The incident at Idrak Lyceum drew public attention to the issue of safety and psychological well-being of students in schools. The incident once again showed that not only the number and gender balance of teachers, but also the psychological support provided to students within the school plays a crucial role. Psychologists working in secondary schools perform a key function in this regard.
It is interesting to know how school psychologists should regularly work with students and by what mechanisms they should monitor their emotional well-being?
Commenting on the issue to AzEdu.az, Honored Teacher, former deputy Sona Aliyeva noted that the incident once again reminded: safety in school is not limited to control at the entrance gate or cameras.
“Safety, first and foremost, is about timely recognizing what is happening in a child's inner world. Because international psychological and pedagogical research also shows that violence, aggression, and risky behaviors usually do not arise suddenly; they have pre-existing emotional signals. The main person who reads these signals is the school psychologist.
The work of a school psychologist should not be merely a formal duty where they are called into a room only when a problem arises. A systematic approach must be implemented. Students' psychological state should be monitored through regular screenings, behavioral changes should be recorded, and planned individual meetings should be held with children in the risk group. Preventive programs aimed at developing social-emotional skills are among the most effective means of preventing aggression and violence. Scientific research proves that early warning and continuous observation genuinely strengthen psychological safety in the school environment".
In this process, the parental factor plays a decisive role:
“The psychologist should maintain continuous contact with parents, not just when a problem arises. Timely information should be provided about changes in the child's behavior, and when risk signals are observed, the school and family should establish a joint intervention plan. Research shows that in schools with strong school–parent cooperation, psychological problems are detected without delay, and the risk of complications decreases.
If a serious psychological or social problem is identified in a student, the psychologist must conduct an initial assessment, inform the school administration, and work immediately with the parents. If necessary, coordinated cooperation should be established with child psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social service structures, and child protection mechanisms. If a risk of danger arises, the involvement of law enforcement agencies and relevant educational institutions in the process is no longer an option, but a necessity.
The incident at Idrak Lyceum clearly demonstrated another truth: psychological services in schools should not be formal, but systematic and scientifically based. Because it is impossible to talk about real safety in school without protecting a child's emotional well-being.
Preventive measures not only create a safe environment in school but also protect the future of young people by preventing them from making wrong choices. If such interventions had been implemented in a timely manner, such a tragic incident would almost certainly not have occurred at school. Such incidents negatively affect the lives of not only the young person who caused the incident but also the family, school, and environment as a whole. Therefore, one cannot remain indifferent to such situations".
