School psychology graduate education retention research characteristics: Implications for diversity initiatives in the profession

Abstract

Lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the school psychology workforce has been a concern since the profession's inception. One solution is to graduate more racially and ethnically diverse individuals from school psychology programs. This structured review explored the characteristics of studies published from 1994 to 2017 that investigated graduate student retention and school psychology. An electronic search that included specified databases, subject terms, and study inclusion criteria along with a manual search of 10 school psychology journals yielded two published, peer‐reviewed studies focused primarily on graduate student retention and school psychology over the 23‐year span. Two researchers coded the studies using a rigorous coding process with high inter‐rater reliability. Findings suggest that mostly Black and White individuals served as participants, undergraduate students represented the largest group sampled, and key school psychology stakeholders’ views were missing. Additionally, programs interested in retaining racially and ethnically diverse students should have a commitment to multicultural issues, expose students to diverse professional networks and mentorship, and cultivate an inclusive program environment. Implications point to a need for more studies focused on school psychology graduate student retention in general and in specific relation to retaining racial and ethnic minoritized students.

Exploring the relationship between teachers' perceptions of cultural responsiveness, student risk, and classroom behavior

“…Despite a recent decline in the use of exclusionary discipline practices in U.S. schools (Musu et al, 2019), racially and ethnically minoritized (REM) (Proctor & Owens, 2019) youth remain disproportionately referred to the office (Anyon at al., 2018), suspended (Ksinan et al, 2019) and expelled (Bal et al, 2019). Black and Native American youth in particular are also more likely than their White peers to be identified to receive special education services for emotional disturbance (Bal et al, 2019; Donovan & Cross, 2002) and placed in more restrictive special education settings (Skiba et al, 2006).…”

An Analysis of the Workforce Pipeline in School Psychology

“…The results of this study are consistent with research suggesting that students with minoritized cultural identities may experience unique barriers or challenges in the course of their graduate preparation (e.g., Proctor and Truscott 2012 ) and reveal the need to target graduate school preparation and retention efforts. Proctor and Owens’ ( 2018 ) structured review on graduate school retention research in school psychology found only two studies that met their inclusion criteria, but both studies reported four shared retention strategies for students with minoritized cultural identities: (1) an inclusive program atmosphere, (2) access to diverse professional networks, (3) mentorship opportunities, and (4) program commitment to multicultural issues. The authors also recommended that programs conduct annual surveys with all students to assess retention-related issues (e.g., perceptions of belongingness, peer and faculty support) and meet with students with minoritized cultural identities to better understand their program-related experiences.…”

Increasing the recruitment and retention of REM students within school psychology: The potential of diversity committees

“…Despite this promise, little guidance exists about how to successfully implement DCs within programs. Further, given that the field of school psychology is very homogenous (Castillo et al, 2013), there is a critical need to advocate for institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues and inclusive learning environments in these homogenous spaces of predominately White institutions (Proctor & Owens, 2019), where not only the majority of the student body is White, but also there are “embedded institutional practices that are based in whiteness” (Bourke, 2016; p. 20). Given the paucity of research in DC implementation, particularly within school psychology, we offer two case examples of the implementation of DCs in school psychology training programs at predominantly White institutions (PWI).…”