Proposes the use of family-school meetings as a means of closing the current gap between families and schools when helping children who are experiencing difficulties. The collaborative approach advanced here eschews directive interventions and favors a view of counseling as a series of therapeutic conversations where meanings are co-constructed…

Argues for a unifying concept for consultation research and practice based on the principle of social validity, a principle which includes the evaluation of the social importance of the effects produced by intervention procedures. Suggests that relying exclusively on consultees to socially validate goals, procedures, and outcomes is misguided. (75…

Study demonstrates how Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) could be applied to common measurement issues within school psychology literature. CFA used to test several alternative factor structures thought to underlie a commonly used measure of exposure to community violence. Data were collected from 242 elementary and middle school, inner city,…

School psychologists (N=261) in New South Wales, Australia, were surveyed regarding their attitudes toward mainstreaming and asked to identify resources required to meet the needs of disabled students in regular classrooms. Subjects generally saw their role as consultative rather than interventionist and attached little importance to knowledge of…

Fifty-six school psychologists reviewed a hypothetical case study designed to investigate their interpretations of different norm-referenced test scores. Subjects were more likely to recommend special education programs for normal students when percentile scores were used. School psychologists need to become more familiar with the properties of…

Providers of psychoeducational assessment services for hearing-impaired children, from infants to adolescents, were surveyed concerning their educational and experiential background, communication modes used, problems encountered, and educational placements of assessed children. Frequency of use scores and rankings are reported for psychological…

Investigated developmental changes in novices' personal theories of consulting. Used variation of Kelly's (1955) role repertory grid technique to explore changes in school psychology graduate students' (n=9) cognitive representations of consultant role following nine-month consultation practicum experience. Interviews before and after practicum…

The Parent Education and Guidance Program is an eight-month program that utilizes parent support groups and professionals from various fields to involve parents of handicapped children in a group process directed toward meeting the child's social, emotional, and intellectual needs. The program attempts to create a positive, ongoing relationship…

How the performance appraisal system for school psychologists in North Carolina was developed and implemented is described. The evaluation system was developed with consideration for those to be evaluated and with respect for the needs of individuals as well as organizations. (SLD)

Investigated factors considered by 118 school psychologists, 119 principals, and 108 special education teachers in making distinction between students with serious emotional disturbance and those with social maladjustment. Found moderate disagreement between groups on behavioral or background descriptors differentiating emotionally disturbed and…

This survey of 120 school psychologist trainers found that (1) there is widespread familiarity with dynamic assessment as a model of cognitive assessment; (2) few trainers are actually using the procedures; (3) most trainers do not mention it in their courses; and (4) trainers see the model's primary asset as its focus on learning processes rather…

Provides framework for school to guide crisis intervention efforts. Provides practical examples to assist schools in examining their resources as they develop crisis intervention teams. Outlines school safety techniques being used nationally. Contends that school crises and youth violence represent opportunity for school psychologists to provide…

Reviews themes in cognitive psychology on relationship of children's knowledge and strategies to learning, memory, and performance of academic tasks. Notes that literature on strategies indicates that strategic competency is related to changes in structure and efficiency of strategies with development, context in which strategies are used, and…

Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) is an integrated set of measures for the assessment and identification of school-age children with emotional disturbances and behavioral disorders. This review summarizes the technical qualities of the BASC and critiques its usefulness for practicing school psychologists. Concludes BASC a desirable…

This survey updated a 1974 survey of psychological services provided for students with deafness and hearing impairments. The survey covered job responsibilities, preparation, case load, assessment procedures and instruments used, and communication resources and difficulties in assessment. The 371 school psychologists responding reported that their…