SUPERVISION AND MENTORING FOR EARLY CAREER SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS: AVAILABILITY, ACCESS, STRUCTURE, AND IMPLICATIONS

摘要

The authors thank Jeffrey Charvat, Director of Research, National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), for his guidance regarding survey development and administration, and Wendy Finn, former Director of Membership and Marketing, NASP, for her assistance with sampling and data collection. The authors thank Concetta Panuccio for her assistance in coding the data, and Elizabeth Williams and Concetta Panuccio for their assistance with reference checking. The authors also express their gratitude to the following individuals for their contributions to the development of the survey instrument: Rhonda Armistead, Patti Harrison, Jeffrey Charvat, Pamela Cocol, Wendy Finn,Susan Gorin,Virginia Smith Harvey, Mary Beth Klotz, Philip Lazarus, Joseph Prus, Eric Rossen, Todd Savage, Joan Struzziero, Michael Sulkowski, and Barbara Bole Williams. This study is the first national survey of supervision and mentoring practices for early career school psychologists (ECSPs). Respondents included 700 participants, 38% of whom reported having access to professional supervision. Time, availability, and proximity to a supervisor were found to be the most common barriers to accessing supervision and mentoring; access to technology, supervisor interest, and cost were not found to be as significant. Nearly 30% of ECSPs reported feeling pressure to practice outside their boundaries of competence because they did not have access to mentoring or supervision, suggesting a potential ethical concern. Results demonstrate the need to provide more supervision and mentoring opportunities for ECSPs, particularly given the National Association of School Psychologist's requirement that first-time Nationally Certified School Psychologist renewal applicants complete a year of mentoring or supervision. Implications of the results, strategies to support the barriers to access, and future directions for research are addressed.