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150-556: They carry out psychological testing , psychoeducational assessment , intervention , prevention , counseling , and consultation in the ethical, legal, and administrative codes of their profession. School psychology dates back to the beginning of American psychology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The field is tied to both functional and clinical psychology . School psychology actually came out of functional psychology . School psychologists were interested in childhood behaviors, learning processes, and dysfunction with life or in

300-640: A 14-year-old student who wished to go to college had extreme difficulties in differentiating sounds, as well as other speech problems that might today be called dyslexia . Witmer decided to help him to correct his problem; the child progressed satisfactorily and was able to continue studying, eventually enrolling at the University of Pennsylvania. This success made Witmer believe that children with learning difficulties could satisfactorily engage in education with support, dedication and special education. The following year, Witmer decided to attend graduate school at

450-456: A better assessment process would not necessarily focus on if a student qualifies for a special education program, but rather the unique learning style of each student, and how to best help them succeed. The National Research Council has called attention to the questionable reliability of educational decision making in special education as there can be vast numbers of false positives and/or false negatives. Misidentified students in special education

600-459: A better selection process for choosing new members. These proposals sparked a debate among APA members because many of the current members did not want the field to separate from philosophy. Their proposals were rejected, so Witmer attempted to start an association with Hall, exclusively for experimental psychologists, but Hall refused. In 1904 Edward B. Titchener accepted Witmer's proposal to separate Psychology from Philosophy, and decided to abandon

750-640: A better world after the social problems he saw as a result of the Civil War . In 1880, Witmer and his brother Ferree enrolled in the Prep School “Episcopal Academy of Philadelphia”, one of the best schools in America at the time. Witmer showed his intelligence and reasoning ability at Prep School. Witmer and two other boys were told to build a canoe, each having everything they needed to complete their task. His two schoolmates were arguing over who would build

900-487: A continuum of supports. These systems and policies should convey clear behavior expectations and promote consistency among educators. Continuous reinforcement of positive behaviors can yield extremely positive results. Schoolwide positive behavior supports A systematic approach that proactively promotes constructive behaviors in a school can yield positive outcomes. These programs are designed to improve and support students’ social, behavioral, and learning outcomes by promoting

1050-421: A discipline was to establish more psychological clinics and hospitals specifically for children suffering from intellectual disability or physical defects that impact academic progress. The discipline was to focus on providing opportunities for those in other disciplines, such as teaching, medicine and social work to observe and work with children with intellectual disability and normal children. Witmer's fourth goal

1200-467: A doctoral dissertation, and a one-year (1500+ hour) internship (which may be in a school or other settings such as clinics or hospitals). Psychological testing Psychological testing refers to the administration of psychological tests. Psychological tests are administered or scored by trained evaluators. A person's responses are evaluated according to carefully prescribed guidelines. Scores are thought to reflect individual or group differences in

1350-574: A faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania . Ferree obtained his physiology doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, Lilly Evelyn received her bacteriology medical degree in Berlin , and Paul DeLancey obtained a doctoral degree in Pharmacy. By the end of 1905, Witmer and his siblings had all become doctors in a range of disciplines. As a young man, Witmer wanted a better future and

1500-450: A growth of institutions serving children. Society was starting to "change the 'meaning of children' from an economic source of labor to a psychological source of love and affection". Historian Thomas Fagan argues that the preeminent force behind the need for school psychology was compulsory schooling laws. Prior to the compulsory schooling law, only 20% of school aged children completed elementary school and only 8% completed high school. Due to

1650-569: A laboratory or at home. Sometimes the observation can involve children in a classroom or the schoolyard. The purpose may be clinical, such as to establish a pre-intervention baseline of a child's hyperactive or aggressive classroom behaviors or to observe the nature of parent-child interaction in order to understand a relational disorder. Time sampling methods are also part of direct observational research. The reliability of observers in direct observational research can be evaluated using Cohen's kappa . The Parent-Child Interaction Assessment-II (PCIA)

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1800-521: A long-term commitment focused on success at school and with learning. The "check" component is observed from the student levels of engagement. These are things such as attendance, suspension, credits, grades, and behavior that are “checked” for progress regularly by mentors and used to guide their efforts to increase and maintain students’ “connection” with the school. The "connect" component is timely, personalized, data-based interventions designed to provide support tailored to individual student needs, based on

1950-538: A member of The University, brought Cattell to join the faculty of the University. At this time, Cattell was known as one of the best-trained psychologists, educated by influential psychologist, Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt . Witmer accepted Fullerton's offer to become Cattell's assistant. He decided to resign from the Rugby Academy and attend graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. Witmer and Cattell worked together to found an experimental psychology lab with

2100-604: A negative school climate. With the ever growing use of technology, school psychologists are faced with several issues, both ethical and within the populations they try to serve. As it is so easy to share and communicate over technology, concerns are raised as to just how easy it is for outsiders to get access to the private information that school psychologists deal with every day. Thus exchanging and storing information digitally may come under scrutiny if precautions such as password protecting documents and specifically limiting access within school systems to personal files. Another issue

2250-425: A point to provide direct advice and consultation to both the client and their caregivers on their living environment and other aspects of their lives in order to improve their problems or disabilities. Many of Witmer's original approaches still exist in modern-day clinical psychology. Witmer was responsible for major advancements in the field of school psychology and was cited as the founder of this discipline. Witmer

2400-450: A positive school climate and providing targeted training to students and educators within a school. Data should be collected consistently to assess implementation effectiveness, screen and monitor student behavior, and develop or modify action plans. Check and Connect C&C is a structured mentoring intervention to promote student success and engagement at school with learning through relationship building and systematic use of data. It

2550-658: A prominent graduate from the Agnes Irwin School , in 1904. She was a writer who worked for the American Philosophical Society , to which both she and Witmer belonged. In 1908, he established and staffed a small private residential school near Wallingford, Pennsylvania , an institution dedicated to the care and treatment of retarded and troubled children. Later, he established a similar, but larger facility in Devon, Pennsylvania . He founded

2700-757: A range of questions related not only to efficacy and effectiveness, but also to feasibility given resources, acceptability, social validity, integrity, and sustainability. A specific example of an intervention that has recently become popular among school psychologists is the School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) intervention. The SWPBIS involves a communal effort among school staff to establish school-wide behavioral expectations, which are reinforced by reward systems in order to promote positive forms of coaching and mentorship. Authorized under Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDIEA),

