Future Challenges And Opportunities: Toward Culturally Responsive Training In School Psychology

Abstract

This article argues that school psychology programs must prepare future school psychologists to address the needs of our increasingly diverse society. Providing training and field experiences that are grounded in multicultural practices, research, and advocacy will foster greater competence in addressing diverse schools', students', and families' needs. Following a review of relevant research on training program practices in this area, the authors identify four major program challenges to advancing culturally responsive preparation of school psychologists. These include (a) integrating multicultural perspectives within the philosophical foundation of training programs, (b) adapting multicultural approaches to reframe education and psychological theory in school psychology training, (c) defining the multicultural scope for training, and (d) articulating and implementing multicultural competencies via criteria already sanctioned by our profession through the latest National Association of School Psychologists Standards for Graduate Preparation of School Psychologists. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.