rethinking the role of the school psychologist in japan

The Annual Report of Educational Psychology in Japan2008, Vol.47, 223-230

Rethinking the Role of the School Psychologist in Japan:Comparison With School Psychologists' Work in Other Countries

Keiko Ku MAGAI

(UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA GRADUATE SCHOOL OF COMPREHENSIVE HUMAN SCIENCES, INSTITUTE OF DISABILITY SCIENCES)

Certification of school psychologists in Japan started in 1997. Now there are about 3,700 certified

school psychologists in Japan. They work in kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools,

high schools, and special schools, as well as for local educational authorities and counseling centers.

But these school psychologists work as teachers, school counselors, and other extra staff, not as school

psychologists. Furthermore, school psychologists in Japan usually do not do developmental assessment

of children. This situation is very different from that in other countries. The present report reviews

school psychologists' work in some other countries and recommends changes in the job responsibilities

of school psychologists in Japan. In the U.S.A., UK, and some other countries, school psychologists

have much to do with the assessment of children with special educational needs. School psychologists

in Japan also should have skills needed for the developmental assessment of students who may have

special educational needs, in order to establish a firm status as psychologists.

Key Words : role of school psychologists, psychological assessment, children with special educa-

tional needs, school psychologists in Japan

In Japan, the Japanese Association of Educa-

tional Psychology has started to certify a license

for school psychologists. Starting on November 25,

2001, the following five academic associations cooper-

ated and united to make an umbrella administrative

organization for the certification of school psycholo-

gists: the Japanese Association of Educational Psy-

chology, the Japanese Association of Special Educa-

tion, the Japanese Association of Developmental Dis-

abilities, the Japan Society of Developmental Psychol-

ogy, and the Japanese Academy of Learning Disabil-

ities.

From March 10, 2007, the following four academic

associations also began to cooperate in this program:

the Japanese School Psychology Association, the

Japanese Society of Clinical Educational Psychology,

the Japanese Association for Study of Guidance and

Counseling, and the Japanese School Counselor Asso-

ciation.

Currently, there are about 3,700 school psycholo-

gists in Japan.

The organization for the certification of school

psychologists describes the role of school psycholo-

gists in Japan as follows:Nowadays, many students in Japan have vari-

ous problems in the school life and require sup-

port for problem solving. According to a survey

by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,

Science and Technology in 2004, there were over

126,000 truants, although this number was de-

creased from 2003. Problems like bullying, delin-

quency, dropout, apathy, and suicide are becom-ing increasingly serious at the same time as

problems like class disintegration and school

violence are becoming greater. Support for stu-

dents with disabilities and/or special educational

needs, such as students with LD, ADHD, HFPDD,

is also an important subject. Educational profes-

sionals have a responsibility to secure and pro-

mote the best development of every student, in-

cluding those students who require support.

School psychologists must have special knowl-

edge and skills relating to school psychology.

Their role is to provide direct support such as

counseling for students who have problems in

school life and for parents, teachers, and school

―223―

The Annual Report of Educational Psychology in Japan, Vol.47.

administrators (Japanese Association of School Psy-chologists, 2007).

The purpose of the present report is to compare the

role and work of school psychologists in Japan with

those in some other countries, especially educational

psychologists in the UK and school psychologists inthe U.S.A. Recommendations will be presented for the

role of school psychologists in Japan.

1. Educational psychologist in the UK

(A) Their role and workIn the UK, "educational psychologist" refers to

school psychologists. According to the British Psy-

chological Society (2008), "educational psychologists

tackle the problems encountered by young people in

education, which may involve learning difficulties and

social or emotional problems. They carry out a wide

range of tasks with the aim of enhancing children's

learning and enabling teachers to become more aware

of social factors affecting teaching and learning.

Reports may be written about children for allocation

of special educational places, or as part of court

proceedings or children's panels."Most educational psychologists in the UK are em-

ployed by local education authorities. Local educa-tion authorities have an office for an educational

psychologist. From that office, they go out to workin schools, colleges, nurseries, and special units, inter-

acting primarily with teachers and parents. They

regularly liaise with other professionals from depart-

ments of education, health, and social services.

