Professional Needs of Doctoral-Level Students and Early Career Professionals in School Psychology

Abstract

In light of persistent workforce shortages, school psychologists must support the professional growth and well-being of graduate students and early career professionals (ECPs) in their field. This exploratory study examined the self-reported needs, interests, and challenges of doctoral-level ECPs and graduate students in school psychology. Participants were 87 ECP members (n = 55) and student affiliates (SAs; n = 32) of Division 16 of the American Psychological Association (APA D16). A brief online survey assessed their interest in a variety of professional development topics, conference programming formats, and other resources (e.g., webinars and Internet articles). Participants also responded to open-ended items assessing professional challenges as well as organizations accessed outside of APA D16. Whereas ECPs in faculty positions expressed the most interest in research-related professional development, ECPs in practice and SAs expressed the greatest interest in practice-oriented programming. Both ECPs and SAs valued symposia, informal sessions, brief Internet articles, and webinars as forums for professional support. Finally, ECPs and SAs noted challenges related to interpersonal relations in the workplace, diversity and multiculturalism, and pre-doctoral and post-doctoral training. The results of this study suggest that school psychology professional organizations have a significant role in supporting ECPs and SAs with a range of developmental tasks and professional challenges. Moreover, these organizations can support ECPs and graduate students by providing concise and time-efficient conferencing programming (< 3-h trainings) as well as a variety of accessible digital resources (e.g., webinars and Internet articles).