An Analysis of School Psychology Faculty by Graduating University

Transcription

1 School Psychology Quarterly, Vol., No.,, pp. - An Analysis of School Psychology Faculty by Graduating University Steven G. Little and K. Angeleque Akin-Little University of the Pacific Daniel H. Tingstrom The University of Southern Mississippi Shortages of school psychologists have been documented for many years with this deficiency extending not just to practitioners but to trainers as well. This article presents the results of a search to identify individuals employed in academic institutions and their graduating universities. Using an Internet search and mailings to doctoral degree-granting school psychology programs, individuals were identified as having graduated from a school psychology program in the United States or Canada and being currently employed full-time in a faculty position in an institute of higher education. When graduating university was examined, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Texas at Austin were consistently the highest rated programs in terms of producing school psychology academics. Other findings indicated that APA-accredited programs produced the majority of individuals in academic positions and that women have outnumbered men in entering the professorate every year since. Women also currently comprise % of the school psychology professorate. While these data should not be considered a measure of program quality, they do provide an objective rating of program success in preparing students for careers in academia. Shortages of school psychologists are chronic and have been well-documented since the time of the Thayer Conference in (Connolly & Reschly, ; Fagan, ; Lund, Reschly, & Martin, ), and projections for the future are at least as pessimistic, if not more so (Curtis, ; Curtis, Hunley, Walker, & Baker, ; Fagan & Wise, ; Reschly, ; Thomas, ), not only with regard to practitioners but for school psychology faculty as well. One factor contributing to current and projected shortages is the "graying" of school psychology, defined as the increasing age of school psychology practitioners and faculty alike (Curtis et al., ; Reschly, ; Reschly & Wilson, Address correspondence to Steven G. Little, Department of Educational and School Psychology, Benerd School of Education, University of the Pacific, Pacific Avenue, Stockton, CA ; slittle@pacific.edu.

2 LITTLE ET AL. ). Based on the results of surveys conducted in and -, Reschly and Wilson indicated that the median ages of practitioners and faculty increased by two years over this time period, concluding that "changes of such magnitude over that short time period are significant and indicators of the graying of school psychologists, confirming a trend identified by Fagan ()" (p. ). Reschly and Wilson also reported that the median age of faculty of. years in the - survey represented a six-year increase over the survey. Such increasing age trends and resultant retirements are expected to further exacerbate personnel shortages in school psychology (Reschly & Wilson, ). Possibly contributing to the shortage of school psychology faculty is the fact that predictions of the field evolving toward the doctoral level (Brown, ; Fagan, ) have not materialized (Reschly, ; Reschly & Wilson,, ). Brown predicted that "...by the year, the majority of school psychologists in training will be at the doctoral level" (p. ). Fagan pushed a similar estimate back a decade by suggesting "half the field will hold doctoral degrees by the year " (p. ). Actually, the percentage of school psychology graduates at the doctoral level has remained quite stable over time at approximately to % of total graduates (Curtis et al., ; Reschly & Wilson,, ). Specifically, across the last two surveys of graduate education in school psychology, there were new graduates at the doctoral level during the - academic year (McMaster, Reschly, & Peters, ) and in - (Thomas, ) while the total number of school psychology faculty actually declined from in - (McMaster et al., ) to in - (Thomas, ). Compounded with the modest percentage of doctoral graduates is the fact that only a small percentage of new Ph.D. recipients apply for academic positions (Connolly & Reschly, ). Although the reluctance to pursue an academic career may be complex and multidimensional, one common misperception is that faculty salaries are lower than that of practitioners (Reschly & Wilson, ; Wilson & Reschly, ). On the contrary, salary data indicate that school psychology faculty median incomes are approximately % higher than their doctoral practitioner counterparts (Reschly & Wilson, ). Despite such data, misperceptions can dissuade individuals from pursuing academic careers. Reschly and Wilson also reported that, although both groups were positive in their ratings, faculty job satisfaction was actually higher than that of practitioners. Some doctoral graduates may avoid pursuing academic careers fearing the "publish or perish" syndrome. That is, they may lack confidence in their research and writing skills and their potential for reasonable levels of scholarly productivity that will ultimately be necessary for tenure and promotion. This, among other factors (e.g., family considerations), may be particularly true for women (Wilson & Reschly, ). Wilson and Reschly reported that women felt less mentored in writing and research activities. Women apply for academic positions in lesser proportions than do men (Connolly & Reschly, ; Reschly, ; Wilson &

