Lin, M., Kelly, K., & Nelson, R. (1996). A comparative analysis of the interpersonal process in school-based counseling and consultation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 43 (3), 389-393.

In this study the verbal responses of school counselors, in counseling and consultation situations, were examined. There were common responses used by the counselors in both situations. These responses included information-providing, paraphrasing, closed questions, and open questions. Differences however were found in the frequency of use in each of the situations. School counselors asked more closed and open questions and provided less information in counseling sessions than in consultation. The findings of this study, and its implications for training, are discussed.

(38 references)

Key words: Oral communication, Professional consultation, School counseling, School counselors, Therapeutic processes, Adulthood, Counselor education.

Fuchs, D. & Fuchs, L. (1996). Consultation as a technology and the politics of school reform. Remedial and Special Education, 17(6), 386-392.

This study presents school consultation as an educational technology. The authors draw upon information from special education and school psychology research. Consultation has been shown to have a positive effect on students' and teachers' lives. A practitioner survey revealed however that it is used infrequently. The authors suggest that consultation is both effective and unused for the same reason. Whereas developers of school consultation have perfected an instructional and problem-solving process, that uses validated interventions, it is this very method which are seen as behind the times in school reform. This issue is explored and the authors propose recommendations.

(49 references)

Key words: Educational reform, Politics, Professional consultation, School psychology, Special education.

Minke, K. & Brown, D. (1996). Preparing psychologists to work with children: A comparison of curricula in child-clinical and school psychology programs. Professional Psychology-Research and Practice, 27(6), 631-634.

The results of this study indicated a strong overlap between graduate school programs for child-clinical psychology and school psychology. The curriculum requirements for both were explored. A system for categorizing and analyzing the curriculum was introduced. The most commonality was seen in core psychology, research methods and intervention courses. The programs were distinct in that more course work in psychopathology was seen child-clinical programs, as well as more supervised experience. More course work in consultation and education was seen in school psychology programs. The authors suggest that a combined approach to training may be possible. However, variations within the program types make it difficult for professionals to state what competencies graduates possess in these two fields.

(15 references)

Key words: Child Psychology, Clinical Psychology Graduate Training,, Graduate Psychology Education, School Psychology.

Henning-Stout, M. & Bonner, M. (1996). Affiliation and isolation in the professional lives of school psychologists. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 7(1), 41-60.

School psychology is described as a profession which has three primary roles. These are assessment, intervention, and consultation. This study examined the extent to which school psychologists fulfill these roles. School Psychologists (n=8) kept extensive journals for 5 consecutive work days. Content analysis was done on these journals. It revealed that school psychologists were involved most often as experts and in affiliative interactions. In these interactions the psychologists took the expert or collaborative role. The largest majority of these interactions however involved collaboration and consultation. Fewer of the psychologists' roles included professional isolation. These results of actual work experience are discussed in relation to the implications for training and professional schooling.

Key words: Cooperation, Interpersonal Interaction, Role Perception, School Psychologists, Adulthood.

Harris, S., Galesburg, B. & Rica, D. (1996). Pervasive developmental disorders: Distinguishing among subtypes. School Psychology Review, 25 (3), 308-315.

This study examines Pervasive Developmental Disorders which are contained in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV). Those included are Autism, Asperger's disorder, Rett's disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. Their pertinence to the field of School Psychology was explored because it has been shown that an intense behavioral intervention, beginning at an early age has improved the development delays of these children. The School Psychologist has an essential role to perform in the diagnosis, assessment and classroom consultation for students with PDDs.

(47 references)

Gutkin, T. (1996). Patterns of consultant and consultee verbalizations: Examining communication leadership during initial consultation interviews. Journal of School Psychology, 34(3), 199-219.

Live consultations were examined and the verbal leadership and control behaviors were noted. J. R. Bergan's (1977) consultation analysis record procedures were utilized in recording , analyzing and transcribing he verbal interactions of initial consultation sessions. The interviews were with 41 graduate students and field-based educational and psychological professionals. The professional problems used for these interviews were real and current. The results suggested that both consultants and consultees use meaningful and particular leadership functions. The leadership of both consultants and consultees was positively associated to interview effectiveness. The equivalent was true for consultant but not consultee process leadership. In general the results showed a pattern of similar and partially overlapping styles of communication during the consultation interactions.

(46 references)

Key words: Interpersonal Communication, Leadership, Professional Consultation, Therapeutic Processes, Verbal Communication, Adulthood, Pragmatics, School Psychology.

