Recruitment and Retention Strategies to Diversify School Psychology Graduate Programs: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The shortage of school psychologists is an ongoing concern, particularly as there is a dispro­portionately low number of school psychologists from marginalized groups. Only 14% of school psychologists practicing in schools are identified as racial-ethnic minorities, despite the prediction that non-white students will soon outnumber white students in K-12 education. To explore recruitment and retention efforts overall and for racial-ethnic minorities in school psychology, this study replicated two previous systematic reviews. The researchers identified 24 peer-reviewed studies that were published over the past eight years, through electronic and manual searches. Eleven of those studies focused on recruitment, four on retention, and nine on recruitment and retention strategies simultaneously. Findings showed a growing scholarly interest in this topic and highlighted various recruitment and retention strategies for programs and institutions, such as promoting school psychology as a desirable career option for K-12 students, highlighting diversity on program websites, providing faculty and peer support, forming collaborative partnerships with institutions that serve minoritized students, and involving minoritized individuals in research. The implications for future research and practice are discussed. IMPACT STATEMENTS This systematic review presents an opportunity to examine earlier scholarly endeavors on the recruitment and retention of students from diverse backgrounds for school psychology graduate programs. The study brings together current evidence on recruitment and retention strategies and proposes future avenues for research and practice to diversify the field.