2850-427: A sample of words in their vocabulary. The samples of behavior must be reasonably representative of the behavior in question. The samples of behavior that make up a paper-and-pencil test, the most common type of psychological test, are written into the test items. Total performance on the items produces a test score. A score on a well-constructed test is believed to reflect a psychological construct such as achievement in

3000-476: A school subject like vocabulary or mathematics knowledge, cognitive ability , dimensions of personality such as introversion/extraversion, etc. Differences in test scores are thought to reflect individual differences in the construct the test is purported to measure. There are several broad categories of psychological tests: Achievement tests assess an individual's knowledge in a subject domain. Some academic achievement tests are designed to be administered by

3150-427: A series of tasks, problems to solve, and characteristics (e.g., behaviors, symptoms) the presence of which the respondent affirms/denies to varying degrees. Psychological tests can include questionnaires and interviews . Questionnaire- and interview-based scales typically differ from psychoeducational tests, which ask for a respondent's maximum performance. Questionnaire- and interview-based scales, by contrast, ask for

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3300-546: A significant issue affecting one or more students. Interventions in school psychology are typically classified as "direct" when practitioners work with students to rectify their own academic or behavioral problems and as "indirect" when they collaborate with the student's family or teachers to correct academic or behavioral problems. Popular intervention formats include individual meetings, school assemblies, parent-teacher conferences, workshops, and awareness campaigns. After significant developments in related psychological fields over

3450-418: A special case was brought before him: a 14-year-old student was having extreme difficulties learning to spell, yet was quite able and excelled in other subjects. This case offered a special challenge to Witmer and was in line with his developing view that psychology should be of practical benefit. He soon began remedial work with the youth. Needing a workspace, Witmer established the first psychological clinic, at

3600-547: A student is currently performing and the expectations of how they should be performing. Short term and long term interventions used within a problem-solving model must be evidence-based. This means the intervention strategies must have been evaluated by research that utilized rigorous data analysis and peer review procedures to determine the effectiveness. Implementing evidence-based interventions for behavior and academic concerns requires significant training, skill development, and supervised practice. Linking assessment and intervention

3750-534: A supervised internship is the defining feature of graduate-level training that leads to certification to practice as a school psychologist. Specialist-level training typically requires 3–4 years of graduate training including a 9-month (1200 hour) internship in a school setting. Doctoral-level training programs typically require 5–7 years of graduate training. Requirements typically include more coursework in core psychology and professional psychology, more advanced statistics coursework, involvement in research endeavors,

3900-565: A test item accurately or acknowledging the presence of a symptom. An example of an item on a mathematics test that might be used in the United Kingdom but not the United States could be the following: "In a football match two players get a red card; how many players are left on the pitch?" This item requires knowledge of football (soccer) to be answered correctly, not just mathematical ability. Thus, group membership can influence

4050-514: A test to be used in the United Kingdom, the test and its items should have approximately the same meaning for British males and females. That invariance does not necessarily apply to similar groups in another population, such as males and females in the United States or between populations, for example, the populations of the UK and the US. In test construction, it is important to establish invariance at least for

4200-421: A trained evaluator. By contrast, group achievement tests are often administered by a teacher. A score on an achievement test is believed to reflect the individual's knowledge of a subject area. There are generally two types of achievement tests, norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests. Most achievement tests are norm-referenced . The individual's responses are scored according to standardized protocols and

4350-596: A woman to manage it. Witmer wrote and published articles for the APA. In one article, "The Organization of Practical Work in Psychology", he expressed his desire to assist children academically and described a plan for organized education. He proposed that schools should become more involved with their students' classes and grades, that schools should have better educational tools, and that faculty members should receive teaching reflecting psychological findings. Witmer opened

4500-506: Is a process that involves integrating information from multiple sources, such as personality inventories, ability tests, symptom scales, interest inventories, and attitude scales, as well as information from personal interviews. Collateral information can also be collected from occupational records or medical histories ; information can also be obtained from parents, spouses, teachers, friends, or past therapists or physicians. One or more psychological tests are sources of information used within

4650-404: Is a specialty, individuals in the field should have a completed a two-year graduate training program or a four-year doctoral program. Participants felt that states should be encouraged to establish certification standards to ensure proper training. It was also decided that a practicum experience be required to help facilitate experiential knowledge within the field. The Thayer Conference is one of

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4800-453: Is an example of a direct observation procedure that is used with school-age children and parents. The parents and children are video recorded playing at a make-believe zoo. The Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment is used to study parents and young children and involves a feeding and a puzzle task. The MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB) is used to elicit narratives from children. The Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System-II tracks

4950-403: Is an integral part of school psychology. School administrators view school psychologists as the school's crisis intervention "experts". Crisis events can significantly affect a student's ability to learn and function effectively. Many school crisis response models suggest that a quick return to normal rituals and routines can be helpful in coping with crises. The primary goal of crisis interventions

5100-888: Is common for them to be under-identified for Autism Spectrum Disorder and speech and language impairments in comparison to White students. Minority populations often have an increased susceptibility to economic, social and cultural disadvantages that can affect academic achievement. According to the US Department of Education, "Black children were three times as likely to live in poor families as white children in 2015. 12 percent of white and Asian children lived in poor families, compared with 36 percent of black children, 30 percent of Hispanic children, 33 percent of American Indian children, and 19 percent of others." There may be other alternative explanations for behavior and academic performance as well. For example, Black children are twice as likely as Whites to experience heightened levels of lead in

5250-416: Is compared to a criterion. Test-takers are not compared to each other. A passing score, i.e., the criterion performance, is established by the teacher or an educational institution. Criterion-referenced tests are part and parcel of mastery based education . Psychological assessment can involve the observation of people as they engage in activities. This type of assessment is usually conducted with families in

5400-458: Is critical for determining that the correct intervention has been chosen. School psychologists have been specifically trained to ensure that interventions are implemented with integrity to maximize positive outcomes for children in a school setting. Historically, the main role of school psychologists has been to assess and diagnose students with behavioral or learning disabilities and determine their eligibility for exceptional needs programs. Within

5550-466: Is due in small part to the fledgling nature of school psychology as a field, but also due to the difference between research settings and clinical or classroom settings, with the later being generally more unpredictable and vulnerable to outside influences than the former. Thus, practitioners often modify research-based interventions in order to suit the particular needs of a student or student population. Intervention and prevention research needs to address

