How different are students of school psychology and clinical psychology?

Based on many years of training students in both school and clinical psychology, the authors have formulated some impressions of differences and similarities found in these trainees. While generalizations remain tentative and call for research, the students in each of these disciplines seem to present different patterns in cognitive styles, perceptions of clients, conceptions of professional role, and personality characteristics. In personality, the students in these fields often display differences in need for structure, need for external support, social maturity, and desire for autonomous professional functioning. Differences seem to be related to variations in previous work and educational experiences, and to differences in age, sex and marital status. Implications for quality of service offered and training needs are outlined.     

Conceptual impulsivity as a consideration in test interpretation

A discussion of the influences of impulsivity on test performance is presented, along with suggested procedures for ascertaining more accurately the cognitive abilities of impulsive children.     

Comparing the magnitude and direction of asymmetry during the squat,countermovement and drop jump tests in elite youth female soccer players

ABSTRACT

The aims of the present study were to provide an in-depth comparison of inter-limb asymmetry and determine how consistently asymmetry favours the same limb during different vertical jump tests. Eighteen elite female under-17 soccer players conducted unilateral squat jumps (SJ), countermovement jumps (CMJ) and drop jumps (DJ) on a portable force platform, with jump height, peak force, concentric impulse and peak power as common metrics across tests. For the magnitude of asymmetry, concentric impulse was significantly greater during the SJ test compared to CMJ (p = 0.019) and DJ (p = 0.003). No other significant differences in magnitude were present. For the direction of asymmetry, Kappa coefficients revealed fair to substantial levels of agreement between the SJ and CMJ (Kappa = 0.35 to 0.61) tests, but only slight to fair levels of agreement between the SJ and DJ (Kappa = ?0.26 to 0.18) and CMJ and DJ (Kappa = ?0.13 to 0.26) tests. These results highlight that the mean asymmetry value may be a poor indicator of true variability of between-limb differences in healthy athletes. The direction of asymmetry may provide a useful monitoring tool for practitioners in healthy athletes, when no obvious between-limb deficit exists.     

Identifying students with learning disabilities: the effect of implementing statewide guidelines

Methods for identifying students with learning disabilities continue to be an area of controversy. The present investigation examined the impact of implementing statewide guidelines for the identification of these students. Data were collected from multidisciplinary team reports on 718 students with learning disabilities who were referred and labeled during the 1983-84 school year (before implementation of statewide learning disability guidelines) and 790 students who were identified during 1987-88 (after implementation of the guidelines). The results of the study revealed that the statewide guidelines significantly changed the characteristics of students who were identified. After the implementation of the guidelines, students with much more severe academic problems were identified. These students were much more likely to have a severe discrepancy and be chronically failing in the regular classroom. However, even with explicit, widely accepted guidelines, approximately one third of all students identified in 1987-88 failed to meet the stated criteria for identification. The implications of these findings for professional practice and future research are discussed.