Reconceptualizing Educational Contexts: The Imperative for Interprofessional and Interagency Collaboration in School Psychology

Abstract

The increasingly diverse and complex student population school psychologists serve necessitates a reconceptualization of the field with explicit emphasis on interprofessional, interagency collaborations (IIC) to promote equitable and high-quality services for all students. School psychologists are positioned to play a central role in IIC with specific training and experience in consultation, psychology, education, and multidisciplinary knowledge to ensure effectiveness. We highlight the historical context of IIC in the field and advocate for school psychologists to engage in IIC to better meet the needs of all students and families through coordinated and streamlined services. We conceptualize this paradigm shift through three multidisciplinary frameworks: (a) interprofessional team-based care, (b) population health, and (c) implementation science. We posit that school psychologists are ideal school professionals to engage in IIC, which has been adopted by other fields; educational and mental health inequities may be improved through effective IIC; and that implementation science concepts, which are familiar to the field of school psychology, can be applied to successfully implement IIC in schools. We conclude by providing recommendations that span graduate training, practice, and research in an effort to stimulate meaningful change in graduate training and preparation, practice, and research in the area of IIC.

Impact Statement

The increasingly diverse student population that school psychologists serve warrants a paradigm shift in the field with explicit emphasis on interprofessional, interagency collaborations (IIC) to promote efficient, equitable, and high-quality services for all students. School psychologists are well-positioned to play a central role in this effort, but their training may require expansion to include a specific focus on IIC and comprehensive service delivery. We advocate that IIC can be embedded in school psychologists’ roles and informed by three multidisciplinary frameworks: (a) interprofessional team-based care, (b) population health, and (c) implementation science.

Keywords:

• community-school collaboration
• professional issues in school psychology
• training in school psychology

ASSOCIATE EDITOR:

• Amanda Sullivan

DISCLOSURE

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Notes

1 The terms interprofessional and interdisciplinary are used interchangeably in the broader literature and subsequently both are used in this paper.

2 The authors represent White, Asian, and biracial/bicultural racial ethnic groups; English, Bengali, and Spanish languages; female and male genders; and heterosexual and queer sexualities. All have doctoral degrees in school psychology and engage in autism/neurodevelopmental disabilities, health disparities, and school-community-family collaboration scholarship rooted in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Maryellen Brunson McClain

Maryellen Brunson McClain, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology (School Psychology Program) at Utah State University and a nationally certified school psychologist licensed psychologist. Her research interests are related to autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities (ND); identification disparities and culturally responsive assessment and identification of autism/ND; professional development and training in school psychology and allied disciplines; and interprofessional and interagency education, training, and collaboration.

Jeffrey D. Shahidullah

Jeffrey D. Shahidullah, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Dell Medical School and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology within the College of Education at The University of Texas (UT) at Austin. He is also a licensed pediatric psychologist in UT Health Austin Pediatric Psychiatry at Dell Children’s Medical Center where he practices within the department of developmental and behavioral pediatrics. Dr. Shahidullah is also a faculty affiliate at the Center for Health Interprofessional Practice and Education and co-director of research in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Dell Children’s Medical Group.

Bryn Harris

Bryn Harris, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the School Psychology doctoral program in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver. She has a secondary appointment in the Department of Pediatrics (Developmental Pediatrics) at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus. Her primary research interests include the psychological assessment of bilingual learners, culturally and linguistically responsive assessment of autism spectrum disorder, health disparities among children with autism spectrum disorder, and improving mental health access and opportunity within traditionally underserved populations. Dr. Harris is the director and founder of the bilingual school psychology program at the University of Colorado Denver. She is also a bilingual (Spanish) licensed psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist.

Laura Lee McIntyre

Laura Lee McIntyre, PhD is a Professor of School Psychology, Department Head of Special Education and Clinical Sciences, and Director of the Prevention Science Institute at the University of Oregon. Her research interests focus on family-centered interventions and parent-professional partnerships to enhance family involvement in education to promote positive outcomes for students with disabilities and reduce disparities in access and outcomes.

Gazi Azad

Gazi Azad, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She also is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Center for Autism and the Developing Brain at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Azad is a licensed psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist. Her research focuses on using the principles of implementation science to optimize continuity of services across home and school for children with autism.