Basic Education level2. This included a strong focus on schools with a population of students coming from poor backgrounds, as they were much more likely to be affected by learning and behavioural difficulties. The interest in analysing the role of students records emerged after a series of meetings with professionals from the Inspection. They started questioning why student records are used, the advantages and disadvantages of using them, and which kind of structure would be most effective in daily practice. But the main concern was the fact that school records were the only evidence used by the Inspector when deciding whether to transfer a child from mainstream education to

special education. This was of particular concern to the Inspector, who stated that the information provided in the records was not comprehensive enough to enable such an important decision. Within the research programme, a number of smaller projects were set up to allow the study of these records from different perspectives. The research described in this paper was one of a number of additional projects and activities set up by the programme, and was an exploratory study of the internal structure and organization of students records from mainstream primary education, and the ways in which they contribute to create a definition of students problems3. This paper will present some of the aspects and conclusions of that research. Firstly, it will provide a general characterisation of the students records that were used in this study, and of some previous research that provided direction for discussing this problem. Secondly, the methodology of the study and the strategy for analysis will be presented. As this research is an exploratory study, it is considered important to provide more detail on the research strategy to allow for the design of further research. Thirdly, it will present how the research identified a hegemonic psychological perspective in the construction of the students problems. Finally, some recommendations for further research will be outlined.

2) STUDENT RECORDS IN RESEARCH AND THE POTENTIAL OF UNDERSTANDING THEM AS MEDIATIONAL TOOLS

To start with, it is important to clarify what it is meant in this study when talking about student records. Although in Argentina the situation varies from one place to another, it is possible to affirm that, in general, schools have two types of student

records. Firstly, there are administrative records for every student attending the school, which contain general information about the student, contact details, academic information, and attendance records. Secondly, there is another type of record that contains family background information, psychological tests, teacher anecdotal records, disciplinary information, and reports from non-educational professionals and agencies. In a number of schools in the province of Buenos Aires, only students that were identified as having learning or emotional problems had this type of record. This project analysed the second type of record described, and which are created and stored in each school by the Equipos de Orientacin Escolar. These are interdisciplinary teams usually comprising a psychologist or BA in educational sciences, a social worker, a phonoaudiologist, and a teacher specializing in special educational needs (Otero, 2000). When researching student records, it became clear that they are a key aspect in many areas of research on students: not only educational, but also sociological and psychological. However, these records are more likely to be used by researchers as a source of information, rather than being themselves the object of study. This research seeks to bring the records to the centre of the scene, and to call attention to the files that are produced daily in schools and that impact on how practices are established. Especially relevant to this study was the research carried out by Hugh Mehan (1996), in which he proposed to clarify the school practices involved in the selection of groups of students for special education, and how these practices contribute to the creation of particular educational identities for these students. Mehan stated that the identification of a handicapped student was the result of the routine practices of educators as they carry out their daily work rather than the result of a cognitive deficit that the student has. He showed that the creation of records plays an essential role in the

construction process of the students problems, stating that the construction takes place in person-to-person and person-to-text interactions. That means that every step of the process involving a person-to-person interaction is later transcribed into text, which then becomes the basis of the interaction in the next step of the process. For example, the interaction between student and teacher in the context of the classroom leads to the construction of a report by the teacher about the students difficulties, which are normally used as the basis of the next step of the process (for example a psychological assessment). Then, the psychologists report becomes the basis of the following step, and so on. Mehan explained that the creation of texts directly influences the construction of the problem because these texts become divorced from the social interaction that created them as they move through the system, institutionally isolated from the interactional practices that generated them in the preceding events (Mehan, 1996, p. 246). He also highlighted the fact that texts are more likely to lead to what he called a stratification of languages of representation, where scientific discourses finally have more power in the process of definition of the problem than sociological or historical discourses usually held by parents or teachers. The work of Mehan showed that paying attention to records created in the schools daily practices was essential to reaching a significant insight of the practices related to the identification and treatment of the so called handicapped students. Because of this, socio-cultural perspectives were finally used in the research to define the status of our object of study. The main contribution of the socio-cultural theory of learning developed by Vygotsky and some of his followers, such as Engestrom, Wertsch, Cole, Lave, and Mc Dermott, is to recognise the social, historical and cultural character of any human action. This is then compared to traditional approaches that

