Frances Boulon-Díaz & Irma Roca de Torres. The Handbook of International School Psychology. Editor: Shane R Jimerson, Thomas D Oakland, Peter T Farrell. Sage Publications. 2007.
Context of School Psychology
Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean Sea that is part of the Major Antilles archipelago. The country is surrounded by palm-fringed beaches, and the central region includes mountains of volcanic origin, with a tropical climate and luscious, varied vegetation, rivers, and fauna. The country consists of approximately 9,104 square kilometers (about 100 miles long and 35 miles wide). It is densely populated, with almost 4 million people; about 25% of the population lives in San Juan, its capital, and surrounding area. The gross product in 2004 was US$53.380 million, US$13,5900 per capita. Services (55%) and industry (45%) are the major employment opportunities, and unemployment is estimated at 12% (Puerto Rico Planning Board, 2006).
The culture is influenced by various national and ethnic heritages. Early occupants include the Archaic and Taíno Indians, among others, who lived in Puerto Rico before its “discovery” in 1493 (Figueroa, 1979). The Spaniards colonized Puerto Rico during the 16th century and introduced Spanish, the country’s dominant language and one of two official languages (the other being English). Puerto Ricans often continue to refer to Spain as the “madre patria” or motherland. With the advent of slavery, Africans were forced to migrate to the Caribbean, forming highly influential communities, especially in coastal cities (Picó & Rivera Izcoa, 1991). After 1898, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States of America by Spain at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War. Immigration of citizens from Cuba and the Dominican Republic has had significant influence on Puerto Rican culture, economy, and demography during the 20th century, especially since the 1960s.
Political domination by the United States encouraged efforts geared to acculturate Puerto Rican society into the “melting pot” or to bring it as close as possible to the ethos of continental U.S. communities. Granting U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans in 1917 was intended, in part, to promote closer ties between both countries. Thousands of Puerto Ricans have served in the armed forces. In 1952, the status of territory was changed to a commonwealth known as Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico (Commonwealth of Puerto Rico), thus enhancing options for self-government while maintaining strong political and economic ties to the United States. English is taught in schools as a second language and is used intensely in business and intellectual communities. American citizens of Puerto Rico, native born or naturalized, have the right to vote for Puerto Rico’s governor and legislature. However, while residing on the island, they may not vote for the president of the United States and they do not pay federal taxes.
The two dominant political parties differ regarding relationships with the United States. The New Progressive Party promotes full integration of Puerto Rico as a state of the Union, and the Popular Democratic Party defends the commonwealth status, arguing that it provides economic and political benefits of belonging to the United States while allowing for greater cultural autonomy and preserving the use of the Spanish language. The third political party, the Puerto Rican Independence Party, is committed to establishing an independent republic of Puerto Rico. Its leadership is very active in public discussion and action regarding social, political, economic, and cultural issues. The likelihood of this status option being favored in an election is low, having obtained less than 10% of the votes in each election held during the past 50 years.
Puerto Rico’s educational system includes public and private schools. Public schools offer instruction at the following grade levels: elementary (kindergarten-Grade 6), intermediate (Grades 7-9), high school (Grades 10-12), and postsecondary. Postsecondary schools include those that offer technical or vocational, nonuniversity education (Department of Education, 2005). Vocational education also is available in schools that offer Grades 7 through 12. During the 2005-2006 school year, 1,538 public schools employed 47,328 teachers to serve approximately 666,978 students (Roldán Soto, 2005). Although the official government ratio of teachers to students is 1 to 14, most everyone doubts the accuracy of these figures. Teachers complain of having more than 30 students per classroom (R. Cibes, personal communication, July 22, 2005). Among the 666,978 students, 87,594 (13%) are registered to receive special education services (R. M. Santiago, personal communication, August 4, 2005).
The private education system consists of 525 schools that employ about 13,841 teachers to serve approximately 190,000 students (Consejo General de Educación, 2006; L. Piñero, personal communication, August 10, 2005). This system includes religious and nonreligious schools, institutions with kindergarten through Grade 12, and technical and specialized schools at the pre-college level. Thus, among students, approximately 75% attend public school and 20% attend private school. The remaining 5% include those who are homeschooled, homebound, or have abandoned school.
