In this essay, I explore how cognitive bias, rather than racial or ethnic bias, may inhibit the ability of school psychologists to advance social justice through research and practice. I begin with the argument that tests advance the cause of social justice because they define problems (i.e., disparities among groups) in objective, measurable…

This paper based on the opening address for the 2023-2024 School Psychology Futures Conference, reflects on contemporary inequities in school psychology practice, research, and graduate education. Challenges as the profession reckons with its oppressive past are highlighted. Drawing on concepts from liberation psychology, critical school…

Suicide remains a leading cause of death among adolescents and exists in detectable rates for younger children as well. Underserved ethnic and racial groups face barriers to effective mental health care, making it critical that school psychologists be prepared to incorporate cultural considerations for suicide prevention and intervention. School…

Transdiagnostic interventions are efficient treatments for common youth mental health concerns and may be particularly well suited for school-based practice. Implementing them can potentially strengthen school psychologists' identity as mental health practitioners. Some student problems may benefit more from direct school psychological services…

Many psychologists working in schools acknowledge how their work contributes to the reproduction and mitigation of societal injustices. While professionals engaged in education systems and classrooms may hope to achieve the latter, disciplinary conventions can compete with best intentions. In response, psychologists working in schools have…

Pediatric cancer is the second leading cause of death among children ages 1-14 (Whitehead et al., 2016). Approximately 10,500 children ages 1-14 and 5090 adolescents ages 15-19 have been diagnosed with cancer in 2021 (American Cancer Society, 2021). An estimated 28% of childhood cases and 13% of adolescent patients will be diagnosed explicitly…

Each year, the NASP Social Justice Committee selects a theme to help focus efforts and increase awareness within the school psychology community. This year's theme is alternative education programs, which can include a wide range of placements with varied goals and purposes. Alternative programs are educational placements that serve youth whose…

COVID-19 has imposed physical, mental, and emotional isolation contributing to adverse mental health outcomes in children and adolescents. For school children struggling with trauma, the pandemic has both exacerbated existing symptoms and served as a source for trauma. Due to the increase in psychological distress, there has never been a higher…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate and describe why alternating treatments design (ATD) researchers should consider employing a no-treatment series during the alternating treatments phase. To identify limitations associated with excluding this design element, we obtained examples of ATD studies published in five school psychology journals…

School psychologists enter the third decade of the 21st century marked by mass protests against state-sanctioned violence against Black people, worsening economic and environmental crises, and a deadly pandemic that makes preexisting disparities worse. We argue that the profession can respond to the challenges children, families, and schools face…

This article is written for practicing school psychologists who are considering a midcareer move to higher education. Readers will learn key differences between school-based practice and working as a faculty member. Guidance will be provided on how practitioners can prepare for a transition from school psychologist to professor and how to manage…

Most supervisors lack training in best practices in clinical supervision (Newman et al., 2019). However, supervisees report more positive supervision experiences from supervisors who have received training (Brott et al., 2016). To address this need, a group of university educators and an experienced field supervisor collaborated with the Illinois…

Down syndrome is one of the leading causes of intellectual disability, and individuals with Down syndrome experience various health issues including learning and memory deficits, congenital heart diseases, Alzheimer's or other dementias, leukemia, cancers, and Hirschsprung disease. School psychologists have a vital role in the success of students…

The trajectories of graduate students in school psychology are often highly individualized, but in a real and practical sense their journeys all have one thing in common. Before any graduate student can become a practitioner in the field of school psychology, they must pass the Praxis. The Praxis covers everything school psychology students have…

The control-value theory (CVT) of achievement emotions is a well-established theoretical framework which delineates the predictive relationships among distal and proximal antecedents, academic emotions, and student engagement and achievement. Although most research anchored in CVT is conducted by educational psychologists, the theory is arguably…