Clinical diagnosis and psycho-pedagogical intervention in educational centers: the value of anecdotal records in their articulation

Abstract

Introduction: contemporary psychoeducational practice faces the challenge of articulating rigorous diagnostic processes with contextualized and dynamic educational interventions.

Objective: to critically describe the role of anecdotal records as a mediating instrument between clinical-psychoeducational diagnosis and educational intervention.

Development: a review article was conducted of the scientific literature indexed in the Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Dialnet databases, using the following descriptors: "anecdotal records," "qualitative observation," "psychoeducational assessment," "clinical reasoning school psychology," and "formative assessment." Studies published between 2019 and 2024 were included. Elements such as historical evolution, epistemological foundations, the anecdotal record as a clinical reasoning tool, as a knowledge management instrument, current evidence, and applications were analyzed. Anecdotal records transcend their traditional conception as a mere descriptive tool when integrated into a clinical-relational framework that considers the learner in their entirety—biopsychosocial. From this perspective, each recorded anecdote constitutes a "clinical index" that, when analyzed sequentially and in context, allows for the reconstruction of the subjectivity of the learning process.

Final considerations: when implemented with methodological rigor within a clinical-relational framework, anecdotal records constitute a valuable instrument for articulating diagnosis and psychoeducational intervention, enabling the capture of the procedural and contextual dimensions of learning.