Education in Puerto Rico is ruled by Law 149 of June 30, 1999: the Organic Law of Education of Puerto Rico. It makes education compulsory for individuals ages 5 through 21. However, if a person graduates from high school before age 21, that person is not compelled to continue in school. Social workers are responsible for addressing school truancy. In spite of their efforts, 40% of children who start the first grade do not complete high school. In 2000, Puerto Rico had 906,368 children ages 14 years and younger (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). In 2005, this age cohort will be ages 5 through 19, the expected ages of students.
Origin, History, and Current Status of School Psychology
During the late 19th century, college-level education was made available in Puerto Rico through private cultural centers that offered correspondence courses sponsored by universities within the Spanish empire (Roca de Torres, 2001). For example, the Ateneo Puertorriqueño, a society of intellectuals, continues to promote education and cultural activities in the 21st century. In 1900, the first postsecondary program of study, Escuela Normal (Normal School), was established. It offered a 2-year teacher preparation curriculum similar to an associate degree in education.
It is difficult to establish when school psychology emerged as a distinct specialty within psychological practice in Puerto Rico. In 1991, Irma Roca de Torres stated the practice of school psychology was just beginning. However, practices related to school psychology, such as test development and testing, had been carried out since the early decades of the 20th century. The practice of psychology in Puerto Rico is closely associated with education. The first professional school for teachers, Escuela Normal, was founded in 1900. This institution led to the creation of the University of Puerto Rico in 1903. The University of Puerto Rico was the first institution to offer college-level education. In 1900, a course in general psychology was offered to students at the Escuela Normal (lvarez, 1994).
During the second decade of the 20th century, most psychology professors at the University of Puerto Rico had obtained master’s degrees in educational psychology at universities such as Columbia and New York University in the United States or at European universities (lvarez, 1994). Some of these professors translated tests to measure children’s abilities, including the Pintner Non Language Mental Ability Test (Roca de Torres, 1991). This scale, translated in 1925 by psychologists working at the University of Puerto Rico and the Department of Education, was used to compare the mental abilities and academic achievements of Puerto Rican and U.S. children in Grades 3 through 8.
By 1933, a group of psychologists from the University of Puerto Rico, including Malvina Monefeldt, Fred C. Walters, Alfredo Silva, and Mercedes Chiqués, translated the 1916 Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Tests (Roca de Torres, 1991). These early educational psychologists taught psychology courses and developed scales to use in their professional practices and research with children. Besides translating the Binet, they translated a general ability test for elementary school students and another for high school students; they also developed a reading achievement test and other achievement and aptitude tests (lvarez, 1994; Roca de Torres, 2001) Their research interests included the teaching of English as a second language, learning processes, and cognitive abilities of Puerto Rican children (lvarez, 1994). Their clinical practices and research are within the scope of current practice of school psychologists.
In 1949, the Department of Health developed the Children and Adolescents Mental Health Clinic and employed psychologists who served children referred from schools (Bernal, in press; Sumaza, in press). The master’s-level training of psychologists employed at this clinic included courses related to clinical and school Psychology. The psychologist’s duties largely focused on evaluation and diagnosis (Hernández, 1985). During the 1950s, the clinic was transformed to a psychiatric hospital and employed two educational psychologists and one clinical psychologist. By 1954, one of the authors, Roca de Torres, remembers that her school, University of Puerto Rico Elementary and Secondary School, employed a psychologist in its guidance office to serve students with adjustment and learning difficulties. This psychologist, Ada Elsa Izcoa, had obtained a master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of Iowa (A. E. Izcoa, personal communication, July 12, 2005).
The development of the Division of Educational Research and Statistics (later the Office of Evaluation and Statistics) within the Department of Education, originally organized during the 1938-1939 scholastic year by Dr. Teobaldo Casanova, an educational and clinical psychologist, serves as another landmark in the development of school psychology (Roca de Torres, in press). Dr. Pablo Roca de León, who earned master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology with a specialty in testing and guidance from the University of Texas, and Dr. Miguelina N. de Hernández, identified as the first graduate of a school psychology program to work on the Island, later developed this division. Dr. Hernández earned degrees at Columbia University and Purdue University. Drs. Roca and Hernández directed the Division during the 1950s and 1960s, respectively (Roca de Torres, 1991). This division (later known as the Office of Evaluation and Statistics) was responsible for developing many instruments to measure school achievement, vocational interests, and cognitive and visual-motor abilities, and for translating and adapting the 1937 edition of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (Roca, 1953) and the 1949 edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Roca, 1951) for use with Puerto Rican children.