5700-406: Is linked to poverty and health outcomes versus those who believed in the systemwide racist practices that contributed to over-representation of minority students." The United States Congress recently received an annual report on the implementation of IDEA which stated that proportionally Native Americans (14.09%) and African Americans (12.61%) were the two most highly represented racial groups within

5850-543: Is little talked about. Several factors are claimed to have contributed to this perception. One had to do with Witmer's personality. Within his field he was vicious, argumentative and blunt, regardless of his opponent. Witmer's targets included the American Psychological Association, mon-experimentalists, psychology as a discipline, and his colleagues. A second factor was that many of his theories were not empirically testable. Although Witmer

6000-494: Is not sufficient. School psychology training programs are housed in university schools of education or departments of psychology. School psychology programs require courses, practica , and internships. Specific degree requirements vary across training programs. School psychology training programs offer masters-level (M.A., M.S., M.Ed.), specialist-level degrees ( Ed.S. , Psy.S. , SSP , CAGS ), and doctoral-level degrees (Ph.D., Psy.D. or Ed.D.) degrees. Regardless of degree title,

6150-433: Is problematic and can contribute to long term negative outcomes. The effects of these outcomes differs based on many factors, including race or location. During the identification process, school psychologists must consider ecological factors and environmental context such as socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status may limit funding and materials, impact curriculum quality, increase teacher-to-student ratios, and perpetuate

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6300-525: Is said that while Witmer was Wundt's assistant, they had several disagreements. One of those disputes was that Witmer desired to continue working on the study of reaction times he had previously started with Cattell, but Wundt insisted that they should study the aesthetic value of different visual forms, and other branches of psychology such as educational psychology and developmental psychology . Witmer obtained his PhD in 1892 from Wundt. Return to Pennsylvania In 1892, Witmer left Germany and returned to

6450-615: Is structured to maximize personal contact and opportunities to build trusting relationships. It was developed in 1990 at the Institute on Community Integration University of Minnesota in collaboration with the Minneapolis Public School System. It emphasizes school completion, with academic, social, and emotional competencies. Students may be referred to the program if they exhibit signs of withdrawal in academic, emotional, or behavioral areas. The team consists of

6600-648: Is that if the individual's activities and interests are similar to the modal pattern of activities and interests of people who are successful in a given occupation, then the chances are high that the individual would find satisfaction in that occupation. A widely used instrument is the Strong Interest Inventory , which is used in career assessment, career counseling, and educational guidance. Neuropsychological tests are designed to assess behaviors that are linked to brain structure and function. An examiner, following strict pre-set procedures, administers

6750-414: Is that of how students communicate using this technology. There are both concerns on how to address these virtual communications and on how appropriate it is to access them. Concerns on where the line can be drawn on where intervention methods end and invasion of privacy begin are raised by students, parents, administrators, and faculty. Addressing these behaviors becomes even more complicated when considering

6900-486: Is the idea of being culturally aware and sensitive. American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) both have ethical principles and codes of conduct that present aspirational elements of social justice that school psychologists may abide by. Although ethical principles exist, there is federal legislation that acts accordingly to social justice. For example,

7050-585: Is to help crisis-exposed students return to their basic abilities of problem-solving so the student can return to their pre-crisis level of functioning. A way in which school psychologists can help students is by creating primary prevention programs. Information about prevention should also be connected to current events in the community. The three major elements that comprise social justice include equity, fairness, and respect. The concept of social justice includes all individuals having equal access to opportunities and resources. A major component behind social justice

7200-482: The Binet–Simon test . The test focused heavily on verbal ability. Binet and Simon intended that the test be used to aid in identifying schoolchildren who were intellectually challenged, which in turn would pave the way for providing the children with professional help. The Binet-Simon test became the foundation for the later-developed Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales . The origins of personality testing date back to

7350-624: The Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library ). There are online archives available that contain tests on various topics. Many psychological and psychoeducational tests are not available to the public. Test publishers put restrictions on who has access to the test. Psychology licensing boards also restrict access to the tests used in licensing psychologists. Test publishers hold that both copyright and professional ethics require them to protect

7500-699: The NEO-PI , the 16PF Questionnaire , the Occupational Personality Questionnaires , and the Five-Factor Personality Inventory. The International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) scales assess the same traits that the NEO and other personality scales assess. All IPIP scales and items are in the public domain and, therefore, are available free of charge. Projective testing originated in the first half of

7650-513: The imperial examination system in China. The tests, an early form of psychological testing, assessed candidates based on their proficiency in topics such as civil law and fiscal policies. Early tests of intelligence were made for entertainment rather than analysis. Modern mental testing began in France in the 19th century. It contributed to identifying individuals with intellectual disabilities for

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7800-509: The 18th and 19th centuries, when phrenology was the basis for assessing personality characteristics. Phrenology, a pseudoscience, involved assessing personality by way of skull measurement. Early pseudoscientific techniques eventually gave way to empirical methods. One of the earliest modern personality tests was the Woodworth Personal Data Sheet , a self-report inventory developed during World War I to be used by

7950-496: The 1900s. The idea animating projective tests is that the examinee is thought to project hidden aspects of his or her personality, including unconscious content, onto the ambiguous stimuli presented in the test. Examples of projective tests include Rorschach test , Thematic apperception test , and the Draw-A-Person test . Available evidence, however, suggests that projective tests have limited validity. Vocations within

8100-446: The APA society and help Witmer create a society solely for experimental psychologists called The Society of Experimental Psychologists (SEP). Witmer told Titchener that the association should be only for men and that women should be excluded because they were too emotional when discussing scientific issues. He eventually changed his attitude, and decided to teach female students; accepted women to work at his clinic, and later appointed

8250-582: The Check Yourself digital screening tool designed by Seattle Children's Hospital to measure, understand, and nurture individual students’ well-being. Check Yourself collects information about lifestyle, behaviour, and social determinants of health to identify at-risk youth so that school psychologists can intervene and direct youth to the services they need. Mental health screening provides school psychologists with valuable insights so that interventions are better fitted to student needs. Crisis intervention

8400-623: The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) address issues such as poverty and disability to promote the concept of social justice in schools. Schools are becoming increasingly diverse with growing awareness of these differences. Cultural diversity factors that can be addressed through social justice practice include race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), religion, and sexual orientation. With

