School psychologists are trained to provide comprehensive support through strategies such as consultation, family engagement, individual and group counseling, and providing academic support to staff and teachers. However, school psychologists are rarely able to provide comprehensive services due to an overwhelming number of evaluations for special…

The Executive Functions are a collection of higher order brain functions. Nevertheless, there exists much confusion on what they are and how they function. This dissertation explores the history, theory, and application of the Executive Functions as they apply to school psychologists. Topics such as the current leading theories of the Executive…

The current study investigated beliefs, training, exposure, and barriers among 100 school psychologists' clinical practice when serving LGBTQ students. Two hypotheses were tested to address gaps in the existing literature. The first hypothesis examined if school psychologists' beliefs, training, and exposure to LGBTQ individuals predicted…

Transitioning from a student to a practitioner can be a very difficult and challenging period in one's career. Early career school psychologists are not only responsible for adapting to the everchanging and fast paced work of school psychology but must also deal with adjusting to a new career. This qualitative phenomenological study focused on…

The need for multicultural competency in school psychology is crucial for creating inclusive and culturally responsive learning environments. While research has often focused on graduate student perspectives, there's a notable gap regarding faculty members in school psychology programs. Ensuring that faculty are multiculturally competent is…

The relationship between school psychologists and teachers is one that has yet to be fully examined to see what the perceptions and attitudes that school psychologists hold about teachers and teaching, how having teaching experience may impact those perceptions, and whether or not the field of school psychology may benefit from incorporating…

The purpose of this study was to assess school psychologists' knowledge of dyslexia interventions and basic language constructs. Participants' total levels of knowledge from these two areas were examined to determine if significant differences in dyslexia knowledge and definitional knowledge related to degree level, taking a graduate literacy…

This study aimed to explore the intricate relationship between burnout, moral distress, and self-care practices among school psychologists, marking the first attempt to examine these constructs within this professional domain. A total of 192 school psychologists were recruited at the NJASP Spring Conference in May 2023 and online through social…

This dissertation explores school psychologists' evolving roles and responsibilities, examining how their practices align with the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) domains. This study utilized an online survey distributed via the snowball method; data was collected from 97 school psychologists across multiple states. The study…

Concussions, or mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs), are increasingly affecting school-age children in the United States. Despite this rising incidence, comprehensive return-to-learn plans for affected students are often inadequate and not utilized to the degree needed. This deficiency may stem from school psychologists' insufficient training,…

Excellent patient care is the central tenet of most medical centers in the United States. Achievement of high-quality care correlates with the skill level of the professionals employed by the organization: excellent patient care is a product of highly skilled employees. Supporting staff with professional development programs enhances their skill…

The role of school psychologists (SPs) includes consulting with parents, teachers, and working directly with students. Researchers have demonstrated a high rate of burnout among professionals in this field (e.g., Huebner, 1992; Schilling et al., 2018). Mindfulness-based interventions have been found to be useful to address symptoms of burnout…

Within the discipline of school psychology, social justice is a fundamental concept and an aspiration of practitioners. Recently, a myriad of pleas has been made for school psychologists to act as agents of social justice change. Further, bullying, which is a prevalent issue in schools, has been identified as a school-based social justice…

This dissertation is prepared to explain the research conducted to study the extent of instruction that school psychology graduate students are receiving on strengths-based assessment in their training programs. Strengths-based assessment is the process of intentionally measuring strengths rather than solely measuring deficits. The positive…

Special education assessment has a significant impact on the lives of children with disabilities and their families. However, traditional assessment practices have been critiqued as being deficit-based, overly focused on "labeling" students, and failing to provide a holistic understanding of the student. Assessment models such as…