The work of educational psychologists in the UK

can be summarized as follows;

(1) Educational psychologists work with children

and young people, mainly under 19 years old, who are

experiencing difficulties (e.g., learning, emotional, or behav-

ior problems), in order to promote their educational and

psychological development.

(2) Most educational psychologists are employed by

local education authorities, but some are self-em-

ployed and work as consultants for Social ServicesDepartments, voluntary bodies, parents, and others.

(3) They work mainly in consultation with parents,

teachers, social workers, doctors, education officers,

and other people involved in the education and care of

children and young people.

This work can be done either be directly with a

child (for example, assessing progress, giving counseling) or

indirectly (through working with parents, teachers, and other

professionals).

(B) Training and QualificationsCurrently the majority of practicing educational

psychologists in England, Wales, and NorthernIreland are qualified and experienced teachers with an

undergraduate degree in psychology and a postgradu-

ate professional qualification in educational psychol-

ogy at the master's degree level.

From September 2006, one-year master's degree

courses in professional educational psychology were

discontinued and replaced with three-year doctorate-

level courses. The British Psychological Society and

training course directors have agreed that the previ-

ously mandatory entry requirement to postgraduate

training courses of a teaching qualification and a

minimum of two years' teaching experience should be

dropped for those entering a three-year doctorate

course.

(C) The Association of Educational Psychologists"The Association of Educational Psychologists is an

independently registered trade union and professional

association for educational psychologists. It repre-

sents the professional and employment interests of

93% of qualified educational psychologists working,

most of who work for local governments. It is the

only professional association or trade union organized

exclusively by and for educational psychologists."

(Association of Educational Psychologists (n.d.))

2. School Psychologists in the U.S.A.

(A) Their role and workAccording to the National Association of School

Psychologists' (2000a) web site, in the U.S.A., "school

psychologists help children and youth succeed aca-demically, socially, and emotionally. They collabo-

rate with educators, parents, and other professionals

to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning envi-

ronments for all students that strengthen connections

between home and school. School psychologists

work to find the best solution for each student and

situation; they use different strategies to address

student needs and to improve school and district-wide

support systems.

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教育心理学年報第47集

School psychologists work with students individu-

ally and in groups. They develop programs to train

teachers and parents about effective teaching and

learning strategies, including techniques for managing

behavior at home and in the classroom, working with

students with disabilities or with special talents, ad-

dressing abuse of drugs and other substances, and

preventing and managing crises."

In addition, most school psychologists in the U.S.A.

provide the services described in Table 1.

The majority of school psychologists in the U.S.A.

work in schools. However, they can practice in a

variety of settings in addition to public and private

school systems, such as school-based health centers,

clinics and hospitals, universities, community and

state agencies, and other institutions, as well as in

private practice."According to the American Psychological Associa -

tion (n.d.), school psychologist, operating within a

scientific framework. They work to promote effec-

tiveness and efficiency in the field of school psychol-

ogy. School psychologists conduct psychological

assessments, provide brief interventions, and develop

or help develop prevention programs. Additionally,

they evaluate services with a special focus on the

developmental processes of children within the school

system and other systems, such as families. School

psychologists consult with teachers, parents, and

school personnel about learning, behavioral, social,

and emotional problems. They may teach lessons on

parenting skills (like school counselors), learning strat-

egies, and other skills related to school mental health.

In addition, they explain test results to parents and

students. They provide individual, group, and, in some

cases, family counseling (Applied Psychology, 2008).

School psychologists are actively involved in district

and school crisis intervention teams. They supervise

graduate students in school psychology. School psy-

chologists in many school districts provide profes-

sional development to teachers and other school per-

sonnel on topics such as positive behavior intervention

plans and achievement tests.

School psychologists are influential within the

Table 1 Services provided by school psychologists in the U.S.A.

Note. From National Association of School Psychologists (2000b)

―225―


school system and are frequently consulted to solve

problems. Practitioners should be able to provide

consultation and collaborate with other members of

the educational community and confidently make

decisions based on empirical research" (Applied Psychol-

ogy, 2008).

(B) Education and certificationThe majority of states require the completion of a

specialist-level program (60 graduate semester credits) in

school psychology, including a 1200-hour internship.

