School psychology graduate education retention research characteristics: Implications for diversity initiatives in the profession

Lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the school psychology workforce has been a concern since the profession's inception. One solution is to graduate more racially and ethnically diverse individuals from school psychology programs. This structured review explored the characteristics of studie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology in the schools 2019-06, Vol.56 (6), p.1037-1052
Main Authors: Proctor, Sherrie L., Owens, Courtney
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anniversaries
Counselor Characteristics
Counselor Training
Cultural Pluralism
Ethnic Groups
ethnicity
graduate school
Graduate Students
Labor force
Mentoring
Mentors
Minority Groups
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Networks
Periodicals
Race
Reliability
Retention
School Holding Power
School Psychologists
School Psychology
Search Strategies
Student retention
Undergraduate Students
Workplace diversity
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Summary:Lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the school psychology workforce has been a concern since the profession's inception. One solution is to graduate more racially and ethnically diverse individuals from school psychology programs. This structured review explored the characteristics of studies published from 1994 to 2017 that investigated graduate student retention and school psychology. An electronic search that included specified databases, subject terms, and study inclusion criteria along with a manual search of 10 school psychology journals yielded two published, peer‐reviewed studies focused primarily on graduate student retention and school psychology over the 23‐year span. Two researchers coded the studies using a rigorous coding process with high inter‐rater reliability. Findings suggest that mostly Black and White individuals served as participants, undergraduate students represented the largest group sampled, and key school psychology stakeholders’ views were missing. Additionally, programs interested in retaining racially and ethnically diverse students should have a commitment to multicultural issues, expose students to diverse professional networks and mentorship, and cultivate an inclusive program environment. Implications point to a need for more studies focused on school psychology graduate student retention in general and in specific relation to retaining racial and ethnic minoritized students.
ISSN:0033-3085
1520-6807
DOI:10.1002/pits.22228