Teachers’ Perceptions of School Psychologists in Different Countries

Abstract

Teachers are probably the main group of professionals with whom school psychologists 1 have most contact. Teachers are usually involved in making referrals of individual children, they may be expected to act on the advice of the school psychologist and they also work with school psychologists in consultation-based activities. It is therefore important to ascertain their views about the work of school psychologists in order for services to move forward in an evidenced informed manner. This article discusses the findings of a survey of teachers’ views of school psychologists in eight countries. A total of 1105 teachers completed a questionnaire that yielded quantitative and qualitative data. Findings suggest that there is considerable variation between countries in the amount of time school psychologists spend in schools and that this is related, though perhaps not as strongly as might be predicted, to the extent to which teachers value their services. Overall, teachers appreciate the quality of the service they receive from school psychologists although they would like to see more of them. In addition, they would like school psychologists to spend more time on activities that they currently undertake less frequently. There were also concerns in the UK and the USA about the large amount of time school psychologists spend on testing and assessments for special education. There are key implications from these findings for school psychology services in different countries as they strive to improve their services and meet the needs and expectations of teachers.

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