8550-519: The MMPI are rescaled such that 50 is the middlemost score on the MMPI Depression scale and 60 is a score that places the individual one standard deviation above the mean for depressive symptoms; 40 represents a symptom level that is one standard deviation below the mean. A criterion-referenced test is an achievement test in a specific knowledge domain. An individual's performance on the test

8700-452: The SWPBIS system has been implemented in over 25,000 schools as of 2018. Like other Evidence-based interventions, the SWPBIS has a large body of research supporting its effectiveness in promoting positive academic and interpersonal behaviors among students. School psychologists are involved in the implementation of academic, behavioral, and social/emotional interventions within a school across

8850-763: The Scholastic Aptitude Test, had its named changed because performance on the test is sensitive to training. An attitude scale assesses an individual's disposition regarding an event (e.g., a Supreme Court decision), person (e.g., a governor), concept (e.g., wearing face masks during a pandemic), organization (e.g., the Boy Scouts), or object (e.g., nuclear weapons) on a unidimensional favorable-unfavorable attitude continuum. Attitude scales are used in marketing to determine individuals' preferences for brands. Historically social psychologists have developed attitude scales to assess individuals' attitudes toward

9000-847: The Stanford-Binet or the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale ). A widely used, but brief, aptitude test used in business is the Wonderlic Test . Aptitude tests have been used in assessing specific abilities or the general ability of potential new employees (the Wonderlic was once used by the NFL). Aptitude tests have also been used for career guidance. Evidence suggests that aptitude tests like IQ tests are sensitive to past learning and are not pure measures of untutored ability. The SAT, which used to be called

9150-645: The United Nations and race relations. Typically Likert scales are used in attitude research. Historically, the Thurstone scale was used prior to the development of the Likert scale. The Likert scale has largely supplanted the Thurstone scale. The Biographical Information Blanks or BIB is a paper-and-pencil form that includes items that ask about detailed personal and work history. It is used to aid in

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9300-476: The United States Army for the purpose of screening potential soldiers for mental health problems and identifying victims of shell shock (the instrument was completed too late to be used for the purposes it was designed for). The Woodworth Inventory, however, became the forerunner of many later personality tests and scales. The development of a psychological test requires careful research. Some of

9450-523: The United States in 1920, his mother died, followed a few years later by Titchener, and he stopped publishing. By 1930, the University of Pennsylvania presented him with a volume called Clinical Psychology: Studies in Honor of Lightner Witmer . On July 19, 1956, at age 89, Witmer died at the hospital in Bryn Mawr from heart failure . Witmer gained little recognition outside of clinical psychology and

9600-570: The University of Pennsylvania and was accepted into the Philosophy department. He intended to study law and to work towards an advanced degree in political science. James McKeen Cattell and the Experimental Psychological Lab While at Pennsylvania he was introduced to experimental psychologist James McKeen Cattell , who inspired him to begin studying in the emerging field of psychology. George Fullerton ,

9750-458: The University of Pennsylvania, becoming the Director of The Laboratory of Psychology. He was interested in teaching Child Psychology and taught several different courses. He also began conducting research on individual differences in sensory-perceptual variables and presented papers in experimental psychology. In 1896, he taught public school teachers at the University. During March of that year,

9900-497: The University. In 1896, he presented a plan of organization for practical work in psychology to the American Psychological Association , in which he used and explained the term " Clinical Psychology " for the first time. Witmer was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1897. In 1902, he started advising graduate students and published a laboratory manual. He married Emma Repplier,

10050-477: The academic research literature. Tests to assess specific psychological constructs can be found by conducting a database search. Some databases are open access, for example, Google Scholar (although many tests found in the Google Scholar database are not free of charge). Other databases are proprietary, for example, PsycINFO , but are available through university libraries and many public libraries (e.g.,

10200-464: The administrators, teachers and parents of exceptional children He felt that psychology could make a contribution to the administrator system level of the application of school psychology. Hall created the child study movement, which helped to invent the concept of the "normal" child. Through Hall's child study, he helped to work out the mappings of child development and focused on the nature and nurture debate of an individual's deficit. Hall's main focus of

10350-591: The blood due to prolonged lead exposure. Lead poisoning can be known to affect a child's behavior by increasing their levels of irritability, hyperactivity, and inattentiveness even in less severe cases. Some school psychologists realize the need to understand and accept their own cultural beliefs and values in order to understand the impact it may have when delivering services to clients and families. For example, these school psychologists ensure that students who are minorities, including African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans are being equally represented at

10500-437: The book was on applied educational psychology to improve learning outcomes. Hildreth listed 11 problems that can be solved by applying psychological techniques, including: instructional problems in the classroom, assessment of achievement, interpretation of test results, instructional groupings of students for optimal outcomes, vocational guidance, curriculum development, and investigations of exceptional pupils. Hildreth emphasized

10650-505: The brain itself. They wanted to understand the causes of the behaviors and their effects on learning. In addition to its origins in functional psychology, school psychology is also the earliest example of clinical psychology, beginning around 1890. While both clinical and school psychologists wanted to help improve the lives of children, they approached it in different ways. School psychologists were in fact concerned with school learning and childhood behavioral problems, which largely contrasts

10800-495: The canoe first, but Witmer thought and told the other children, "I wish to finish last as I will learn from others' mistakes and build the best canoe." He graduated with high honors at age 17. In 1884, Witmer enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania to study art, but after a couple of years he transferred to the Finance and Economy department where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in 1888, aged 20. During his freshman year, he

10950-400: The central principles of measurement employing multi-method, multi-source, and multi-setting approaches that are sensitive to contextual influences. They select and use the most appropriate assessment instruments and techniques, for the purpose for which they were designed, and for which there is supporting psychometric evidence. School psychologists are aware of the limitations of assessment and

11100-491: The chance to directly observe the differences between the two groups for themselves. He offered these professionals courses that demonstrated how to practically apply his clinical methods. This helped the other disciplines to see the importance of working with disabled children. Final days By 1917, Witmer joined the Red Cross . His main task was to help to rehabilitate homeless people who were war victims. When he went to

11250-405: The child in such a way that these defects may be overcome or rendered harmless through the development of other mental and moral traits". He strongly believed that active clinical interventions could help to improve the lives of the individual children. Since Witmer saw much success through his clinic, he saw the need for more experts to help these individuals. Witmer argued for special training for

