Perspectives on Specialization in School Psychology Training and Practice

School psychology is a professional practice specialty in the broader field of the profession of psychology. As such, the discipline of school psychology must meet certain standards and criteria to retain its identity and official designation as a professional specialty. Likewise, practitioners of school psychology are professionals themselves and must meet standards and criteria of preparation and continuing education to maintain their professional status. The growth of knowledge and the demands being made on school psychologists to acquire a broad range of knowledge and skills in sufficient depth to allow competent practice is outstripping the reasonableness of training in the field, which assumes that school psychologists should be competent to practice in all areas of practice demand. Specialization within the field of school psychology, a de facto but officially unrecognized occurrence in many areas for at least several decades, offers a solution to this dilemma of training and practice and should be formally recognized and promoted by the profession. (Contains 2 figures.)