Romualdi, V. & Sandoval, J. (1995). Comprehensive school-linked services: Implications for school psychologists. Psychology in the Schools, 32(2), 306-317.

The recent movement to provide comprehensive school-linked services for children and their families in low income communities was addressed. The growth of a collaborative effort between schools, the public, and community-based agencies is occurring in an effort to provide an increase in the availability and accessibility of much needed services. It is an attempt to unify these services rather than to have many separate programs. Early intervention is emphasized in this approach. For School Psychologists this would mean an expansion in their role as consultant. School Psychologists have an opportunity to contribute to this team approach through consultation, case management, and needs assessment.

There is additional discussion for training.

(70 references)

Key words: At-risk populations, Community Services, School Psychologists, School Psychology, Social Services, Children, Communities, Cooperation, Family, Lower Income Level.

Knoff, H., Hines, C. & Kromrey, J. (1995). Finalizing the Consultant Effectiveness Scale: An analysis and validation of the characteristics of effective consultants. School Psychology Review, 24(3), 480-496.

This investigation discusses the effectiveness of the Consultant Effectiveness Scale (CES). The CES is factor analytically derived with 225 school psychologists. To finalize the items, the discriminate validity of the items were evaluated and these results were compared with those in a prior study by H.M. Knoff et al. The results of this study showed that the CES can identify effective behavior and the characteristics of a consultant. It can also explain why consultation is successful. The authors discuss the need for additional research validating the CES and exploring facets of effective consultant behavior .

(40 references)

Key words: Test Validity, Professional Consultation, School Psychologists, Rating Scales, Adulthood.

Erchul, W., Covington, C., Hughes, J. & Meyers, J. (1995). Further explorations of request-centered within school consultation. relational communication. School Psychology Review, 24(4), 621-632.

This study expanded upon the earlier research of Erchul and Chewing (1990). They examined the relational communications aspects of behavioral consultation. The authors hypothesized that if consultees followed the lead of consultants by not making requests of the consultant, the outcomes of the consultation process would be more advantageous. This study used 26 advanced school psychology students to serve as consultants to one consultee each. The authors coded 1,017 request/response transactions contained within the 26 initial interviews. The results suggest that the participants in this study were more controlling than those found in Erchul and Chewing's study. Other data suggested a cooperative pattern of verbal interchange resembling to that reported earlier. Utilizing a subsample of self-identified behavioral consultants, two important findings developed. One was consistent with predictions. Three conclusions were discussed. The first is that a consultant's verbal behavior may be effective in different models of consultation. Second, School Psychologist-teacher consultation appears to include a cooperative exchange type of behavior. Finally, key characteristics of an optimal school-based consultation relationship continues to challenge easy identification.

(39 references)

Key words: Therapeutic Processes, School Counseling, Interpersonal Communication, Treatment Outcomes, Pragmatics, School Psychology, Adulthood.

Benes, K., Gutkin, T. & Kramer, J. (1995). Lag sequential analysis: Taking consultation communication research methodology to the movies. School Psychology Review, 24(4), 694-708.

A description of lag sequential analysis, and its special contributions to research literature regarding communication processes in school-based consultation, was given. Through assessing the statistical probabilities of sequences and patterns of consultant and consultee's behavior, this tool opens a significant multitude of research possibilities. The results of lag sequential analysis are similar to "moving pictures." This is in comparison to prior research bound to analyzing data in a summative information format. For the purposes of displaying the abilities and application of lag sequential analysis, the communication behaviors of two consultants were analyzed utilizing data collected from twenty, 15 minute problem identification interviews. In conclusion is a discussion for the usefulness of this approach and how it might be used by School Psychologists.

(46 references)

Key words: Statistical Analysis, School Counseling, Interpersonal Communication, Therapeutic Processes, School Psychology, Teachers, School Psychologists, Adulthood.

Kratochwill, T. & Van-Someren, K. (1995). Barriers to treatment success in behavioral consultation: Current limitations and future directions. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 6(2), 125-143.

This study discusses the established characteristics and the evolution of the behavioral consultation model. It examines this model with respect to theory, research and practice. It explains the use of this model in school psychological services. Recent conceptualizations of this model are used to illustrate its ability to meet the challenges of the school-family-community context of consultation services.

Key words: Professional consultation, Scowl Counseling, Behavior Problems, Models.

Kratochwill, T., Elliott, S. & Busse, R. (1995). Behavior consultation: A five year evaluation of consultant and client outcomes. School Psychology Quarterly, 10(2), 87-117.

