Certification patterns and requirements for school psychologists

A questionnaire was sent to 50 state superintendents of public instruction and to directors of education in five U.S. territories. Information was requested relevant to state certification for school psychologists, including minimal academic, teaching, and internship requirements. Fifty-five questionnaires were returned. Forty-four states and territories indicated certification standards which were subsequently discussed in detail. Trends noted were: more states requiring certification for school psychologists, higher academic requirements, increasing levels of certification, and a shift away from a mandatory teaching certificate for state certification as a school psychologist.     

Aggressive rejected children: Implications for school psychologists

By a sociometric rating procedure, 32 third-grade and 32 firth-grade boys were classified as peer-rejected. Standardized teacher ratings were completed for all rejected children in order to identify those children who also exhibited clinically significant levels of aggression. A significant portion of the rejected sample at each grade were rated as highly aggressive (t score≥65). Among third graders, however, 69% of the rejected group were classified as aggressive, but only 41% of the fifth graders were similarly classified. The aggressive rejected groups at both grade levels were also rated as exhibiting lower achievement motivation and higher levels of hostile withdrawal than their nonaggressive rejected counterparts. At the fifth-grade level, nonaggressive rejected children were rated as more anxious than aggressive children. Implications for both the identification and treatment of these children are discussed.     

Priority roles for school psychologists as seen by superintendents

A 21-item survey, regarding school psychologist role functions, was completed by 418 Ohio school superintendents. The data indicated support for traditional child study services, inservice work with teachers, and counseling or parents and children.More limited support was found for school psychologists' participation on curricula committees, general services to secondary students or preschool children, and special functions as drug consultants, researchers, and developers of legislation.The priority level assigned by superintendents to particular tasks seemed contingent upon whether there was clear reference to children referred for evaluation or to the prevention of children's problems.Despite some variations, the data was generally consistent with responses of teachers and school psychologists previously reported.     

Role strain among school psychologists in the midwest

Recent studies of job burnout in numerous work settings, as well as studies showing discrepancies between the real and ideal work functions of school psychologists, share the possible interpretation that they involve role conflict as a contributing factor. In 1971, Lyons demonstrated significant relationships between role clarity and job-related tension, propensity to leave, satisfaction and turnover in a sample of nursers. These correlations were particularly strong for nurses high in need for clarity. The present study tested the generality of some of Lyons' findings in a sample of school psychologists. Job-related tension and propensity to leave the job were more highly correlated for those psychologists high in need for clarity than for those who were low. Correlations between other variables were also similar to Lyons' results, including the low relationships of propensity to leave and tension with need for clarity. Neither tension nor propensity to leave were related to organizational size or to respondent characteristics (age, sex, tenure, etc.). The involvement of conflicting expectations and individual variables in creating and responding to role strain are discussed.     

Attitudes of school psychologists toward the role of the secondary school counselor

The responses of school psychologists concerning the secondary school counselor's role differ from those of counselor educators and counselors in many respects and seem to reflect a tendency toward role differentiation. In the actual school situation, the roles of these two groups overlap in some areas. The tendency of school psychologists was to emphasize activities of counselors which did not overlap with theirs and to define the counselor's role in these terms. If school counselors were polled concerning their attitudes toward the role of the school psychologist, it is probably that the same tendency toward role differentiation would be found.

These results point to the possibility that friction between these two groups may stem from difficulties in role perception. To improve communication, the unique contributions of both groups should be stressed. On the other hand, where activities overlap, it should not be assumed that the performance of such activities by one group excludes the other group from making a contribution in similar activities.     

University training of school psychologists and certification standards

We are standing on the edge of a new era in the development of school psychology programs and training. It is expected that if such training is related to high level certification standards, there will be a smoother course for both training programs, state certifying agencies, and those certified. This cannot be left merely to chance, or to the whims of state governing bodies. Universities polled have generally played an important part in setting high standards in the past, although some have merely imitated lower existing state standards. Universities, assisted by the suggested certification standards of Division 16, should be active in presenting their point of view at the local level regarding future standards.     

