Examining the Differences in Roles and Functions of School Psychologists Among Community Settings: Results from a National Survey
Date
2015
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Abstract
A nationwide survey of school psychologists across the four NASP regions was conducted in order to discern if school psychologists' community setting related to school psychologists' role and function as well as job satisfaction. Community setting was operationalized using a zip code database to precisely define urban, suburban, and rural. Two thousand schools were sent surveys for distribution to school psychologists; 220 school psychologists participated. Respondents completed a researcher created survey called the Regional Role and Function Survey (RRFS) and the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire ' Short Form (MSQ ' SF). The respondents answered questions pertaining to personal demographics, demographics about their workplace, their roles and functions as a school psychologist, and their job satisfaction. The findings indicated that school psychologists across community settings engage in assessment related to special education for the highest percentage of time out of all possible roles and functions. School psychologists in suburban community settings were more likely to engage in supervision and to have lower job satisfaction than school psychologists in all other community settings. School psychologists who were stationed in one school building or a K-12 campus were more likely to spend time in roles and functions other than special education assessment. The importance of school psychologist community setting is discussed; additionally the varying roles and functions of school psychologists, boundary-spanning, factors influencing job satisfaction, as well as methodology associated with rural research were explored.
Description
Dissertation completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Psychology degree in School Psychology at Alfred University, Alfred, NY.
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Dissertation
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Keywords
Psychology, Educational psychology