Professional School Psychology Research Articles

Introduction to Special Issue: How Research Reform in Psychology Can Influence Professional School Psychology

This special issue features essays by prominent scholars in school psychology discussing how shifts in research can reshape the future training and practice of the field. A profession that evolves and adapts indicates a robust and dynamic discipline. However, staying current with these changes poses a significant challenge. Given the pivotal role of evidence-based practices in school psychology, the type and quality of research directly influence how psychological services are delivered and practiced. Reforming research practices in psychology can serve as a catalyst for enhancing our field. This issue presents a variety of viewpoints on how research and clinical practice intersect in a rapidly changing landscape.

School psychology: Increasing awareness, enhancing policies, and reducing shortages

AbstractThis exploratory mixed methods study investigates the school psychology workforce shortage phenomenon and underlying contributing factors. The development of an Education Specialist school psychology program in the middle of the COVID‐19 pandemic prompted the authors to explore variables impacting awareness of the school psychology profession. State policies were reviewed to identify how many states have adopted the nationally recommended 1:500 ratio for school psychologists. Additionally, undergraduate and postbaccalaureate student knowledge of the work of school‐based mental health professionals, specifically school psychologists, was surveyed. Finally, the authors explore the need for new action frameworks to achieve this awareness and to promote workforce policy development. Based on findings, three key points for practitioners are the need to promote the adoption of policies that align with the 1:500 recommended ratio for school psychologists, increase awareness of the profession with preservice and in‐service educators, and create coordinated training pathways and career opportunities for individuals to become school psychologists.

Where Is Counseling in School Psychology Literature? A Review of Six Prominent School Psychology Journals.

School psychology professionals rely on professional literature to access information on scientifically supported practices. Counseling is certainly one of those practices. The purpose of this review was to determine how many articles published in prominent peer-reviewed school psychology journals have addressed providing effective counseling services to children and youth. We wanted to determine the types of counseling approaches that were described in those articles and which approaches garnered the most attention. Findings revealed that there were relatively few articles about counseling in prominent school psychology journals. Interestingly, most studies employed quantitative rather than qualitative designs and analyses. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) was the approach that was implemented the most in empirical studies across the school psychology journals. Empirical studies mainly included elementary and middle school students from diverse racial and ethnic groups who were receiving counseling services in a small group (tier 2) format. Implications for the profession of school psychology are provided.

Perspectives of practicing school psychologists during COVID-19: A multi-country, mixed methods investigation.

COVID-19 presented a range of challenges to the delivery of school psychology services in countries around the world. The current study aimed to investigate the practices of school psychologists from the United States of America, Australia, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, including changes to practice and exploration of the factors that supported the delivery of school psychology services during the pandemic. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 1,030 school psychologists and analyzed using a mixed methods, multiple case study design. Differing impacts of the pandemic on the working hours of school psychologists were reported across countries. Participants in all countries reported a shift to online working, with an increased focus on consultation and intervention and a reduction in psychoeducational assessments. School psychologists from all nations emphazised the importance of self-care strategies, social connections and physical activity and the role of support via supervision or professional networks. Access to appropriate technology and responsive workplace policies and procedures were also identified as important. Results have implications for the internationalization of the school psychology profession and can inform international school psychology planning in response to future crises.

Toward Equity in School-Based Assessment: Incorporating Collaborative/Therapeutic Techniques to Redistribute Power

Psychoeducational assessment has been used as a tool to sort children into academic tracks based on children’s presumed capabilities. Historically, such tracking was based on measures that sought to legitimize racist assumptions about the capabilities of children of color. Despite legal mandates and changes to practice intended to correct these injustices, children of color continue to be disproportionately sorted into less rigorous academic tracks largely based on assessment results. This article draws from the collaborative/therapeutic assessment model to propose how these techniques can increase equity and fairness in school-based assessments through shared power in the assessment relationship. We assert that a collaborative/therapeutic approach can contribute to children’s and families’ positive experience of assessment, and we encourage further research on these techniques to determine how they may contribute to more equitable school outcomes. We conclude with a rationale for how these techniques advance the goals of school psychology. Impact Statement This paper significantly contributes to correcting the pervasive problems that exist in how school psychologists conduct psychoeducational assessments, particularly with children and families of color. Considering that the school psychology profession is overwhelmingly White, and that racial disproportionality in special education referrals and placements is an entrenched injustice in the field, there is an urgent need for the inclusion of new techniques to more fairly assess and serve children and families of color. The collaborative/therapeutic assessment techniques described here offer concrete ways for school psychologists to work toward the ideals put forth in NASP’s School Psychology Unified Antiracism Statement and Call to Action. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2021.1997060 .

