Defining Leadership in School Psychology: NASP Member and Leader Perspectives David Shriberg Loyola University Chicago NASP 2008- New Orleans, @2008.

Defining Leadership in School Psychology: NASP Member and

Leader Perspectives

David ShribergLoyola University Chicago

NASP 2008- New Orleans, @2008

Acknowledgements

Jeff Charvat, Director, Research and Information Services; Susan Gorin, Executive Director; National Association of School Psychologists

Ashley Marks Walker, Ray Witte: Miami University

Mary Satchwell: Loyola University Chicago

Leadership: My Take

Believe leadership important in all realms of society, have a personal interest in this topic.

As a practitioner, tried to assume leadership roles, as professor want to help students to see themselves as leaders and to see their leadership potential

And it’s not just me….

Call to Action for Leadership in School Psychology

Quotes from School Psychology: A Blueprint for Training and Practice III (Ysseldyke, Burns, Dawson, Kelly, Morrison, Ortiz, et al., 2006):

“There has never been a greater need for school psychologists to take leadership in ensuring quality mental health services for children.” (p. 9)

“School psychologists need to provide leadership in identifying those instructional environments and cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral factors that have a significant impact on school achievement and the development of personal competence.” (p.18)

More Blueprint Calls

“Schools must attend to general health, mental health, and welfare in order to ensure effective academic development, and school psychologists should provide leadership in these areas.” (p.20)

“They [school psychologists] should provide leadership in creating instructional environments that reduce alienation and foster the expression of appropriate behavior as well as environments in which all members of the school community—both students and adults—treat one another with respect and dignity.” (p.20)

And More Blueprint Calls

“School psychologist should provide leadership in developing schools as safe, civil, caring, inviting places where there is a sense of community, in which contributions of all persons are valued, in which there are high expectations of excellence for all students, and where home-school-agency partnerships are valued.” (p.31)

Other Calls for School Psychology Leadership

School safety initiatives (Furlong, Morrison, & Pavelski, 2000)

Improving the social-emotional climate of schools (Ross, Powell, & Elias, 2002)

Developing research-based, effective, and acceptable system-level change initiatives (Ho, 2002, Shapiro, 2006)

Leading responses to high-stakes testing and accountability imperatives (Shriberg, 2007)

Research Question

Disconnect between message and research- We likely all agree that leadership is important, but what does effective leadership look like in school psychology?

This is the first known study to examine this question.

Participants

Two groups- “NASP members” and “NASP leaders”

Return rate= 23.6%

Participant demographics- see Table 1

Instrument

School Psychology Leadership Survey

Demographics Construct of Leadership for School Psychologists

ImportanceClarityOpportunityPerception

Self-Rating of Leadership Effectiveness as School Psychologist Possible Leadership Competencies Five Most Important Competencies Four Qualitative Questions Related to Defining and Applying

Leadership in School Psychology

Procedure

NASP Member Sample (1,000)- Fall 2005

NASP Leader Sample (156)- Spring 2006

Results- Construct of Leadership in School Psychology Support provided for idea that school

psychologists have opportunities to exhibit leadership

Support provided for idea that leadership is important to successful practice

Support provided for giving greater emphasis to leadership training in graduate education and professional development opportunities

School psychologists not jumping at chance for greater leadership role

Support for idea that leadership is not well-defined in school psychology

Self-Rating of Leadership Effectiveness

1-7 scale: 1=completely ineffective, 7=completely effective

Leaders- 5.78Members- 5.65No significant difference between groups

Characteristics of Effective Leadership in School Psychology List generated by surveying small sample (n=12)

of school psychologists 47 items generated Factor analysis yielded items that fit together

statistically but not conceptually (initial hypotheses related to expert, informational, and referent power not supported, initial hypotheses related to respondent gender not supported

Minimal significant differences between groups (no more than chance)

Generally, high ratings for everything (see Table 3)

Characteristics (continued)

Top 5 Characteristics Based on Overall Mean Ratings

1) Treats others with respect

2) Widely regarded as ethical

3) Widely regarded as competent

4) Strong working relationship with teachers

5) Works well in teams

Characteristics Picked in “Top 5” from List- NASP Leaders (see Table 4) Involvement of school psychologist leads to positive

outcomes for students/families Works well in teams Widely regarded as ethical Widely regarded as competent Creative thinker and problem-solver Strong verbal communicator Advocate for children and families Up to date with current research in school psychology Treats others with respect Strong in educational/ psychological assessment

Characteristics Picked in “Top 5” from List: NASP Members (see Table 4) Treats others with respect Strong working relationship with teachers Widely regarded as competent Able to work successfully with a wide range of

personalities Widely regarded as ethical Creative thinker and problem-solver Follows up on commitments/balances multiple tasks Knowledge of special education laws Strong verbal communicator Works well in teams

Characteristics Picked in “Top 5” from List: Total Sample (see Table 5) Widely regarded as competent. Treats others with respect. Widely regarded as ethical. Strong working relationship with teachers. Works well in teams.

Same Top 5 as Top 5 mean ratings Creative thinker and problem-solver. Able to work successfully with a wide range of personalities. Strong verbal communicator. Involvement of school psychologist leads to positive outcomes for

students/families. Knowledge of special education laws. Advocate for children and families.

What Might All This Data Suggest?

Groups much more similar than they are different School psychologists appear to feel that leadership is important, that

is not well defined, that they have opportunities to lead and they give themselves pretty high marks as leaders

No one trait or dimension that describes effective leadership in school psychology. “Top 5” in combined sample were competence, respectful, ethical, works well with teachers, works well with teams

General agreement between groups on ethics and competence Leaders more likely to prioritize outcomes and effective team

functioning Members more likely to prioritize being respectful and working well

with teachers

Limitations of Study

Relatively small response rate, especially for NASP members. This may have skewed sample.

Ceiling effect for list of possible characteristics/behaviors of school psychology leaders.

Survey was too long—fatigue effect.

Next Steps

Based on data— further clarification of construct is needed, “top 5” choices give us a start

Based on personal agenda— seek to connect emerging definitions and applications of leadership and systems change in school psychology to emerging discourage and action related to social justice. Why lead unless doing so for socially just ends?

For Discussion

What is your vision of effective leadership in school psychology?

How can a leadership agenda best be promoted within school psychology?

Where would you suggest I go next with this research?

References

Furlong, M., Morrison, G., & Pavelski, R. (2000). Trends in school psychology for the 21st century: Influences of school violence on professional change. Psychology in the Schools, 37, 81-90.

Ho, B. (2002). Application of participatory action research to family-school intervention. School Psychology Review, 31, 106-121.

Ross, M.R., Powell, S.R., & Elias, M. (2002). New roles for school psychologists: Addressing the social and emotional learning needs of students. School Psychology Review, 31, 43-52.

Shapiro, E.S. (2006). Are we solving the big problems? School Psychology Review, 35, 260-265.

Shriberg, D. (2007). The school psychologist as leader and change agent. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 23, 151-166.

Ysseldyke, J., Burns, M., Dawson, P., Kelley, B., Morrison, D., Ortiz, S., Rosenfield, S., & Telzrow, K. (2006). School psychology: A blueprint for training and practice III. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.