Collaboration of mental-health professionals from different disciplines with each other and with health and educational staff is essential for school health-service delivery. The paper discusses each profession's role in providing school-based mental-health services, noting training requirements within each discipline related to school mental…

Discusses the potential of self-help/mutual-aid groups as a way to reduce the demand for professional substance-abuse treatment and proposes a model that combines the two approaches for cost-effective and therapeutically effective networks of services. (SLD)

A study examined 149 urban and rural school psychologists' abilities to use formal and informal assessment data to diagnose autism and plan an effective educational program for a student with high-functioning autism. Respondents had difficulty recognizing autism but were able to select appropriate Individualized Education Program goals for the…

A study investigated the extent to which personality traits associated with teaching effectiveness changed with aging, mediating the relationship between age and teaching. Peer ratings of 29 personality traits and student evaluations of teaching for 33 full-time psychology faculty, ages 33-64, were examined. Teaching effectiveness was found to be…

In consonance with previous articles advocating change in school psychology role/function change efforts, this article places the burden for change on individual practitioners. Offers preliminary suggestions for how to bring about change through strategies at multiple levels--college/university, professional organization, school…

Describes the preconditions and strategies needed to recruit, to select, and to support ethnic minority students and faculty in counseling psychology programs. Discusses the responsibility of various regional training programs in achieving ethnic parity in counseling psychology. (SNR)

In this interview with Drs. Nancy Waldron and James McLeskey, they discuss creating school environments in which all learners are successful, helping teachers plan for differentiated instruction, effective grouping arrangements, and the role of principals, special educators, and school psychologists in helping schools become inclusive. (Contains…

Analyzes the works of Bruno Bettelheim. Find three areas of intersection with religious education: (1) identity formation; (2) moral education; and (3) the role of fantasy and ritual. Identifies how Bettelheim's explanation of the way fantasy works to facilitate the formation of the self through meaning attainment is important for religious…

Describes a preliminary study of the development and psychometric integrity of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) norms for literature-based reading. Assesses the reading achievement of 403 first through third graders. Results show that CBM procedures can be modified to develop local norms for literature-based instruction. (MKA)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences exist in the availability of instructional options for struggling students and students who did not pass state-required tests based on three school characteristics: retention practices, awards or sanctions, and school level. Participants were 242 teachers and school psychologists from…

A central component of positive psychology is subjective well-being (SWB). One facet of SWB receiving increased research attention is children's perceived quality of life (PQOL). Existing research related to child and youth PQOL is reviewed, followed by a discussion of the implications of the research for school psychology practice. Research with…

Two national surveys of the perceptions of trainers and practitioners regarding assessment and intervention for students with low incidence disabilities (LID) were conducted. The first survey, sent to the directors of 250 school psychology training programs, was designed to determine the extent and type of training in assessment and intervention…

Physicians, including child and adolescent psychiatrists, show variability and inaccuracies in diagnosis and treatment of their patients and do not routinely implement evidenced-based medical and psychiatric treatments in the community. We believe that it is necessary to characterize the decision-making processes of child and adolescent…

This article takes issue with the behavior-genetic analysis of parenting style presented by M. McGue, I. Elkins, B. Walden, and W. G. Iacono. The author argues that the attribution of their findings to inherited genetic effects was without basis because McGue et al. never indicated how those genetic effects manifested themselves. Instead, McGue et…

Functional behavior assessment (FBA) incorporating a functional analysis is emerging as an effective model used to assess classroom behavior problems. However, conducting an FBA in a classroom presents challenges for school psychologists such as determining which environmental variables to evaluate in the assessment. Because teacher attention is…