Professional service delivery in school psychology is changing. The evolution toward complex service delivery (e.g., social justice, social and emotional learning, school climate) in the context of evidence-based practices has resulted in important changes in training and curricula for school psychologists. Training programs have responded to the new directions of the profession by revisiting the focus of curricula while maintaining consistency with the standards established by accrediting bodies and credentialing standards. Despite the evolution of the profession and increased focus on evidence-based practices, research methods and statistics courses have changed little. Research methods curricula, usually not taught by core school psychology faculty, do not often directly support evidence-based practices. Issues and problems of current research methods curricula are reviewed. Revisiting research methods curricula is an opportunity to provide students with the skills to help them become better evidence-based clinicians. Recommendations for school psychology training programs are presented to improve the utility, relevance, and applicability of research methods curricula. More than a relic of an interpretation of the scientist-practitioner model, mindful curricular reform in research methods can be the foundation upon which evidence-based practices and quality school psychology service delivery rests: useful, relevant, and flexible.
The Politics of What Works in Service Delivery: An Evidence-Based Review
