Evolving practicum issues in school psychology preparation

Abstract

Practicum experiences have been a critical aspect of the education and training of school psychologists at both the specialist and doctoral level. At the specialist level, the National Association of School Psychologists recently updated their standards for practicum, but the content, quality, and length of practicum vary tremendously across training programs. At the doctoral level, recent guidelines from the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards allow for the emerging option to include practicum experience together with internship toward licensure requirements. However, this raises a number of questions unique to the context of school psychology training, including what hours and activities count, appropriate credentials for supervisors, appropriate sites for practicum experiences, what competencies are to be gained, and how to assess those competencies. The Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs has organized a task force to address issues of competencies and supervision in practicum experiences to inform recommendations and regulations regarding practicum experiences. This article summarizes the nature and context of these issues, and makes recommendations for school psychology training programs, national professional organizations, and credentialing organizations. C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Although the primary professional organizations representing school psychology have always considered practicum experiences to be a critical part of training, recent revisions in guidelines and expectations (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010; National Association of School Psychologists [NASP], 2010b) have raised questions nationally about how to implement them to best effect. Practicum is relatively poorly defined for school psychology, with the APA Practicum Competencies Outline focused mainly on clinical approaches (Li & Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs [CDSPP] Practicum Task Force, 2011) and NASP leaving most of the defining frame to the individual program. As a result, the content, quality, and length of practicum vary tremendously across training programs. Such variations often cause confusion among field supervisors, who have practicum students from different universities, as well as affect students who apply for Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) internships. At the doctoral level, the emerging option to include practicum experience toward licensure requirements (APA, 2010; Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards [ASPPB], 2009) is resulting in a variety of expectations for practicum, which needs to be examined in the context of school psychology training. The CDSPP organized a task force to address issues related to competencies and supervision in practicum experiences in order to inform recommendations and regulations regarding practicum experiences (Li, Strein, & CDSPP Practicum Taskforce, 2010). This article begins with a brief overview of our current professional guidelines for practica and their impl...

The Consistency of Expectations: An Analysis of Learning Objectives Within Cognitive Assessment Course Syllabi

“…On the other hand, it is also possible that they are being taught elsewhere in programs' curriculums, such as during the practicum or seminar experiences. To foster consistency in training, faculty may want to examine the variability of practicum experiences due to the range of supervisors and populations served (Li & Fiorello, 2011). Given that cognitive assessment results can impact interventions, accommodations, and decision making-such as distinguishing between hypothesized disability categories (e.g., intellectual disability vs. specific learning disability) and qualifying students for special education services under categories such as intellectual disability or multiple disabilities-it is extremely important to understand how future practitioners are prepared with vital higher complexity skills.…”

“…Given that cognitive assessment results can impact interventions, accommodations, and decision making-such as distinguishing between hypothesized disability categories (e.g., intellectual disability vs. specific learning disability) and qualifying students for special education services under categories such as intellectual disability or multiple disabilities-it is extremely important to understand how future practitioners are prepared with vital higher complexity skills. Particularly in light of the known variation of practicum experiences within the field (Li & Fiorello, 2011), faculty should consider introducing higher complexity understanding of this subject early on in order to better prepare students more 2.…”

Internship Attainment and Program Policies: Trends in Apa‐accredited School Psychology Programs

“…Nonetheless, they may relate to experiences and exposure. With half of the programs not reporting a minimum, issues remain regarding appropriate contexts for pre‐internship field experiences, credentials of supervisors, length of practica, and competencies expected prior to and during internship (Li & Fiorello, ).…”

Collaborative community responsive training: University and community partnership.

“…The lack of specificity for practicum experiences results in wide variability in when programs first introduce field-based experiences, the types of experiences in which students engage, and the amount of time students are expected to engage in practicum activities (Li & Fiorello, 2011; NASP, 2020). Some training programs may introduce an organized sequential series of supervised experiences that align with academic coursework and gradually increase in complexity, as recommended by NASP and the Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards (2009; NASP, 2020).…”