School psychologists often report that they would like to reduce their involvement in assessment activities in favour of an increase in other service delivery roles. Surveys of teachers and administrators reveal that they do not want a reduction in assessment services. Rather, they want more school psychology services of all kinds. In this study, 522 school staff from a suburban southwestern school district in the USA were surveyed regarding the importance of nine school psychology services. School staff gave ‘very important’ ratings to six services: assessment, special education input, consultation, counselling, crisis intervention and behaviour management. School-community liaison and parent education roles were rated as ‘fairly important’ and staff development was considered to be ‘somewhat important.’ School staff also wanted a school psychologist to be available on a daily basis at their schools. These results are discussed in terms of the ‘paradox of school psychology’ and the skills required of school psychologists who wish to deliver diverse school psychological services.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abel, R. R. and Burke, J. P. (1985) ‘Perceptions of School Psychology Services from a Staff Perspective’, Journal of School Psychology23: 121–131.
2.
Anserello, C. and Sweet, T. (1990) In E. Cole and J. A. Siegel (eds), Effective Consultation in School Psychology(pp. 173–199) Toronto: Hogrefe and Huber.
3.
Anthun, R. (1999) ‘Quality and Improvement Potential in School Psychology Services’, School Psychology International, 20: 163–175.
4.
Bardon, J. I. (1983) ‘Psychology Applied to Education: A Specialty in Search of an Identity’, American Psychologist38: 185–196.
5.
Bardon, J. I. (1994)’ Will the Real School Psychologist Please Stand Up: Is the Past a Prologue for the Future of School Psychology?’, School Psychology Review23: 584–588.
6.
Beauchamp, K. D. (1994) ‘Early Childhood Special Educators’ Perceptions of School Psychologists’ Roles in Their Programs’, Psychological Reports75: 307–313.
7.
Brady, H. V. (1985) ‘A Case Study Method of Assessing Consumer Satisfaction with School Psychology Services’, School Psychology Review14: 216–221.
8.
Brown, M. B. , Swigart, M. L., Bolen, L. M., Hall, C. W. and Webster, R. T. (1998) ‘Doctoral and Nondoctoral Practicing School Psychologists: Are There Differences?’, Psychology in the Schools35: 347–354.
9.
Carey, K. T. (1995a,) ‘A National Study of the Role and Function of the School Psychologist’, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of School Psychologists, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
10.
Carey, K. T. (1995b) ‘Consultation in the Real World’, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation6: 397–400.
11.
Cheramie, G. M. and Sutter, E. G. (1993) ‘Role Expansion in School Psychology: The Need for Primary and Secondary Prevention Services’, Psychology in the Schools30: 53–59.
12.
Cunningham, J. and Oakland, T. (1998) ‘International School Psychology Association Guidelines for the Preparation of School Psychologists’, School Psychology International19: 19–30
13.
Dean, R. S. (1980) ‘A Comparison of Preservice and Experienced Teachers’ Perceptions of the School Psychologist’, Journal of School Psychology18: 283–289.
14.
Farrell, P. and Lunt, I. (1994) ‘Training Psychologists for the 21st Century’, School Psychology International15: 195–208.
15.
Gutkin, T. B. and Conoley, J. C. (1990) ‘Reconceptualizing School Psychology from a Service Delivery Perspective: Implications for Practice, Training, and Research’, Journal of School Psychology28: 203–223.
16.
Hagemeier, C. , Bischoff, L., Jacobs, J. and Osmon, W. (1998) ‘Role Perceptions of the School Psychologist by School Ppersonnel’, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of School Psychologists, Orlando, Florida, USA.
17.
Hartshorne, T. S. and Johnson, M. C. (1985) ‘The Actual and Preferred Roles of the School Psychologist According to Secondary School Administrators’, Journal of School Psychology23: 241–246.
18.
Holowinsky, I. Z. (1997) ‘Partnership in Education: Local, National, and International Perspective’, School Psychology International18: 61–79.
19.
Hunter, C. P. and Lambert, N. M. (1974) ‘Needs Assessment Activities in School Psychology Program Development’, Journal of School Psychology12: 130–137.
20.
Hutton, J. B. , Dubes, R. and Muir, S. (1992) ‘Assessment Practices of School Psychologists: Ten Years Later’, School Psychology Review21: 271–284.
