School Psychological Services Research Articles

Paper 8: Delivering psychological services in schools to maximise emotional wellbeing and early intervention

Paper 8: Delivering psychological services in schools to maximise emotional wellbeing and early intervention

What Can We Do for Children as School Psychology Services?

What Can We Do for Children as School Psychology Services?

Parenting experiences of living with a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review of qualitative evidence protocol

Parenting experiences of living with a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review of qualitative evidence protocol

Chinese teachers’ perceptions of the roles and functions of school psychological service providers in Beijing

This study used a semi-structured interview with 94 teachers from 92 elementary and secondary schools in Beijing, China, to explore their perceptions of the roles, training, and challenges of school psychological service providers (SPs) as well as teachers’ satisfaction with the services provided by SPs. Results indicated that the SP to student ratio was 1:1360. Only 32 (34.8%) schools had SPs who were certified as mental health counselors or who had degrees in psychology, and 18 (19.6%) schools did not have SPs. Based on teacher report, SPs’ roles mainly focused on services for students (teaching mental health classes, counseling, consultation), with a strong emphasis on prevention and early intervention. About half of the teachers were satisfied with SPs’ work, but others had no contact with SPs or were dissatisfied with their work partially due to SPs’ lack of training and skills. The results suggest a severe shortage of training for SPs in Beijing, China. Other challenges for SPs include low status, lack of training and skills, and work-related stress. The results provide valuable information about school psychology practice in Beijing, China, and important implications for both research and policy making in school psychology in China and other Asian countries.

Bilingual School Psychology: Challenges and Opportunities

National demographics clearly demonstrate that children from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds are on the rise. Many regions in the United States are experiencing unprecedented growth in English language learner (ELL) populations without adequately trained personnel to serve this unique population. Unfortunately, the demographic makeup of school psychologists has not kept up. There is a documented shortage of bilingual school psychologists. This shortage has created a gap in service delivery for children and families that are not native English speakers. With the increased demand in bilingual school psychology service delivery, challenges in training standards, recruitment, definitions in bilingualism, and certification/licensing have become evident. Although scholarship and research are limited, this article reviews the literature on bilingual school psychology, implications for practice, and highlights the challenges and opportunities in solidifying this unique specialty.

The Preparation of School Psychologists and Specialists in Educational Psychology in Sweden

School psychologists have a new and stronger position in Sweden's educational system than earlier. For example, as of July 2011, all Swedish students ages 6 through 18 have guaranteed access to school psychology services. The school psychologists' roles are to be active participants and coworkers in the student health service team, working to promote student health in the learning environment. The preparation of school psychologists, licensing, and specialists training in educational psychology are described. Sweden's school psychological services need further expansion at the undergraduate (first cycle) and master's (second cycle) level university courses as well as improved possibilities for professional development and training.

Preparation of School Psychologists in the United States

School psychology in the United States continues to evolve in response to shifts in the country's demographic characteristics, an increasing focus on the importance of child mental health, together with health and education reforms. The landscape of school psychological services in the United States also is shaped through the changing roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments in education. General trends and future directions within the field along with a snapshot of an existing U.S. school psychology program provide further insight into the specialty. Multicultural and international emphases as well as program strengths and weaknesses are discussed.

The Preparation of School Psychologists in Greece

The paper describes the preparation of school psychologists in Greece. It discusses the social and cultural contexts that have influenced the evolution of the discipline of psychology, the beginning of training programs in school psychology, and the current status of school psychological services. The structure of the Graduate Program of School Psychology at the University of Athens, one of the two Greek professional training programs in school psychology, then is featured. The international profile of the faculty and the multicultural orientation of many of its academic and professional activities are described. In addition, the paper also underlines the significance of the involvement of students in prevention and intervention programs as well as in teacher training seminars and conferences. Finally, challenges for this program and for the academic and professional preparation of school psychologists in Greece are discussed.

What Do Schools Need? School Professionals' Perceptions of School Psychology

Indirect work of school psychologists has not actualized itself widely in everyday practices. To understand this contradiction, the working environment of school psychologists, that is, the school, is worthy of closer examination. In the present study, we wanted to find out which factors affect school professionals' perceptions of school psychologists' functions. School professionals (teachers, principals, school nurses, and physicians) in 67 regular education schools in Finland filled in a questionnaire. To examine how the various characteristics of schools and school professionals predict differences in perceptions, we used multilevel regression modeling. School professionals consider almost every function of school psychologists rather important—school-level work least so. The perceptions of various professional groups, especially principals, special education teachers, school nurses, and classroom teachers, differed from each other. In addition, the amount of personal cooperation with the school psychologist was positively related with the perceptions of the importance of assessment, consultative, and school-level functions. The school-level findings revealed that the general amount of school psychological service in the school received was negatively related to the perceived importance of therapy function. The extent to which psychologists and school administration are advocates for indirect functions of school psychologist is one potential topic for further research.

