Interventions for youth are often studied in school settings, yet there are barriers that hinder schools from actively participating in the research studies. To ensure interventions are studied in the context they are intended for, adopted in a timely manner, and regularly used in practice as designed, researchers can conduct studies in a manner…

Despite alarming rates and negative consequences associated with urban teacher attrition, mentoring programs often fail to target the strongest predictors of attrition: effectiveness around classroom management and engaging learners Edution; and connectedness to colleagues. Using a mixed-method iterative development framework, we highlight the…

School psychology research focused on child outcomes is critical for understanding which social and behavioral interventions affect children in schools. Yet effective interventions fulfill their promise when they fit their implementation contexts, are implemented well with existing resources, and can be sustained or scaled up to new populations.…

Research suggests that involvement in relational aggression is associated with serious adjustment problems, including concurrent and future social maladjustment (e.g., problematic friendships; rejection), internalizing problems (e.g., depressive symptoms), and school avoidance. Despite the burgeoning literature focusing on the harmful and damaging…

The collection of articles in this special issue on relational aggression gives a glimpse into the complex social networks, first, of children's relational aggression and, second, of the collaborators who develop and validate children's prevention programs. The programs described in this special section are among the first to address relational…

Provides introductory comments and definitions regarding the area of social-emotional interventions in schools. Suggests that although there have been significant advances in school-based social-emotional intervention programming, future efforts are needed to help practitioners customize and implement programs effectively across school systems,…

This study provides initial evidence for the reliability and structural validity of scores from the Primary Intervention Rating Scale (Lane, Robertson, & Wehby, 2002), an adapted version of the Intervention Rating Profile-15 (Witt & Elliott, 1985) designed to assess faculty's perceptions of social validity of primary prevention plans prior…

Within legislative, practice, and professional issues in school psychology, examples of action plans for hypothetical events are presented. These were produced by groups of conference participants to stimulate development of detailed plans for local, state and national use by school psychologists. Action plan resources and implementation and…

Presents conceptual framework based on integration of basic domains affecting psychologists' practice which led to the development of a database model of alternative school psychological services. This approach attempts to provide guidance to program development of service delivery based upon empirical data that examines children's functioning and…

A case study is described in which a school psychologist served as the participatory researcher in an action research process for the development of a family-school partnership program in an elementary school. Concludes that participatory action research is a viable means for school psychologists to provide leadership in developing research-based,…

Addresses the current and future roles of school psychologists in mental health programming as evidence shows they are spending time conducting such programming. Describes programs where school psychologists assume key roles in mental health program development, implementation, and evaluation. Gives several suggestions for ways school…

This article focuses on the recent flurry of legislation in states to address bullying among school children. The primary purpose is to describe, compare, and contrast current state laws about bullying. Specifically, a description is provided of legislators' definitions of bullying and legislative findings about the nature and seriousness of…

Traditionally, the contributions of school psychologists during the screening phase of preschool assessment have been minimal. The purpose of this article is to broaden the school psychologist's perspective regarding preschool screening and in the process introduce some specific screening activities which closely parallel the school psychologist's…

Article examines selected school-based prevention programs that represent a dual focus of risk attenuation and competency promotion, and exemplify a shift from risk to resilience in the prevention of antisocial behavior. Identifies characteristics of improved outcomes and draws conclusions for enhancing future efforts. Stresses the urgent need for…

Based upon an ecological orientation, several practical recommendations for providing psychological services at the high school level are presented. Attention is given to the process of entree, needs assessment, intervention design, and project evaluation. (Author/PN)