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School Psychology

http://spi.sagepub.com/content/30/5/443The online version of this article can be found at:

 DOI: 10.1177/0143034309341617

2009 30: 443School Psychology InternationalShane R. Jimerson, Jean Annan, Mary Skokut and Tyler L. Renshaw

School Psychology SurveyEducational Psychology in New Zealand: Results of the 2006 International

  

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School Psychology International Copyright © 2009 SAGE Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC), Vol. 30(5): 443–455.DOI: 10.1177/0143034309341617

Educational Psychology in New Zealand

Results of the 2006 International School Psychology Survey

SHANE R. JIMERSONa, JEAN ANNANb, MARy SKOKUTa and TyLER L. RENSHAWa

aUniversity of California, Santa Barbara and bMassey University, Albany Campus, Auckland

abstract The International School Psychology Survey (ISPS) was used to gather information about New Zealand educational psycholo-gists’ characteristics, training, roles, activities, preferences, research interests and the challenges they experienced in their work. The results of this survey were considered in relation to the social and cul-tural context of educational psychology practice in New Zealand and were compared with the findings from ISPS surveys in other countries. The composition of the New Zealand educational psychology commu-nity resembled that found in previous surveys of school psychologists in other countries in terms of gender and level of qualifications. The educational psychologists indicated, as in most countries surveyed previously, that the greatest proportion of their work involved consul-tation with students, teachers and families. One point of difference between results of the New Zealand survey and previous ISPS stud-ies was the predominance of contextual information over standardized measures in assessment.

key words: activities; challenges; International School Psychology; New Zealand; responsibilities; roles; survey

New Zealand, bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea, is made up of three main islands, the North Island, South Island and Stewart Island. While geographically New Zealand is similar in size to Italy, it has a population of just four million, almost two million of whom live in the Auckland area. Educational psychology services have been offered in New Zealand for the past 60 years since the first Psychological Service of the New Zealand Government Department of Education was established. Today over 200 educational psychologists

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deliver services to young people from government funded organizations and private institutions.

Psychologists who work in educational settings in New Zealand gen-erally take a contextualized approach to practice. The ways of working adopted by educational psychologists (known as school psychologists in many countries) reflect the perspectives of the people who make up the bi-cultural nation, its multi-cultural population and the strong emphasis on inclusion (France et al., 2007; Ryba and Annan, 2005). Models of anal-ysis selected by educational psychologists such as Situational Analysis (Annan, 2005), Problem Analysis (Robinson, 1987), Te Whare Tapa Wha (Durie, 1994) and various forms of Functional Behaviour Assessment, involve the collaborative development of meaning that reflects inter-active understandings and recognition of the reciprocal relationships between children and various aspects of the environment.

This article discusses the historical and social context of educational psychology in New Zealand and presents the findings of a survey of the activities and characteristics of educational psychologists in that country. The purpose of the study was to add to the existing knowledge of school psychology around the world by providing current informa-tion about the practice of educational psychologists in New Zealand. Information was gathered for the study through an on-line question-naire developed to access information about the increasingly connected professional community. The questionnaire had previously been used to inquire about the practice of educational and school psychologists in other countries including Albania, Australia, China, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Northern England, Italy, Russia, Switzer-land, The United Arab Emirates and The United States (Jimerson et al., 2004, 2006, 2007a, 2008). Questions in the survey considered the characteristics, training, roles, activities, preferences, research inter-ests and challenges of school psychologists in their work.

Context of educational psychology in New Zealand

Current practiceNew Zealand educational psychologists conduct their work in schools, other educational settings, homes and community agencies (Edwards et al., 2007). There are approximately 200 educational psychologists in New Zealand, with a ratio of one educational psychologist per 4000 students. As educational psychologists work with children from 0–21 years, this school-based ratio does not take into account the learn-ers who are outside the school-age range. Two factors, the number of educational psychologists available to meet community needs and the cultural perspective of the educational community, have contributed

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to the decision by many educational psychologists in New Zealand to develop systemic approaches to practice.