A few states continue to certify school psychologists

who have graduated from programs of fewer than 60

graduate semester credits ; however, the NationalAssociation of School Psychologists (2000b) maintains

that the minimum acceptable education in school

psychology is specialist-level training.The National Association of School Psychologists

approves both specialist and doctoral level programs,

whereas the American Psychological Association only

accredits doctoral programs in school psychology.

The American Psychological Association's standards

describe how doctoral programs should be structured,

but do not specify which courses should be offered

(Committee on Accreditation, 2008). The National Associ-

ation of School Psychologists (2000b) describes how

specialist and doctoral programs should be developed

and implemented.

3. School psychologists in other countries

Farrell, Jimerson, Kalambouka, & Benoit (2005)

surveyed teachers' views of school/educational psy-

chologists in eight countries ; Turkey, Estonia, Greece,

Cyprus, South Africa, England, Denmark, and the U.S.

A. For their study, questionnaires were completed by

1,105 teachers in 250 schools. Table 2 shows the

average time per week that school/educational psy-

chologists were reported to spend in schools. In these

countries, most school/educational psychologists are

hired by school districts or local education authorities,

and visit many schools in that district.

According to the Table 2, school psychologists

spend the most time in schools in Turkey. Educa-

tional psychologists in England spend less than one

hour a week in schools, whereas school psychologists

in the U.S.A. spend the most time in schools among

school psychologists in the surveyed countries, about 2

to 3 days a week. Teachers in Turkey, Estonia, and

Greece report that they are satisfied with the amount

of school psychologist time that their school receives,

but teachers in the other five countries surveyed were

reported that they were not satisfied.

Table 3 presents the rankings of the frequency with

which activities are undertaken by school psycholo-

gists made by teachers in the U.S.A. and England.The main activity of school psychologists in the U.S.

A. and educational psychologists in England is to

assess children who may need special education.

Table 4 presents data on that same question from

teachers in the other six countries surveyed. As

shown in Table 4, the main activity of school psychol-

ogists in those countries is to see individual children

for counseling and therapy ; the second most common

Table 2 Average time per week that school psychologists spend in schools

Note: From Farrell, Jimerson, Kalambouka, & Benoit (2005)

―226―


Table 3 Teachers'ranking of the frequency with which activities are undertaken by school/educational

psychologists


Table 4 Teachers' ranking of the frequency with which activities are undertaken by school/educational

psychologists


activity in five of the six countries is assessing chil-

dren who may need special education.

Table 5 presents a comparison of teachers' percep-

tions of the frequency of activities undertaken by

school psychologists and those that the teachers would

like them to carry out. According to Table 5, tasks

that teachers would like school psychologists to carry

out are very different from the present job activities of

school psychologists in those countries. Teachers in

the eight countries surveyed reported that they need

school psychologists to work with groups of parents

and to provide training for teachers.

What would teachers in Japan like school psycholo-

gists to do?

Idsoe (2003) surveyed the conceptual framework for

the work behavior of school psychologists in the

school psychology service in Norway, focusing on

differences at the individual and systemic levels. 470

―227―


Table 5 Comparison of teachers' perceptions of the frequency of activities undertaken by school psychologists

with those that they would like them to carry out


school psychologists in 121 offices were investigated

in this study. The 20-item questionnaire included a

rating format for each item comprised of six ordinal

categories from 1 (never) to 6 (very often). The results

of this study showed that the hypothesized four-factor

solution was supported.

Table 6 presents the item content and scales

measuring four aspects of work behavior in the school

psychology service in Norway. According to Table

6, the work behavior of school psychologists in Nor-

way can be divided into four factors: individual level

treatment, individual level prevention, systemic level

treatment, and systemic level prevention. Individual

level treatment often done by school psychologists in

Norway includes obtaining information from

preschool-teachers, teachers, or teaching assistants

concerning students in need of specials help, undertak-

ing work that requires expert knowledge, writing

reports or letters in connection with students in need

of special help, testing students in need of special help,

and recommending special education on a one-to-one

basis or in small groups for students in need of special

help. In Norway, school psychologists need to know

about special help and to have testing skills.

