A Research Study On School Psychology

Educational psychologist Educational psychologists apply knowledge and understanding to help parents, teachers and other adults working with young children. Each school has a link educational psychologist who visits regularly.

Multiple years of research and field experience as well as my undergraduate coursework in Psychology, Counseling, and General Education has provided me with ample skills to be successful at the graduate level in the School Psychology program offered at Francis Marion University. Working within the school system with students with mental health needs and exceptionalities has been a dream of mine since I was in high school. I am confident the School Psychology program at Francis Marion University will provide me with the skill set needed to make my dream a reality and become the best School Psychologist I can be.

“It takes a village to raise a child.” I never quite understood that saying when I was growing up, but my experiences teaching and working in school settings have showed me how true it really is. Obtaining a degree in school psychology will allow me to give the support that students, families and educators need to ensure that every student will thrive.

School Psychology is a general practice and health service provider specialty of professional psychology that is deals with the practice of psychology with children, youth, families; learners of all ages; and the schooling process. The basic education and training of school psychologists prepares them to provide a large range of diagnosis, assessment, intervention, prevention, health promotion, and program development and evaluation services with a special focus on the developmental processes of children and youth within the context of schools, families, and other systems (Ehly, 1986).

Following the interview conducted with a school psychologist, I was able to obtain a sense of Mrs. Montgomery’s basis for her practice, including her target clients, assumptions and values, goals and various roles of consultation, counseling, intervention and program evaluation (Sandoval, 1986). Mrs. Montgomery may be characterized as a school psychologist who places particular emphasis on the need to improve the student and systems’ capability.

The role of a school counselor is an intriguing one because they do not work with a specific type of client. While they will always be working with young children or teenagers, the problems their clients come to them with can be so different from client to client. One session might be dealing with questions about career choices. Another might be about dealing with bullying. Some days a school counselor may even have to be there for a child who was a victim of sexual or physical abuse. It is because of this wide range of demands that a school counselor should be well-versed in many types of counseling theories.

I am interested in being a school psychologist for a variety of reasons. First, I believe that my background in working with children and families, and my B.A. in psychology are essential combinations that will be helpful in my pursuit of the degree. Second, I would like to work with children in a variety of educational situations, such as those in need of special education classes and those in talented and gifted programs. Third, I believe it is essential to work directly with the entire family system, not just the child. The child's progress depends on the home environment and the academic environment equally. This academic environment includes all professions (i.e., teachers,

School counselors collaborate with other school personnel such as teachers who will help implement guidance lessons in the classroom. As a school counselor it is important to keep the teachers motivated to help implement these programs. Resource teachers typically work the special education students, collaborating with resource teachers ensures that all students are included in the comprehensive program. The resource teacher can help provide alternative to working with students in an inclusive manner. The principles and assistance principles of the school typically serve on the advisory committee, they provide resources to the program, and help communicate the important of the counseling program. School psychologist are there to assist with mental health services, doing assessments, and working with the school counselor during crisis situations. School nurses provide health services to the students. They monitor student medications and note changes in students behavior or effectiveness of the medication. Secretaries are equally important in the collaborative model. Secretaries are typically the first person a parent will come in contact with when entering the school. They are the ones that create that first impression (Erford, 2015). Community agencies can provide additional support to students outside of

A School Social Worker is someone that trained to help students, parents, and sometimes staff with child needs. A school social worker focuses on providing a great outcome for the child, and the family they are working with. A school social worker can help with mental health which is focusing on a child who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment, behavioral concerns, making sure the way a child acts or conducts his/ her self especially toward others, positive behavioral support is a behavior management system used to understand what maintains an individual's challenging behavior, academic and classroom support may refer to a wide variety of instructional methods, educational services, or school resources provided to students in the

A school counselor’s role is vital in many schools across America. Many students see their counselor, to work on any emotional stressors, academic changes and challenges. This may include, interventions, group therapy and changes in class schedule, but sometimes with all the implementations given, students do not succeed in school. Perhaps one needs to take a closer look at the programs being implemented and its success rate. In addition, a counselor should guide itself using the ASCA (American School Counselor Association) to provide evidence based practices in schools.

Throughout the years, schools have had to take on much more responsibility than just making sure that students are learning the material. Schools are now facing new challenges such as violence in schools, children that may be mentally or emotionally challenged, and basically being a caretaker for hundreds of kids, 365 days out of the year. With the new challenges, comes more responsibility and accountability which means adjusting accordingly. This is where the job of a school psychologist is of upmost importance. In the past, the role of the school psychologist has been solely to work with mentally challenged children. However, with the constantly changing demands that schools are facing, school psychology has broadened the field by transitioning from working with students individually to putting more focus into evidence-based work with families, classrooms, home-school partnerships, consultation and etc. (cite). The role of a school psychologist includes working with students, teachers, and other staff to help students excel academically, maintain healthy social relationships, manage emotions, exhibit healthy behavior and overall, create a supportive learning environment. They may also work with families, community, and school administration to make sure that students are in a safe school climate and explore ways to improve student success (American Psychological Association, 2016). School psychologists have had to broaden their training and expand their reach and

Something that Rita said during her interview was that school psychologists, in her experience, are seen as quasi-administrators and/or intermediaries between school faculty and administrators. Is this true? If so, how does this affect one’s

I am pursuing admission into the Educational Specialist (Ed. S.) School Psychology Program at San Diego State University because its ecosystemic and culture-based philosophy reflects my desire to become a culture-oriented school psychologist for children with diverse needs. As I will highlight below, my resolute interest in school psychology and my experiences in psychology and education validate my candidacy for SDSU’s School Psychology Program. I have become increasingly aware of my interest in school psychology over the latter-half of my undergraduate career. My interest originated from my decision to acquire a more expansive knowledge of psychology by double-minoring in Applied Psychology and Educational Studies, as well as partaking in research projects and other educational endeavors.

School counseling has evolved over the years into a significant component of the educational system. School counselors are taking on new roles in schools as leaders, working with “school administration and staff in developing student attitudes and behavior which are necessary to maintain proper control, acceptable standards of self-discipline and a suitable learning environment within the school” (Secondary School Counselor 2012). Counselors work in “diverse community settings designed to provide a variety of counseling, rehabilitation, and support services” (Counselors, 2010). When working in a school district as a counselor, you can either be an elementary school counselor, middle school counselor or a high school counselor.

Lockhart, Estes J. & Keys, Susan G. (1998). The mental health counseling role of school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 1(4), Retrieved from PsychInfo. ‘