The majority of educational psychologists are employed by the New Zealand Government’s Ministry of Education: Special Education that delivers school-based psychological services in circumstances where learners up to 21-years-of-age present with severe behaviour problems, high and on-going special needs and communication dif-ficulties. Ministry of Education: Special Education operates through district offices located outside of schools and dispersed throughout the country. It offers services for young people, their families and edu-cational institutions through interdisciplinary teams and employs a range of educational support professionals such as speech and lan-guage therapists, special education advisors, early childhood teachers and physiotherapists in addition to educational psychologists. Other educational psychologists are employed, as psychologists, in positions assigned to resource teachers of learning and behaviour (RTLB). In these positions, the educational psychologists’ workplaces are situated in school, based amongst small groups of schools. The psychologists who work in RTLB positions work to address situations in which young people of school age experience learning difficulties and moder-ate behaviour problems. Some schools, mostly private schools, employ their own educational psychologists or contract the services of those who work in private practice.

Infrastructure and organizationRegistration for all psychologists, including educational psycholo-gists, occurs under the direction of the New Zealand Psychologists Board. The use of the title psychologist is officially protected by law and cannot be used by any person not registered with the Board. In order to obtain registration as a psychologist, candidates must obtain a master’s degree in psychology or education and psychology from an institution accredited by the Psychologists Board and complete at least 1500 hours of supervised internship experience. Applicants who meet these education and training criteria are eligible to register as general psychologists or as psychologists with a specialty. Currently there are two ‘scopes of practice’ other than the general scope, educational and clinical psychology. Psychologists registered under a specialty scope are also registered as general psychologists. In addition to the com-pulsory registration, many psychologists hold memberships with the New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS). The NZPsS is the organi-sation that represents the profession and its clients and connects the psychologist group across the country. It holds an annual conference, publishes the only psychologists’ professional journal in New Zealand and provides opportunities for professional development. A subdivision

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within this society, the Institute of Educational and Developmental Psychology (IEDP), supports and promotes the specialty of educational psychology (Edwards et al., 2007).

Preparation and TrainingThere is currently one educational psychology training program estab-lished in New Zealand. This program is located at Massey University, within the School of Education at the Albany Campus in Auckland. Each year, approximately 15 educational psychology candidates complete their training. The professional backgrounds of students selected for the programme varies. Students enter the postgraduate educational psy-chology programme with either an undergraduate degree in education with a proportion of the degree in psychology or a psychology under-graduate degree. In previous times, educational psychology students required teacher training and experience but this is no longer the case. Although some of the applicants have teaching experience and many in this group have previously worked as resource teachers or special needs coordinators in schools, others have an extensive background of study in psychology. Once students enter the postgraduate programme, they take the study and fieldwork necessary to obtain the Master of Educational Psychology degree and then complete a year-long intern-ship. Upon completion of the internship, graduates qualify to apply for registration as educational psychologists in New Zealand. During the internship, students participate in supervision from university- accredited supervisors in their work placements where they carry out case studies at various systemic levels. They attend on-campus courses and, at the end of the internship, take an oral examination. As students must complete their training in their local areas, students and supervi-sors take the opportunity to stay connected with one another through an on-line community.

Purpose of the present studyThe purpose of the present study was to learn about and understand selected aspects of the practice of Educational Psychology in New Zealand. In particular, the research was concerned with the charac-teristics, training, roles, activities, preferences, research interests and challenges for educational psychologists in New Zealand.

Methods

ParticipantsInvitations to participate in the survey were issued to 180 of the esti-mated 200 educational psychologists who worked in New Zealand.

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The invitations were sent via e-mail to three groups of educational psychologists: (a) those employed by the Ministry of Education: Special Education (146 invitations); (b) those affiliated with the IEDP of the New Zealand Psychological Society (58 invitations) and (c) those work-ing in private practice or non-government agencies (11 invitations). As 35 educational psychologists were both employed by the Ministry of Education: Special Education and members the IEDP, some received more than one invitation. Accordingly, participants were asked to com-plete only one survey. A follow-up email was sent to each educational psychologist two weeks after the initial invitation thanking those who had already completed the survey and who had encouraged others to participate. In total, 65 surveys were completed online, resulting in a 36 percent response rate.