11400-448: The child in that area, often improving several areas at once. In 1907 Witmer founded the journal The Psychological Clinic . In its first issue, he published the article "Clinical Psychology", which explained its definition in the following way: Although clinical psychology is clearly related to medicine, it is quite as closely related to sociology and pedagogy... An abundance of material for scientific study fails to be utilized, because

11550-516: The client and the clinician. Additionally, emphasis was placed on the ability of the clinician to be able to work with their clients in a professional, yet personal way. Witmer highlighted the concept of treating each client as an individual, and not simply as a physical manifestation of their problem or a phenomenon to be observed and explained. He emphasized examining each client's personal background history, as he believes it would allow clinicians to better and more fully understand their situation. He

11700-448: The client improved or problems arose. Treatment involved weekly visits to the clinic and would continue until either the problem was resolved, or the client, or the client's parent/guardian, decided to end it. Witmer's treatment programs were not limited to the clinic in which they took place; he emphasized the importance of ongoing remediation both in between treatment sessions and after treatment had officially ended. To this end Witmer made

11850-460: The clinic, Witmer regularly dealt with issues such as speech difficulties, sleep disturbances, behavioral problems, hyperactivity and refusal to stay in school. Every child was given a complete mental and physical examination, which often ruled out physiological symptoms. His method of improving children with psychological problems involved breaking down information to a level that they could understand. He would focus on particular problems and work with

12000-400: The compulsory schooling laws, there was an influx of students with mental and physical defects who were required by law to be in school. There needed to be an alternative method of teaching for these different children. Between 1910 and 1914, schools in both rural and urban areas created small special education classrooms for these children. From the emergence of special education classrooms came

12150-410: The construct the test purports to measure. The science behind psychological testing is psychometrics . According to Anastasi and Urbina, psychological tests involve observations made on a "carefully chosen sample [emphasis authors] of an individual's behavior." A psychological test is often designed to measure unobserved constructs, also known as latent variables . Psychological tests can include

12300-548: The contemporary field, the roles and responsibilities of individual practitioners have expanded significantly beyond the service of special needs students; however, assessment remains a central service performed by school psychologists. Current trends in the field of school psychology call for practitioners to move away from IQ-based assessment practices and encourage assessments that consider students’ individual profiles and attainable, more tailored intervention practices. Individualized education programs (IEPs) are reports summarizing

12450-459: The current methods of treatment for problematic behaviors, and implementation of these strategies can become complex, if not impossible, within the use of technology. Disproportionality refers to a group's under or overrepresentation in comparison to other groups within a certain context. In the field of school psychology, disproportionality of minority students in special education is a concern. Special Education Disproportionality has been defined as

12600-496: The development and implementation of scientifically based intervention and prevention programs to address learning and behavioral needs of students. Newly designed interventions must be empirically tested through a series of randomized studies conducted by researchers in order to be proven effective for school environments. Evidence-based interventions, known within the field as EBIs, while widely circulated amongst researchers, can be difficult to implement within school environments. This

12750-408: The elements of test development involve the following: The term sample of behavior refers to an individual's performance on tasks that have usually been prescribed beforehand. For example, a spelling test for middle school students cannot include all the words in the vocabularies of middle schoolers because there are thousands of words in their lexicon; a middle school spelling test must include only

12900-466: The experts working with exceptional children in special educational classrooms. He called for a "new profession which will be exercised more particularly in connection with educational problems, but for which the training of the psychologist will be a prerequisite". As Witmer believed in the appropriate training of these school psychologists, he also stressed the importance of appropriate and accurate testing of these special children. The IQ testing movement

13050-424: The extent to which children follow the commands of parents and vice versa and is well suited to the study of children with Oppositional Defiant Disorders and their parents. Psychological tests include interest inventories. These tests are used primarily for career counseling. Interest inventories include items that ask about the preferred activities and interests of people seeking career counseling. The rationale

13200-546: The field have prioritized the acquisition of CLD school psychologists. School psychologists are trained to use their skills, knowledge, and professional practices in promoting diversity and advocating for services for all students, families, teachers, and schools. School psychologists may also work with teachers and educators to provide an integrated multicultural education classroom and curriculum that allows more students to be represented in learning. Efforts to increase multicultural perspectives among school psychologists have been on

13350-867: The field of school psychology recognize the practical challenges that school psychologists face when striving for systems-level change and have highlighted a more manageable domain within a systems-level approach – the classroom. Overall, it makes sense for school psychologists to devote considerable effort to monitoring and improving school and classroom-based performance for all children and youth because it has been shown to be an effective preventive approach. School psychologists play an important role in supporting youth mental wellness, but identifying youth who are in distress can be challenging. Some schools have implemented universal mental health screening programs to help school psychologists find and help struggling youth. For instance, schools in King County, Washington are using

13500-412: The field of school psychology serves such a diverse range of students, maintaining representation for minority groups continues to be a priority. Despite such importance, history has seen an underrepresentation of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) school psychologists. which may appear alarming given that the diversity of our youth continues to increase exponentially. Thus, current professionals in

13650-418: The first Psychological Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896, with the purpose of studying children who had either learning or behavior problems. Witmer's main participants were children who attended public schools from Philadelphia and surrounding areas, and who were brought to the clinic by their teachers or parents. Witmer's clinic was appreciated by many, as it proactively employed psychology. In

13800-558: The first psychological and child guidance clinic in 1896 at the University of Pennsylvania. Witmer's goal was to prepare psychologists to help educators solve children's learning problems, specifically those with individual differences. Witmer became an advocate for these special children. He was not focused on their deficits per se, but rather helping them overcome them, by looking at the individual's positive progress rather than all they still could not achieve. Witmer stated that his clinic helped "to discover mental and moral defects and to treat

13950-521: The goals of the Thayer Conference was to define school psychologists. The agreed upon definition stated that school psychologists were psychologists who specialize in education and have specific knowledge of assessment and learning of all children. School psychologists use this knowledge to assist school personnel in enriching the lives of all children. This knowledge is also used to help identify and work with children with exceptional needs. It

14100-669: The hiring of employees by matching the backgrounds of individuals to requirements of the job. The purpose of clinical tests is to assess the presence of symptoms of psychopathology . Examples of clinical assessments include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-IV , Child Behavior Checklist , Symptom Checklist 90 and the Beck Depression Inventory . Many large-scale clinical tests are normed. For example, scores on

