Are We Preparing School Psychologists for Evidence-Based Practices? Considering Research Methods Curricula

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Shaw ◽  
Sierra Pecsi
Keyword(s):  
School Psychology ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
School Psychologists ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Evidence Based Practices ◽  
Psychology Training Programs ◽  
Learning School

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.

scholarly journals Opening Doors to Open Science and Scholarship for School Psychology Research, Training, and Practice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony J. Roberson ◽  
Ryan L. Farmer ◽  
Steven Shaw ◽  
Shelley Upton ◽  
Imad Zaheer
Keyword(s):  
School Psychology ◽  
School Psychologists ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Evidence Based Practices ◽  
Questionable Research Practices ◽  
Science Practices ◽  
Research Findings

Trustworthy scientific evidence is essential if school psychologists are to use evidence-based practices to solve the big problems students, teachers, and schools face. Open science practices promote transparency, accessibility, and robustness of research findings, which increases the trustworthiness of scientific claims. Simply, when researchers, trainers, and practitioners can ‘look under the hood’ of a study, (a) the researchers who conducted the study are likely to be more cautious, (b) reviewers are better able to engage the self-correcting mechanisms of science, and (c) readers have more reason to trust the research findings. We discuss questionable research practices that reduce the trustworthiness of evidence; specific open science practices; applications specific to researchers, trainers, and practitioners in school psychology; and next steps in moving the field toward openness and transparency.

Multi-Tiered System of Supports: An Ecological Approach to School Psychology Service Delivery

2021 ◽  
pp. 009862832110242
Author(s):  
Susan M. Loftus-Rattan ◽  
Mahri Wrightington ◽  
Jenlyn Furey ◽  
Jessica Case
Keyword(s):  
School Psychology ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
School Psychologists ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychology Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ecological Approach ◽  
Tiered System ◽  
Main Components

Introduction: School psychologists work to support the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional well-being of students in schools. Their roles have become increasingly diverse in recent years due to the implementation of Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) frameworks in schools throughout the United States. Statement of the Problem: Despite a national shortage of school psychologists, psychology students are often unaware of the profession or may have an outdated understanding of the role of school psychologists. Psychology students may also be unfamiliar with the MTSS framework, which promotes research-based, data-driven, equitable, and culturally responsive practices through a systemic, ecological approach to service delivery in schools. Literature Review: We review the main components of a typical MTSS prevention and intervention framework and describe the various roles of school psychologists and other key stakeholders within this model. Teaching Implications: This review and supporting resources can be used to introduce the field of school psychology to students. Additionally, it can be used to generate discussions regarding the provision of evidence-based and equitable academic and psychological services to students in the school through an ecological model. Conclusion: This article will help students gain an understanding of school psychologists’ roles within a current MTSS educational service delivery model.

Reducing Low-Value Practices a Functional-Contextual Consideration to Aid in De-Implementation Efforts

2020 ◽  
pp. 082957352097491
Author(s):  
Ryan L. Farmer ◽  
Imad Zaheer ◽  
Gary J. Duhon ◽  
Stephanie Ghazal
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Analysis ◽  
School Psychologists ◽  
Applied Behavior Analysis ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Operant Learning ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Evidence Based Practices

Through innovation in research and self-correction, it is inevitable that some practices will be replaced or be discredited for one reason or another. De-implementation of discredited and low-value practices is a necessary step for school psychologists’ maintenance of evidence-based practices and to reduce unnecessary costs and risk. However, efforts to clarify de-implementation frameworks and strategies are ongoing. The scope of this paper follows McKay et al. in considering the potential for de-implementation strategies to be informed by applied behavior analysis and operant learning theory. We conceptualize low-value practice as sets of behaviors evoked by their context and maintained by their consequences, and thus de-implementation as behavior reduction. We discuss the need for future research given this perspective.

scholarly journals Computer-Based Auditory Training Programs for Children with Hearing Impairment – A Scoping Review

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (01) ◽  
pp. 088-093 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manohar Nanjundaswamy ◽  
Prashanth Prabhu ◽  
Revathi Rajanna ◽  
Raghavendra Ningegowda ◽  
Madhuri Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Auditory Training ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Data Synthesis ◽  
Evidence Based Practices ◽  
Communication Breakdown ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Computer Based

