Autism spectrum disorder assessment and evaluation research in 10 school psychology journals from 2007 to 2017

Characteristics of students who require elementary school counselors' support owing to developmental disorders

Awareness and support for developmental disorders are increasing in Japan. In the education field, support from school counselors for students with developmental disorders and their roles and responsibilities in elementary schools are on the rise. However, identifying and addressing specific conditions and developmental disorders that require school counselors' attention are not clearly planned. Therefore, this study explored the characteristics of students who require elementary school counselors' support owing to developmental disorders. The participants included 17 school counselors who were experienced in working at elementary schools. Through semi-structured interviews, 30 cases were discussed, examined, and categorized based on "case characteristics," "classification of the main complaint," "basic information on the diagnosis," and "type of support." The analysis included detailed viewpoints of 13 school counselors, a code frequency table, and contrast tables, focusing on the main complaint and diagnosis. Regarding the children whose main complaint was "school refusal," eight out of nine cases were in the fourth grade or above, with several cases of suspected developmental disorders or autism spectrum disorder. The number of children with comorbid attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, including suspected cases, seemed to be higher, especially in Grades 3-5. The study highlighted the importance of assessing students' developmental characteristics related to the main complaint in the background of a secondary problem. Furthermore, early detection and interventions should be conducted in the first and second grades.

A Systematic Review of Indigenous Representation in School Psychology Research

Indigenous youth comprise a significant and diverse collection of populations. School psychologists are uniquely placed to serve Indigenous students and improve their long-term outcomes. However, in the face of longstanding colonial practices and systemic oppression, which have resulted in poor educational outcomes for Indigenous students, school psychology research broadly underrepresents Indigenous students. This proves problematic considering research informs practice. The goal of this review is to evaluate the current standing of school psychology research focused on Indigenous youth and identify areas of need. The current systematic review yielded 57 articles focusing on Indigenous youth from 10 indexed school psychology journals. A significant portion of the articles were published in the 1980s, with fewer than three publications per year in the two decades following. The articles demonstrated a preference for assessment and related topics, with limited research focused on intervention, culture, and equity. This focus on assessment to compare Indigenous youth with youth of other racial and ethnic backgrounds serves to support the systems of oppression in place. These findings highlight the need for school psychology research to exert a concentrated effort toward Indigenous-focused research with more varied topics beyond assessment. Implications for trainers, researchers, and school psychology journals are discussed.

Why Educational Neuroscience Needs Educational and School Psychology to Effectively Translate Neuroscience to Educational Practice

The emerging discipline of educational neuroscience stands at a crossroads between those who see great promise in integrating neuroscience and education and those who see the disciplinary divide as insurmountable. However, such tension is at least partly due to the hitherto predominance of philosophy and theory over the establishment of concrete mechanisms and agents of change. If educational neuroscience is to move forward and emerge as a distinct discipline in its own right, the traditional boundaries and methods must be bridged, and an infrastructure must be in place that allows for collaborative and productive exchange. In the present paper, we argue that school psychologists have the potential to fulfill this need and represent important agents of change in establishing better connections between research and practice. More specifically, we use the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) (2020) Domains of Practice to highlight several areas where school psychology can actively support forging connections between neuroscience and educational practice. School psychologists represent untapped potential in their knowledge, skillset, and placement to serve a vital role in building the bridge between neuroscience and education.