Role of the School Psychologist in the Inclusion Education from the Teachers’ Point of View: A Case Study

The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of the school psychologist in the inclusion education from the teachers’ point of view. We use a qualitative methodology by the analysis of 50 questionnaires addressed to the teachers of different elementary and secondary schools in the region of Elbasan (Albania). The school psychological services in Albania have become an essential need of the society supported by a legal framework, which supports the entire restructuring process. Despite this, problems of education in schools have faced difficulties because social phenomena such as: inclusion, bullying and drugs that today are diverse. Even the students with special needs are facing a lot of problems related mainly to their acceptance by the other students in the mainstream classes. In Albania the inclusion in education is still in its first steps although we have a good legal framework. Actually there is not an appropriate infrastructure for the special need students and even the reconstructions or the constructions of the new schools are bypassing this special infrastructure. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n2p304

Implementation science and school psychology.

The APA Division 16 Working Group on Translating Science to Practice contends that implementation science is essential to the process of translating evidence-based interventions (EBIs) into the unique context of the schools, and that increasing attention to implementation will lead to the improvement of school psychological services and school learning environments. Key elements of implementation and implementation science are described. Four critical issues for implementation science in school psychology are presented: barriers to implementation, improving intervention fidelity and identifying core intervention components, implementation with diverse client populations, and implementation in diverse settings. What is known and what researchers need to investigate for each set of issues is addressed. A discussion of implementation science methods and measures is included. Finally, implications for research, training and practice are presented.

Children’s Rights, School Psychology, and Well-Being Assessments

This paper addresses interrelationships among the notions of children’s rights, school psychological services, and child well-being assessments. Increasing attention has been paid in recent years to the notions of children’s rights, as best expressed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In the current paper, we discuss the relevance of the emerging conceptions of children’s rights to the school context. We argue that given the centrality of schooling to children’s lives, school psychologists, who are serving in the role of child advocates, are in a unique position to contribute to integrating the children’s rights movement and educational progress. Situated within the context of the CRC and the practice of school psychology, we further discuss how advances in child well-being assessment can inform the implementation and evaluation of CRC principles and related policies. We propose that the use of evidence-based, developmentally appropriate objective and subjective measures of well-being should contribute a key component to meaningful assessments of the status of children’s rights and well-being.

Evaluating school-based psychological and counselling services in Macao using a qualitative approach

The purpose of this study was to explore the status of psychological services in schools in Macao, and the role of school counsellors providing these services. At present, school psychology is not a recognized profession within the territory and school counsellors appointed by the Direcção dos Serviços de Educação e Juventude (DSEJ) through their designated agencies provide the only psychological services to children and families. Adopting a qualitative approach, the researchers collected the viewpoints from three teachers and seven school counsellors regarding the central question: ‘How do school counsellors “serve” the Macao school children and their families, and what are the most common services required?’. An interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed three themes: (a) School counselling services; (b) psycho-education and mental health services; and (c) perceived needs. Also discussed were recommendations for the development of the field, including the provision of additional school-based child and family interventions in Macao.

Providing psychological services and counselling in Pacific Rim countries: Where is school psychology in Asia?

School psychology services and the functions of school psychologists providing assessment, consultation, and intervention for children and their families are still greatly underdeveloped in the Pacific Rim countries, particularly those with a Chinese heritage culture. For the most part, school psychology services are provided by educational psychologists, school counsellors, and/or teacher-counsellors with varying levels of training and expertise, while the development of school psychology as a profession has been slow in coming. Nonetheless, Asian countries are gradually accepting the notion that children should be in school and there are efforts to provide psychological services within schools to prevent and solve mental health problems unique to these countries. With an obvious need for systematic mental health services, particularly for children and youth and their families, there is also a critical need to develop programmes that would lead to graduate level training in school psychology while simultaneously acknowledging the diversity of these Asian cultures in the Pacific Rim countries. Given the large populations of these countries, it is essential that we work to develop school psychology programmes in the very near future. If the Asian countries were to develop to their fullest potential, school psychologists would be needed as a critical component in all school systems.

Understanding the development of school psychology services in the Republic of Taiwan

School psychology is one of the most important fields within applied psychology, which is closely related to education and as a developing specialty it is important to be considered. Taiwan is an important Western ally and is highly developed in many ways. Taiwan is influenced by both Western and Eastern cultures, and this has inevitably impacted the development of psychology, including school psychology. Due to its complicated relations with Mainland China, most studies on school psychology in China do not include information in Taiwan. In addition, worldwide international studies of school psychology also often neglect Taiwan as a country. In other words, most reviews have not offered a systematic investigation of school psychology in Taiwan. The purpose of this article is to review the development of school psychology in Taiwan. The history and background of school psychology is discussed; the current status and developmental stages of school psychology are presented; the preparation of school psychologists, including the roles, functions, and responsibilities of school psychologists are discussed; and current issues impacting school psychology are examined. Overall, this article provides a means to briefly introduce and evaluate school psychology services in Taiwan.

