Mission and Goals

The Specialist in School Psychology (SSP) Program at Texas Woman’s University (TWU) emphasizes direct and indirect services to students, faculty, administration, and the community in school settings. Specific competencies and areas of specialization emphasized in coursework and in field-based training include biological, social and multicultural bases of behavior, principles and theories of learning, human growth and development, individual differences, statistics and research methodologies, direct and indirect interventions and problem solving techniques, assessment and evaluation, consultation, and instructional design. The common theoretical orientation that runs through the program is a data-based problem-solving approach.

The program is intended to be for full-time study. At the completion of all coursework, other than thesis, students are required to complete a full-time internship in a school setting. The internship must be negotiated 6 months to one year in advance. Students are encouraged to download an internship handbook from the program website to gain further information regarding the internship. The internship receives 6 hours of academic credit.

The school psychology program reflects the following goals and objectives:

1. To develop an understanding of the school culture in American society.
2. To develop the appropriate attitudes and skills that will enable the graduate to assume responsibilities as a school psychologist.
3. To be able to demonstrate knowledge of professional resource materials and techniques in school psychology with students, faculty, administration, and with families in the larger population.
4. To prepare students in skills required in direct client services (e.g., diagnostic assessment and evaluation skills, therapeutic and intervention techniques, and competencies in the application of learning principles, with diverse students, families, and faculty).
5. To develop indirect service skills with emphasis on competencies of individuals and systems or organizational analyses and consultation, diagnostic team leadership, instructional design, and parent training.
6. To develop and demonstrate research skills appropriate to the demands of professional placement. Also to engage in professional practice as both a producer and consumer of relevant research.
7. To demonstrate a commitment and responsibility for one’s own growth and learning during and following formal graduate study.
8. To demonstrate in practicum and internship placement the acquisition of direct and indirect service skills and the integration of philosophy into practice.