The effects of training in behavioral consultation were examined on graduate students in a school psychology program and on client outcomes. Children age 3-11 (n=169), teachers/consultee (n=29), and consultants (n=26) were participants. The consultants made up four groups. There was also a control group of undergraduates with no training. The procedure included 3 phases of assessment. They were the pre-training, competency-based training, and post-training phases. The training focused on the principles and proficiency of applied behavioral therapy and behavioral consultation (BEC), relationship skills, and systems entry issues. The dependent variables covered indications of mastery of the BEC process, knowledge, and opinion toward behavior modification (BEM), consumer satisfaction, and treatment effect. Every consultant completed a predetermined minimum criterion of 80% of BEC interview objectives. The results of this study indicated that training yielded large increases of BEM and no changes in feeling toward BEM.

(36 references)

Key words: Behavior Therapy, Behavior Modification, Consumer Satisfaction, Graduate Psychology Education, Student Attitudes, Preschool Age Children, School Age Children, Adulthood, Childhood, Longitudinal Studies, School Psychology, Professional Consultation.

Wilson, M. & Reschly, D. (1995). Gender and school psychology: Issues, questions, and answers. School Psychology Review, 24(1), 45-61.

The question, "Does gender make a difference to the profession?," was addressed. The authors wondered if differences exist in the training, practice, attitudes, or roles for school psychologists depending upon their gender. Analyses of data from two current national surveys which were responded by school psychologists were utilized. The hypothesis that female practitioners were increasing in proportion to male practitioners was confirmed. The faculty in school psychology however still tends to be male. Viable explanations for this were explored. Female doctoral practitioners were found to be less confident in their skills of research or writing. They also observed less mentoring during their doctoral programs when they compared themselves to the men in their school programs. Both female practitioners and faculty in school psychology were more probable to have worked part time then men in the field. The reason was due to family responsibilities. Few differences were seen in the roles or practice were found. Both groups shared a high level of job satisfaction. Both female and male practitioners favored less time spent on assessment and more time spent involved in systems level consultation. Although this was slightly less true for females. The significance for future training and practice associated with gender issues is also discussed.

(53 references)

Key words: School Psychologists, Human Sex Differences, Roles, Professional Development, Demographic Characteristics, Career Development, Adulthood.

Reschly, D. & Wilson, M. (1995). School psychology practitioners and faculty: 1986 to 1991-92 trends in demographics, roles, satisfaction, and system reform. School Psychology Review, 24(1), 62-80.

The results of surveys of school psychology practitioners conducted between the years of 1986 and 1991-92 were analyzed with regard to changes in role preferences, job satisfaction, demographic characteristics, and delivery system reform attitudes. The trends in faculty and practitioner attributes are in the direction of increasing age, women dominating the practitioner field and men dominating the faculty positions., continued emphasis on service for students with disabilities, and specialist level training directing practitioners. There is decreasing importance of role preference on psychoeducational assessment with more emphasis on direct interventions and problem-solving consultation. Job satisfaction in general was positive for both groups. Higher satisfaction was evident however among faculty. Practitioner dissatisfaction was seen in career promotion opportunities. Both faculty and practitioners had positive feelings about system reform themes. These results suggest slight changes in the attributes of school psychologists, the stability in the school psychology clientele, and potential changes in the roles and services of school psychologists.

(71 references)

Key words: School Psychologists, Demographic Characteristics, Roles, Job Satisfaction, College Teachers, Psychologist Attitudes, Adulthood.

Knoff, H., Sullivan, P. & Liu, D. (1995). Teacher's ratings of effective school Psychology consultants: An exploratory factor analysis study. Journal of School Psychology, 33(1) 39-57.

This study explored the characteristics and behaviors of effective consultants using the revised Consultant Effectiveness Scale. The respondents were teachers (n=324). The participants perceptions were the factor structure of the scale was compared to previous research by H.M. Knoff, et al. With school psychologists , and considered participants demographic and professional characteristics were associated with their responses. The participants rated almost all of the consultant's characteristics and behaviors as meaningful or extremely meaningful. In opposition to the findings of Knoff et al's., 5 factor solution, 2 factors emerged from the factor analysis of the participants scale responses. The two factors were Consultant Knowledge, Process, and Application Skills and Consultant Interpersonal and Problem-Solving Skills. On some of the participants responses gender, age, highest degree earned, and years of teaching experience had a notable impression.

(34 references)

Key words: Factor Structure, Teacher Attitudes, Professional Consultation, School Psychologists, Test Forms, Adulthood.