Understanding the development of school psychology in Mainland China

School psychology is an important area within psychology, which has a short developmental history in Mainland China. Nonetheless, along with economic advances and social changes in Mainland China, school psychology is developing and becoming more important. Currently, people need to work harder and longer. This places many under pressure that may cause all kinds of mental difficulties and disorders. School psychological services can work with learners and their families for the healthy development of children and adolescents, and is also the fundamental route to prevent and solve mental-health problems in Mainland China. This article explains the significance and the important effects of school psychology in Mainland China, and provides a general account of the developmental history and the status quo of school psychology. It also compares mental health services in Mainland China with those in other countries. The objective of this article is to present an overall description of school psychology, understand new trends, and discuss the need for the future development of school psychology in Mainland China. This article completed a comparative analysis with the USA and considered current practices in Mainland China.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The call for school psychologists to demonstrate accountability in the evaluation of services at the individual, group, and system levels comes at a time when school districts nationally are pursuing personnel evaluation models that link teachers’ instructional practices to student achievement. School psychologists have an opportunity to take a leadership role in determining how the impact of their service delivery will be evaluated. The purpose of this article is to: (a) describe the legislative context and historical trends for professional accountability for school psychologists; (b) provide four key principles to consider in designing an accountability system for school psychologists; (c) outline the advantages, disadvantages, and recommended guidelines for using case studies (i.e., single‐case designs) and rubric‐based approaches for evaluating school psychological services; (d) illustrate how case studies are used to demonstrate accountability in a state‐wide school psychology internship program; and (e) discuss the implications for the graduate preparation of school psychologists.

Does it work in Finland? School psychological services within a successful system of basic education

The Finnish educational system has become a subject of wide interest during the 2000s due to the country’s success in the OECD’s PISA surveys. One might expect that the challenges of school psychology would also have been solved successfully. However, in reality, Finnish school psychology is suffering from the same types of problems as in many other countries: No large-scale shift from reactive work to active promotion and prevention has taken place, and the number of school psychologists is insufficient. In the present article we delineate critical factors that have hindered the more adequate and effective use of psychological expertise in Finnish educational system. Necessary actions for future development are outlined.

Mental Health Services Use Predicted by Number of Mental Health Problems and Gender in a Total Population Study

We examined the relationship between service use and the number of problem areas as reported by parents and teachers on questionnaires among children aged 7–9 years old in the Bergen Child Study, a total population study including more than 9000 children. A problem area was counted as present if the child scored above the 95th percentile on parent and/or teacher questionnaire. A total number of 13 problem areas were included. Odd ratios (ORs) for contact with child and adolescent mental health services (CAMH), school psychology services (SPS), health visiting nurse/physician, and school support were calculated with gender as covariate. The number of symptom areas was highly predictive of service use, showing a dose-response relationship for all services. Children scoring on ≥4 problem areas had a more than hundredfold risk of being in contact with CAMH services compared to children without problems. The mean number of problem areas for children in CAMH and SPS was 6.1 and 4.4 respectively, strongly supporting the ESSENCE model predicting multisymptomatology in children in specialized services. Even after controlling for number of problem areas, boys were twice as likely as girls to be in contact with CAMH, replicating previous findings of female gender being a strong barrier to mental health services.

Leveraging Strengths Assessment and Intervention Model (LeStAIM): A Theoretical Strength-Based Assessment Framework

Current assessments in the schools are based on a deficit model (Epstein, 1998). The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Model for Comprehensive and Integrated School Psychological Services (2010), federal initiatives and mandates, and experts in the field of assessment have highlighted the need for the comprehensive assessment of students in order to understand students’ pattern of strengths and weaknesses, explain areas of deficit, and derive scientifically based interventions to increase students’ positive development and outcomes (Hale et al., 2010; Reynolds, 2008; U. S. Department of Education, 1994; 2006). These developments call for a paradigm shift from a deficit perspective to a strength-based assessment and intervention focus. The leveraging strengths assessment and intervention model (LeStAIM), described in this article, is a comprehensive theoretical strength-based assessment framework consistent with NASP’s model for practice in school psychology, federal initiatives and mandates, and experts recommendations for best practices in assessment. This theoretical strength-based assessment model makes use of ecological theory, neurodevelopmental constructs, dynamic assessment, positive psychology, and resiliency theory to understand cognitive processes, learning, and social emotional functioning. Leveraging strengths to address weaknesses is emphasized to promote positive student development using individual and multi-systemic based interventions.