Many countries rely on statements issued by professional associations to delimit the scope of school psychological practice. It is, however, not always clear to what extent these statements match current practices and school psychologists' self-perception of their professional role, as empirical data is often unavailable or limited. This study…

A survey of school psychology practice in Nova Scotia was conducted to update and extend previous work. Thirty-one school psychologists completed a survey about their practice across the six areas of competency identified by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and their current versus preferred time in various areas of psychology…

Educational disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth across Canada, as is true across the United States, pose challenges to education systems to examine and alter professional practices in ways that support closing these gaps. Calls for more Indigenous school psychologists who might bring skills and perspectives to bear are…

Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) is one of the most popular theoretical frameworks in motivation research. Despite its application to a variety of contexts, including, school, work, and sport, it has not yet been referenced in the field of school psychology. First, we review the theoretical underpinnings as told through the theory's evolving models,…

Indigenous young people in Canada are disproportionately overrepresented in suicide rates and alarmingly, young children are accounted for in these disparities. Since children spend much of their day at school, schools are a vital context for suicide prevention, identification, and intervention. However, research indicates that educators often…

Indigenous youth comprise a significant and diverse collection of populations. School psychologists are uniquely placed to serve Indigenous students and improve their long-term outcomes. However, in the face of longstanding colonial practices and systemic oppression, which have resulted in poor educational outcomes for Indigenous students, school…

School psychologists play important roles in working alongside Indigenous Peoples within Canada; however, a large gap exists between the discipline's actions and the recommendations set forth by Indigenous Nations and governmental working groups. In this conceptual article, we seek to highlight the need for further Indigenous representation and…

School Psychologists regularly conduct Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), though, most FBA are completed using indirect procedures, which are inadequate for creating function-based interventions relative to experimental measures, such as functional analysis (FA). However, traditional FA may be considered arduous in the school setting.…

Self-regulation of learning involves developing metacognitive awareness (planning, monitoring, and evaluating) of (a) cognition-motivational beliefs, (b) behaviors-persistence, effort, engagement, and (c) affect-enjoyment, interest, and other emotions. Metacognitive awareness creates opportunities to exert metacognitive control as needed, which…

To achieve educational equity for Indigenous students, school psychologists need to consider the implications of using solely Westernized and Eurocentric educational standards of success. With current practices criticized as limiting and biased, a fitting alternative is the use of holistic frameworks of success aligned with Indigenous peoples'…

School psychologists serve the learning needs of students through assessment, intervention, and consultation. The school psychologist can often be the only mental health professional who travels into rural communities. In an effort to adapt to this context of clinical isolation, rural school psychologists develop specialty competencies to serve…

Art and Indigenous culture are inseparable. From the immaculately decorated lodges and war shirts of thousands of years to contemporary mixed and digital media images, Indigenous arts are expressions of survivance. Creative arts have sustained Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing, and healing through attempted cultural genocide. Research has…

In March of 2020, COVID-19 forced schools to close across Canada. While school psychologists typically work directly with students, teachers, and families, nearly all services had to be modified to accommodate the new circumstances. The following brief report presents a summary of the survey responses of 214 Canadian school psychology…

The current paper describes the process used for developing the Guidelines for Diagnosis and Assessment of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Learning Disabilities-Consensus Statement and Supporting Documents, and the rationale for some of the decisions. The guidelines were developed by a cross-sectoral working group of psychologists who…

As school psychologists we are well trained with using and interpreting a variety of psychometric instruments, yet there are several studies that indicate that school psychologist's interpretive practices veer off the intended path. The application of assessment to the process of identification of specific learning disabilities (SLD) has been…