14250-416: The idea theory introspection and did not care much for pure experimental psychology. He also criticized "Intelligence Tests" and encouraged his students not to trust them, because he thought those tests only gave a measure of the individual's efficiency, nothing else. He thought that people should not be referred to as normal or abnormal due to the results of such tests, as one could then say that an individual

14400-727: The importance of collaboration with parents and teachers. She is also known for her development of the Metropolitan Readiness Tests and for her contribution to the Metropolitan Achievement test . In 1933 and 1939 Hildreth published a bibliography of Mental Tests and Rating Scales encompassing a 50-year time period and over 4,000 titles. She wrote approximately 200 articles and bulletins and had an international reputation for her work in education. Empirical evidence has not confirmed biases in referral, assessment, or identification. Some have claimed that

14550-555: The information that is collected, interpreted, and reported. School psychologists use assessment information in a manner that minimizes the potential for misunderstanding and misuse. School psychologists play a substantial role in data-driven decision-making in each of the following areas: routine decisions, screening, progress monitoring, problem identification, school-wide decisions, problem analysis for instruction, problem analysis for intervention planning, program evaluation, accountability, eligibility, and diagnostic decisions. Leaders in

14700-405: The integrity" of the tests by not publicly describing test techniques and by not "coaching individuals" so that they "might unfairly influence their test performance." Lightner Witmer Lightner Witmer (June 28, 1867 – July 19, 1956) was an American psychologist . He introduced the term " clinical psychology" and is often credited with founding the field that it describes. Witmer created

14850-399: The interest of psychologists is elsewhere engaged, and those in constant touch with the actual phenomena do not possess the training necessary to make the experience and observation of scientific value...I have borrowed the word "clinical" from medicine because it is the term I can find to indicate the character of the method which I deem necessary for this work. Witmer's "Clinical Psychology"

15000-433: The latter half of the twentieth century, school psychologists have begun to move towards intervention frameworks that center on individually tailored assessments and evidence-based interventions, rather than diagnosed disabilities. This is part of a larger movement to expand the role of school psychologists outside of special education. School psychologists, as researchers and practitioners, can make important contributions to

15150-481: The letter "W" with chalk on a blackboard. Witmer's studies of individual behavior extended to gifted children. In 1900 in his The Restoration of Children of the Slums described Witmer's beliefs that criminal behavior was not hereditary. Instead, he thought criminal behavior was caused due to environmental facts. In 1911 Witmer supported a bill in the state of Pennsylvania to sterilize severely retarded people, with

15300-575: The mental health focus of clinical psychologists. Another significant event in the foundation of school psychology as it is today was the Thayer Conference. The Thayer Conference was first held in August 1954 in West Point, New York in Hotel Thayer. The 9 day-long conference was conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA). The purpose of the conference was to develop a position on

15450-418: The most significant events in the history of school psychology because it was there that the field was initially shaped into what it is today. Before the Thayer Conference defined school psychology, practitioners used seventy-five different professional titles. By providing one title and a definition, the conference helped to get school psychologists recognized nationally. Since a consensus was reached regarding

15600-450: The movement was still the exceptional child despite the fact that he worked with atypical children. Bridging the gap between the child study movement, clinical psychology and special education, Arnold Gesell , was the first person in the United States to officially hold the title of school psychologist. He successfully combined psychology and education by evaluating children and making recommendations for special teaching. Arnold Gesell paved

15750-539: The need for "experts" to help assist in the process of child selection for special education. Thus, school psychology was founded. Lightner Witmer has been acknowledged as the founder of school psychology. Witmer was a student of both Wilhelm Wundt and James Mckeen Cattell . While Wundt believed that psychology should deal with the average or typical performance, Cattell's teachings emphasized individual differences. Witmer followed Cattell's teachings and focused on learning about each individual child's needs. Witmer opened

15900-421: The other term, "pedagogical retardation", referred to children who did not develop their full capacities when they reached adulthood. In the first issue of The Psychological Clinic , he criticized some of his colleagues and their departments because they had rejected ideas he proposed to the American Psychological Association. In 1908, in a later issue of his journal, he criticized William James for what he felt

16050-406: The probability of correctly answering items, as encapsulated in the concept of differential item functioning . Often tests are constructed for a specific population and the nature of that population should be taken into account when administering tests outside that population. A test should be invariant between relevant subgroups (e.g., demographic groups) within a larger population. For example, for

16200-408: The process of assessment . Many psychologists conduct assessments when providing services. Psychological assessment is a complex, detailed, in-depth process. Examples of assessments include providing a diagnosis, identifying a learning disability in schoolchildren, determining if a defendant is mentally competent , and selecting job applicants. The first large-scale tests may have been part of

16350-782: The public safety field (e.g., fire service, law enforcement, corrections, emergency medical services) are often required to take industrial or organizational psychological tests for initial employment and promotion. The National Firefighter Selection Inventory , the National Criminal Justice Officer Selection Inventory , and the Integrity Inventory are prominent examples of these tests. Thousands of psychological tests have been developed. Some were produced by commercial testing companies that charge for their use. Others have been developed by researchers, and can be found in

16500-428: The public schools. Witmer argued against the standard pencil and paper IQ and Binet type tests in order to help select children for special education. Witmer's child selection process included observations and having children perform certain mental tasks. Another important figure to the origin of school psychology was Granville Stanley Hall . Rather than looking at the individual child as Witmer did, Hall focused more on

16650-552: The purpose of humanely providing them with an alternative form of education. Englishman Francis Galton coined the terms psychometrics and eugenics . He developed a method for measuring intelligence based on nonverbal sensory-motor tests. The test was initially popular but was abandoned. In 1905 French psychologists Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon published the Échelle métrique de l'Intelligence (Metric Scale of Intelligence), known in English-speaking countries as

16800-456: The purpose of minimizing their offspring. In 1912 he traveled to Italy to study pedagogical methods with special children. In his 1896 APA paper, cited to be the first instance of his use and explanation of the term "Clinical Psychology," Witmer outlined four main goals for his new discipline. Firstly, it was to focus on the investigation of mental and intellectual disability using statistical and clinical methods. Secondly, clinical psychology as

16950-454: The purpose of studying individual differences by examining a range of subjects. Witmer's main lab tasks were to gather data on individual differences in reaction times. Through these, he gained knowledge of psychological experiments. While at the lab, Witmer published a manual that explained how experimental psychology should be properly conducted. Witmer intended to get his doctoral degree under Cattell's supervision, but Cattell suddenly left

