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The field of school psychology continues to further embrace a social justice perspective to address systemic racism, privilege, prejudice, and discrimination. To accomplish this mission, school psychologists must ensure that there is a solid literature base that is inclusive and representative of students from minoritized backgrounds. A review of student sociodemographic characteristics was conducted of all articles in four of the primary journals of school psychology from 2010 to 2019 (n = 1,213 articles). Compared to national estimates of school-age sociodemographic distributions, researchers tended to include samples more representative of students identifying as White/Caucasian and underrepresentative of students from low-income backgrounds. Authors rarely included or described participants' sexual orientations and gender identities beyond the binary (female/male). We provide a discussion and recommendations for improving the inclusivity of students from minoritized backgrounds in future school psychology research.

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher characteristics that may lead to special education referrals, including efficacy, burnout, experience, and preparation. We hypothesized that likelihood to refer for special education is related to these teacher characteristics. This study involved 106 elementary teachers who rated themselves on the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES). They were given a case vignette of a child exhibiting behavioural problems in a classroom and were asked how likely they would be to refer the child for special education assessment. Analyses revealed that teachers who were uncertain whether they would refer a child for special education testing had higher levels of burnout than teachers who were more decided about whether to refer. No relationship was found between teacher sense of efficacy, experience, or preparation and decision to refer. Significant correlations between the subscales on the MBI and the TES suggest an inverse relationship between teacher sense of efficacy and teacher burnout. (Contains 4 tables.)

Ringeisen, Henderson, and Hoagwood have provided an important discussion of the significance of school context to children's mental health, particularly in relation to empirically supported interventions. They have outlined the influence of context on treatment integrity, and have emphasized appropriately the significant gap between research-supported interventions and practice. Finally, they have proposed a useful heuristic for conceptualizing context and practice from the individual to the organizational to the policy level. Their conclusion is that school context is a critical mediator in both research and practice, one that must be addressed to ensure successful children's mental health services. In this article, the author examines some implications for school psychology practice of moving to a contextual perspective in children's mental health services, as outlined by Ringesein et al.

National education reforms are producing dramatic changes, unlike comprehensive national health care legislation, which has not gained passage. Many groups are promoting schools as health services delivery sites. The challenges faced by psychologists as these two reform movements converge in the schools are explored. (SLD)

Investigated prevalence of social maladjustment among students in two rural/suburban school systems. Results from 249 elementary and secondary school teachers indicated that the percentage of students reported as exhibiting characteristics of social maladjustment was sufficiently high to indicate that services beyond special education may be necessary to meet their education and social needs. (Author/NB)

Randomly selected national sample of school psychologists (n=98) completed questionnaire concerning reasons for successful and unsuccessful consultation outcomes. Results suggest that teaching experience of school psychologists may have mediated attributions of causality in consultation. Respondents with teaching experience were less likely to attribute responsibility for consultation outcome to teacher than were those without such experience. (Author/NB)

This study documented the occurrence of stereotypical behaviors in young children with various handicapping conditions by rating such behaviors in 351 young children with handicaps by caregivers in early intervention programs. Most of the children exhibited at least one stereotypical behavior, and some stereotypical behaviors were differentially associated with particular handicapping conditions. (Author/DB)

School-based problem-solving teams recently have received much attention as a possible support for children who are at risk for school failure and for over-referral to special education. However, no controlled studies of the effects of such teams on numbers of referrals for special education or for proportion of appropriate referrals for special education have been conducted. The lack of adequate research concerning school-based problem-solving teams, coupled with the widespread promotion of their use, suggests that further study of such teams is important. In this study, we investigated the effect of one team model, Teacher Assistance Teams, on special education referrals in elementary schools of a large urban district. To address limitations of previous research, schools with such teams were compared with those without across several years of implementation. Analysis yielded a significant decrease in referrals in both groups of schools but no significant differences between groups. These findings may be explained by the context in which both groups of schools functioned.

In this study we investigated the effect of videotaped characteristics (degree, experience as a school psychologist, and teaching experience) of a school psychologist consultant on 153 teachers' ratings of the consultant's expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Analyses indicated that the school psychologist's degree affects perceptions of expertness and trustworthiness and experience as a school psychologist affects perceptions of trustworthiness. These results are interpreted as reflecting differential social influence related to differences in consultants' characteristics.

Investigated the relationship of aggression to several social cognitive variables in delinquent adolescent males. The findings indicated that only perspective-taking ability was significantly related to aggressive behavior in delinquents. High-aggressive delinquents were less able to perceive others' viewpoints than were low-aggressive delinquents. (Author/BL)

This study of students and teachers in 40 secondary classrooms in a large, southwestern high school investigated the relation of classroom climate to on-task behavior of students. Multiple regression and stepwise analyses indicated that social climate variables--including teacher support/control, rule clarity, and innovation--are significantly related to student behavior. (TJH)

Investigates the relationship among teacher beliefs about control, perceptions of behavior problems, and preference of interventions in classroom management. Administers two questionnaires to secondary faculty that showed a correlation between control beliefs and interventions. Control beliefs ranged from custodial to humanistic. Includes tables showing results. (CH)

From experience and research, these authors argue that conceiving of discipline as an organizational issue may enhance understanding of student discipline problems. By conceptualizing student and teacher behavior as facets of the school milieu, administrators may be able to discover additional causes for and solutions to misbehavior. A total school-wide approach with a specific plan can be the direction to take in creating an effectively discipline school., Much of the emphasis on discipline centers on classroom management skills of teachers as well as the development of specific classroom techniques for controlling student behavior. We have serious concern [...]