ERIC Number: EJ1156229
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 9
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0279-6015
EISSN: N/A
Contextualizing School Psychology Practice: Introducing Featured Research Commentaries
Burns, Matthew K.
School Psychology Review, v42 n3 p334-342 2013
Bronfenbrenner (1977) defined ecological-systems theory (EST) as the study of the multiple interconnected environmental systems that influence individual development. To understand the child, psychologists must fully examine the environment in which the child lives including the home, school, community, and culture (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). There are two ways to integrate EST into school psychology practice. First, school psychologists would solve the "big problems" (Shapiro, 2000, p. 560) that schools face by examining systemic issues and doing so would affect school psychology assessments, interventions, and consultation practices. Second, the EST framework provides depth because school psychologists can use it within the intervention process to fully analyze a problem for an individual student by examining all of the systems within which the student engages (or functions). In this article, the author provides examples of how EST can provide breadth and depth to school psychology practice in the overlapping roles of assessment, intervention, and consultation. The hope is to generate thought about how school psychologists can use an EST approach to influence practice and how some common activities might align with more ecologically relevant practices when engaged in assessment, intervention, and consultation.
Descriptors: School Psychology, Counseling Techniques, Evaluation, Intervention, Student Needs, Mental Health, Wellness, Consultants
National Association of School Psychologists. 4340 East West Highway Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814. Tel: 301-657-0270; Fax: 301-657-0275; e-mail: publications@naspweb.org; Web site: http://www.nasponline.org/publications/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A