Schools as Vehicles to Assess Experiences, Improve Outcomes, and Effect Social Change

Abstract

Schools are important settings that can be utilized to yield a positive impact on youth and the many issues our society faces. In this Presidential Address, I identify key issues and directions for the field, advocating that we need to expand our ecological focus, improve school climate, and collaborate with schools to effect change. To illustrate these key themes, findings from four projects with k-12 youth and educators in the United States are described, and these projects have the following foci: protective factors for youth exposed to violence, teacher-directed violence as part of an APA Task Force, school climate and neighborhood factors in relation to academic outcomes, and school transitions for students with disabilities. Challenges and future directions to build upon community psychology theory, research, practice, and policy are discussed.

Then and now: A 50‐year retrospective thematic analysis of Society for Community Research and Action presidential addresses

“…A decade later, Newbrough (1980), examined the difference between the balance of public and professional interests of SCRA (then Division 27) and APA, seeing community psychology as helping to strike a balance via orientation towards the public interest. Both Newbrough (1980) and Rappaport (1981) grappled with licensing (discussed above). This tension resurfaced 35 years later, when Kloos (2015) noted concern over APA accreditation of “health service psychology” programs not encouraging community psychology training alongside clinical and counseling.…”

“…Shinn (1992) applied community psychology to homelessness, bringing to light its root causes, calling for its prevention through systems‐level actions, and asking for collaboration beyond the field to address homelessness. This trend in addresses reappeared in the 2010s, when McMahon (2018) focused on applications of community psychology to school settings. These addresses demonstrated how community psychology could address particular social issues and particular social contexts.…”

Un aperçu de la violence et des comportements agressifs auxquels sont confrontées sept directions d’école de langue française au Canada

“…Aux dires de Mueller et al (2019), les études à grandes échelles ont toutefois tendance à réduire une difficulté ou un handicap à une dynamique binaire : avoir une difficulté ou un handicap, ou ne pas en avoir, donc il importe de remettre en question ce que les informations nous indiquent et comment le grand public les interprète. Une évaluation approfondie du climat scolaire peut faciliter une compréhension plus nuancée des différentes dimensions dudit climat qui varient selon le contexte afin de mieux planifier les interventions (McMahon, 2018).…”