The QuestionnaireThe questionnaire, the International School Psychologists Survey (ISPS), was developed by Dr Jimerson and the International School Psychologists Association (ISPA) Research Committee and has been modified and refined as the result of numerous reviews by members serving of the ISPA Research Committee (Jimerson and the ISPA Research Committee, 2002). The ISPS contains 46 items that examine school psychology through five domains: (a) characteristics; (b) train-ing and regulation; (c) roles and responsibilities; (d) challenges and (e) research perceptions of school psychologists. The first 20 items of the ISPS are general questions asked of all participants and the remain-ing 26 items are completed only by professionals employed in school settings. ISPS items are predominantly multiple-choice questions, but several open-ended questions are also included. The ISPS is now avail-able on-line in English.

The ISPS assesses each of the five domains as follows: characteristics of participants are assessed through 20 items, inquiring about information ranging from gender and age to favourite and least favourite aspects of the profession; professional training and regulations is assessed through six items, asking about educational preparation, requirements for prac-tice and sources of salary funds; roles and responsibilities are assessed through 15 items, requesting the average number of hours spent in var-ious settings and engaged in specified tasks, as well as perceptions of ideals for both; challenges to the profession are assessed by two items, inquiring about internal and external factors that jeopardize the delivery of services in each country and research perceptions are assessed by three items, inquiring about the relevance of research to professional practice, the availability of research journals and the most important research topics. Results from other administrations of the ISPS are published in previous studies (Jimerson et al., 2004, 2006, 2008).

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Results and discussionThe results of this study highlight the status of the profession of edu-cational psychology in New Zealand. They describe the demographic and professional characteristics of the educational psychologists; they reveal what roles and activities they are likely to engage in; they explore the practitioners’ ideal roles and activities; they present the challenges perceived by this cohort of educational psychologists to be facing the profession and they suggest the level of esteem psychological research is given among practitioners. This information helps local education-al psychologists in New Zealand, as well as other interested school psychologists around the world, to develop further understanding of educational psychologists, and therefore the practice of educational psychology, in New Zealand.

The results of this survey indicated that the educational psycholo-gists were predominantly female (69 percent) with male practitioners making up 31 percent of the respondents. This finding was consistent with studies from other school and educational psychologists in other countries. New Zealand, as in Albania, Australia, China (Hong Kong), Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Northern England, Russia, Switzer-land and the United States, the majority of school psychologists were female (Jimerson et al., 2004, 2007, 2008). The mean age of the educa-tional psychologists was between 40 and 50 years and the average time spent working as a psychologist was 10.72 years (range 0.5–23 years).

Although teacher qualifications are not pre-requisite to education-al psychology training in New Zealand, those who were teachers had worked in that role for an average of 8.5 years (range 0.5–23 years). The most common qualification (93 percent) was the masters degree plus a one-year postmasters diploma in educational psychology. This finding is similar to that in many other countries previously surveyed (Jimerson et al., 2008). Five percent of respondents had PhDs and two percent reported that they were registered with an undergraduate degree. Sixty-six percent of the educational psychologists belonged to the New Zealand Psychological Society and 28 percent of this number also belonged to the educational division, the IEDP. Two psychologists belonged to the International School Psychologists Association. The educational psychologist to student ratio based on the responses was 1:1,750 on average (range of 1:100–1:10,000), which on average is lower than the ratio based on country-wide data including the number of edu-cational psychologists and number of school-age children. Finally, 43 percent report receiving supervision.

