Views of school psychological services: A comparative study

Perceptions of elementary principals were compared to findings of supervisors of psychological services on a 13-item questionnaire. Both groups rated generalist skills and individual diagnostic testing and consultation as important, and remedial instruction as unimportant. Differences were found between the groups on conducting research, inservice programs, preventative activities, counseling with parents, screening for special classes, and liaison activities. Implications for university trainers and field psychologists were noted.     

Evaluation of school psychological services: A case illustration

This article illustrates how school psychological services were evaluated in two elementary schools. Questionnaires were used to solicit input from students regarding individual counseling and classroom guidance activities. Rating scales were used to solicit input from parents regarding the assessment service and from building staff regarding their perception of the school psychologist in general. Procedures, results, and recommendations are discussed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Elementary teachers' perceptions regarding school behavior problems: Implications for school psychological services

The study focuses upon teachers' perceptions of school behavior problems and preferred classroom management actions. Two hundred elementary school teachers were evaluated with a questionnaire comprising assessment of causal attributions and goal‐directed behavior on the part of the teachers, when dealing with classroom misbehavior problems. Internal student‐related attributions were those most frequently adopted by the teachers, even though teachers' explanations varied significantly across school problems. Misbehavior‐related attributions were significantly associated with teachers' preferred practices. Our results support the application of psychological principles to educational practice through an understanding of teachers' discipline‐related theories. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Children's behavior problems and referral for school psychological services

Personality and conduct problem behaviors from Quay and Peterson's Behavior Problem Checklist were rated by considering their significance in referring an elementary-grade child for school psychological services. Spearman correlations indicated that regular class teachers, special class teachers of the emotionally disturbed, and school psychologists agreed regarding the relative importance of the behavior problems. A repeated measures analysis of variance revealed that conduct problems were prioritized by the professional groups for referral. This consistent agreement across professional groups is interpreted in terms of ecological psychology. Considering the behavioral demands of the schools, the conduct problem child achieves the poorest behavior-milieu fit and is perceived as a priority for referral.     

Minority status,sex, and school psychological services

The sex and minority status of 355 students referred for psychological services from a random sample of schools in an urban school system were examined in relation to the frequency of referral, type of problem, and the nature of subsequent psychological services. A significantly higher percentage of both minority students and males were referred for psychological services; males were referred approximately twice as often as females. When referral problems were categorized as either academic or behavior problems, there were no differences between majority and minority students nor between males and females on percentage referred for each type of problem. Parent contacts were made significantly more often for majority students and for females, and recommendations to parents of majority students were more varied than those made to parents of minority students. Special Education resource services were recommended significantly more often for minority students. Possible reasons and implications of these findings are discussed.     

A strategy for the delivery of accountable school psychological services

A survey of representative teachers in a school district of 8,000 students was used as a basis for evaluating psychological services. Reactions suggested that teachers were dissatisfied with: (a) the wait in receiving service, (b) the nature of the services provided (not enough placement in special programs), and (c) limited follow-up of cases. A new procedure for providing psychological services is described which handles many of the teachers' concerns. The advantages, possible limitations and initial reactions to this “accountability” model are further presented.     

The status of referral services of state school psychological associations

A national survey of state school psychological associations revealed almost total absence of client referral systems and the consideration of such systems. The survey was a follow-up to earlier research conducted with state psychological associations. The widely discrepant results of these two surveys are discussed in terms of association and professional differences. Discussion of referral services for school psychological associations is presented, including collaborative efforts with state psychological associations.     

An examination of some bases of teacher satisfaction with school psychological services

Data were collected from a sample of school psychologists and teachers after termination of a teacher consultation experience. Stepwise regressions were performed on the data to determine which psychologist and teacher variables were related to teacher satisfaction with the school psychological consultation. The single most significant main effect on teacher satisfaction was the teacher's perception of the psychologist's facilitativeness.     

Variables influencing teachers' decisions to refer children for school psychological assessment services

The present study examined the variables influencing a teacher's decision to refer children suspected of having developmental or behavioral problems. Results indicated that younger children were not referred at a disproportionate rate for school psychological services as compared to their older classmates as suggested by earlier research, height and weight acted as moderator variables with respect to teacher referral patterns, African American children were referred at a disproportionate rate for developmental handicap services than were Caucasian children, and males were referred more than females for behavioral problems. These findings are discussed in terms of attribution and expectancy theories. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Transition to school practices: comparisons from Iceland and Australia

This paper is the result of collaboration among early childhood education researchers from different cultures on opposite sides of the globe. The project sought to identify what practitioners in both preschool and primary school settings in Iceland and Australia regarded as successful transition to school practices. Independently developed surveys of these practitioners, both based on earlier work in the USA, gathered data on what the practitioners identified as ‘good ideas’ in transition practices. There were similarities across the countries: popular practices included children visiting primary schools prior to the start of the school year and informational meetings for parents. There were also differences: Icelandic primary school teachers were, for instance, more likely than Australian teachers to write to their prospective students before they started school.     