17100-696: The realm of special education. In particular, African American males have been overidentified as having emotional disturbances and intellectual disabilities. They account for 21% of the special education population with emotional disturbances and 12% with learning disabilities. American Indian and Alaska Native students are also overrepresented in special education. They are shown to be 1.53 times more likely to receive services for various learning disabilities and 2.89 more likely to obtain services targeting developmental delays than all other Non-Native American student groups combined. Overall, Hispanic students are often overidentified for special education in general; however, it

17250-434: The relationship between one's membership to a specific group and the probability of being placed in a specific disability category. Systemic prejudice is believed by some to be one of the root causes of the mischaracterization of minority children as being disabled or problematic. "Research on disproportionality in the U.S. context has posited two overlapping types of rationales: those who believed disproportionate representation

17400-494: The respondent's typical behavior. Symptom and attitude tests are more often called scales. A useful psychological test/scale must be both valid , i.e., show evidence that the test or scale measures what it is purported to measure, ) and reliable , i.e., show evidence of consistency across items and raters and over time, etc. It is important that people who are equal on the measured construct (e.g., mathematics ability, depression) have an approximately equal probability of answering

17550-416: The results can be compared to the results of a norming group. Norm-referenced tests can be used to underline individual differences, that is to say, to compare each test-taker to every other test-taker. By contrast, the purpose of criterion referenced achievement tests is ascertain whether the test-taker mastered a predetermined body of knowledge rather than to compare the test-taker to everyone else who took

17700-435: The rise to account for the increased diversity within schools. Such efforts include establishing opportunities for individuals representative of minority groups to become school psychologists and implementing a diverse array of CLD training programs within the field. In order to become a school psychologist, one must first learn about school psychology by successfully completing a graduate-level training program. A B.A. or B.S.

17850-458: The roles, functions, and necessary training and credentialing of a school psychologist. At the conference, forty-eight participants that represented practitioners and trainers of school psychologists discussed the roles and functions of a school psychologist and the most appropriate way to train them. At the time of the Thayer Conference, school psychology was still a very young profession with only about 1,000 school psychology practitioners. One of

18000-501: The school psychologist. Differing opinions can be problematic because a school psychologist advocates for what is in the best interest of the student. School psychologists and staff members can help facilitate awareness through courageous conversations. School psychologists offer many types of services in order to be multiculturally competent. Multicultural competence extends to race, ethnicity, social class, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, and geographic region. Because

18150-465: The standards of training and major functions of a school psychologist, the public can now be assured that all school psychologists are receiving adequate information and training to become a practitioner. It is essential that school psychologists meet the same qualifications and receive appropriate training nationwide. These essential standards were first addressed at the Thayer Conference. At the Thayer Conference some participants felt that in order to hold

18300-407: The student's level of engagement with school. The monitor’s goal is to make education a priority for withdrawn students. This intervention gives students a person to motivate, encourage, and inform them on how important graduating is. Academic interventions can be conceptualized as a set of procedures and strategies designed to improve student performance with the intent of closing the gap between how

18450-461: The student, check and connect coordinator, community services, school staff, monitor, and family. The essential components of this intervention are the mentor component, the check component, and the connect component. The program is implemented by a monitor, who serves multiple roles as a mentor, an advocate, and a service coordinator. These serve to build a strong relationship with the student based on mutual trust and open communication, nurtured through

18600-498: The student’s current performance, goals to guide the student’s progress, and proposed resources to meet any special educational needs. School psychologists are equipped to provide assessment and to determine when an assessment is warranted. School psychologist have completed in depth advanced preparation in selecting and administering tests as well as interpreting and evaluating information obtained from assessment. Advanced training allows school psychologists to be extremely familiar with

18750-421: The subgroups of the population of interest. Psychological assessment is similar to psychological testing but usually involves a more comprehensive assessment of the individual. According to the American Psychological Association, psychological assessment involves the collection and integration of data for the purpose of evaluating an individual’s "behavior, abilities, and other characteristics." Each assessment

18900-448: The system level, in the classroom, and receiving a fair education. For staff, it is important to look at one's own culture while seeing the value in diversity. Making sure that each individual student has an equal opportunity for education can greatly increase the general quality of that education. It is also vital to learn how to adapt to diversity and integrate a comprehensive way to understand cultural knowledge. Staff members should keep

19050-423: The terms race, privilege, implicit bias, micro aggression, and cultural relevance in mind when thinking about social justice. One of the primary roles and responsibilities of school psychologists working in schools is to develop and implement programs geared towards the optimal learning and mental well being of students. School psychologists call these programs 'interventions' when they are implemented in response to

19200-547: The test to a single person in a quiet room largely free of distractions. An example of a widely-used neuropsychological test is the Stroop test . Items on norm-referenced tests have been tried out on a norming group and scores on the test can be classified as high, medium, or low and the gradations in between. These tests allow for the study of individual differences. Scores on norm-referenced achievement tests are associated with percentile ranks vis-á-vis other individuals who are

19350-548: The test-taker's age or grade. Personality tests assess constructs that are thought to be the constituents of personality. Examples of personality constructs include traits in the Big Five , such as introversion-extroversion and conscientiousness. Personality constructs are thought to be dimensional. Personality measures are used in research and in the selection of employees. They include self-report and observer-report scales. Examples of norm-referenced personality tests include

19500-476: The test. These types of tests are often a component of a mastery-based classroom . The Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement is an example of an individually administered achievement test for students. Psychological tests have been designed to measure abilities, both specific (e.g., clerical skill like the Minnesota Clerical Test) and general abilities (e.g., traditional IQ tests such as

19650-561: The tests. Publishers sell tests only to people who have proved their educational and professional qualifications. Purchasers are legally bound not to give test answers or the tests themselves to members of the public unless permitted by the publisher. The International Test Commission (ITC), an international association of national psychological societies and test publishers, publishes the International Guidelines for Test Use , which prescribes measures to take to "protect

19800-515: The title of a school psychologist an individual must have earned a doctoral degree. The issues of titles, labels, and degree levels are still debated among psychologists today. However, APA and NASP reached a resolution on this issue for the US in 2010. The late 19th century marked the era of social reforms directed at children. It was due to these social reforms that the need for school psychologists emerged. These social reforms included compulsory schooling, juvenile courts, child labor laws as well as

