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.