Language and cultureThe most common language used in New Zealand is English although New Zealand is a bi-cultural country and there are two official

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languages, Maori and English. All New Zealanders must recognize the principles of The Treaty of Waitangi, the country’s founding document that was signed by the Maori people and the British Crown in 1840. The Treaty of Waitangi established New Zealand as a British colony in which both parties engaged in partnership to protect the culture and language of Maori. Today, Maori make up 15 percent of the New Zealand population. While Maori children are less proficient in their use of Maori language than in the 18th and early 19th centuries, in recent times, the treaty has been increasingly appreciated as Maori work to ensure that cultural knowledge is transmitted to their young people (MacFarlane, 2005). The valuing of social connectedness, recog-nition of the critical role of social, physical and spiritual interactions in human development and appreciation of distributed understandings that are part of Maori tradition has been increasingly reflected in the practice of education and psychology for all New Zealanders. Models of practice, as noted earlier, support interactive, contextualized analyses that are conducted in collaboration with those involved in psychologi-cal intervention. When guided by models of practice such as Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Wha, educational psychologists attend to the relationships between people and people, people and their environment and people and their spiritual world. Meaning is negotiated.

The survey also showed that 80 percent of the educational psychol-ogist participants were fluent in at least two languages (including English, Dutch, American Sign Language and Tamil). This figure illus-trates the cosmopolitan nature of the New Zealand community. One of the exciting challenges facing educational psychologists in New Zealand is the search for materials, cultural knowledge and ways of thinking about practice to work effectively with the diverse population. Increasingly, young people for whom English is not their first language are attending school in New Zealand. One in five New Zealanders was born overseas and only one in three Aucklanders was born in the coun-try (New Zealand Census, 2001).

Distribution of tasksThe ‘time spent’ section of the survey, although appropriately designed to capture the proportion of time allocated by Educational Psychologists to various aspects of practice in some area, was not entirely applicable for the New Zealand context. As in all countries, educational psychol-ogists distribute their time and focus in ways that reflect the global core knowledge of the profession and the local cultural perspectives and preferred psychological theories. The conceptualization of practice delineated in the survey and the language selected to gather informa-tion about the distribution of tasks did not always match that used by the participants. For example, consultation in New Zealand refers

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to the facilitation of shared problem-solving processes and educational psychologists consider that they are consulting when they are collabor-atively refining procedures for working together, making assessments, constructing analyses and planning interventions (see France et al., 2007). It is likely that educational psychologists’ efforts to fit reports of their practice into the categories supplied would mean that the reports were not entirely valid. However, what was clear from the data was that the educational psychologists who responded to the survey, as in many other places around the world (Jimerson et al., 2007a) spent large proportions of their time engaging in purposeful interaction with school administrators, teaching staff and families (see Table 1).

Although most of the findings in the New Zealand survey were con-sistent with those from other countries, there were points of difference. One distinctive feature of New Zealand educational psychology prac-tice was that, compared with their colleagues in many other countries around the world (e.g. Jimerson et al., 2007a), New Zealand educational psychologists spend relatively less time (12 percent) in psycho-educa-tional evaluations and more time providing direct interventions and consultation. Many New Zealand educational psychologists are uncom-fortable about the use of tests that have been developed in other places where values, specific knowledge, skill and learning pathways may dif-fer from those of the young people with whom they are working. When psychometric tests are used, they are routinely embedded in broad analyses that take account of multiple sources of data, including that gained from the use of materials developed within New Zealand. Psy-chological services, including assessments, for children in New Zealand are usually provided through teams of professionals from a range of disciplines and agencies (France et al., 2007). Results of psychometric testing, while contributing to assessments on occasions, do not take centre-stage in the analyses of the circumstances surrounding young people.

Conditions of workEducational psychologists who worked full time reported that they spent 38 hours per week at their jobs. Some respondents worked part time. In the main, the educational psychologists were satisfied with the work that they carried out with 43 percent of participants reporting that they participated in their ideal role ‘all the time’ or ‘a great extent’, 35 percent indicating ‘an average amount’ of time, only 25 percent indicating a ‘limited extent’ and none reported ‘not at all’. Preferred work tasks involved working with children, parents and teachers to effect positive change, to make a difference. They also appreciated the autonomy, flexibility and variety that some experienced. Least pre-ferred activities included administration and tasks associated with

