School Psychology Manpower Characteristics and Needs in Rural and Urban Tennessee: A Five Year Follow-Up.
A five-year followup survey was conducted with both rural and urban Tennessee school administrators to ascertain current school psychology manpower characteristics and needs and to determine how these parameters have changed over that period of time. Psychological services continue to be reported as available in almost all districts reporting, and increases are reported in the number of full-time personnel providing service, in the number of personnel holding State Department of Education certification as a school psychologist, and in the level of desired training of psychological personnel. A substantial number of administrators continue to indicate the quantity of psychological services is inadequate to meet their needs, but the number of actual position openings has declined over the five year period and are very few in number in relation to reported needs. The possible implications of the data to overall manpower concerns, and specifically to the Master Teacher-Better Schools programs, are discussed.
A Survey of School Psychology Manpower Characteristics and Needs in Rural and Urban Tennessee.
School administrators in both rural and urban districts were surveyed to determine their level of psychological services at the time of the study (1977-1978), as well as their immediate additional and future (1982-1983) manpower needs. Information regarding availability of positions and appropriate training was also gathered. Though services were reportedly available to nearly all districts, substantial immediate additional services were reported as needed. Such need, however, was highly discrepant with reported job availability. Characteristic differences between rural and urban districts are presented along with concern for an oversupply of school psychologists in the near future.
Certification patterns and requirements for school psychologists
Abstract A questionnaire was sent to 50 state superintendents of public instruction and to directors of education in five U.S. territories. Information was requested relevant to state certification for school psychologists, including minimal academic, teaching, and internship requirements. Fifty-five questionnaires were returned. Forty-four states and territories indicated certification standards which were subsequently discussed in detail. Trends noted were: more states requiring certification for school psychologists, higher academic requirements, increasing levels of certification, and a shift away from a mandatory teaching certificate for state certification as a school psychologist.