School psychologists in Japan

At the present time, there are many psychologist

certification systems in Japan, and there are many

types of psychologists who can receive such certifica-

tion, for example, clinical psychologists, clinical

developmental psychologists, and educational coun-

selors. The training courses required for these vari-

ous certifications by the certifying associations have

very similar content, including bullying, delinquency,

dropouts, apathy, and suicide. Recently, they have

become very interested in developmental disabilities

such as LD, ADHD, and pervasive developmental

disorders (PDD). The training courses include the

topic of developmental disabilities.

Discussion

In the present paper, we reviewed school/educa-

tional psychologists' work in several countries.

Their work is centered around the assessment of

children who may need special education and also

seeing individual children for counseling and therapy.

Of course, school psychologists in Japan have been

trained about children who may need special support

education, because lectures about developmental dis-

abilities are included in the training course for school

―228―


Table 6 Item content and scales measuring four aspects of work behavior in the school psychology service in

Norway

I . Individual Level Treatment

II . Individual Level Prevention

III. Systemic Level Treatment

IV. Systemic Level Prevention

Notes: The question asked was "How often during the past year has your work involved any of the following?"

The table was after Idsoe (2003).

―229―


psychologists. But there is no training course in

Japan where school psychologists can learn how to

assess those children.

Are Japanese school psychologists really specialists

in support for schools and students? School psycholo-

gists in Japan should have not only knowledge about

children with special educational needs, but also the

special skills needed to assess children who may have

special educational needs, counsel those children, and

provide therapy for them.Special support education, which includes having

children with LD, ADHD, and pervasive develop-

mental disorders study in regular classes in regular

school as "special support education" started this year

in Japan. Assessment of children who may need

special support education is very important. Like

school/educational psychologists in many other coun-

tries, including Norway, school psychologists in Japan

should have special skills for doing assessment and

providing therapy then, they could contribute toschools and their students in special support educa-

tion.

The Japanese Academy of Learning Disabilities has

prepared a training course for Special EducationalNeeds Specialists. This training course, which is

mainly for special support educational coordinators

working in schools, includes lectures how to assess

children who may have LD, ADHD, and pervasive

developmental disorders. Lectures are also included in

how to interpret the results of such assessments. The

assessment methods include interviews with parents,

behavior observations, and psychological tests such as

the WISC-III or K-ABC.

I think that school psychologists should have assess-

ment skills, including how to interview parents and

teachers, how to make behavioral observations, and

how to administer and interpret psychological tests.

The new special support education system in Japan

still needs specialists who have the skills to assess

children who may have special support educational

needs. School psychologist certifying organizations

and associations should develop training courses that

include how to assess children by means of psychologi-

cal tests. Otherwise, school psychologists will

remain unknown among many other kinds of psychol-

ogists and related occupations.

References

American Psychological Association.(n. d.) Division of

School Psychology goals and objectives. http://

www.indiana.edu/-div16/goals.html

Applied Psychology.(2008). http://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Applied_psychology

Association of Educational Psychologists.(n.d.).

http://www.aep.org.uk/About/about.html

British Psychological Society.(2008). Educational

psychology.http://www.bps.org.uk/careers/areas/educational.

cfm

Committee on Accreditation.(2008). Guidelines and

principles for accreditation of programs in profes-sional psychology.

http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/coalist.html

Farrell, P., Jimerson, S. R., Kalambouka, A., & Benoit,

J.(2005). Teachers' perceptions of school psy-

chologists in different countries. School Psychology

International, 26, 525-544.

Idsoe, T.(2003). Work behavior in the school psy-

chology service: Conceptual framework and con-

struct validity approached by two different metho-

dologies. Journal of School Psychology, 41, 313-

335.

Japanese Association of School Psychologists.

(2007). http://gakkoushinrishi.jp/aboutgakushi/

index.html # mokuteki

National Association of School Psychologists.

(2000a). http://www.nasponline.org/National Association of School Psychologists

(2000b). Standards for training and field placement

programs in school psychology/Standards for thecredentialing of school psychologists. http://www.

nasponline.org/standards/index.aspx

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rethinking the role of the school psychologist in japan

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