Stereotype threat and test performance: A primer for school psychologists

Ethical guidelines require school psychologists to ensure that their assessment practices are nondiscriminatory, but typical discussions on this topic neglect the possible discriminatory effects of cultural stereotypes on assessment results. Recent research on stereotype threat shows that students' knowledge of stereotype-based negative expectations about their test performance can depress their actual test performance. This paper discusses the range of conditions that promote stereotype threat and identifies important moderators and mediators of the phenomenon. Several practical suggestions are offered for school psychologists to consider when interviewing students, interpreting assessment results, and developing programs to increase schoolwide achievement.     

Using a computer simulation in the research,training, and evaluation of school psychologists

A computer program, School Psychologist Simulation, is described. The program presents users with information and events such as might be encountered in a real school setting regarding schoolchildren referred to the school psychologist; users can practice the skills needed by a school psychologist in the assessment of the case. The participant then submits a report detailing assessment, recommendations, and reasoning for the case in either essay or multiple-choice format. An additional program permits the instructor to customize the material presented to the user by modifying the case material of a specific child and/or by altering the forms displayed to the user in all cases.     

Conflict and special service teams: Perspectives and suggestions for school psychologists

Perspectives on the notion of conflict in relation to the functioning of special service teams in public schools are delineated, and suggestions for school psychologists in the area of team conflict management are discussed. Conflict is seen as including both intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions. Thus, both aspects need to be seen separately and in relation to one another in order to understand conflict situations that affect team functioning. In this regard, intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict can be viewed from social psychological, cognitive-behavioral, organizational, and family systems perspectives. Consideration of these perspectives provides a framework that enables the school psychologist to understant how conflict can be manifested in teams, as well as within the individual team member, and appreciate how diverse factors have the potential to create conflict within teams.     

A comparison of the personal values and operative goals of school psychologists and school superintendents

A survey of 96 school psychologists and 75 school superintendents throughout the state of Ohio showed the two groups to have generally similar personal value systems and to be in overall agreement in their respective rankings of school psychology goals. Both groups held the traditional school psychologist's goal of conducting individual testing to be lower relevance than acting as an internal consultant or resource person. Of those differences identified, superintendents assigned greater relevance to values which were consistent with their administrative concerns, while psychologists held values preferring individualism as more relevant. Superintendents held goals associated with increased learning efficiency and interacting with community agencies as more relevant, while psychologists assigned higher relevance to goals associated with parent-psychologist interactions.     

Preparing psychologists for evidence-based school practice: lessons learned and challenges ahead

The evidence-based practice (EBP) movement has the potential to significantly advance the quality of psychological and educational services provided by psychologists working in schools. Training psychologists in EBP has challenged the profession and caused faculty in graduate programs to reevaluate and retool professional training curricula and instructional practices. Four domains of challenges in graduate training are identified: (a) integrating the EBP knowledge base into the curriculum, (b) expanding models of research training, (c) expanding training in prevention science, and (d) expanding training in problem-solving consultation and school contextual issues. For each of these, the author discusses the range and scope of the challenge and possible solutions for advancing graduate training in psychology relevant to school practice.     

Self-reported assessment practices of school psychologists: Implications for training and practice

This study reports the results of an investigation of the assessment views and practices of school psychologists in the United States. Results of the investigation indicated that respondents are predominantly behavioral and cognitive behavioral in orientation; spend most of their professional time in the public schools; and engage in a great deal of assessment. Behavioral assessment and projective testing occupies the greatest amount of their social-emotional assessment time. Behavioral interviewing is the most used behavioral technique, followed by behavioral observation, which is reportedly used by approximately one third of the respondents with from 41% to 100% of clients. Although most of the respondents report a preference for continuing to do approximately the same amount of the various social-emotional assessment activities as they are presently doing, very high percentages of respondents indicate that their use of behavioral assessment strategies would increase with development of published instrumentation, normative standards, and standardized out-of-setting behavioral procedures.     

Models for school psychology: Dimensions,barriers, and implications

This article argues that the development of school psychology may be seriously retarded unless a program is developed to overcome several hurdles. It is proposed that the several models of school psychology offer the potential but no guarantee that the profession will develop in an appropriate fashion.