3 SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY FACULTY Reschly, ), despite the fact that approximately % of all school psychologists are female (Curtis, ; Curtis et al., ). However, women have made steady gains in academia since the early s. In Fading and Hoedt reported women comprised only % of school psychology faculty. This increased to % in (Brown & Lindstrom, ), % in the (McMaster et al., ), % in (Thomas, ), and % in (Curtis, ). Reschly predicted that women will continue to increase proportionately to men with women making up % of faculty and % of program directors by. Minorities, however, continue to be vastly underrepresented in school psychology, with only approximately to % of all school psychologists identified as non- Caucasian (Curtis, ; Curtis et al., ). The past several years have witnessed an abundance of available faculty/academic positions in school psychology programs in the U.S. and Canada. Tingstrom () identified available positions at institutions advertised in the fall of. In addition, there were approximately ten positions advertised in early spring, bringing the total number of advertised academic positions in school psychology for fall to approximately. Curtis () later reported that approximately % of positions listed for the - academic year went unfilled. Since Tingstrom's original analysis, the number of faculty openings has been generally similar each year. These data are consistent with projections by Fagan and Wise () that, because of a variety of factors, "... many training programs are having difficulty filling available faculty positions and perhaps a decreasing proportion of new doctorates are interested in such positions" (p. ). Given the number of available faculty positions in school psychology, the projected shortages, and difficulties in filling positions, the present investigation sought to identify those programs with the greatest success in placing their graduates into academic school psychology positions. Although we believe these data may provide an important, objective indicator of program achievement, it is important to stress that it is only one among many potential indicators of program quality. In addition, trends in the composition of faculty (i.e., gender) are also examined to gain a better understanding of the demographics of the school psychology professorate. METHOD An attempt was made to determine the degree-granting university of all core faculty members of school psychology programs in the United States and Canada. The first step involved a web-based search of school psychology programs to identify current faculty. To be considered a core faculty member, individuals had to be listed as a full-time professor, associate professor, or assistant professor. Adjunct professors, instructors, or clinical professors were not included. Using the websites at the University of California Berkeley ( program/sp/html/sp_gradprograms.html) and Indiana University (//

4 LITTLE ET AL ana.edu/~schpsy/spprog_contents.html) all listed school psychology programs were accessed. When the link was not accurate, an Internet ("Google") search was conducted to identify the web location of the program. A list of school psychology faculty and the university from which they received their doctorates was then compiled. When this information was not listed on the website, the university's online graduate catalog was consulted. When a name was listed without a graduating university, a search of Dissertation Abstracts International was made to determine graduating university and year of graduation. The second step involved contacting directors of the doctoral degree-granting universities known to the Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs. They were provided with the web-generated list of their graduates and were asked to update this list. Fifty-one program directors returned the form, most with minor changes. The final step involved a return to program websites in early September to determine if there were any additions to school psychology faculty. This resulted in the addition of five individuals who had not been previously identified. RESULTS A total of of the doctoral degree-granting programs were identified as having at least one graduate currently employed in a full-time academic position in a school psychology program. In addition, universities that do not currently have a school psychology program were identified as having at least one graduate ( individuals total) employed as a core faculty member in a school psychology program. The University of Michigan (n = ), University of Illinois (n ), and Vanderbilt University (n = ), were the universities currently without school psychology programs that had the greatest number of graduates currently employed in school psychology programs. While some of these programs may have had a school psychology program at one time, the focus of this article is on the current status of programs and these data will not be discussed further. A total of individuals were identified as having graduated from a school psychology program in the United States or Canada and were currently employed full-time in a faculty position in an institute of higher education. The vast majority of these individuals were employed in academic programs in the continental United States, but individuals were based at universities elsewhere, with the majority being in Puerto Rico (n = ) and Canada (n = ). The overall mean number of graduates who entered academia per program was. (SD =.). Table presents data on the school psychology programs that have graduated at least nine people into the professorate. These programs were selected for inclusion in the table because they exceeded the overall program mean of. individuals. As can be seen from Table, The University of Wisconsin-Madison (n = ) graduated the greatest number of individuals who currently hold academic positions. They were followed by the University of Texas (n = ), Ball State University (n = ), the University of California-Berkeley (n = ), and the