focus on the analysis of the individual and understanding the context and interactions as factors that influence but do not constitute the action. (Baquero, 2001) The fact that the central thesis in socio-cultural theory is that the structure and development of human psychological processes are co-constituted by interaction with tools or instruments, enabled discussion about student records as mediational tools and as a constitutive part of the construction of students problems. For example, Wertsch (1998) affirms that to understand any human action we need to take into account not only the interests, motives and actions of the individuals, but also the instruments or tools that are mediating this action. Any action is the result of tension between agents and mediational means, and because of that tools have an inherent role in the definition of the action, rather than an auxiliary role as it is normally understood. The use of tools is a dual process, where individuals both shape the world and create the tools, but are also shaped through the use of those tools. That means that tools are so essential to actions that a change in the tool would probably produce a change in the action. Socio-cultural approaches also call attention to the traditional units of analysis that are used to examine learning disabilities and school failure (Wertsch, 1991; Lave, 2001). Traditionally, learning has been understood to be a possession of individuals, and a learning disability is explained as a failure of the student in his or her cognitive system. Socio-cultural approaches show that learning is in the conditions that brings people together (McDermott, 1998, p. 292) and is a result of a context understood not as something into which someone is put, but an order of behaviour of which one is a part (McDermott, 1998, p. 290). In this sense, student records were understood to be part of the particular order of behaviour that takes place in schools and that influences the construction of the problems, where students problems were explained more as a

result of the interactions held in the school and of the social organisation of the schools activities, rather than deficits that the students are responsible for (Baquero et al, 2006).

3) STRATEGY OF ANALYSIS AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS The fact that very few research projects analysed or reviewed the internal structure of records and the role of them in the construction of students problems, led to the definition of this study as an exploratory work. This implied an understanding that most of the categories and analyses were going to be constructed during the process of the research rather than establishing them at the beginning of the project, with the hope that this research would be an instrument for defining problems and scope for future studies. Thus, this section will describe the methodology and strategy of analysis, synthesising some of the preliminary results from each stage. The collaboration with the Inspection of Psychology allowed the research programme access to the student records created in a specific three year period in two of the district schools, a total of 127 records. Records were treated in a strictly confidential way. Only one person was in charge of photocopying the records, and of erasing all the information that could identify students, teachers, and the other people involved. Only the researcher and supervisor of the project were given access to these unmarked records. Interviews with head teachers of the schools were conducted, as well as with members of the Equipos de Orientacion Escolar and of the Inspection of Psychology for the district. Also, regulations about school records specific to the province were collected.

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The final design of the research strategy was as follows. Firstly, a quantitative analysis of certain categories or variables with respect to the total of school records collected was undertaken, followed by a qualitative analysis of a selection of student records. The information collected in the interviews and from the regulations was used to aid understanding of the information identified in the records. The quantitative findings from the 127 records were categorised and analysed using SPSS software, while the 35 records used in the qualitative analysis, including interviews and regulations, were transcribed and analysed through Atlas Ti software, designed specifically for qualitative data-analysis.

3.1) Quantitative stage: A first classification of student records was organised following basic categories such as gender of the student, EGB level of the student at the time the record was created, and type of problem stated at the beginning of the school record. It was found that in the schools that were part of the sampling, approximately only 7% of the students had a record created by the interdisciplinary team. Most of the records were created in the first cycle of EGB (71.6% in the first cycle, 18.9% in the second, and 7.09% in the third cycle) with more records created for male students than for female (62.2% of the total records related to male students, while only 37.8% related to female ones). With respect to the hegemony of records created in the first cycle, it was found that this was related to the regulations of the province for the multidisciplinary teams during those years, suggesting a focus on the work in the first cycle. However, with respect to the predominance of records relating to male students, there was no explicit suggestion of focusing their work on male students, either from the

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regulations of the province or by the guidelines of the Inspection. This was therefore understood to be related to the gender gaps mentioned by several pieces of research that show that male misbehaviour or under-achievement is more visible in the school system (Mosconi, 1998). With respect to the label or type of problem stated in each record, the distribution was as follows:

[Table 1: Amount and percentage of records that presents each of the labels]

Labels were differently distributed with regard to the year of study and gender of the students. For example, learning problems were more common in the first cycle of EGB and in female students, while behavioural problems were more common in the second and third cycle of EGB and in male students. It was also identified that 73.3% of the labels linked to problems directly related to difficulties in the childrens performance in school, such us learning problems, absenteeism, not working in class, and attention problems in the class; while only 13% referred to other types of problems that could also be identified in extra-school contexts, such as speech problems, health problems, social risk and emotional problems. In a second phase of the quantitative analysis, it was decided to break down the information further to allow more in-depth analysis. This led to identify the

components of student records, that is, the different reports or notes that were present in each record. This classification took into account three aspects: the content of each report or note, the objectives and situations that mediated the construction of the component, and the actors that were involved in the creation of each of them. 1542

