Aspiring School Psychology

School psychology is a form of counseling psychology, even though the roles and requirements of a school psychologist “vary from state to state and from school district to school district” (Todd & Bohart, 2006, pg. 10) their job is to make sure that students, families, educators, and “members of the community understand and resolve both long-term, chronic problems and short-term issues” that students may face. School Psychology was first discussed in “1954 when the American Psychology Association held a conference in West Point N.Y, the conference was named Thayer conference of 1954”. The purpose of this conference was to improve “academic competence and school success for all children and to provide more effective education and instruction

In areas such as Education or Psychology, a bachelor’s Degree prepares a student for the advanced studies of a master’s degree program. In order to practice school psychology, Aspiring school psychologist should, at the very minimum purse a master’s degree, some of the common areas of study when pursuing a career in school psychology are Master of Arts, Master of Science or Master of Education, students must ensure that this is accredited by the “National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) so they are fully prepared for advanced studies, as well as state and national licensure and certification”, students must also achieve a passing score on the Praxis II school psychology exam for the specialist level. Most states have very strict requirements regarding education requirements for becoming a licensed school psychologist, or instance, a Masters in school psychology requires studies in the first two years which may include “cognitive assessment, statistics and research methods, and courses in advanced intervention and counseling techniques”. The third year is devoted to a “full-time internship that typically requires 1,200 hours, 600 of which must be in a school setting”. If a student has an interest in “conducting research and/or teaching at the university

I choose this profession over being an educational psychologist simply because of the values and principles that they stand for with being a school psychologist especially, in a preschool setting. In my opinion, it's fulfilling career path, not only do you see results you get to experience them working with the children and their families. Education psychology focuses on the human ability to learn and retain knowledge it also deals with conducting “research and studies" that relevant to education, which often results in “conflict about public policies” (Todd & Bohart, 2006, pg. 10). Even though both career paths have similarities, where some may overlap, the goal of a school psychologist is to conceptualize children’s development, which means working with them on an individual level or within a group setting. Therefore, with the proper education and training, I believe this is the career path for