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Jessica Saenz
Career Development in HRD- 613
Dr. Matthew Upton
22 September 2013
Why Should You Choose School Psychology?
According to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), “school
psychologists help children and youth succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and
emotionally. They have an integral role in the life of a student. They essentially collaborate with
educators, parents, and the students to create a more effective environment for the student.” Their
mission is to build a safe environment for these students, to advocate, and assist students with
any challenges they might be facing.
As it is implied in their title, they have to have a very strong background in the area of
psychology and education. It is encouraged to have a Masters in this area, in order to practice
under supervision. (“Where are NASP,” n.d.) The Masters route is the most common one. A
Masters degree can allow you to be a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP). A
Masters degree plan consists of a year long supervised internship apart from sixty hours of
required coursework. (“Where are NASP,” n.d.) This internship allows the Masters student to
prepare in areas of motivation, child development, assessment, consultation, school law,
intervention, and systems. (“Where are NASP,” n.d.) It is also important to know that School
Psychologists have to be certified by the National School Psychology Certification Board,
according to the NASP. A Doctoral degree in this area of study can allow you to supervise
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practice and it offers you many more opportunities including being able to conduct your own
research. The availability of jobs for Doctoral graduates in this field is fair, due to the current
competiveness of psychology graduate programs. (“Bureau of Labor,” n.d.) Overall a Masters
degree in School Psychology is sufficient to practice in a school under the supervision of a
School Psychologist. However it will be slightly more completive for candidates with Masters
degree in this field to compete in the job market. (“Bureau of Labor,” n.d.)
School Psychologists play many roles. From compiling and interpreting student’s test
results, diagnosing conditions, helping assess eligibility for special services, to preparing
psychological reports these are just some of the tasks that School Psychologist go through on a
daily basis. They also provide consultation to parents, teachers, and administrators. (National
Center for Occup,” n.d.) They collect and analyze data to evaluate school program effectiveness.
(National Center for Occup,” n.d.) Lastly they promote an understanding of child development
and child’s learning and behavior. They are a combination of a therapist, counselor, educator,
researcher, and advocate. The present issue is that there is not a great presence of School
Psychologists in our schools.
As I was conducting research on this career, I came across Dr. Ralph E. Cash’s
suggestions on future endeavors in the area of School Psychology. Dr. Cash is an Associate
Professor at Nova Southeastern University; he is also a Nationally Certified School Psychologist.
Dr. Cash mentions various indicators on how school psychology is going to be influenced by
national regulations and laws. He mentions how new acts, instructions, laws, and Medicaid are
going to affect School Psychology as a whole. By implementing new regulations, it is required
for the school psychologist or LSSP to accommodate and implement these changes in their
school. Some of the most recognized implementations mentioned in School Psychology are the
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No Child Left Behind Act, the Mental Health Parity Legislation, Response to Intervention
Instruction, and Medicaid. (“Where are NASP,” 2003).
Dr. Cash elaborated on the ESEA Reauthorization (No Child Left Behind), and how
School Psychologists are aiming to close achievement gaps. They are trying to strengthen
schools, and shift the goal of education from equal opportunity to equal outcomes. (“Where are
NASP,” 2003). School Psychology ‘s future goals are to improve academic competence and
school success for all children. Secondly, they would like to improve socio-emotional
functioning for all children as well. Third of all, is to create a more effective education and
instruction for all learners. Lastly, to enhance family –school partnerships and parental
involvement in schools. (“Where are NASP,” 2003). These future goals were discussed in the
National Association of School Psychology’s website.
The following are some of the areas where School Psychologists are researching ways to
bring about change for the students in the future. They have acknowledged the need for
educational change, due to the United State’s low reading proficiency levels. (Ehrhardt-Padgett,
Hatzichristou, Kitson & Meyers, 2004) Our low level of reading proficiency has served as a
wake up call for professionals in this field. (Ehrhardt-Padgett, Hatzichristou, Kitson & Meyers,
2004) School Psychologists conduct the majority of their assessments to qualify students for
special education services, rather than addressing multiple needs at a programmatic level through
prevention and early intervention practices. (Ehrhardt-Padgett, Hatzichristou, Kitson & Meyers,
2004) Incorporating new interventions and practices is going to be an area in school psychology
that will need to be further developed in the future. Knowing these areas have to be addressed,
school psychologists have to develop future strategies. This will take collaboration with various
educators and psychologists. New methods will have to come into practice and school
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psychologist will need to be trained for these types of interventions. These researchers have
noticed that there is also a great disparity between educational and socioeconomic needs of
students. (Ehrhardt-Padgett, Hatzichristou, Kitson & Meyers, 2004) I see diversity and
socioeconomic disparities as being two of the most rapidly growing phenomenons in School
Psychology. Specialists in the field have to manage and accommodate these changes in their
practices. Last but not least is training. Training has to be an area in which school psychologists
need to improve. It is essential to incorporate new training strategies to effectively assist all level
of students. (Ehrhardt-Padgett, Hatzichristou, Kitson & Meyers, 2004) Overall all of these skills
and techniques mentioned above are crucially important, but the Response to Intervention
instruction is currently the talk of the century for many psychologists. This is one of most talked
about changes in School Psychology (Elliott, 2008) This is a drastic change for School
Psychologists, and with this change comes new learning. It is imperative for these professionals
to collaborate as a team to commit to the methods of the Response to Intervention instruction.
