The School Psychology Research Collaboration Conference: Examination of Scholarly Outcomes

Abstract

Although most junior faculty are expected to produce research, studies suggest that mentorship and support for promoting their research careers may be limited. Accordingly, in 2003, the School Psychology Research Collaboration Conference (SPRCC) was developed as an opportunity for early career scholars to establish scholarly networks and collaborate with peers and top researchers in the field of school psychology. The conference was intended to both facilitate important and collaborative research, while also enhancing the productivity among early career participants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of the SPRCC on the research trajectories of 147 participants between 2003 and 2015. The findings indicate that SPRCC has positive research outcomes, especially for participants from institutions with the highest research activity, those with more publications prior to SPRCC, and males. Implications for the field and ideas for future research are discussed.