School psychologists help children and youth succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. They collaborate with educators, parents, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments that strengthen connections between home, school, and the community for all students.
School Psychology was rated one of the 50 Best Careers of 2011 by US News and World Report and is said to have strong growth over the next decade. It has been projected by The Labor Department that the number of jobs held by school psychologists is likely to increase by 11 percent between 2008 and 2018, creating 16,800 more positions with growth being particularly strong in schools, hospitals, and mental-health centers, among others.
School Psychology is one of the fastest growing areas of professional psychology. School Psychologists bring psychological perspectives to individual, group and system issues in schools; that is, they deliver mental health services in educational systems. The framework of the UNK School Psychology Program is an ecological and developmental approach, which focuses upon human strengths to maximize positive outcomes. Human diversity is recognized as a strength. If the school psychology student attends full time, the student takes two years of academic coursework and related field experiences, followed by a year long, 1200-hour internship. Upon successful completion of degree requirements, the student is eligible for endorsement as a School Psychologist in Nebraska.
To provide the student with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to meet the demands of the profession, the School Psychology Program has adopted an ecological training approach. In the ecological approach, the student practitioner learns to collect and interpret data from a variety of sources in order to meet the needs of the individual within the school system. As a component of this approach, students are taught to be skilled at problem solving, consultation, interviewing, observation, assessment, and intervention development.
The School Psychology Program encourages the integration of experience and skills with knowledge of psychology and education to prepare graduates to serve as education team members. Acting in this role, the school psychologist is concerned with promoting teacher effectiveness, creating a positive classroom environment, and influencing educational philosophy in the school system to enhance student learning potential.
The School Psychology Program at the University of Nebraska at Kearney strives to provide the most current and comprehensive practitioner training within the midstates region of the country. As such, participating in 300 clock hours of Professional Development activities is a program requirement. This assures exposure to a wide variety of contemporary issues, skills, and knowledge beyond what can be covered in courses. These hours must be accrued after admission to and prior to graduating from the program. Ample opportunities are provided for students via Professional Development Seminars, partner school staff development, state and national conferences. Graduates are eligible for certification and endorsement as a School Psychologist in Nebraska and have enjoyed high levels of professional employment in this state as well as many others.
"It is the responsibility of graduate training programs in school psychology to provide students with the building blocks for 'effective practice'" (Ysseldyke, Dawson, Lehr, Reschley, Reynolds & Telzrow, 1997, p. 6). Therefore, the program of preparation for endorsement shall include training in practices that permeate all aspects of service delivery in the following areas:
17 Jul 2013
gradcat@unk.edu