21.
Hyman, I. A. and Kaplinski, K. (1994) ‘Will the Real School Psychologist Please Stand Up: Is the Past a Prologue for the Future of School Psychology?’, School Psychology Review23: 564–583.
22.
Lacayo, N. , Sherwood, G. and Morris, J. (1981) ‘Daily Activities of School Psychologists: A National Survey’, Psychology in the Schools18: 184–190.
23.
Levinson, E. M. (1990) ‘Actual/Desired Role Functioning, Perceived Control Over Role Functioning, and Job Satisfaction Among School Psychologists’, Psychology in the Schools27: 64–74.
24.
Maher, C. A. (1979) ‘Guidelines for Planning and Evaluating School Psychology Service Delivery Systems’, Journal of School Psychology17: 203–212.
25.
Oakland, T. and Cunningham, J. L. (1992) A Survey of School Psychology in Developed and Developing Countries’, School Psychology International13: 99–129.
26.
Oakland, T. and Cunningham, J. (1997) ‘International School Psychology Association Definition of School Psychology’, School Psychology International18: 195–200.
27.
Oakland, T. and Saigh, P. (1987) ‘Psychological Services in Schools: A Summary of International Perspectives’, Journal of School Psychology25: 287–308.
28.
O’Keefe, D. J. and Medway, F. J. (1997) ‘The Application of Persuasion Research to Consultation in School Psychology’, Journal of School Psychology35: 173–193.
29.
Pohlman, C. , Hoffman, L. B., Dodds, A. H. and Pryzwansky, W. B. (1998) ‘Utilization of School-Based Professional Services: An Exploratory Analysis of Perceptions of Mentor Teachers and Student Teachers’, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation9: 347–365.
30.
Poulsen, A. (1987) ‘School Psychology in Denmark’, Journal of School Psychology25: 223–233.
31.
Reschly, D. J. and Wilson, M. S. (1995) ‘School Psychology Practitioners and Faculty: 1986 to 1991–92 Trends in Demographics, Roles, Satisfaction, and System Reform’, School Psychology Review24: 62–80.
32.
Reschly, D. J. and Wilson, M. S. (1997) ‘Characteristics of School Psychology Graduate Education: Implications for the Entry-Level Discussion and Doctoral-Level Specialty Ddefinition’, School Psychology Review26: 74–92.
33.
Roberts, A. H. and Rust, J. O. (1994) ‘Role and Function of School Psychologists, 1992–93: A Comparative Study’, Psychology in the Schools31: 113–119.
34.
Saigh, P. A. and Oakland, T. (1989) International Perspectives on Psychology in the Schools. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
35.
Sandoval, J. and Lambert, N. M. (1977) ‘Instruments for Evaluating School Psychologists’ Functioning and Service’, Psychology in the Schools14: 172–179.
36.
Senft, L. B. and Snider, B. (1980) ‘Elementary School Principals Assess Services of School Psychologists Nationwide’, Journal of School Psychology18: 276–282.
37.
Shinn, M. R. and McConnell, S. (1994) ‘Improving General Education Instruction: Relevance to School Psychologists’, School Psychology Review23: 351–371.
38.
Smith, D. K. (1984) ‘Practicing School Psychologists: Their Characteristics, Activities, and Populations Served’, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice15: 798–810.
39.
Stein, B. (1997) ‘Community Reactions to Disaster: An Emerging Role for the School Psychologist’, School Psychology International18: 99–118.
40.
Task Force on Psychology in the Schools (1994) Delivery of Comprehensive School Psychological Services: An Educator’s Guide. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
41.
Thomas, A. , Levinson, E. M., Orf, M. L. and Pinciotti, D. (1992) ‘Administrators’ Perceptions of School Psychologists’ Roles and Satisfaction with School Psychologists’, Psychological Reports71: 571–575.
42.
Ysseldyke, J. , Dawson, P., Lehr, C., Reschly, D., Reynolds, M. and Telzrow, C. (1997) School Psychology: A Blueprint for Training and Practice II. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
43.
Zins, J. E. , Johnson, J. R. and Thomas, A. (1995) ‘Characteristics and Activities of Practicing School Psychologists: Results of an International Survey’, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of School Psychologists, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