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Tab

le 1

Per

cen

t of

wor

k ti

me

spen

t in

com

mon

sch

ool p

sych

olog

y ac

tivi

ties

*; id

eal r

oles

, res

pon

sibi

liti

es,

acti

viti

es**

an

d m

onth

ly t

asks

of s

choo

l psy

chol

ogis

ts**

*

P

erce

nt

of t

ime

spen

t

N

um

ber

of t

asks

Idea

l rat

ings

Rol

e/re

spon

sibi

lity

/

in

rol

e or

act

ivit

y

com

plet

ed p

er m

onth

ro

le/

resp

onsi

bili

ty/

acti

vity

M

ean

(M

edia

n)

{En

gage

d**

**}

Mea

n

(Med

ian

) [R

ange

] ac

tivi

ty

Psy

choe

duca

tion

al e

valu

atio

ns

12

(10)

{7

9}

4

(3)

[0–1

5]

4C

oun

sell

ing

stu

den

ts

3

(1)

{54}

6

(4

) [0

–30]

(I)

2(I

= in

divi

dual

G =

gro

up)

2

(1)

[0–1

0] (G

) P

rovi

din

g di

rect

inte

rven

tion

s 17

(1

3)

{74}

Not

ask

ed

6

Pro

vidi

ng

prim

ary

prev

enti

on p

rogr

ams

8

(5)

{50}

3

(2

) [0

–16]

5

Con

sult

atio

n w

ith

tea

cher

s/ s

taff

21

(2

0)

{89}

1

1 (1

1)

[0–4

0]

8C

onsu

ltat

ion

wit

h p

aren

ts/f

amil

ies

15

(15)

{9

2}

N

ot a

sked

7S

taff

tra

inin

g an

d in

-ser

vice

pro

gram

s 5

(5

) {6

1}

3

(3)

[0–6

] 3

Adm

inis

trat

ive

resp

onsi

bili

ties

10

(1

0)

{85}

Not

ask

ed

1

* In

clu

des

resu

lts

from

Q. 3

1 (%

of y

our

tota

l wor

k ti

me)

.**

In

clu

des

resu

lts

from

Q. 4

2 (W

hat

wou

ld y

ou in

clu

de a

s th

e id

eal r

oles

/res

pon

sibi

liti

es/a

ctiv

itie

s of

sch

ool p

sych

olog

ists

? R

AN

K O

RD

ER

, 1

= m

ost

idea

l, et

c.).

***

Incl

ude

s re

sult

s fr

om Q

. 24

(Ave

rage

nu

mbe

r of

stu

den

ts p

er m

onth

cou

nse

led

indi

vidu

ally

), Q

. 25

(Ave

rage

nu

mbe

r of

stu

den

t co

un

seli

ng

grou

ps c

ondu

cted

per

mon

th),

Q. 2

7. (A

vera

ge n

um

ber

of s

tude

nts

per

mon

th y

ou h

ave

com

plet

ed p

sych

oedu

cati

onal

ass

essm

ents

wit

h),

Q.

28 (A

vera

ge n

um

ber

of c

onsu

ltat

ion

cas

es p

er m

onth

in w

hic

h y

ou p

rovi

ded

con

sult

atio

n t

o ot

her

edu

cati

onal

pro

fess

ion

als,

e.g

. con

sult

atio

ns

for

inte

rven

tion

s), Q

. 29

(Ave

rage

nu

mbe

r of

inse

rvic

e pr

ogra

ms/

pres

enta

tion

s yo

u c

ondu

cted

for

teac

her

s, p

aren

ts a

nd/

or o

ther

per

son

nel

per

m

onth

, e.g

. spe

cial

top

ic p

rese

nta

tion

s, p

rofe

ssio

nal

dev

elop

men

t pr

esen

tati

ons)

an

d Q

. 30

(Ave

rage

nu

mbe

r of

pri

mar

y pr

even

tion

pro

gram

s,

e.g.

wor

kin

g w

ith

th

e w

hol

e cl

ass

to p

reve

nt

futu

re p

robl

ems,

per

mon

th).

****

Nu

mbe

rs in

th

e br

acke

ts {

} in

dica

te t

he

% o

f res

pon

den

ts in

dica

tin

g th

at t

hey

spe

nd

a po

rtio

n o

f th

eir

tim

e en

gage

d in

th

e pa

rtic

ula

r ac

tivi

ty.