Implementing Evidence-Based Practices in School Psychology: Excavation by De-Implementing the Disproved

The scientist-practitioner model of practice is the most common approach to the profession of school psychology and embraces evidence-based practices as foundations of clinical practice. The focus on evidence-based practices involves not only using the preponderance of research to determine what works, but also how to implement these practices effectively. An important impediment to implementing innovative evidence-based practices is that interventions and practices that have been proved ineffective or of low value continue to be used in education and psychology. What are the issues that assist in discontinuing practices that are widely used, but have been disproved or are otherwise problematic? How can room be made for more effective, innovative, and evidence-based practices? This issue of the Canadian Journal of School Psychology is devoted to exploration of different forms of disproved, low value, or problematic practices, factors that keep these practices alive in schools, and how to best de-implement ineffective, low value, and problematic practices. If the scientist-practitioner model is to be defined largely by the implementation of evidence-based practices, then de-implementation will be a critical aspect in the evolution of the profession of school psychology.

Contributing to an Evidence-Based Practice in Canadian School Psychology

The Canadian Journal of School Psychology has established itself as one of the leading scholarly journals in the profession of school psychology. In addition to promoting a Canada-wide version of professional school psychology, CJSP will continue to be an international leader for innovation and contributions to creating an evidence-based profession. CJSP will continue to publish the highest quality research and scholarship that contributes to the practice of school psychology, supports professionals working in schools and clinics, and presents new approaches to support the mental health, learning, and development of children and adolescents. The accomplishments and contents from 2020 are reviewed and a roadmap is described for the future of CJSP.

How the history of American Psychological Association Division 16 can shape the future of school psychology: Demonstrating organizational transformation.

Over the past 75 years, the history of Division 16 (School Psychology) has been integral to the science and practice of school psychology. As a constituent body of the American Psychological Association (APA), the division has advocated for role definitions and professional boundaries within APA and has represented the specialty of school psychology within the larger community of psychology. Since the convening of school psychology's Thayer Conference in 1955, the division has remained steadfastly committed to promoting the well-being of children. Toward this end, Division 16 has negotiated entry level debates between APA and the broad specialty of school psychology, sustained partnerships within and among APA and other organizations representing school mental health, elevated the place of technology in the profession of school psychology, and promoted the central importance of cultural competence and diversity within the discipline. The past contributions of Division 16 shape the future of the profession and the division in ways that are consistent with and add to Conoley, Power, and Gutkin's (2020) recommendations for strengthening school psychology's contributions to psychological health promotion and risk reduction in schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Preparation of School Psychologists to Support Black Students Exposed to Police Violence: Insight and Guidance for Critical Training Areas

The extrajudicial killing of Black people, particularly unarmed Black boys and men, at the hands of police is one of the most pressing social and racial justice issues in the USA. The awareness of, and indirect exposure to, police killings of Black people has a detrimental impact on the academic achievement, school attendance, mental health, and social development of Black children and youth. Despite this, there has been silence from the school psychology profession regarding police violence against Black people and ways to provide school-based support to Black children and youth who are exposed to such violence. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore school psychology students’ and school psychologists’ knowledge about police violence against Black people, their experiences with graduate education preparation for providing professional support to Black students who are exposed to police violence against Black people, and their perceptions of training areas in which school psychology programs could improve. Findings indicated that participants gained knowledge about police violence against Black people from multiple sources, including personal and professional experiences; few discussed police violence or Black Lives Matter specifically in their programs; none had specific training to support Black students exposed to police violence against Black people; and most recommended programs improve multicultural training.

Religion and Spirituality as Diversity Topics in School Psychology Publications: A Content Analysis of School Psychology Journals

Religion and spirituality are identified as important aspects of adults’ and adolescents’ lives in the USA. Though research can strengthen school psychologists’ capacity to effectively serve religiously and spiritually diverse clients/students, limited scholarship relative to these areas of human diversity has been published in the professional school psychology literature. The purpose of this study was to review articles published in nine major school psychology journals from 2003 to 2018 to determine the extent to which the journals included diversity content related to religion and spirituality. We employed a content analysis, where six researchers used a systematic coding process to analyze the data descriptively. Of the 4534 articles we reviewed, only 17 (0.4%) articles addressed religion and spirituality. Most articles were empirical studies and included a general review of cultural issues or implications for assessment and/or intervention implementation. Implications for the field of school psychology are provided.

Concentrations in School Psychology: Can Specialization Empower the Evolution of the Profession?