School Psychologist should have active listening skills in order to understand educators,
students, and parents concerns. This is a key element for this field. They have to be able to
capture significant information in order to know what is the next step in the process. They should
also have proficient reading comprehension, speaking, complex problem solving, writing,
analyzing, judgment, and decision-making skills. (National Center for Occup,” n.d.) Their skills
will be changing in a more developmental way. They need to expand on their already set
foundation. Due to new regulations and new training strategies, they will have to develop
stronger problem solving skills. Advocacy is another element of a school psychologist’s role. In
the future as advocates, it will be essential for them to partner with others to drive their mission
forward. Traveling may be incorporated in their job description due to their role as advocates. In
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my opinion I see the combination of research and analytical skills as being strongly encouraged
in the future. School Psychology already has a strong research commitment, but I see it growing
even more over the next couple of years due to the current changes in our education system. On
the other hand we have diversity. Diversity is another ongoing phenomenon in the United States.
School Psychologists have to accommodate to the increasing number of minority students in our
school systems. This increase in minority students brings up the issue of communication. It will
be essential for these employees to be bilingual or have some knowledge of another language. It
would be a great tool for these professionals in the future.
Nationally, School Psychologist’s projected growth of employment is growing faster than
average; it is at a 22% growth expectancy according to the Occupational Information Network
Resource Center (ONET). The ONET Resource center states that the median wage range for
professionals in this field is about $67,650 annually. In Texas, state wages average about 57,300
annually. (“U.S. Department of Labor, ” n.d.) Two of the top industries to practice school
psychology are in educational services and in private practice. (“U.S. Department of Labor, ”
n.d.) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the United States Department of Labor,
most of the highest earning positions are located in California, Colorado, Maine, and most of the
east coast of the United States. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics also demonstrates
how the growth of employment will expand to the states of Texas, Kansas, East Coast, and
California. These trends are similar to the highest earning states. This could be considered a
tradeoff for many School Psychologists. It is not one of the highest earning careers, but it is one
of the most rewarding ones. Knowing that you have impacted a child’s life can be one of the
most personal rewarding prizes any professional can receive. Another tradeoff can be job
relocation. Many School Psychologists prefer to work in smaller cities, because they are more
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than likely to be offered a higher salary. They move to the smaller cities, because their districts
are not as big. By relocating, they leave family and love ones behind in most cases to increase
their pay. The last trade-off I was going to mention is the amount of work. Their workload is
very stressful at times, and they may be required to stay after school in order to complete their
extensive tasks. As I had mentioned, even though they receive so much work, their repayment is
seeing their student’s smiles.
School Psychology is a rapid growing field according to the ONET Resource Center. If
you are interested in a field in which you can incorporate your psychology and education
interests, this is a great field for you. A School Psychologist can work one-on-one with a child to
personally assist them by providing counseling, mentoring and instruction. (“Where are NASP,”
n.d.) Opinions on School Psychology differ from person to person and from school to school.
They differ from school-to-school because each school has there own set of rules and
regulations. I have quickly realized these tendencies after researching this career thoroughly.
Some of the possible downsides of school psychology are the following: report writing,
conducting assessments, and receiving criticism. These professionals can receive criticism from
the educators and parents. As a professional in this field, you would have to learn how to handle
these types of situations. This happens because the professional is the connection between the
student and the teacher. School Psychology can differ from state to state as well. (“Where are
NASP,” n.d.) States have different types of licensures and regulations, which is something to
keep in mind. On the other hand, it is a great field to pursue if you are bilingual, because there is
currently an absence of bilingual school psychologists. (“Where are NASP,” n.d.) School
Psychology is in a developing phase due to the increase in diversity and new implementations of
instructions in our school systems. As our population is growing, we are in need of professionals
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who can better assist students with changes. There is a positive outlook in terms of research,
employment, advocacy, and future educational instructions.
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REFERENCES:
Bureau of Labor Statistics. United States Department of Labor. Retrieved September 20,
2013, from http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes193031.htm
Ehrhardt-Padgett, G. N., Hatzichristou, C., Kitson, J., & Meyers, J. (2004). Awakening to
a New Dawn: Perspectives of the Future of School Psychology. School Psychology
Review, 33(1), 105-114.
Elliott, J. (2008). Response to intervention: What & why?. Inclusion and Intervention,
65(8),
Retrieved from http://bemidji.k12.mn.us/~jpearce/S026ABBD7National Center for Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Development.
(n.d.).Occupational Information Netwrork Resource Center. Retrieved
September 23,
2013, from http://www.onetcenter.org/
What is a school psychologist?. National Association of School Psychologists. Retrieved
September 20, 2013, from http://www.nasponline.org
Where are NASP and School Psychology headed? (2003). Retrieved September
21,2013, from
http://txasp.org/files/Cash%20NASP%20102%20-%202008-09_0.pdf
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. (n.d.).
CareerOneStop. Retrieved September 21, 2013, from
http://www.careerinfonet.org/occ_rep.asp?nodeid=2&optstatus=000110111&next
=occ_rep&jobfam=19&soccode=193031&stfips=&level=&id=1&ES=Y&EST=s
chool+psychologists