Roles for school psychologists in the challenging Indian education landscape

ABSTRACT

India has very few school psychologists and school psychology as a discipline is almost non-existent. Further, the educational system in India, which is in great flux, has many needs that could be met by school psychologists. In this article, we discuss what roles school psychology could serve if the profession continues to develop in India. To provide a context for our proposal, we discuss the current state of education and education reform in India including the demographics of India that provide such a challenge to establishing universal, compulsory education, legislative initiatives for regular and special education, and the structure of schools and schooling.

KEYWORDS:

• school psychology
• India
• state of education in India

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shamim S. Patwa

Shamim S. Patwa is the Director of Special Education and Student Support Services for the Mansfield Public Schools. She was a visiting professor in the school psychology program at the University of Connecticut. She holds a BA in economics from Smith College, an MBA from the University of Colorado, and a PhD in School Psychology from the University of Connecticut.

Stephen T. Peverly

Stephen T. Peverly, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology and Education and Director of the Programs in School Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is a Fellow of Division 16 of the American Psychological Association (School Psychology).

Cheryl Maykel

Dr. Cheryl Maykel teaches in Rivier’s Counseling and School Psychology programs. She is a nationally certified school psychologist. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees through the school psychology program at the University of Connecticut, where she was awarded a pre-doctoral and a doctoral dissertation fellowship. Dr. Maykel has authored numerous publications and has presented her work at local, national, and international conferences. Her current research interests are mainly in the areas of mind-body health and wellness, and the promotion of mind-body practices in schools.

Vineeta Kapoor

Vineeta Kapoor is a School Psychologist at USD 259 in Wichita, Kansas. She was an adjunct professor at Wichita State University. Vineeta travels extensively to India and is engaged in the social and cultural issues of a traditional culture in transformation. She has a Bachelors degree in Psychology from Delhi University, India; a Masters in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University and a Ph.D in School Psychology from the University of Connecticut.