Are We Solving the Big Problems?

Abstract

In 2000, as part of an invited symposium celebrating start of new millennium, I was asked to write an article for School Psychology Review in which I tried to look ahead to where field of school psychology needed to focus its energy in addressing academic skills problems of children in schools (Shapiro, 2000). The article noted that despite best efforts of educators, including school psychologists, very large problems of illiteracy, poor levels of performance in math and science, and development of an educated workforce remain overwhelming concerns in our country. Methods to address these problems lie primarily in area of prevention science. School psychology's energies have often been devoted to little problems at level of individuals. Our belief had been that we could attack big problems one smaller problem at a time. My view as expressed in article was that time had come for our field to look for ways to build competence and resilience of children that prevent development of these big problems. Further, I pointed out that such efforts had been ongoing already in multiple, nationally funded projects and that school psychology as a field needed to shift toward recognition of importance of systemic change in both training and practice. I firmly believed at that time that future of our field was dependent on such a shift. I continue to believe that shifting to systemic ways of thinking are critical to our future, and present miniseries certainly offers a window into that future. Much has transpired since 2000 to support future I envisioned. The passage of No Child Left Behind legislation in 2002 has certainly been viewed as a landmark statement, at level of federal policy, that problem of young children not learning to read was going to be seriously attacked. Linked to No Child Left Behind were start of Reading First initiative, annual yearly progress reporting requirements for schools, increases in statewide testing for accountability, and recognition that there really is a research base upon which educators can draw to bring evidence-based interventions into schools. The field of school psychology held Future of School Psychology Conference in 2002 (Sheridan, 2004) to establish 21st-century vision of school psychology, a vision that clearly articulated importance of multiple systems and prevention in solving big problems of schools. Other critical policy and legislative decisions occurred, such as reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act in 2004, which incorporated legal justification for using a response to intervention methodology in identification of students with learning disabilities, an effort to identify and intervene in problems long before they reach level of significance that requires special education. Continued efforts at prevention were evident in development of school-wide positive behavioral support (SWPBS; Sugai & Horner, 2002), movement to address mental health needs in schools (Taylor & Adelman, 2004), and widespread adoption of a public health model (i.e., primary-, secondary-, and tertiary-level interventions) directed at educational problems (Hoagwood & Johnson, 2003). Clearly, many large-scale efforts consistent with a prevention focus were evident before turn of century. However, zeitgeist may now finally be right for field of school psychology to fully refocus its efforts toward prevention. In terms of Malcolm Gladwell (2000), we may have suddenly reached the tipping point, where field has made a critical shift in its direction. Throughout articles of this miniseries, readers are shown range and wealth of progress we have made. The commonalities across these articles are evident in four Cs of what matters in sustaining systemic change: context, conceptual model, capacity building, and collaboration. …