Making a career of school psychology
Document Type
Chapter
Publication Date
2011
Abstract
At first glance, the need for a chapter on “making a career of school psychology” might not be obvious. After all, why else would someone devote 3–5 years or more to obtain a graduate education in school psychology without intending to have a career in it? It would seem that earning an appropriate degree and getting a position as a school psychologist would result in a career. Careers simply happen – if you have the right training and work hard. In some professions that may be the case. A novice advertising executive, for example, may expect to work her way up a “career ladder” by acquiring more and more accounts, supervising more and more associates, and eventually, perhaps, owning her own firm. However, this chapter will encourage the novice practitioner to think of school psychology as a different type of profession – one that usually develops without a career ladder to climb. The authors will propose a model of career development for school psychologists that does not involve climbing ladders but rather emphasizes career enrichment through continuing professional development and professional association involvement.
Publication Title
A Practical Guide to Building Professional Competencies in School Psychology
First Page
245
Last Page
262
Recommended Citation
Smallwood, Diane and Armistead, Leigh D., "Making a career of school psychology" (2011). PCOM Scholarly Works. 812.
https://digitalcommons.pcom.edu/scholarly_papers/812
Comments
This chapter was published in A Practical Guide to Building Professional Competencies in School Psychology by Lionetti, Snyder, and Christner (eds.)
The published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6257-7_15
Copyright ©2011 Springer