Individual and Cultural Diversity Considerations

Chapter 11 discusses individual and cultural diversity considerations in school psychology, and addresses educational influences and limitations, including linguistic diversity, bilingual education, special education, and gifted youth, physical and other health limitations, ethnic/cultural background, sexual orientation, and spirituality/religion. It also discusses the considerable variability and some overlap among and within these groupings.

Common Ethical and Legal Challenges in School Psychology

Chapter 10 discusses the ethics codes that school psychologists are expected to follow irrespective of their level of educational attainment. It also explores practice competencies and reflective practice while following ethical principles as well as the requirements of law and regulation.

Counseling and Psychotherapy in the School Context

Chapter 5 discusses the increased awareness of the need for expanded psychological services in schools to address issues that include academic failure, bullying, interpersonal problems, substance abuse, dropping out of school, limited vocational success, problems with physical health, and suicide. It also covers how counseling and psychotherapy are delivered by school psychologists according to their credentials and practice setting.

Assessment Strategies I

Chapter 3 outlines the typical approach to psychoeducational assessment used by school psychologists and discusses the implications of this approach to case conceptualization. It then covers current measures commonly used in psychoeducational assessment across the domains of cognitive, academic achievement, and social-emotional functioning, including projective or performance-based measures, as well as tests and test batteries, behavioral observation, interviews, performance-based measures, adaptive functioning, and neuropsychological assessment. It concludes with a discussion of current controversies about the strengths and weaknesses of psychoeducational assessment.

Conceptual, Theoretical, and Scientific Foundations of School Psychology

Chapter 2 discusses the purpose of school psychology as being significantly different from that of other professional psychology specialties, which provides the field with a range of opportunities while at the same time laying a clear parameter outlining the boundaries of the specialty. It also examines the conceptual basis of the specialty, showing it as the necessary glue that holds together the profession’s judgments about the application of theory and empirical data to the practice of school psychology. It covers how school psychology has a clear purpose distinct from other areas of professional psychology, a signature conceptual foundation, and a theoretically integrated basis that is informed by the empirical literature for the practice of school psychology, and how these features define the distinct specialty of school psychology within professional psychology.

Professional Identification

Chapter 12 covers the professional identification and affiliations of school psychologists, as well as matters highly related to professional identification including job satisfaction, the current demographic status of the specialty, and future challenges related to maintaining an adequate base of professionals in the specialty. It also describes the wide variety of professional organizations that maintain control over school psychology by setting standards for self-governance of the profession. Finally, it presents the responsibility and mechanisms for continued professional development of school psychology professionals.

Teaching

Chapter 9 discusses the educational levels at which school psychologists are trained, the similarities and differences between the levels of training, the complexities involved in training at two educational levels, and specific issues in training that promote and develop competency and reflective practice, irrespective of educational attainment.

Assessment Strategies II

Chapter 4 defines and discusses the problem-solving methodology for academic and behavioral problems, explains these research-driven behavioral methods, their link to intervention, and the implications for case conceptualization and reflective practice, explores assessment that meets the demand characteristics of the referral question and the implications for case conceptualization and reflective practice, and provides information on curriculum-based assessment and functional behavioral assessment, as these types of assessment are applications of the problem-solving model.

Consultation

Chapter 7 examines consultation as a professional activity, and addresses the role of consultation specific to school psychology both outside and within schools. It reviews current models of consultation, and discusses consultee-centered consultation, a more complex and sophisticated conceptualization, because of its connection to the competencies in professional psychology. It considers non-treatment variables, which are not a way in which the school psychology literature has addressed practice, as well as other issues of importance, such as diversity, research and evaluation.

Definition of School Psychology

Chapter 1 provides a definition of school psychology, and gives a history of the specialty, describes its professional boundaries, the populations served, and the practice activities, competencies, training, and credentialing of the school psychologist.