This office also developed or translated the following tests, among others: Draw-A-Person Test, Interamerican Cooperative Tests (in both English and Spanish), Puerto Rican Collective Test for Mental Capacity, Puerto Rican Test of Cognitive Ability, and the Raven Progressive Matrices (Roca de Torres, 1991). For further information on this topic, see Herrans (1985), Roca de Torres (1991), Rodríguez-Arocho (in press), and Rodríguez Gómez (2002).
During the 1960s and 1970s, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Clinic employed additional psychologists. Some were appointed as psychological assistants, as they had taken graduate courses in psychology but had not finished a master’s degree (Sumaza, in press). Starting in the mid 1960s, Head Start programs hired psychologists to perform various tasks including psychological evaluations, consultation to teachers, interventions with parents, organizational consultation about class functioning, and training for staff, teachers, and parents on children’s development and related topics. This seems to be the first organized program of school-based interventions involving psychologists. Most psychologists working at Head Start programs were trained in clinical psychology, as this was the dominant specialty offered by the newly established graduate programs available in Puerto Rico at the time.
During the 1980s, a consortium was organized between the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus, and Temple University in Philadelphia to prepare doctoral-level school psychologists through two methods. In one method, 10 students took several courses at the University of Puerto Rico taught by Temple University or University of Puerto Rico instructors holding adjunct teaching status at Temple. In 1984, this group moved to Philadelphia and took additional courses at Temple University for two academic sessions in order to complete a residency requirement. Later they worked on their dissertations with Temple University advisers and completed a 1-year internship in public or private schools in Puerto Rico. These tasks were done under the supervision of University of Puerto Rico-Temple University adjunct professors.
In the second method, students who completed a master’s degree in clinical psychology at the University of Puerto Rico entered Temple University’s doctoral program in school Psychology. Each of the two programs resulted in nine students obtaining their doctoral degrees in school psychology. These school psychologists have been instrumental in developing programs in school psychology in Puerto Rican universities and hold various other professional leadership positions.
During the 1980s, several private schools started adding psychologists to their staff. Some served regular students in all classrooms, whereas others were assigned primarily to programs for students with learning problems. The psychologists performed evaluations, consulted with teachers, and presented workshops for teachers. Some of the initial students who worked as school psychologists in private schools were interns of the University of Puerto Rico-Temple University program.
The Interamerican University of Puerto Rico initiated a master’s degree in school psychology at its San Germán campus in 1992 and at its metropolitan campus in 1979. This university initiated a doctoral program at both campuses in 2001. In 2005, the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico’s San Germán campus graduated the first two doctorates in school psychology.
In 1992, Pontificial Catholic University of Puerto Rico began offering a master’s degree in school psychology. The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus, offers a sequence of courses in school psychology leading to a certificate for those who complete the courses. A proposal to transform the sequence into a formal degree program is being developed by its Department of Psychology (M. Méndez, personal communication, October 2005). Turabo University at Caguas and Carlos Albizu University in Old San Juan plan to offer school psychology degrees at a later date.
Since the 1930s, the Department of Education has expressed its view that work performed by psychologists is important. Moreover, during this period, the Department employed some psychologists. One of them, Teobaldo Casanova, who had a doctoral degree in educational and clinical psychology, worked at the Division of Educational Research and Statistics in 1938 (Roca de Torres, in press).
According to Law 170 of August 12, 2000, psychologists employed by public schools must be licensed. However, by 2005, few public schools had employed full-time psychologists as required by this law. Although a degree in school psychology is preferred for those working in schools, those holding a psychology license may work in schools even if they have not been trained in school psychology. They must present evidence of training in testing and experience in school settings (Law 170 of August 12, 2000).
The Department of Education usually contracts with corporations of psychologists or individual psychologists to evaluate and intervene with children registered at the Register of Special Students or students referred by teachers (Sumaza, in press). They are given the title “psychologist” and may have been trained in clinical, school, counseling, or other specialties of psychology, provided they have taken some courses in assessment and other clinical areas.
