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The Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
 
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  Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology 2009-2011 Academic Programs Psy.D. Program in School Psychology (Department of Applied Psychology) Program Purpose and Philosophy  

Program Purpose and Philosophy


The doctor of psychology (Psy.D.) program in school psychology at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is designed to provide doctoral training for persons who wish to attain excellence as scholarly professional psychologists, and prepares psychologists for practice in schools and other community settings. Our intention is to prepare professionals who can integrate scientific knowledge with innovation in the delivery of psychological services to individuals, families, groups, and organizations.

The school psychology program is based on the Psy.D./practitioner-scholar model of training, initially developed at the 1973 Vail Conference on Levels and Patterns of Professional Training in Psychology. This model places primary emphasis on delivery of psychological services and on the evaluation and improvement of services, within relevant contexts. Practice is guided by knowledge of the theory and research related to school psychology practice and by data-based decision making in the practice setting. The school psychology program educates and trains graduate students to think psychologically and systematically about the nature of schooling, using a science-based approach to the design, implementation, and evaluation of practices, programs, and services at the individual, group, and organizational level, in order to support the emotional, social, and academic development of students in schools.

School psychology faculty believe that school psychological service delivery should be grounded in research findings. Relatedly, faculty believe that decision making about initiating, maintaining, modifying, and terminating practices, programs, and services should be based on data and therefore reflective of the individual needs and goals of students.

Faculty of the school psychology program educate and train students to provide school psychological services that are referenced to educational and psychological needs and are evidence based, culturally sensitive, collaborative and coordinated with other school practices, and informed by literatures on organizational functioning, organizational change, and innovation implementation. We promote use of a "disciplined inquiry" approach to professional practice that includes data-based clarification of needs and concerns, in which evidence is evaluated in terms of its technical reliability, validity and scientific meaningfulness, where the practitioner seeks to understand the problem or task within a theoretical framework. In this approach, social/organizational context is understood as a critical dimension for effective practice, and the psychologist is understood as a moderating variable in service delivery. Evaluation of the results of professional activity is seen as an essential component of professional practice. Social responsibility of the school psychologist is also emphasized as it relates to issues such as diversity.

School psychologists trained in this manner will understand: a) how to provide research-based interventions for individual students with an emphasis on addressing emotional, social, and/or behavior problems that impede learning; and b) how to work with teachers, school administrators, and other stakeholders to develop classroom and school environments that promote psychological development and educational achievement.

 
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