Women of color and the hidden curriculum of school psychology doctoral programs

Doctoral training programs educate future practitioners, scholars, and researchers. They therefore are an important site of inquiry for critical school psychologists interested in interrogating and confronting the inequities that exist within the field. We conducted four focus groups with 15 Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color (BIWOC) students in various APA-accredited school psychology Ph.D. programs to understand how they experienced their programs. We argue that the programs delivered a hidden curriculum to the participants through various socializing, vicarious, and disciplinary events, in addition to the official curriculum delivered to all students. Data analysis indicated that the hidden curriculum was delivered in four settings and consisted of six lessons, including (a) you do not belong here, (b) you cannot be trusted, (c) you are on your own, (d) you are not safe here, (e) you are a token, and (f) you will only get performative allyship from us. We discuss each of these lessons and contemplate on ways in which programs and faculty can combat their deleterious impact on the students.

Recruitment and retention of bilingual graduate students in school psychology: Efforts and challenges in increasing professional diversity

The main goal of this paper is to illustrate recruitment efforts, strategies, and challenges in the process of training bilingual school psychologists to serve diverse schools. First, we address the acute and chronic shortage of bilingual school psychologists in the United States, particularly in urban schools where student populations are increasingly diverse. Then we provide a review of strategies and efforts to recruit and retain bilingual graduate-level learners in one school psychology program in an urban university. Quantitative data regarding recruitment and retention efforts are discussed. We identify challenges and future directions to increase diversity in the field of school psychology.

Why (Not) School Psychology?: a Survey of Undergraduate Psychology Majors' Preferences

As the field of school psychology has expanded, the workforce has not, resulting in critical shortages at both the trainer and practitioner levels. Additionally, practitioners who are racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse are underrepresented in the field, despite the growing diversity of our nation’s schools. The purpose of this paper was to survey undergraduate psychology majors regarding their preferences for graduate studies and eventual career paths, and to examine the variables that might influence the decision to pursue a degree in school psychology. Findings suggested that exposure to the field in undergraduate studies was the only significant variable in predicting level of interest in pursuing graduate study in school psychology, which is similar to previous research. However, there were differences found by gender and ethnicity that might be informative for recruitment of students to the field.