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.     

School psychologists as perceived by school personnel: Support for a consultant model

Questionaires distributed by 12 school psychologists to school personnel with whom they had been consulting for six months were completed and returned by 73 teachers, counselors, and principals. The information provided by the respondents indicated the frequencies with which the school psychologists engaged in consulting and child study activities, the school personnel's evaluations of nine different school psychologist skills, and the preferences of the respondents for the different school psychologist functions in their schools. The data showed that: (1) school psychologists were doing more consulting than evaluations of individual children, (2) school personnel tended to perceive their psychologists as cooperative, knowledgeable, and skillful, though relatively inefficient and undependable, and (3) school personnel preferred consulting activities to psychometric activities. It was concluded that the consultant model had been shown to be operative and that it was more highly valued than the psychometric model by the consumers of psychological services.     

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.     

Elementary school principals assess services of school psychologists nationwide

A one-page questionnaire was sent to 400 elementary school principals nationwide to assess their opinions regarding services of the school psychologist. These elementary school principals indicated that the school psychologist was found to be most helpful when providing the traditional services of psychological testing, personality and emotional assessment, consultation, and screening. Changes in school psychological services desired by the elementary school principals were more time from the school psychologist and an increase in individual and group counseling, preventive mental health, and inservice training. If elementary principal opinion is to be regarded, gross alterations to existing services of the school psychologist are not indicated by the results of this study.     

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.     

Research activities of doctoral school psychologists

A survey was sent to doctoral school psychologists to determine their research productivity and topical interests. Approximately two thirds of 147 respondents indicated doing some research during 1974–1975. Studies dealing with topics of assessment and program evaluation were most prevalent. Only about one in five studies was actually published and most of these were in nonprestigious periodicals. Academic school psychologists were more likely to do research and publish than were applied school psychologists. Academic and applied psychologists did not differ in terms of numbers of unpublished written or oral research reports. The correspondence of these results with prior data on school psychology research was noted and suggestions to increase the circulation of research findings are presented.     

Textbook preferences among trainers of school psychologists

A survey of trainers of school psychologists was conducted in order to determine which texts in each of 16 areas of psychology they felt to be most relevant to the training of school psychologists. Usable responses were obtained from 48 out of 143 training programs. A 69-item bibliography of ranked choices in each area was presented. Possible trends indicated by the trainers' choices were discussed.     

The roles of the secondary school counselor and the secondary school psychologist as perceived by educators of counselors and by educators of school psychologists

This study has indicated that counselor educators and educators of school psychologists are substantially in agreement regarding their perceptions of the roles of guidance counselors and school psychologists in the secondary school. Functions which are perceived as being performed by both counselors and psychologists have been described. These may lead either to collaborative endeavor or role conflict. Basic counselor and school psychologist roles have been presented. The perceived role of the counselor is broad and extensive; the perceived role of the school psychologist appears narrow and intensive.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

The position of school psychologists in negotiations: One viewpoint

Teachers' associations are becoming increasingly militant. They tend not to represent psychologists in negotiations. School psychologists need both representation and to take a position in relation to work stoppages. He has the following options: (a) identify completely with the teachers' association and its methods and goals and refuse to report during work stoppages; (b) identify with management and perform management duties during the stoppage; or (c) negotiate separately with boards of education, but neither take part in the work stoppage nor assume duties beyond his normal role and function. The last appears to be the better alternative provided the psychologist makes his position clear to both labor and management organizations prior to a work stoppage.     

The role of Canadian school psychologists: Perceptions of a sample from the general public

A sample of 77 subjects responded to a questionnaire designed to collect information about their perceptions of the role of school psychologists. The results indicate that overall the respondents had a fairly accurate sense of what a school psychologist does, although they overestimated the importance of psychotherapy as one of the school psychologist's functions. It is recommended that school psychologists more clearly specify their function when dealing with members of the general public.     

Reminding as a basis for temporal judgments

In the normal course of events, some events bring to mind earlier events. This reminding or, in the context of list learning experiments, study-phase retrieval can serve as a basis for the accurate judgment of the relative recencies of the two events in question. In this article, evidence for this position is presented in three experiments. By manipulations of encoding using visual imagery instructions and word associations, appropriate conditions were arranged for reminding to occur. The results of all three studies support the position that reminding provides a direct basis for later judgments of the relative recency of events.     

Training and practice of school psychologists in reading assessment and intervention

A national sample of school psychologists was randomly surveyed to assess (1) training practices in reading assessment and intervention, (2) their involvement with reading-disabled students, (3) the degree of importance they place on knowledge of assessment and remediation of reading problems, and (4) their perceptions of their expertise in these latter areas. The results revealed major discrepancies between preparation and job responsibilities. The respondents indicated (1) that they had received limited training in reading, (2) that 77% of referrals involved reading problems, (3) that they frequently made reading recommendations, but felt they lacked adequate expertise, and (4) that they supported the need for more expertise in reading. The implications for training and practice are discussed.