Consultation Practices of School Psychologists in New Brunswick
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Date
2010-04-14T13:59:56Z
Authors
Craig, Lisa
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Abstract
Consultation and collaboration have been identified in the literature as essential
parts of school psychology service delivery (Gutkin & Curtis, 1999; Sladeczek,
Kratochwill, Steinbach, Kumke, Hagermoser, 2003; Walther-Thomas, Korinek,
McLaughlin, 1999; Zins & Erchul, 2002). The purpose of this study was to examine the
consultation practices of school psychologists who work in rural and urban regions of
New Brunswick. Thirty-three school psychologists and residents in psychology were
invited to participate. The response rate was 42.4% (n=14). Most respondents were
experienced psychologists and the majority worked in both rural and urban settings.
The psychologists engaged in consultation as consultants and consultees
regularly, with the majority (10/14) consulting at least two to three times per week.
Consultation took place at the school-level most often: 12 respondents acted as
consultants with teachers and school administrators at least two to three times per week,
while 13 sought advice from teachers and administrators at least once per month. By
contrast, respondents consulted with professionals outside the school system less than
once per month. The focus of the consultation was most often on academic, behavioural,
and socio-emotional issues: 10 participants consulted about these issues at least two to
three times per week, and all but one reported being confident or very confident when
consulting in these areas. As consultees, 14 participants consulted about socio-emotional
issues at least once per month and 13 consulted regarding academic and behavioural
concerns at least once per month. Eleven school psychologists were at least somewhat
satisfied with their current level of consultation, and eight felt as though they had the
right amount of time to spend on consultation. Participants also identified barriers to school consultation, including heavy caseloads, servicing too many schools, and others' lack of awareness of psychologists' expertise. Factors that they perceived facilitated
effective consultation were: being part of a school-based team, established meeting times
for consultation, time allotted in daily schedules for consultation, support and
commitment from teachers and administrators, additional psychologist resources,
recognition of all participants' skills and knowledge as valuable, the development of
relationships with team members, and a reduced emphasis on completing psychoeducational
assessments.
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Keywords
School psychologists , School psychology , New Brunswick