A survey was created and mailed to 500 school psychologists randomly selected from the National Association of School Psychologists' membership lists. The final sample consisted of 228 school psychologists working at least half-time in a school setting. The survey's purpose was to gather information from school psychologists on their perspectives on crisis training and on crises experienced by public schools, as well as what schools have for crisis plans/teams, and what they do for crisis response. Nearly all of the participants (98.2%) reported that they had some type of crisis intervention training. The majority of respondents indicated that their schools had both crisis plans (95.1%) and teams (83.6%). Most of the participants reported that their schqols have experienced and responded to serious crises. Respondents indicated that lll psychological debriefing was being used by the majority of schools (67%). Many participants suggested that additional training and practice would improve schools' crisis responses.

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This study was designed to gather information in regard to job satisfaction, up-date demographic information, and to measure the difference between actual and desired amounts of time spent in different role activities by Virginia school psychologists. The results were compared to Levinson's 1983 study of Virginia school psychologists and to the results of a national study (Brown, 1992). Data were collected through mailed surveys consisting of a demographic data form and a modified version of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. A total of 351 randomly selected subjects were mailed survey materials, and 83.97% responded. The data analysis utilized the responses from 197 school psychologists employed full-time in the public schools. The current sample of Virginia school psychologists indicated that 81.2% are either satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, while 18.8% reported that they are dissatisfied with their job. Virginia school psychologists are satisfied as shown by 17 of the 20 scales measured by the modified Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. The three areas of job dissatisfaction were advancement opportunities, school system policies and practices, and compensation. The results of regression analysis revealed three factors as predictors of job satisfaction: control over the types of activities performed, decision to remain in the position for the next five years, and the desire to spend more time in research activities. Virginia school psychologists report spending more time in assessment activities and less time in counseling, consultation, and research than they desire. The level of overall job satisfaction for the current sample compared to their 1983 counterparts and to a 1992 national sample is virtually identical. Although some variations exist, the top seven and last seven factors are the same for all three studies. There are no differences in levels of satisfaction between the current sample and those in the 1983 study. Virginia school psychologists are, however, less satisfied than their national counterparts in the following eleven areas: ability utilization, advancement, authority, policies and practices, compensation, creativity, independence, recognition, responsibility, supervision-relations, and variety. Implications drawn from this study were discussed. Recommendations were made for school psychologists, university trainers, employers, and professional organi / Ph. D.

This study examined the strengths and weaknesses of employing part-time or contract school psychologists as primary providers of school psychological services for eight rural school divisions. In addition, data were obtained which facilitated comparison of full-time rural school psychological service delivery with the services obtained through these alternative employment arrangements. Questionnaires were completed by two part-time and six contract school psychologists employed by rural school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The supervisors of these school psychologists also completed questionnaires. Both groups of respondents participated in a 40 minute personal interview with the researcher. Additionally, questionnaires were completed by 58 school principals from rural school divisions in Virginia which employed full-time, part-time, or contract school psychologists. Other data analyzed in the study were questionnaire responses from 31 rural school psychologists who had participated in Merchant's (1982) study of the professional practices of full-time school psychologists in Virginia. Results indicated that for the majority of school divisions employing part-time or contract school psychologists, the strengths of the employment were: 1) cost efficiency; 2) impartiality of the school psychologist; and 3) high quality psycho-educational assessments and recommendations. Weaknesses of the employment arrangements were: 1) high psychologist-to-student ratios; 2) lack of school psychologist time to perform non-assessment functions; and 3) lack of accessibility to the school psychologists by parents and school personnel. Contracted school psychologists were found to devote almost all of their professional time to working with handicapped children. Full and part-time school psychologists spent approximately 30% of their time with nonhandicapped students. Salaries of part-time and contracted school psychologists were higher than those of full-time practitioners. Part-time school psychologists, based on a 200 day school year, earned an equivalent of $39,000. Contract school psychologists earned an equivalent of $35,000, while the average yearly salary of full-time practitioners was approximately $18,500. Recommendations included the need for research on contracted and part-time employment of school psychologists in other settings. Additionally, it was recommended that the school psychology profession become actively involved in public awareness activities geared to improving school psychological services in rural areas. / Ed. D.