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bureaucracy and politically driven decision-making. Unwanted aspects of the work also included working with insufficient resources and the pressure that this caused.

The participants considered that the greatest challenges to edu-cational psychology from within the profession were related to some of the concerns that the educational psychologists had about work pressure. They considered that burnout (25 percent), the loss of experi-ence from the profession (25 percent) and lack of leadership (23 percent) were threats to educational psychology services (see Table 2). Educa-tional psychologists who attended a facilitated discussion about the

Table 2 Challenges jeopardizing service delivery*

Percent Percent Internal challenges endorsing External challenges endorsing

Lack of leadership within 23 Low status of school 17the profession psychology

Conflicts of leadership 9 Low status of 3within the profession education in my country Professional burnout 25 Conflicts with competing 20 professional groups Lack of research and 19 Other professional 3evaluation groups taking school psychology jobs

Lowering standards for 14 Lack of money to properly 31selecting or preparing fund servicesprofessionals

Lack of professional 0 Lack of political stability 2standards governing professional services

More able professionals 25 Lack of economic stability 0leaving the profession

Lack of peer support from 8 Lack of public support 3other school psychologists for education

Lack of adequate supervision 8 Low salaries for school 22 psychologists

* Includes Q. 41 (Please indicate which of the following internal challenges may jeopardize the delivery of psychological services within schools in your country) and Q. 40 (Please indicate which of the following external challenges may jeopardize the delivery of psychological services within schools in your country).

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recruitment and retention of members of the profession reported that decreasing numbers of educational psychologists are taking leadership positions and that decisions made on their behalf by people outside of the profession were not always conducive to the delivery of sound psychological service (Institute of Educational and Developmental Psy-chologists, 2008). Participants reported that pressures from outside the profession also affected their work (see Table 2). These included lack of funding for educational psychology practice, conflicts with competing professions and the low salaries they received for their work.

Regarding the relevance of research to the practice of educational psychology, the vast majority reported that research is very relevant (85 percent), 15 percent reported that it is somewhat relevant and zero reported that it was not at all relevant. Participants frequently noted the importance of further research regarding; addressing challenging behaviours at school, inclusion, systematic assessment and interven-tion and Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Respondents indicated that the International School Psychol-ogy Association may further contribute to educational psychology in New Zealand through: (a) providing opportunities abroad/‘exchange’ programs; (b) sharing information and research cross-culturally; (c) developing opportunities to communicate online and (d) promoting the status of school psychology.

ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that, consistent with educational psychol-ogy practice in other countries, New Zealand educational psychologists engaged in collaborative interaction with students, teachers and fami-lies in the course of their work (Jimerson et al., 2006). The practice of educational psychology in New Zealand is shaped by both global trends and the particular cultural perspective of the nation and these are reflected in the contextualized, responsive approaches that educational psychologists take to their work. The greatest current challenges or threats to the profession of educational psychology in New Zealand were considered by participants to be politically driven decision-making, insufficiency of resources and practitioner burnout. Administration of the survey highlighted some differences in the way educational psychol-ogy work was conceptualized and conducted in New Zealand compared with school psychologists in other regions of the world. Individuals seeking additional information regarding the speciality of education-al psychology in New Zealand are encouraged to read the chapter by Edwards, Annan and Ryba in The Handbook of International School Psychology (Jimerson et al., 2007b).

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Dr Shane R. Jimerson is a Professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Address: UCSB, GGSE, CCSP, Phelps Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9490, USA. Email: Jimerson@education.ucsb.edu

Dr Jean Annan is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology at Massey University, Albany Campus, in Auckland. Address: School of Education at Albany, Massey University College of Education, Auckland Campus, PO Box 102 904, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: J.Annan@massey.ac.nz

Mary Skokut is a doctoral student at the Department of Counseling, Clini-cal and School Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Address: UCSB, GGSE, CCSP, Phelps Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9490, USA. Email: mskokut@education.ucsb.edu

Tyler L. Renshaw is a doctoral student at the Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Address: UCSB, GGSE, CCSP, Phelps Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9490, USA. Email: trenshaw@education.ucsb.edu

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