Introduction Communication breakdown, a consequence of hearing impairment (HI), is being fought by fitting amplification devices and providing auditory training since the inception of audiology. The advances in both audiology and rehabilitation programs have led to the advent of computer-based auditory training programs (CBATPs). Objective To review the existing literature documenting the evidence-based CBATPs for children with HIs. Since there was only one such article, we also chose to review the commercially available CBATPs for children with HI. The strengths and weaknesses of the existing literature were reviewed in order to improve further researches. Data Synthesis Google Scholar and PubMed databases were searched using various combinations of keywords. The participant, intervention, control, outcome and study design (PICOS) criteria were used for the inclusion of articles. Out of 124 article abstracts reviewed, 5 studies were shortlisted for detailed reading. One among them satisfied all the criteria, and was taken for review. The commercially available programs were chosen based on an extensive search in Google. The reviewed article was well-structured, with appropriate outcomes. The commercially available programs cover many aspects of the auditory training through a wide range of stimuli and activities. Conclusions There is a dire need for extensive research to be performed in the field of CBATPs to establish their efficacy, also to establish them as evidence-based practices.

Why Questionable Assessment Practices Remain Popular in School Psychology: Instructional Materials as Pedagogic Vehicles

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan L. Farmer ◽  
Ryan J. McGill ◽  
Stefan C. Dombrowski ◽  
Gary L Canivez
Keyword(s):  
School Psychology ◽  
School Psychologists ◽  
Clinical Assessment ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Individual Assessment ◽  
School Psychology Training ◽  
History Of

Surveys reveal that many school psychologists continue to employ cognitive profile analysis despite the long-standing history of negative research results from this class of practice. This begets the question: why do questionable assessment practices persist in school psychology? To provide insight on this dilemma, this article presents the results of a content analysis of available interpretive resources in the clinical assessment literature that may shed insight on this issue. Although previous reviews have evaluated the content of individual assessment courses, this is the first systematic review of pedagogical resources frequently adopted in reading lists by course instructors. The interpretive guidance offered across tests within these texts was largely homogenous emphasizing the primary interpretation of subscale scores, de-emphasizing interpretation of global composites (i.e., FSIQ), and advocating for the use of some variant of profile analysis to interpret scores and score profiles. Implications for advancing evidence-based assessment in school psychology training and guarding against unwarranted unsupported claims in clinical assessment is discussed.

Evidence-Based Practices Provided in Teacher Education and In-Service Training Programs for Special Education Teachers of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun-Ju Hsiao ◽  
Sara Sorensen Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Direct Instruction ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Evidence Based Practices ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Students With Autism

The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent the identified 25 evidence-based practices were provided in teacher education and in-service training programs for special education teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder. A total of 63 participants completed the online questionnaire. The number and percentage of responses in the type of training on each evidence-based practice and all 25 evidence-based practices (total) were reported. Overall, about 60% of the participants reported that the identified evidence-based practices were either taught through direct instruction or discussed in their teacher education programs and in-service professional development. Twenty percent of the identified evidence-based practices that were addressed (i.e., “mentioned and discussed” or “mentioned and taught through direct instruction”) or not addressed (i.e., “never mentioned and never taught” or “mentioned incidentally”) for participating teachers were the same in these two training programs. In total, these two training programs addressed only 40% of the identified practices.

A qualitative analysis of school psychology trainers’ perspectives on evidence-based practices

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Jorge E. Gonzalez ◽  
Karen C. Stoiber ◽  
Rebecca J. Clayton ◽  
Milena Keller-Margulis ◽  
Linda A. Reddy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
School Psychology ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Evidence Based Practices

Working with Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2017 ◽  
pp. 182-203
Author(s):  
Lynn Kern Koegel ◽  
Sunny Kim ◽  
Robert L. Koegel
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
School Mental Health ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Evidence Based Practices ◽  
Dsm 5 ◽  
Adolescents With Autism ◽  
History Of

The chapter “Working with Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders,” in School Mental Health Services for Adolescents, provides information and guidance related to identification and referral, evidence-based practices, and service delivery issues and models for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The authors open the chapter with a brief history of autism, beginning with the category of Pervasive Developmental Disorder in the DSM-III in 1980, and culminating with the changes made in criteria for ASD in the DSM-5 in 2013. Next, the authors explore issues related to assessment, including diagnosis of ASD during adolescence and assessing challenges to be targeted in schools. They then describe evidence-based practices that can be implemented to train teachers and paraprofessionals, intervene with ASD, and avoid problems before they occur. Finally, the authors present service delivery issues and models when working with adolescents with ASD in secondary schools.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document