Comprehensive school-linked services: Implications for school psychologists

This article reviews the primary concepts underlying the current movement toward the provision of comprehensive school-linked services for children and families in low-income communities and the implications of this movement for school psychologists. The development of collaborative partnerships involving schools, public, and community-based agencies is an attempt to increase the availability and accessibility of needed services to children and families. The adoption of collaborative governance and a case management system is intended to offer an alternative to the proliferation of separate categorical programs and the associated lack of coordination among programs. The hope is to emphasize prevention and efficient early intervention. Collaborative efforts can provide an opportunity for role expansion among school psychologists. This possibility is discussed within a consultation model of service delivery that is consistent with the collaborative nature of school-linked services and with the preventive stance that orginated them. School psychologists are in a position to contribute to team consultation, case management, and needs assessment. Implications for training are drawn.     

教师发展学校:探索与实践

2001年5月,首都师范大学教科院与北京市丰台区教委合作建设了4所教师发展学校。在近一年的实践中,教师发展学校体现出了旺盛的生命力。教师发展学校以“学校应当具有使教师获得可持续有效的专业化发展的功能、是大学和中小学的合作建设、是在合作的实践中实现教师的发展、是持续不断的革新和创造”为基本理念,以“建构教育新理念、重新理解教育、重新认识学校、重新发现教师”为宗旨,通过大学专业教育理论工作者与广大中小学教育实践工作者的沟通与合作,提高教师专业化水平,提高学校教育教学的质量,共同探索教育理论与教育实践的有机结合的途径与方法。本专题以北京市丰台区第一小学为研究个案,从学校校长的角度,大学教育专业理论工作者的角度,一线教师身上体现出的成果,以及鲜活的教育教学案例,全面反映教师发展学校在实践中的发展过程,供广大教育工作者思考和借鉴。     

Promoting school libraries and schools library services: problems and partnerships

Literuture Matters was a two‐year, national programme in England designed to promote partnerships between schools library services and initial teacher training institutions. Its aim was to raise awareness of the role of the schools library service in promoting children's books and reading for pleasure. There were positive effects, in the short term, on student teachers, teacher educators and library staff. Potentially sustainable partnerships were developed, but structures and funding are needed to ensure a long term impact over new teachers' careers.     

Physical and sexual abuse among school children: Prevalence and prevention

Prevalence of physical and sexual abuse, with emphasis on data provided by the 1986 National Incidence Study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is discussed within certain data collection constraints. Incidence results are reported by subcategory of abuse, child's sex, child's age, child's race/ethnicity, family income, and family size. Effects of physical and sexual abuse and characteristics of abusers are presented to establish the context in which primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programs are developed and delivered. Research on abuse prevention programs is discussed, with attention drawn to problems associated with the lack of a research base for school-based abuse prevention programs.     

Two worlds,one site: leading practices and transitions to school

ABSTRACT

This paper presents an account of a cross-sectorial study investigating whether shared understandings of practices might enhance continuity during transitions to school. Applying an ontological lens to cross-sectorial leading practices, the paper sheds light on the contextualised realities of transitions to school as a site specific lived experience. The paper begins with an overview of the ways transitions to school practices are understood, including emerging perspectives of transitions as continuity practices. Then, cross-sectorial concepts of leadership and leading are presented to highlight fundamental differences in the ways these practices are enacted across the sectors. The paper presents empirical evidence of the ways leading practices can work to establish shared understandings of transitions to school practices and policies. Given ‘little research has been done on the direct effects of leadership on transitions’ (OECD. [2017]. Starting Strong V: Transitions from Early Childhood Education and Care to Primary School. Paris: OECD Publications, 95) the paper contributes to emerging discourses that construct transitions to school as continuities.     

Children with epilepsy in school: Special service usage and assessment practices

Special services usage and related assessment procedures were investigated for 50 students with epilepsy. Fifty‐six percent of students with epilepsy received special education services, with mental retardation designation and self‐contained placement common, especially among individuals with epilepsy plus a coexisting neurological diagnosis. Sixteen percent of participants had an “other health impairment” designation, and several of these were deemed eligible in at least one other special education category. The majority of students who had been evaluated were administered IQ, adaptive behavior, speech/language, and sensorimotor components, whereas few were assessed for executive or memory functions. Little information about antiepileptic drugs, their effects, or the actual manifestation of students' seizures appeared in special services school documents. Additional empirical information regarding services for children with chronic health conditions, such as epilepsy, is necessary to improve school psychologists' practice. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 169–181, 2006.