How can school psychologists effectively address and respond to the myriad needs of students in our nation’s schools? As these needs are ever-growing and diversifying, should the profession of school psychology consider mirroring this diversification through the promotion of specialized skill sets? Such efforts would echo the development of related disciplines of education, medicine, and psychology, disciplines that have long recognized the need for the division of skills and services in specified areas to meet the developing needs of their profession. We present and discuss questions related to specializations in school psychology under a broad subject of the potential for additional concentrated skill-based training to better impact service delivery and student outcomes. In exploring these questions, consideration is given to the ever-increasing needs of the schools coupled with the goal of school psychology: to empower school psychologists to promote the learning, behavior, and mental health of all children and youth. With very preliminary data in mind, the following areas are presented, with no particular order or emphasis, as potential topics and areas from which to build communities of discussion and exploration: bilingual–multilingual, behavior analytic, autism, and counseling, with introduction to other areas such as research, preschool/early childhood, neuropsychology, and leadership. Implications and recommendations for future directions are also discussed.

The impact of video exposure on students entering school psychology

AbstractSchool psychology is experiencing a shortages crisis. Within this two‐part study, the Social Cognitive Career Theory was used to examine the impact of video interventions on students' choice and application to school psychology programs. A sub‐sample of participants were followed across 4 years. Findings suggest that, when measured immediately before and after, a short video intervention had a significant impact on participants' perceived knowledge and intentions to apply to a school psychology training program. However, when measured across several years, the video was not found to have a significant impact on actual application to a school psychology training program. Nevertheless, exposure to school psychology from multiple sources was still found to be the best predictor of actually applying to a school psychology program. Study results highlight the importance of concerted efforts throughout the career development pipeline to expose students to the profession of school psychology.

Registered Reports, Replication, and the Canadian Journal of School Psychology: Improving the Evidence in Evidence-Based School Psychology

The Canadian Journal of School Psychology (CJSP) is offering scholars the opportunity to register research reports and make research protocols publicly available to promote replication, transparency, credibility, and utility for clinical practice. The purpose of this article is to outline the challenges regarding replication, reproducibility, and evidence-based practices, as well as describe the submission protocol and criteria for acceptance of registered reports. Advances and criticisms of the registered reports model are discussed. Although CJSP will accept submissions through the traditional peer-review model, registered reports and support of replication studies have the objective of promoting high-quality research to improve the research foundation for evidence-based practices in the profession of school psychology.

Исследование потребностей в консультативной помощи педагога-психолога у учителей и родителей

The present study was aimed at the investigation of teachers’ and parents’ needs in consultation with a school psychologist. Participants were 159 teachers and 292 parents from three cities in Russia. Two surveys were designed to measure teachers’ and parents’ desire to receive psychological consultation regarding behavioral, emotional, learning and interpersonal problems of students; teaching methods and relationships with colleagues (for teachers); and child-parent relationships. In addition, the participants were asked to indicate whether they received a consultation from a school psychologist in the past and their satisfaction from the consultation. The results indicated that, in general, both teachers and parents are satisfied with the consultation; however, fewer parents received such a consultation compared to teachers. Both teachers and parents are more willing to receive consultation regarding children’s behavioral and emotional problems and relationships with peers. Teachers are less motivated to receive consultation about teaching methods, students’ learning problems, and teachers’ relationships with colleagues. Parents were less interested to receive consultation about child-parent relationships. The results of this study are interpreted in terms of their alignment with standards, which regulate the school psychology profession and training.

Culturally Responsive School Psychology Practice: a Study of Practitioners’ Self-Reported Skills

The American Psychological Association (APA) recognizes cultural competence as a defining feature of psychological practice, education, training, and research (Sue et al. American Psychologist, 49, 792–796, 1999). The purpose of this study was to investigate the self-appraised cultural competence of school psychology practitioners using the Multicultural School Psychology Counseling Competency Scale (MSPCCS; Rogers & Ponterotto Psychology in the Schools, 34(3), 211–217, 1997) as well as to investigate the convergent validity of the scale with the Cross-Cultural Counseling Inventory-Revised (CCCI-R; LaFromboise et al. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 22(5), 380–388, 1991). Social desirability was also investigated to determine if there was a statistically significant correlation with self-report ratings of multicultural competence. A total of 161 participants were part of the sample that was recruited from 11 state professional school psychology associations across the USA. The results revealed that the MSPCCS demonstrates convergent validity with the CCCI-R and that on average school psychology practitioners report moderately high levels of multicultural competence. There was not a statistically significant positive correlation between total scores and social desirability, suggesting respondents gave fair estimates of their self-reported multicultural competence. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Science, Politics, and Best Practice: 35 Years After Larry P.

