The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher characteristics that may lead to special education referrals, including efficacy, burnout, experience, and preparation. We hypothesized that likelihood to refer for special education is related to these teacher characteristics. This study involved 106 elementary teachers who rated themselves on the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES). They were given a case vignette of a child exhibiting behavioural problems in a classroom and were asked how likely they would be to refer the child for special education assessment. Analyses revealed that teachers who were uncertain whether they would refer a child for special education testing had higher levels of burnout than teachers who were more decided about whether to refer. No relationship was found between teacher sense of efficacy, experience, or preparation and decision to refer. Significant correlations between the subscales on the MBI and the TES suggest an inverse relationship between teacher sense of efficacy and teacher burnout.

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Eleven broad themes emerged from the 2002 multisite conference on the Future of School Psychology. After the conference, strategies developed by the participants were clustered into the following domains: (a) advocacy and public policy; (b) research and knowledge base; (c) collaboration and communication; (d) practice; (e) preservice training; and (f) in-service training. The eight sponsoring associations subsequently formed the School Psychology Leadership Roundtable in an effort to increase collaboration and to advance the agenda of school psychology to meet better the needs of children, families, and schools. Caveats and cautions are offered relative to strategic planning. The article concludes with a question of whether school psychology is at a tipping point.

Social reforms affecting society often are played out in America’s schools. Within the past 3 years, the federal government and many states have passed massive social reforms, all of which affect schools, children, and families. This article explores 2 converging reform movements: education and health care reform. Education reform, which is addressed nationally in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1994, the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, and the pending reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (1994), is producing dramatic transformations at federal, state, and local levels. Although comprehensive national health care legislation has failed to gain passage, many states and national groups are promoting schools as health service delivery sites. Thus, social reform movements in education and health care are converging within the single social institution that touches the lives of every American citizen—the schools. This article explores the challenges and opportunities for psychology in addressing social reforms associated with the schools.

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