School Psychologist Training in Specific Learning Disability Identification

Abstract

The purpose of the current investigation was to explore and describe how training programs are preparing school psychologists to work with students with specific learning disabilities. Survey respondents were faculty members (N = 83) from school psychology graduate training programs within the United States. Results indicate specific learning disabilities are discussed in all school psychology graduate courses surveyed for around three class periods. The highest number of respondents indicated it is covered in the Practicum course. When instructing students on the various methods used in identifying the presence of a SLD, a larger percentage of respondents indicated using lectures (82%) and discussion (75%), with a lower percentage using activities (50%) and assignments (48%). Limitations and future research are discussed.