If you love kids and you have always dreamed about majoring in Psychology, you should consider investigating whether or not school psychology is the right career path for you. School psychologists work in public and private educational settings with children in kindergarten all the way through 12th grade, and focus on helping children within all age groups deal with academic, emotional and social issues. While the typical day from a school psychologist will vary from school to school, knowing everyday functions and responsibilities can help you analyze whether or not you are interested in studying to work directly with students in a school setting. Read on and learn what the day in the life of a school psychologist is like.
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A Mesh Between the Educational System and Mental Health Care
School psychologist work directly with teachers, parents, and students to help address mental health concerns that can affect academic and social performance. As an important player in the educational system, a school psychologist is a mental health professional that complies with Federal educational legislation and research models to come up with effective solutions that will work towards the betterment of each student that they work with daily. Every function that a school psychologist serves caters on promoting a healthy learning environment so that the needs of students are met.
What Do School Psychologists Do on a Day to Day Basis?
A qualified school psychologist can serve several different functions each day, and the people that a psychologist comes into contact with daily depends on the number of schools that you work between. Many times, you can work in one setting one week and another setting the next, depending on you assignments. Throughout the course of the day, you can work on consulting with teachers and parents, evaluating a student through face-to-face sessions and observations, analyzing performance, referring to research and data, and recommending ideas for intervention and prevention.
It is very important to work closely with parents and teachers as a school psychologist. By doing this, everyone can work as a team to ensure that students learn how to effectively deal with their behavioral issues, academic difficulties, and other social issues the right way. You may spend the beginning of your morning meeting with teachers to discuss referrals and classroom behavior issues. Mornings may also be spent addressing the concerns of parents or returning phone calls. Throughout the remainder of the day, you could gather data through observation and then research different techniques that are effective in managing and treating specific issues.
You can work in a public school, a private school, a university, or a government agency as a school psychologist. If you are attaining your degree in psychology and geared towards testing for your license, you should investigate all of your options. Trends in this young field are on the rise, and in many cases you can earn licensure with a Master’s degree. Check your state’s requirements to see if your state requires you to complete an internship in school psychology before you select a program, and you can take the right formal educational path to work as a qualified psychologist.