In 1995, the Department employed 10 psychologists full-time, 22 part-time, plus 30 doing contract work through seven corporations (Zambrana, 2000). Numbers employed vary each year. In January 2004, the Department employed five psychologists, mostly in administrative positions (Department of Education, 2004). Full-time employment at the Department of Education is rare, in part because salaries are very low. For example, the monthly starting salary for a licensed master’s level psychologist is $1,776, similar to that for bachelor’s-level teachers, who start at $1,500. Candidates with experience and a doctoral degree may earn up to $3,689 a month. Few psychologists are willing to work under such conditions. In contrast, psychologists at the Administration of Mental Health and Anti-Addiction Services may earn between $4,000 and $6,000 monthly. Police officers with a high school diploma, and perhaps associate degree-level training, earn initial salaries of $2,000 monthly.
In 2004, the Department of Education announced the availability of 50 full-time positions for psychologists to work in Quality of Life, a prevention program. Only two psychologists accepted positions, and one resigned after a year. The program has to rely on 22 psychologists who agreed to work part-time (R. Cibes, personal communication, July 22, 2005). Psychologists work 80 hours a month for $30 to $40 an hour and receive no fringe benefits (Asociación de Psicología de Puerto Rico, 2005).
Psychology became a licensed profession in 1983. As of June 2006, the Office of Certification and Registration of Health Professionals had licensed 2,710 persons to practice psychology as authorized by the Board of Psychologist Examiners of Puerto Rico. About 1,500 continue to renew their licenses every 3 years as required by law (Department of Health, 2003). Approximately 64% of licensed psychologists are females. Among psychologists who have a current license, approximately 10% identify their main workplace as schools (F. Medina, personal communication, August 15, 2005).
Infrastructure of School Psychology
Two associations represent school psychologists in Puerto Rico: Asociación de Psicólogos Escolares de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Association of School Psychologists), affiliated with the National Association of School Psychologists, and the Asociación de Psicología de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Psychological Association, affiliated with the American Psychological Association. The Puerto Rico Association of School Psychologists was founded in 1998 and has approximately 100 members. It was the driving force responsible for the approval of Law 170 of August 12, 2000, that requires the public school system to appoint psychologists as full-time employees of public schools. Many leaders and active members have degrees in school Psychology from Temple University or the Interamerican University. Since its founding, the Puerto Rico Association of School Psychologists has organized a yearly conference at which the main speaker is usually the president of the National Association of School Psychologists (Huff, 2005). Local speakers also are invited to present on topics of interest to psychologists working in schools.
The Puerto Rico Psychological Association, founded in 1954, has approximately 900 members representing diverse specialties in psychology. It sponsors annual conventions, has organized numerous continuing education activities, and has been the most influential professional association for psychologists in Puerto Rico during the past 50 years. This organization publishes a newsletter and a peer-reviewed journal. It is actively involved in various programs sponsored by the American Psychological Association and has strong ties to the Interamerican Society of Psychology.
A major achievement of the Puerto Rico Psychological Association was the approval of Law 96 of June 4,1983, which established licensing requirements for the private practice of psychology. This law requires an applicant to have a graduate degree in psychology from a program accredited by the Consejo de Educación Superior de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Council of Higher Education), when established in Puerto Rico, or an accrediting entity of similar quality in the United States, or by the American Psychological Association. Candidates for licensure must pass a written examination of 10 core subjects. Before taking the exam, candidates with a specialty in clinical psychology must have completed a doctoral degree, either a Ph.D. or Psy.D., and candidates with other specialties, including school psychology, must have completed a master’s degree (Puerto Rico Board of Psychologist Examiners, 1992).
After passing the licensing exam, prospective licensees complete a registration process that includes presenting certificates from the police department verifying no record of delinquency, among other requirements. To maintain their license, psychologists must complete 45 continuing education hours related to the practice of psychology every 3 years. There are ample and diverse continuing education programs available. Universities, professional associations, and community service organizations sponsor most of these programs. Psychologists also may take American Psychological Association-approved courses outside of Puerto Rico.
Law 170 is a chapter within Law 149 of June 30, 1999: the Organic Law of the Department of Education. It also refers to Law 96, as it establishes that psychologists employed by public schools must be licensed. As a result, psychologists who have specialties in clinical, counseling, industrial, or social psychology, among others areas, maybe hired to work in schools if they have training in basic skills needed for this work (e.g., can conduct intelligence and personality assessments). Professionals from other fields (e.g., teachers and social workers) may not be employed as school psychologists unless they meet the requirements to become licensed psychologists.