5 SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY FACULTY Table. School Psychology Programs with Highest Number of Graduates in Academic Positions University Mean Year of Graduation TV Doctoral* Ed.S. or M.A. Not in School Psych Male Female Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison University of Texas Ball State University Univ of California, Berkeley University of Minnesota Temple University University of Georgia University of South Carolina Indiana University Pennsylvania State University Columbia University Univ. of Southern Mississippi University of Oregon Arizona State University Hofstra University Lehigh University University of Cincinnati University of Nebraska University of Iowa Univ of Northern Colorado Mississippi State University Syracuse University University of North Carolina Rutgers University Texas A&M University University of Massachusetts () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () Note: Doctoral: Employed at a doctoral granting (Ph.D., Psy.D., Ed.D.) School Psychology Program. *Employed in an APA-accredited program. Ed.S. or M.A.: Employed in an Ed.S.- or M.A.-level School Psychology Program. Not in School Psych: Employed as a full-time in an academic position but not in a school psychology program. University of Minnesota (n = ). These rankings are based on the total number of individuals in any academic position. When programs are ranked relative only to the number of individuals placed in school psychology programs, the order changes slightly. The rank of the Universities of Wisconsin and Texas remain unchanged at ordinals and with ns of and respectively. However, they are now followed by the University of California-Berkeley (n = ), and Ball State University and the University of South Carolina (n = ). When examined solely by the number of graduates placed in doctoral school psychology programs, the list is again headed by the Universities of Wisconsin (n = ) and Texas (n = ) with the University of California-Berkeley (n = ), University of Nebraska (n = ), and the University of Minnesota and Lehigh University (n = ) comprising the other top posi-

6 LITTLE ET AL. tions. Finally, when examined by the number of individuals employed as faculty in APA-accredited programs, the University of Texas (n= ) holds the top position. That is followed by the University of Wisconsin (n = ), University of California-Berkeley and University of Nebraska («= ), and Lehigh University (n =.) APA Accreditation It is clear that the vast majority of school psychologists employed in academic positions, regardless of departmental affiliation, are graduates of APA-accredited programs. Using the listings of APA-accredited school psychology programs (combined programs in professional-scientific psychology included) in the December American Psychologist (APA, ) as the criteria for determining APA accreditation, of the identified faculty members (.%) received their terminal degrees from a program that is currently APA-accredited. When the percentage of individuals who graduated from a program after the program received APA accreditation is calculated, the percentage drops from.% to.% (n = ). The percentages of individuals who have graduated from APA-accredited programs increases when faculty are examined by employment in a school psychology program and level (doctoral vs. M.A./Ed.S.). A total of individuals were identified as being employed in doctoral school psychology programs. Of these, (.%) were identified as graduating from a program that is currently APA-accredited. When only those individuals who graduated from a program after the program received APA accreditation are calculated, the percentage drops from.% to.% (n = ). A total of individuals were identified as being employed as faculty in APA-accredited school psychology programs. Of these, (.%) were identified as graduating from a program that is currently APA-accredited. When only the number of those individuals who graduated from a program after the program received APA accreditation is calculated, the percentage drops from.% to.% (n = ). Year of Graduation As can be seen in Figure, the date of school psychology doctoral degree conferral for the professorate has shown a steadily increasing trend since the mid- s. While there appears to be a decrease in the numbers receiving their degrees in recent years, one should be cautious in interpreting the data for as data collection for this study ended in early September and these data may be incomplete. The overall mean date of graduation for the sample was and the median year was. More individuals in academic positions received their degree in (n = ) than in any other year. This was followed by (n = ), and (n = ), and (n = ). Table also provides the mean year of graduation for the top % of graduating universities. It appears that

7 SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY FACULTY < w ) E z ' * and before ** Includes ABDs ' * * Year Figure. Total number in faculty positions by year of graduation Lehigh University (M ear = ) has graduated the youngest cohort of academics. They are followed by Mississippi State University (M = ), Texas year A&M University (M ear = ), and the University of Northern Colorado (M ear = ). Rutgers University has the oldest cohort of graduates (M ear = ). They are followed by Indiana University (M ear = ), Columbia University (Myear = ), and Pennsylvania State University (Myear = ). Gender The gender of individuals was determined primarily based on common usage. Two of the authors and a graduate student reviewed the list of names and assigned gender based on commonly accepted standards (e.g., Mary is a woman and John is a man). When the gender was not apparent (e.g., Chris) the employing university's website was accessed to determine gender based on a photo. The gender of two individuals could not be determined, resulting in a total of individuals included in the following analyses. A total of women (.%) and men (.%) were identified as having graduated from a school psychology program and currently employed in academia. When examined solely by employment in school psychology programs, the numbers remain relatively constant with.% of the school psychology professorate consisting of women. Figure presents data on the distribution of the professorate by gender and year of graduation. As can be seen in Figure, men make up the majority of people