A little over 35 years have passed since the original Larry P. decision was handed down in 1979 by Robert Peckham, a federal judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The “Larry P. case” is a shorthand moniker that refers to a class action lawsuit, supported by the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists, on behalf of African-American students who are overrepresented in (what were called at that time) Educable Mentally Retarded (EMR) classes in the San Francisco School District. Judge Peckham ruled that standardized individually administered IQ tests used to classify African-American students into EMR programs are culturally biased and banned their use for the placement of African-American students in EMR programs in the state of California. Since this ruling, additional court rulings—as well as intervention by the California Department of Education—have resulted in the complete ban of IQ test administration to African-American students for any special education purpose in California public schools— which continues to the present. California is currently the only state in America in which school psychologists are prohibited from assessing African-American students with IQ tests. This paper reviews key events in the history of this important case and its aftermath and pays particular attention to highlighting the role of the California Association of School Psychologists (CASP) in these events. The article ends with key lessons learned that could be helpful to state school psychology organizations, specifically, and the school psychology profession, generally.

From Research to Practice: The Process of Training School Psychologists as Knowledge Transfer Professionals

School psychologists, as scientist-practitioners, work to bring empirically-based approaches to educational settings. Knowledge Transfer (KT), the meaningful translation of research into practical settings, is vital to the profession and encompasses a central role in all areas of clinical competency. Although an integral part of practitioner education, few have explored the process of KT training in detail. This paper reviews the application of KT to the training of and learning process for a class of 8 graduate students in School Psychology at the University of Manitoba in Canada. Students met with classroom teachers to identify training and/or knowledge gaps for handling classroom challenges. Collaboratively, graduate students narrowed down areas of focus and developed a quick reference manual to address these gaps by promoting knowledge about mental health, providing effective and practical classroom strategies, and equipping educators with additional resources for working with children of special populations. The training process involved a needs assessment with teachers, a synthesis of results to identify the most prevalent challenges encountered by new educators, an iterative process of editing and revising multiple drafts to create a refined product, the delivery of a preliminary product to teachers, gathering feedback about the usefulness and value of the product, and the creation of a final product designed to meet identified knowledge needs. KT is integral to the profession of School Psychology and warrants further exploration for both training and practical applications.

Advances in children’s rights and children’s well-being measurement: Implications for school psychologists.

Recent years have brought important changes to the profession of school psychology, influenced by larger social, scientific, and political trends. These trends include the emergence of children's rights agenda and advances in children's well-being measurement. During these years, a growing public attention and commitment to the notion of children's rights has developed, which is best expressed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention outlines the conditions necessary to ensure and promote children's well-being and calls for the ongoing monitoring of children's well-being for accountability purposes. We articulate advances in children's rights and children's well-being measurement in the context of children's schooling experiences in general and for school psychology in particular. We highlight implications for the assessment roles of school psychologists, who occupy a unique position at the intersection of multiple subsystems of children's overall ecosystems. We argue that the synergy between a rights-based agenda and advances in children's well-being assessment methodology can provide valuable opportunities for school psychology. This synergy can help school communities establish perspective and goals for children's well-being in rights respecting ways, using the most promising well-being assessment strategies.

Children's rights and school psychology: Children's right to participation

The Convention on the Rights of the Child detailed an international imperative to fulfilling, protecting, and respecting the rights of every child. In particular, the Convention set out a clear mandate for guaranteeing opportunities for children to be heard on all matters of concern to them. The attainment of these goals involves respecting and valuing children as active participants in the educational process. If fully implemented, the right of children to express views and have them taken seriously, throughout the school environment, would represent one of the most profound transformations in moving towards a culture of respect for children's rights, for their dignity and citizenship, and for their capacities to contribute significantly towards their own well-being. These values and principles are consistent with those of the school psychology profession, thus, school psychologists are encouraged to be at the Center of the process advocating and actualizing the Convention in schools throughout the world.

EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION: SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS’ CHANGING PRACTICES IN DETERMINING SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES

The profession of school psychology has been impacted by the response to intervention (RTI) model in various ways. RTI data are being used to make decisions regarding academic and behavioral interventions and to make eligibility determinations in comprehensive evaluations conducted by multidisciplinary teams. A survey of almost 400 school psychologist practitioners reveals a changing landscape in terms of school psychologists’ methods of determining eligibility for specific learning disabilities (SLD) in RTI site and non‐RTI site schools. The survey also brings to light differences between numbers of initial evaluations and levels of challenge and job satisfaction. Implications of these changes and future directions for research are discussed.