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components were identified in the 127 records analysed, and were distributed as follows:
[Table 2: Amount and percentage of each of the components]

Protocols of psychological tests and interview notes to family members or to the student were the most common elements found in the records. Notes or reports mentioning any kind of result or evaluation of psychological tests administered to the student were less frequent than the protocols of those tests (only 81 reports evaluating tests were found, while 312 protocols were identified in the 127 records). This was understood as part of the more informal character found in these records with respect to the ones that were presented to the Inspection of Psychology and that were part of another research (Toscano, 2005). In the same sense, it was common to find in theses records informal notes or memos about particular situations, organization of meetings or future activities. Exchanges with non-school professionals (such us psychologists, doctors, or psycho-pedagogists) involved in treatments with the students were carefully followed and recorded. These exchanges included from notes recording what was discussed in a telephone meeting or memos about future meetings, to formal reports. Finally, socio-environmental reports were mainly written by the social worker and referred to visits to the students home, and evaluation of the social condition of the student. With respect to the participation of different actors in the records, it was found that the psychologist is the person that writes most frequently in the records (64.75% of the components), with teachers coming in at only 5.30% and social workers at only 4.66%.

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[Table 3: Amount and percentage of the total of components written by each agent]

3.2) Qualitative stage: A theoretical sampling of student records was carried out for the qualitative study (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). As the main objective of the qualitative stage of the research was to gain a deeper understanding of the internal organisation and discourses of the records, rather than providing a representative capture of the total, an oriented sampling was deemed to be more useful than a probabilistic one. 35 records were selected during the analysis according to the different criteria emerging as relevant to each phase of the analysis: type of problem, gender of the student, short records, long records, records involving professionals that work outside the schools, records involving social workers, year of study of the student, and so on. Three aspects of the analysis and findings from the qualitative stage will be summarised here. Firstly, certain aspects found in the analysis of the different voices that were participating in the records. Secondly, the different dimensions identified that were being used to construct the students problems. And finally, the set of routines that are registered in all the records, independently from the type of problem stated. With respect to the different people and discourses that interact in the writing of the records, the qualitative analysis complemented the quantitative which showed the grade of participation of every professional. Social languages and discursive genres of each type of professional, the ways in which they interact in the context of the writing, as well as the voices that are created in that interactions were some of the aspects analysed in the qualitative stage. It was identified that some actors talk in the records directly, while others are present in the records but mediated by other actors. For

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example, family members rarely write directly in the records but their voices have a noteworthy presence in the reports written by social workers, psychologists and teachers. It was very common to read descriptions and appreciations made by family members but written by other actors. However, later analysis showed that there was in fact a dialogisation phenomenon (Wertsch, 1991), and the authorship of the discourse could not be given only to the member of the family. In fact, some components were a result of the interaction among different voices. The voices of different people were inter-related in each component and created a new voice that was different from the individual ones (Wertsch, 1991). Moreover, the process of dialogisation showed an inequal distribution of power among voices, and contributed to what Bahtim called ventriloquation phenomena, where in some cases some people talk through other voices. For example, when the professional gave an account of the appreciations of a students mother, in fact it was the professional who was the primary voice in this account, deciding what it is relevant to ask to the mother, and what it is important to register in the records. With respect to the dimensions used to create each student problem, the in-depth reading of several components led to the definition of the different dimensions that are taken into account in all the records to describe the students problem. The child in his / her development was the first and more important dimension, identified in the discourse of very different professionals, not only psychologists but also teachers, social workers, and family members. It included a description of the emotional and cognitive development of the student, based on implicit criteria about normal development, and describing aspects such us personality styles, structure of the self, intelligence, language and attention.

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The child as student includes all the descriptions made by different agents about the performance of the child when they were in the role of student. This comprised topics such us orientation to learning, school authority, peers, rules of the school and school trajectories. The child in his / her life conditions was the dimension more frequently found in the social worker reports, but was also present in other type of reports. This dimension usually provides a description of the child in terms of nutrition, clothes, housing, education level of family members, and risk situations. The child within the family and in his / her daily life were dimensions that tried to capture the child outside the school, in his or her non-school habits and relationships. The child in his / her biology was an account of the present and past illnesses of the students, and a control of the biological maturation processes.

