Realignment of School Psychology Research, Training, and Practice

Abstract

To ensure the field of school psychology reaches its full potential to positively impact educational systems and student outcomes, research, training, and practice should align. However, these domains are often misaligned leading to research-to-training and research-to-practice gaps and missed opportunities to solve “big” problems. This commentary, in response to the call to “Reconceptualize School Psychology,” proposes a framework for the alignment and interface of these three domains within the field of school psychology. Previously proposed techniques from implementation science, participatory action research, and program evaluation are integrated in the proposed framework. Barriers to the implementation of these techniques are discussed, which provides an agenda to move the field toward alignment through collaborations, resources, and actions.

Impact Statement

By collaborating, researchers, trainers, and practitioners can maximize their impact on educational systems and student outcomes. However, for collaboration efforts like implementation science and participatory action research to work, researchers, trainers, and practitioners will need to act as change agents to address problematic reward structures in the field of school psychology.

Keywords:

• School psychology
• higher education
• research-to-practice gap
• training-to-practice gap

ASSOCIATE EDITOR:

• Amanda L. Sullivan

DISCLOSURE

The author has no known conflicts of interest to disclose.

Notes

1 The author identifies as a white, cisgender woman, and as such, is outwardly similar to the majority of school psychology practitioners. The author is also a bilingual and bicultural German-American who is employed at a research-intensive institution of higher education. The author was previously employed as a school-based practitioner and identifies as an educator who specializes in psychology, rather than a psychologist who specializes in education. Her training and practice experiences have focused on data-based decision making and the link between assessment and intervention. Because of culture and training, the author initially approached school psychology from a perspective that there is a correct, empirically derivable, measurable “answer” when problem solving in research or in practice. She has been rewarded for her quantitative empirical work via continued employment and salary increases. The author seeks to use her current position and privilege in conjunction with her personal knowledge of bilingualism and biculturalism to advocate for changes to the field of school psychology that have the potential to increase the positive impact school psychologists can have on educational systems.

2 Data were gathered from a review of NASP (National Association of School Psychologists)-approved program websites’ reported tenure-track faculty.

3 Data were gathered through a review of NASP communities posts in January of 2021.

4 Data were gathered through a review of Trainers of School Psychologists (TSP) listserv emails during January and February of 2020, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. After this month, listserv discussions were primarily focused on distance education and other COVID-related topics.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kirsten W. Newell

Kirsten W. Newell, PhD, is an assistant professor of school psychology at Texas A&M University. Before earning her doctorate, she practiced as a school psychologist for almost a decade. Dr. Newell’s work focuses on data-based decision making with academic assessment tools. Specifically, she investigates barriers to equitable implementation of academic assessment and intervention for bilingual learners, including how educators understand and use assessment data.