Job satisfaction has been the subject of a great deal of research by a variety of professional disciplines. However, in school psychology, more speculation than empirical data exists on the topic. Although speculation in the profession has suggested a relatively high degree of job dissatisfaction among school psychologists, a 1982 nationwide study of members of The National Association of School Psychologists failed to substantiate the claims of such speculation. The population of school psychologists in Virginia was chosen for the present study. The study was designed to answer the following four research questions: 1. What are the overall levels of job satisfaction among school psychologists in Virginia? 2. What degree of satisfaction do Virginia school psychologists express with each of 20 subfactors of job satisfaction? 3. What is the relationship between overall levels of job satisfaction and selected demographic variables? 4. How does the job satisfaction of Virginia school psychologists compare with school psychologists nationally? Data were collected via mailed surveys using a demographic data form and a modified form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire {MSQ). Four hundred and thirty-nine school psychologists were initially mailed survey materials, and a response rate of 87.36% was obtained. Of this total, two hundred and sixty-seven met the requirements necessary to be included in data analysis. Frequency counts of modified MSQ responses revealed that 84.27% of the school psychologists indicated that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. Subscale means and 95% confidence intervals on the modified MSQ indicated that Virginia school psychologists were satisfied with 18 of the 20 subfactors of job satisfaction measured. Only the scales of school system policies and practices, and advancement had means and confidence intervals which fell completely within the dissatisfied range. Multiple regression procedures were used to determine the relationships between overall job satisfaction scores and demographic variables. Three significant predictors of job satisfaction emerged: membership in the Virginia Association of School Psychologists (positively related), membership in the National Education Association (negative related), and contract length (negatively related). This model explained 9.25% of the total variance and overall job satisfaction scores. Analysis of variance procedures were used to compare the job satisfaction of Virginia school psychologists with that of a national sample of school psychologists. Results indicated that Virginia school psychologists were more satisfied with their job security but less satisfied with their compensation, than were their national counterparts. Results of multi-group comparisons of covariance structures available in the computer program LISREL indicated that for the demographic variables studied with the exception of age, no differences existed between Virginia school psychologists and the national sample regarding the relationship of that variable with total job satisfaction scores. Several implications were drawn from the results of the study leading to recommendations for school psychologists, trainers and employers of school psychologists, and professional school psychology organizations. The recommendations focused on development of advancement opportunities for school psychologists, methods for reducing dissatisfaction associated with school system policies and practices, and topics for additional research. / Ed. D.

Concerns over job satisfaction among school psychologists have become prominent in the literature. Reviews of research, however, reveal that few empirical studies of job satisfaction among school psychologists have been conducted. This study was designed to describe job satisfaction among members of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) employed by public school systems across the nation. Specific research questions addressed the levels of job satisfaction in the sample, relative satisfaction with various components of overall job satisfaction, and relationships between selected demographic variables and overall job satisfaction. A total of 450 members of NASP were selected to participate in the study and were mailed survey materials including the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. A response rate of 86.89% was attained. Results of the study indicated that most school psychologists are satisfied with their current jobs (85.71%). Participants were relatively dissatisfied with their chances for advancement and school system policies and practices. Multiple regression analysis revealed that age and psychologist to student ratios were significant predictors of overall job satisfaction scores (p 0.05). Further analysis revealed a positive relationship between age and overall job satisfaction and a negative relationship between psychologist to student ratio and overall job satisfaction. It was concluded that most school psychologists in NASP are satisfied with most aspects of their jobs. Two notable exceptions were chances for advancement and school system policies and practices. Part of this dissatisfaction is seen as a product of school psychologists' failure to establish a career ladder in the school system. It was also concluded that school psychologists, individually and as a group, should continue to advocate for lower psychologist to student ratios. / Ed. D.

An analysis of how adaptive behavior information is obtained and used by school psychologists with secondary age students was the focus of this investigation. School psychologists are often considered to be important sources of information regarding the initial identification and programming of students placed in special education classes. Because the adaptive behavior instruments developed for public school use have emphasized the initial placement/ identification of elementary age students, it was not known how school psychologists approach the adaptive behavior issue with secondary age students. This question was critical in light of research indicating the poor post secondary transition of many handicapped students and the limited training of school psychologists in providing services for secondary age students. The study was undertaken to examine the dynamics of practicing school psychologists' current use of adaptive behavior information in the psychological assessment of secondary age students. To gather the data needed for the study, a questionnaire was mailed to a representative sample of the membership of the National Association of School Psychologists residing in the United States. An 81.4% return rate was obtained. One hundred eighty-seven school psychologists practicing primarily in the schools provided data used in the study. The results of this study indicate that if school psychologists are to adequately address the post secondary needs of secondary age students, they will need to become familiar with newer adaptive behavior instruments which address issues beyond the non-biased assessment of mild mentally retarded students. Reforms in current reevaluation practices are needed to facilitate the use of adaptive behavior instruments that can help facilitate the post secondary transition of secondary age students. Also, training programs need to place greater emphasis in skill development for optimal psychological services with secondary age students. More research is needed regarding the experience/continuing education factor mentioned earlier. Also, test publishers need to encourage the development and marketing of new adaptive behavior instruments which can better help to facilitate the post secondary transition of this population. / Ed. D.