Puerto Rico is politically linked to the United States and receives U.S. funds for educational programs; therefore, federal laws governing education are enforced locally. As in the United States, Public Law 108-446, the Individuals With Disabilities Educational Improvement act of 2004, establishes important obligations for psychologists in the schools. The commonwealth law that describes the implementation of this act in Puerto Rico, Law 51 of June 7, 1996, Ley de Servicios Integrales para Personas con Impedimentos (Law for Integrated Services for Persons With Disabilities), is important for psychologists because it highlights the need for comprehensive psychological evaluations in order to establish a diagnosis. Law 408 of October 2,2000, also known as the Mental Health Law of Puerto Rico, also assigns duties to psychologists by identifying them as mental health professionals who share responsibility for serving the public’s mental health needs, including the provision of emergency care, when needed.
Compliance with Public Law 107-110, the No Child Left Behind Act, is a priority for the Puerto Rico Department of Education. Goals for improving achievement test scores of public school students through the scholastic year 2013-2014 have been established and are closely monitored (Colón Soto, 2005). Psychologists are active in various phases of this effort, especially providing services to special education students, such as testing, diagnosing, participating in individualized education and intervention planning, and training teachers in the Quality of Life program.
The first professional psychology journal published in Puerto Rico, Revista Puertorriqueña de Psicología (Puerto Rican Journal of Psychology), was founded in 1981 by the Puerto Rico Psychological Association. This peer-reviewed journal is published yearly and features articles in Spanish and English about research and theories on themes of general interest to psychology. The Puerto Rico Association of School Psychologists also publishes a newsletter, Avances de la Psicología Escolar (Advances in School Psychology), which features professional issues, especially public policy discussions as well as research and theoretical articles of interest to psychologists working in schools. It is a valuable source for details on the history of school psychological services in Puerto Rico and professional issues related to the practices of school psychology.
Other professional journals used by psychologists and published on the Island are sponsored by universities. Ciencias de la Conducta (Behavioral Sciences) is published by Carlos Albizu University and features research in diverse settings by faculty and students of their graduate programs in general, clinical, and industrial/organizational psychology. Many of its issues are relevant to school psychology practice. The University of Puerto Rico publishes Revista de Ciencias Sociales (Journal of Social Sciences) at the Faculty of Social Sciences, which includes research by psychology professors and students. Homines (Humanity), published by Interamerican University’s Metropolitan campus, features psychology, among other liberal arts subjects. It has served as a venue for publications by leaders in the practice of school psychology such as Irene Sumaza, Juana M. Rodríguez, Nelly Zambrana, and others.
Psychologists rely on journals published in Latin America and the United States, especially those published by the Interamerican Society of Psychology and the American Psychological Association. The Interamerican Society of Psychology publishes Interamerican Journal of Psychology and the newsletter Interamerican Psychologist. American Psychological Association members and nonmembers alike rely on American Psychologist and the APA Monitor. Those who belong to Division 16: School Psychology receive School Psychology Quarterly. A growing number of members of the National Association of School Psychologists rely on its publications, such as School Psychology Review, Communiqué, Best Practices in School Psychology, and others. Many National Association of School Psychologists documents are available in Spanish, and some are provided electronically, and free of charge (http://www.nasponline.org).
Publications for educators also are used by school psychologists. Some examples are El Sol: Revista de la Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (The Sun: Journal of the Teachers Association of Puerto Rico), published by the Puerto Rican Teachers Association, and Educational Leadership, published by the American Society for Curriculum Development.
Preparation of School Psychologists
Two universities offer graduate programs in school psychology. The Interamerican University of Puerto Rico offers both a master’s and a doctoral (Ph.D.) program in school psychology at two of its campuses, Metropolitan and San Germán. The Pontificial Catholic University of Puerto Rico offers a master’s of education in school psychology at its Faculty of Education. Each of these graduate programs admits approx-imately20 students yearly and graduates about 5.