Finally, with respect to the construction of the different types of problems, it was found that independently of the type of problem stated in the records, the set of routines, agents, dimensions, instruments, and components were very similar for all problems. This showed that there is a very limited group of routines and discourses operating in the intervention of students problems, finding no difference with respect to the type of problem identified in the student.

4) RECORDS AND THE HEGEMONY OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE As we saw, the most common components in the student records are created by the psychologist. From the total records analysed, 95% contained at least one interview

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with the student, 85% contained protocols of psychological texts, and 80.3% contained interview notes on family members. These 3 most common elements are part of the work of the psychologist, who carries out interviews in the school and administers the psychological tests. Components that talk about the situation in the classroom, such as teachers reports, are less common, with only 33% of the records containing a teachers report. The psychologists are not only responsible for creating the most common components of the records, but produce the most text in the records, through participating in other types of components, and being responsible for the writing of 65% of the components, while teachers are involved in only 5.31% of the writing and social workers in 4.66%. Moreover, the qualitative analysis showed that the influence of the psychological perspective is even more important than the findings from the quantitative analysis of authorships in writing. Following Wertschs analysis of Bahtim in his book Mind as Action (1991), it was noted that there are components where the psychological discourse mediates the voices of other actors, such us teachers, parents, and non-school professionals, and talks through them. There is also a clear hierarchical organisation of discourses, where psychological scientific language has more presence in the components that leads to decision making. Student records seem to be an arena where the psychological voice is the predominant one, and captures the ownership of the meaning within the records. Analysis of the different dimensions used to construct the students problems found that the psychological perspective that captures the child in his or her development was the most significant and was found in a number of very different components. Although the clear hegemony of the psychological discourse can be thought of as something obvious,

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it is important to remember that the construction of student records is expected to be the result of an interdisciplinary work. This particular psychological voice refers to a conception of the situation where the children are the ones who possess the problem, and where the different dimensions are understood as factors influencing the performance of the student. A more interactional understanding, that takes into account the role of the school situation in the configuration of the problem, was barely found in the records. The design of the instrument seems to promote a unit of analysis focused on a psychological individualistic approach. Moreover, the analysis showed that student records are not focused on assessing knowledge or skills related to the school performance, but are more about understanding the emotions, cognition and psychological development that may be affecting the student (Varela, 1995). Student records predominantly talk in scientific terms about what is happening inside the head of the child, and their structure does not help to promote a more contextual approach, where the unit of analysis is the school activity rather than the individuals deficits.

5) FURTHER RESEARCH, IMPLICATIONS This study explored the internal organisation of student records, and developed some categories for future research, which may be useful not only for policy makers in reviewing regulations about school records and the treatment of students problems, but also for school professionals using these records in their daily practices. The process of this research, and the other activities implemented by the research programme, have

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helped to define some of the recommendations of research designs for further studies related to student records. These are: - A comparison of records in schools with different institutional styles, different populations, and different ways of conceiving school failure, to evaluate if this makes an impact in a differential construction of the instrument, and to identify alternative ways of conceiving records or some parts of the records. - A survey and comparison of regulations about student records in different regions and countries, and the analysis of the perceptions of professionals about the uses of school records and about the pertinence of the regulations. An analysis of the distance between what it is suggested in the regulations and what it is implemented in the records, to analyse the reasons for the differences. - Ethnographic studies or case studies of the whole process of intervention with students that are identified as having some kind of problem, to identify which aspects of the process are transcribed in texts and which are not, and why. - In-depth analysis of the different discursive genres and professional languages used in records, and the power effects associated to each of them. Notes
Data derived from net primary school enrolment rates as reported by UNESCO/UIS (UNESCO Institute of Statistics) and from the National Household Survey reports of attendance at primary school.
2 1

Since 1995 until 2006 the organisation of the school system in most of the provinces of Argentina was as follows: Basic General Education (EGB in Spanish) which is compulsory and comprises grades first to ninth, and is divided in three stages, called cycles: EGB 1, 1st, 2nd and 3rd school years; EGB II: 4th, 5th and 6th school years; and EGB III: 7th, 8th and 9th school years. Once the EGB is completed, the student can choose to start secondary education, called Polimodal, which last two to three more years.
3

The research was the MA thesis presented at the MA in Education at the University of San Andres, Argentina.

