| The current literature suggests that the role and function of school psychologists varies across the nation and includes activities such as assessment, consultation, intervention, counseling and research (Elliot & Witt, 1986; Fagan & Wise, 2000). These roles are affected by a variety of determinants including, but not limited to, district demands, state laws and regulations, training orientation, personal strengths and weaknesses of the school psychologist, as well as funding issues (Curbs & Zins, 1986). While the state law is suggested as an influence on the role and function of school psychologists, it has not been specifically studied. It is hypothesized that the perception of state laws and regulations will influence the roles of school psychologists around the country, despite results from an initial pilot study showing that the laws are quite similar across several states. A random sample of 500 school psychologists was surveyed utilizing the NASP Registry in order to determine if differences exist in their daily practices, as well as if those differences can be attributed to the perception of their existing state special education laws. A two-stage survey was utilized consisting of: (a) a questionnaire obtaining demographic information, perception of state laws, and actual time spent on a particular role; and (b) in-depth follow-up interviews with ten percent of respondents to ascertain more detailed information on the determinants of their current roles. Results indicated that, although school psychologists ranked laws and regulations as the most influential determinant of practice, and laws and regulations were found to correlate with several psychologists' roles, the perception of the law was found to account for very little of variance in practice, impacting only on the time spent in counseling and assessment. Overall, it appears that it is the sample's own perception that they are required to spend most of their time in assessment. It is possible that assessment is what they were trained to do, that they are comfortable in that role, and thus, uncomfortable or unwilling to move beyond that. It is also possible that assessment may be the job they were hired to do and that they do not know how to expand their role. |