Those applying to a graduate program in school psychology must have a bachelor’s degree in any field, including at least 18 credits in psychology. Completion of a master’s degree requires one to complete 53 credit hours at the Pontificial Catholic University of Puerto Rico and 62 credit hours at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. The master’s degree requires approximately 3 years of full-time study. Degree holders then must pass a licensing exam and be granted a license to practice as a psychologist, thus allowing the psychologist to practice in any school or government agency or as a private practitioner.
Candidates who aspire to earn a doctoral degree after completing a bachelor’s degree must take an additional 83 credit hours in school psychology, complete a 2,000-hour internship at schools, and write and orally defend a dissertation. This program typically requires 5 to 6 years of full-time study. Candidates who have master’s degrees must take an additional 38 credit hours, complete the 2,000-hour internship, and write and defend a dissertation. This program typically requires 3 years of full-time study at the doctoral level.
Curricula for all academic programs of school psychology are ample, varied, and academically strong. They cover all areas suggested by Cunningham and Oakland (1998). The Interamerican University’s master’s program apparently places greater emphasis on research and statistics than does the Pontificial Catholic University of Puerto Rico program. On the other hand, this latter program is more oriented toward developing intervention skills. Both programs seem to prepare students well for their work in schools.
The master’s program at Interamerican University of Puerto Rico requires the following courses for obtaining a master’s degree in school psychology: general psychology, physiological psychology, developmental psychology, personality, cognition and learning, advanced statistics, measurements and test construction, research methods, applied research seminars I and II, professional ethics, interview techniques, cognitive assessment with practice, personality assessment with practice, role and function of a school psychologist, supervised practice I, II, III, and IV, applied behavior analysis for children and adolescents or an advanced seminar in school Psychology, and a thesis or an additional course to substitute for it.
The master’s program at Pontificial Catholic University of Puerto Rico requires the following courses: statistics applied to education, research and educational development, educational philosophy, advanced general psychology, behavior modification, learning, cognitive assessment with practice, personality tests with practice, personality development, psychotherapy, physiological psychology, psychopathology, human dignity, marriage and family, seminar in school Psychology (ethics), an elective course, an internship that may be substituted for two additional courses, and a small thesis.
Pontificial Catholic University of Puerto Rico requires a one-semester practicum that consists of 15 hours of practice per week, under supervision at a school, or approximately 225 hours for the semester. Interamerican University of Puerto Rico requires master’s students to complete four practicum courses, three of which require a minimum of 160 hours in school. Only the doctoral program at Interamerican University of Puerto Rico requires a 2,000-hour internship. All programs should add more training in educational assessment, ethics, and diversity.
Roles, Functions, and Responsibilities of School Psychologists
Psychologists working in schools and those serving students in their private practice devote most of their time to performing psychological and psychoeducational evaluations. Training teachers on behavioral issues (e.g., discipline, learning problems, mental health, and family issues) also composes an important part of their practice. Consultation with teachers and administrators is less frequent, yet it occurs, especially among psychologists employed full-time at private schools. As described previously, assessments that are commonly used include Draw-A-Person; Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test; Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler para Niños-Revisada, Puerto Rico (Wechsler’s Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, Puerto Rican Spanish Version); Children’s Apperception Test; Raven’s Progressive Matrices; and others. Universities conduct research on issues pertinent to students as exemplified by a series of studies on attention deficit disorder and cognitive processes (Bauermeister, 2000; Rodríguez-Arocho, 2003; Rodríguez-Arocho & Moreno-Torres, 2001; Sera & Rodríguez, 2002) at the University of Puerto Rico. Such projects provide services to the community and a research venue for completing graduate degrees. School-based research projects are found at the other universities with graduate programs in psychology.
Current Issues Impacting School Psychology
These early years of the 21st century are exciting and challenging for school psychology. Public support for including school psychological services in school systems is increasing. This increased support should be used to work on continued challenges, notably insufficient numbers of psychologists working as members of the school staff, inadequate supervision and remuneration of psychologists under contract to serve students, and poor quality of some services. The activism of the Puerto Rico Association of School Psychologists has been instrumental in promoting visibility through press conferences and radio and television appearances (Fajardo, 2003; Zambrana & Vargas, 2001), educating the public about the roles and functions of school psychologists.
