Assessment and Consultation in School Psychology Research Lab

My research aims to address practical questions and problems encountered by school psychologists on a daily basis. Since assessment is still an important part of the school psychologist’s role, my research has focused on issues surrounding the utility and validity of the tests and other assessment procedures used by school psychologists. For example, an area of particular interest to me as a bilingual school psychologist has been the appropriateness of IQ tests for children from different cultural backgrounds. As someone who trains students in psychological report writing, I am also interested in researching ways to improve the utility of psychological reports.

 

Another important role for school psychologists involves consultation with parents and school personnel. I am interested in the factors that impact the consultant-consultee relationship as they relate to outcomes for students. This interest in consultation combines with my interest in report writing in studying the factors that increase the likelihood that parents and educators can and will follow through on recommendations made in reports.

 

A somewhat divergent area of research has been the impact of chronic illness on the academic and social functioning of school children. Again, this addresses a practical concern of school psychologists as many report that they frequently work with chronically ill students and their families, but feel limited in their training in this area. My students collaborate with faculty in our Clinical Health Psychology program as well as researchers at Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine to conduct research on the impact of chronic illness on school functioning as well as the school psychologist’s role in fostering resilience and minimizing risk in children with chronic medical conditions.