8 LITTLE ET AL. and before Includes ABDs Si E z Female - AMale - * Year Figure. Year of graduation by gender who are currently employed in academia and who received their degrees prior to. During most of the s there is no clear pattern but, beginning in, women have consistently outnumbered men in entering academic positions. The number of men entering academia has remained relatively constant during this time, but the number of women entering academia has increased substantially. DISCUSSION During the past few years the number of positions available for academic school psychologists seems to have been abundant. Tingstrom () noted that school psychology positions were advertised in for employment in the fall of. The shortages of school psychologists and faculty in particular have been documented for some time. A number of factors may account for this phenomenon. These factors include the lack of students pursuing academic careers and the increasing number of retirements from the professorate. Although many studies have examined the demographics of the profession of school psychology, none have specifically examined the characteristics of the professorate. In addition, only a few studies have attempted to rank programs with regard to objective criteria (e.g., Little, ). This study attempted to provide information regarding all school psychologists employed as academicians, and the programs from which they graduated. While we do not want these data

9 SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY FACULTY to imply that this list represents the best school psychology programs, they are one index of program quality specifically as it relates to the science of school psychology. In examining the programs listed in Table, several commonalities emerge. First, every program listed is accredited by the APA. Second, the majority of faculty at each program graduated from an APA-accredited program. Third, these programs also tend to be housed in large state universities, although there are notable exceptions (i.e., Columbia University, Hofstra University, Lehigh University, and Syracuse University). While the APA does indeed provide the benchmark for psychological graduate programs across the United States and Canada, we do not mean to suggest that a program cannot evidence quality without this accreditation. This study identified programs that had graduated at least one individual into the professorate. Of these, were currently APAaccredited. As the majority of doctoral programs are APA-accredited, it is not surprising that the top programs are also APA-accredited. However, data do suggest that being accredited by the APA is a significant factor in the production of school psychology faculty. It is also possible that the APA-accredited programs have a more extensive history of training doctoral-level school psychologists, which may also contribute to the current results. An important trend emerges from these data with regard to gender. It has been reported that women have made steady gains in academia since the early s with Curtis () estimating that women comprise % of faculty. Our data are consistent with Curtis's estimate with.% of the school psychology professorate being comprised of women. When trends are examined, it becomes clear that women are consistently entering the professorate in greater numbers than* men. However, while the overall percentage of women entering academia is on the rise, it is still not commensurate with female representation among graduate students. Thomas () reports the graduate student population as.% female. Even though training programs are becoming overwhelmingly female, these women are not entering the professorate relative to their overall numbers in the profession. However, as the number of female faculty members increases and women have greater opportunities to be mentored in writing and research activities by women, female students may come to perceive academia as a more attractive professional objective. Several possibilities exist as to why some programs have success in training future academicians. First, these programs may provide students with strong mentors, individuals who model scholarly activity and reinforce the scientific foundation of the profession. They may also model an effective balance of teaching, research, and personal life that make an academic career appear attractive. Shapiro and Blom-Hoffman (this issue) and Kratochwill, Shernoff, and Sanetti (this issue) discuss these factors in more detail, and it is no coincidence that they are faculty at two of the programs that are highly ranked in the current study. These programs may also target individuals in the selection process whom they believe will be successful at an academic career. Finally, many of the top-rated

