Going Digital to Address the School Psychologist Shortage

Abstract

Given the shortage of school psychologists, especially in rural areas, school psychology programs are beginning to emerge that provide students with the opportunity to attend classes through distance education (DE) methods (i.e., virtually). Despite many school psychology students and faculty holding negative perceptions of DE methods, the use of DE is expanding within the field of school psychology. This article provides an overview of existing DE programs and existing DE research, specific to school psychology, followed by a brief history of a DE option at Stephen F. Austin State University that began in Fall 2018. Solutions to common issues encountered with DE are also presented. The field of school psychology continues to experience a shortage of practitioners and trainers (Brock 2015; Castillo et al. (Dixon et al. 2020; Drefs et al. 2015) already provide instruction to school psychology candidates through a variety of predominately distance education (DE) methods (e.g., on-line, hybrid/blended). The purpose of this article is to provide a brief history of DE programs, a summary of published DE research findings within the field of school psychology, information about a DE option provided by Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA), and recommendations for common issues associated with DE. Although this paper was originally written for programs contemplating incorporating DE into their program, searching for ways to address the school psychology shortage, or address low enrollment numbers the information is also useful for programs forced into providing DE options due to COVID-19.