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Bibliographic references Baquero, R., 2000 Lo habitual del fracaso y el fracaso de lo habitual. In: F. Avendao and N. Boggino (Eds). La escuela por dentro y el aprendizaje escolar, Homo Sapiens, Rosario, Argentina, pp. 11-21. Baquero, R., 2001 El aprendizaje y sus contextos. In: R. Baquero and M. Limn Luque., Introduccin a la Psicologa del aprendizaje. Ediciones UNQ, Bernal, Argentina. Baquero, R., S. Cimolai, A. Prez & A. G. Toscano, 2006 Las prcticas psicoeducativas y el problema de la educabilidad: la escuela como superficie de emergencia. Revista de Investigacin en Psicologa, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Per, 8 (1): 121-138. Direccin de Psicologa y Asistencia Social Escolar, 2000 Comunicacin N 2, Direccin General de Cultura y Educacin, La Plata, Argentina. Erausquin C., A. Alonso, E. Btesh, R. Bur, M. Cabrera, S. Camen S. & B. Greco, 2000 Los psiclogos y su lugar en las instituciones educativas, X Congreso Argentino de Psicologa (FEPRA-AUAPSI), 26 October, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Glaser, B. and A. Strauss, 1967 The Discovery of the Grounded Theory. Aldine de Gruyter Editor: London. Lave, J., 2001. La prctica del aprendizaje. In: S. Chaiklin S. and J. Lave (Eds.). Estudiar las prcticas, perspectivas sobre actividad y contexto, Amorrortu, Buenos Aires. McDermott, R. P., 1996 The adquisition of a child by a learnng disability. In: S. Chaiklin and J. Lave (eds.). Understanding practice. Perspectives on activity and context, Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 269-305 Mehan, H., 1996 Beneath the skin and between the eras: A case study in the politics of representation. In: S. Chaiklin and J. Lave (eds.). Understanding practice. Perspectives on activity and context, Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 241-268. Mosconi, N., 1998 Diferencia de sexos y relacin con el saber, Ediciones Novedades Educativas. Serie Formacin de Formadores / Los documentos 7, Buenos Aires. Otero, M. P., 2000 Escuela y violencia. Relaciones intra e interinstitucionales, XXII Congreso Internacional de Latin American Studies Association, Miami, 16-18 March. On line: 136.142.158.105/Lasa2000/Otero.PDF (march 2005) Selvini Palazolli, M. et al 1985 El mago sin magia, Editorial Paids, Barcelona.
Toscano, A. G., 2005 Voces y discursos sobre la educabilidad de los nios en la construccin de legajos escolares. MA in Education thesis, School of Education, San Andres University.

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Varela, J., 1995 Categoras espacio-temporales y socializacin escolar: del individualismo al narcisismo. In: J. Larrosa (ed.). Escuela, poder y subjetivacin, Ediciones La Piqueta, Madrid. Wertsch, J., 1998 Mind as action. Oxford University Press, New York, 203 pp. Wertsch, J., 1991 Voices of the mind. A sociocultural approach to mediated action, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 162 pp.

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Tables

Table 1: Amount and percentage of records that presents each of the labels.
N 55 30 10 7 7 5 5 4 2 2 2 10 15 % 43.31 23.62 7.87 5.51 5.51 3.94 3.94 3.15 1.57 1.57 1.57 7.87 11.81

Learning problems Behavioural problems Speech problems Attention problems Adaptation difficulties Absenteeism Not working in class Health problems Emotional problems Social Risk Comprehension difficulties Other No information Comment: Some of the records state more than one label.

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Table 2: Amount and percentage of each of the components

N Protocols of psychological tests 312 Interviews notes to family members Interviews notes to students Literacy and numeracy test Informal notes Evaluation of tests Exchanges with non-school professionals Teachers reports Table of content Diagnosis report Socio-environmental report Meetings notes with teachers Others TOTAL 270 231 198 132 81 76 65 38 34 25 24 56 1542 20.23 17.51 14.98 12.84 8.56 5.25 4.93 4.22 2.46 2.20 1.62 1.56 3.63 100 (%)

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Table 3: Amount and percentage of the total of components written by each agent
N Psychologist Student Teacher Social worker Non-school professionals: doctor Head teacher Non-school professionals: psychologists Non-school professionals: Phonoaudiologist Non-school professionals: psycho-pedagogist No information 1001 359 82 72 16 8 8 4 4 18 % 64.91 23.28 5.31 4.66 1.03 0.51 0.51 0.26 0.26 1.16

Comments: Total of components: 1542. Some of the components were written or signed by more than one professional.