10 LITTLE ET AL. programs have a history of being successful at providing funding for students. This may lead students to be able to pursue research projects that may in turn make them more marketable in securing academic positions. To date, no empirical study has systematically examined the factors that contribute to a program's success in placing students in academic positions. Such a study is long overdue. What can be done to encourage a greater number of students to enter the professorate? One place to start is in the perceptions students have regarding their faculty including salaries, work load, job satisfaction, and prestige. As previously discussed, faculty generally have a greater salary potential than practitioners, and job satisfaction for faculty is actually higher than that of practitioners (Reschly & Wilson, ). Students do not always realize this and should be informed. Addressing this issue in an introductory seminar in school psychology is one possibility. The intent of this article is to summarize the current status of the school psychology professorate. There are other articles in this issue that will address the issue of encouraging students to enter academic positions. We will leave it to our learned colleagues to elaborate on this issue. One limitation in this study is the failure to examine the extent to which minorities are represented in the professorate. The methodology employed in this study did not allow for an examination of racial and ethnic factors. However, it is clear that minorities are underrepresented in the profession as a whole as well as in the professorate. Curtis () suggests that minorities make up only to % of all school psychologists. While Thomas () reports that % of faculty are minorities, no one to date has examined these individuals and the factors that led them into an academic position. Further, and more importantly, no study has examined the programs most successful in producing minority school psychology academicians. These types of data are much needed. In conclusion, we have attempted to provide data that can be useful to trainers and administrators in expanding the professorate. Developing the next generation of school psychology faculty should be a concern to all current academics. Our profession is growing and our students are better prepared than ever. A shortage exists in the professorate and we, as academic school psychologists, need to look first at our own behavior if we want to ensure an adequate supply of academicians in the future. Are we our own worst enemy? It is hoped that we are not and we can alleviate this shortage by modeling behaviors that support and encourage students to seek to follow in our footsteps. REFERENCES American Psychological Association. (APA). (). Accredited doctoral programs in professional psychology:. American Psychologist,, -. Brown, D. T. (). The evolution of entry level training in school psychology: Are we now approaching the doctoral level? School Psychology Review,, -. Brown, D. T., & Lindstrom, J. P. (). Directory of school psychology training programs in the United States and Canada. Stratford, CT: National Association of School Psychologists. Connolly, L., & Reschly, D. J. (). Personnel shortages: The school psychology crisis of the s. NASP Communique, (),,.

11 SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY FACULTY Curtis, M. J. (). The changing face of school psychology: Past, present and future. Keynote presentation at the School Psychology Futures Conference, Indianapolis, IN. Curtis, M. J., Hunley, S. A., Walker, K. J., & Baker, A. C. (). Demographic characteristics and professional practices in school psychology. School Psychology Review,, -. Fagan, T. K. (). The historical improvement of the school psychology service ratio: Implications for future employment. School Psychology Review,, -. Fagan, T. K. (). On the entry level debate. School Psychology Review,, -. Fagan, T. K., & Wise, P. S. (). School psychology: Past, present, and future (nd ed.). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists. Farling, W. H., & Hoedt, K. C. (). National survey of school psychologists. Washington, DC: National Association of School Psychologists. (ERIC No. ED ) Kratochwill, T. R., Shernoff, E. S., & Sanetti, L. (). Promotion of academic careers in school psychology: A conceptual framework of impact points, recommended strategies, and hopeful outcomes. School Psychology Quarterly,, -. Little, S. G. (). Graduate education of the top contributors to the school psychology literature: -. School Psychology International,, -. Lund, A. R., Reschly, D. J., & Martin, L. M. (). School psychology personnel needs: Correlates of current patterns and historical trends. School Psychology Review,, -. McMaster, M. D., Reschly, D. J., & Peters, J. M. (). Directory of school psychology graduate programs. Washington, DC: National Association of School Psychologists. Reschly, D. J. (). The present and future status of school psychology in the United States. School Psychology Review,, -. Reschly, D. J., & Wilson, M. S. (). School psychology practitioners and faculty: to - trends in demographics, roles, satisfaction, and system reform. School Psychology Review,, -. Reschly, D. J., & Wilson, M. S. (). Characteristics of school psychology graduate education: Implications for the entry-level discussion and the doctoral-level specialty definition. School Psychology Review,,. Shapiro, E. S., & Blom-Hoffman, J. (). The M's of producing academics. School Psychology Quarterly,, -. Thomas, A. (). Directory of school psychology graduate programs. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists. Tingstrom, D. H. (). Academic positions in school psychology: Fall,. The School Psychologist,, -. Wilson, M. S., & Reschly, D. J. (). Gender and school psychology: Issues, questions, and answers. School Psychology Review,, -. Action Editors: Steven G. Little and K. Angeleque Akin-Little Steven G. Little, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational and School Psychology at the University of the Pacific. He has previously held academic positions in Alabama, Illinois, and New York. His research interests include teacher attributions for student behavior, applied behavior analysis, the overscheduling of children and youth, and professional issues in school psychology. He received his Ph.D. in School Psychology from Tulane University. K. Angeleque Akin-Little, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of School Psychology at the University of the Pacific. Her primary interests include applied behavior analysis particularly the effects of extrinsic reinforcement on intrinsic motivation, professional issues,

12 LITTLE ETAL overscheduling, and systems change. She graduated from The University of Southern Mississippi. Daniel H. Tingstrom, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi, and is the Director of the School Psychology Program there. His research interests include applied behavior analysis and the implementation and evaluation of behavioral and academic interventions. He received his Ph.D. from the School Psychology Program at Tulane University. The School Psychology Program at the University of Southern Mississippi is accredited by the APA.