19950-480: The university (effectively abandoning his students and laboratory), to obtain a higher-paying position at Columbia University . Witmer also left in search of a new teacher. Under Wundt's Supervision Cattell helped Witmer to get a job as assistant to Wilhelm Wundt at the University of Leipzig in 1891, also taking classes with Oswald Kulpe and Ludwig Strumpel. Historians have found no letters written by him to colleagues while under Wundt's supervision. However, it

20100-734: The various elements that can impact a student's education and become a source of discrimination, there is a greater call for the practice of social justice in schools. School psychologists that consider the framework of social justice know that injustices that low SES students face can sometimes be different when compared to high SES students. A major role of school psychologists involves advocating and speaking up for individuals as needed. Advocacy can be done at district, regional, state, or national level. School psychologists advocate for students, parents, and caregivers. Consultation and collaboration are key components of school psychology and advocacy. There may be times when school personnel may not agree with

20250-564: The way for future school psychologists. Gertrude Hildreth was a psychologist with the Lincoln School at Teacher's College, Columbia then at Brooklyn College in New York. She authored many books including the first book pertaining to school psychology titled, "Psychological Service for School Problems" written in 1930. The book discussed applying the science of psychology to address the perceived problems in schools. The main focus of

20400-429: The world's first "psychological clinic" at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896, including the first journal of clinical psychology and the first clinical hospital school in 1907. Witmer contributed to numerous branches of psychology including school psychology . He contributed to the field of special education . Little is known about Witmer's life. He is described as an introverted and private person. Witmer

20550-515: The world's first speech clinic in 1914. By 1896, Witmer, G. Stanley Hall , William James and James McKeen Cattell decided to create a new association for psychology professionals, during a meeting of the American Psychological Association (APA). Witmer and other experimental colleagues proposed that the APA should accept only psychological papers, be separated from the American Philosophical Association, and have

20700-514: Was "normal" or "abnormal", depending on if, for example, he or she knew how to write and read properly. Witmer studied monkeys and a chimpanzee trained for theatre performance called Peter. He compared them with tests he used on children. He investigated Peter's ability to vocalise and found he could only say "mamma" though he doubted whether the "a" vowel was properly pronounced. He found Peter could string beads, light and smoke cigarettes, unlock padocks with keys hammer nails, turn on taps, and write

20850-421: Was a major advocate for scientific procedures, he often presented his theories as facts, rather than hypotheses. He then often failed to provide methods for testing his theories. Many of his principles, methods and ideas are basically congruent with later developments in his field, but were far from the mainstream when he offered them. At his official address in 1897, his ideas for clinical psychology produced only

21000-509: Was born in Philadelphia on June 28, 1867. He was born David L. Witmer Jr., but at age 50, he changed his name to Lightner. Witmer was born to a devout Catholic mother and father: David Witmer, a Germantown pharmacist who graduated from a Philadelphia College in 1862; and Katherine Huchel, about whom little is known. He was the eldest of four children, followed by Albert Ferree, Lilly Evelyn, and Paul DeLancey. Later in life, Witmer became

21150-426: Was chosen as the class president and earned a reputation as an outstanding student. After a stint as a teacher, Witmer decided to return to the University of Pennsylvania for his graduate studies in political science. During the fall of 1888, Witmer was offered a job as an instructor at Rugby Academy, a male secondary school. He taught History and English . While he was teaching at the academy, Witmer noticed that

21300-407: Was discussed that a school psychologist must be able to assess and develop plans for children considered to be at risk. A school psychologist is also expected to better the lives of all children in the school; therefore, it was determined that school psychologists should be advisors in the planning and implementation of school curriculum. Participants at the conference felt that since school psychology

21450-478: Was his unscientific attitude, calling James "the spoiled child of American Psychology". Witmer always defended his ideas and beliefs, even if it seemed that he did not care about other points of view. This and other disagreements caused Witmer to lose the friendship of his colleagues, who decided not to attend Witmer's meetings. Witmer also attacked Harvard University for using the theory of introspection and teaching psychology incorrectly, since Witmer also refused

21600-523: Was one of the first psychologists to recognize that a client's problems could have environmental as well as hereditary factors, and because of this, he emphasized the importance that treatment should not end with returning the client into the environment from which their physical, mental, or moral problem originated unless something had been done to change it. Although the treatment programs Witmer created for clinical psychology were systematic, they were constantly revised and implemented new treatment methods as

21750-437: Was published and got a lot of attention, because it dealt with the study of individual children. In his article, Witmer presented the idea that all kinds of children (smart or mentally retarded) could reach their full potential with help. He included definitions of retardation using two different terms: "physiological retardation" referred to individuals who had not acquired a normal development for their chronological ages, whereas

21900-490: Was sweeping through the world of education after its creation in 1905. However, the IQ test negatively influenced special education. The IQ test creators, Lewis Terman and Henry Goddard , held a nativist view of intelligence, believing that intelligence was inherited and difficult if not impossible to modify in any meaningful way through education. These notions were often used as a basis for excluding children with disabilities from

22050-430: Was the first discipline in psychology that attempted to apply the principles of scientific psychology to diagnostic and therapeutic treatment, it required its own techniques and procedures. Clinical psychology's original methodologies were highly practical and problem-oriented and were developed solely by Witmer. His early work used a hands-on approach to observation and interviews, emphasizing one-on-one interaction between

22200-442: Was the first psychologist to realize teachers' integral role and began offering classes at his clinic for teachers. He opened up his clinic to those in medicine and social work and gave them the opportunity to observe and work with normal and impaired children. This allowed those who interacted with children a chance to work with them in a therapeutic environment. By mixing normal and handicapped children, Witmer gave these professionals

22350-443: Was the first psychologist to undertake and focus, on the treatment of those with mental, physical or moral handicaps with the goal of improving their deficits. He ensured that the treatment of children suffering from a deficit impairing their academic success would be a major focus of clinical psychology when he made one of the discipline's main goals the creation of psychological clinics and hospitals to treat impaired children. Witmer

22500-526: Was to train more psychologists to become experts in working with mentally and/or morally intellectually disabled clients. In this same paper, Witmer outlined the main concern of clinical psychology: that the discipline focus on active clinical intervention for the purpose of the restoration and treatment of mentally or intellectually disabled individuals. According to Witmer, for clinical psychology to actually be of any worth, it needed to help and improve clients' mental health and well-being. As clinical psychology

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