The Puerto Rico Association of School Psychologists also has promoted the enforcement of Law 170 of August 12, 2000. The Association, with support from the Board of the Puerto Rico Psychological Association and the Puerto Rico Board of Psychologist Examiners, has coordinated numerous meetings, written requests, and publications and held press conferences to promote timely compliance with the law’s plan for recruitment of school psychologists. The Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Teachers Federation) joined forces with the Puerto Rico Association of School Psychologists in efforts to persuade executives from the Department of Education to implement the Law (Bestard & Feliciano, 2003-2004).
As indicated earlier, the Department of Education has faced difficulties recruiting and retaining full-time psychologists due to inadequate salaries, contracts with few fringe benefits, delays in payment for services performed, and supervision by unqualified personnel. The board of directors of the Puerto Rico Association of School Psychologists currently considers the enforcement of Law 170 a high priority (Hornedo, 2005).
The Puerto Rico Psychological Association established a committee to address school psychology issues of interest to its members, including conditions at work, adherence to ethical and other best-practice standards in services to children, and issues affecting community and public policy. This committee intends to revise the Professional Guidelines for Psychological Evaluations (Miranda, 1991) in order to assist professional psychologists and graduate students in preparing reports and rendering quality services; designing and implementing an educational media campaign about psychologists’ roles and functions in school settings; and reinforcing cooperation and formal agreements with organizations of school professionals, including the Puerto Rico Association of School Psychologists, educators, and other members of school staff. The latter goal is directed mainly to promote teamwork in school settings and mutual support for shared professional growth projects.
Possible ethical violations by unqualified and inadequately prepared psychologists who provide services to children constitute another ongoing concern. Such alleged violations, when presented in a formal complaint, may warrant sanctions under the provisions of the ethics code of the Puerto Rico Board of Psychologist Examiners. The complaint process is necessary and useful, yet it is remedial; preventive educational strategies need to be added and enhanced.
Psychologists in Puerto Rico have been licensed for over 20 years, during which time many changes have taken place, especially the accelerated growth of graduate programs described earlier. The need to update Law 96 of June 4, 1983, has been discussed frequently in conventions and meetings by leaders of local psychological associations. The last substantial amendment to this law (Law 47 of December 20, 1990), approved in 1990, resolved a controversy related to licensing psychologists at the master’s level. The original licensing statute, approved in 1983, indicated that after 11 years had passed, doctoral degrees would be required for licensure. The amendment, approved in 1990, determined that a doctoral degree would be required for psychologists whose specialty is clinical psychology. Psychologists graduating from other specialties may continue to be licensed at the master’s level. Since this amendment was approved, graduate programs have increased in number, and five universities have established doctoral programs. Because opportunities to obtain doctorates in Puerto Rico are no longer scarce, one reason to maintain licensing at the master’s level no longer is applicable. The Clinical Psychology Interest Group at the Puerto Rico Psychological Association established revisions of Law 96 of June 4, 1983, as a major goal for 2005 (Moreno-Velázquez, 2005).
Another indication of interest in modifying the licensing law occurred early in 2006. A proposal to license psychologists according to their specialty was drafted at the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. This proposal, known as P de la C 2285 (House of Representatives Project 2285) of January 2006, was the subject of a panel discussion held at Turabo University in Caguas, Puerto Rico, on March 16, 2006. The panelists were Representative Hector Ferrer, the author of the proposal; Dr. Dolores Miranda, representative of the Alliance of Directors of Psychology Graduate Programs; Dr. Vivian Rodríguez del Toro, president of the Puerto Rico Psychological Association; Ms. Edna Rodríguez and Dr. Gladys Altieri of Carlos Albizu University; and Dr. Frances Boulon-Díaz, president of the Puerto Rico Board of Psychologist Examiners. Drs. Rodríguez del Toro, Miranda, and Boulon-Díaz indicated the proposal should not be approved as drafted, but suggested further discussion on possible changes to Law 96 of June 4, 1983, and other issues related to the quality of psychological services in Puerto Rico. There was an exchange of ideas among those present; most disagreed with the proposal, but differences of opinion exist regarding new options for licensing psychologist practitioners in Puerto Rico (Maldonado, 2006; Puerto Rico Board of Psychologist Examiners, 2006). Discussion of new directions for the licensing of psychologists in Puerto Rico is expected to continue.
Some issues that have been presented to the Puerto Rico Board of Psychologist Examiners by licensed psychologists and students include that the license should not be the same for different levels of training and that distinctions among specialties should be defined more clearly (Rodríguez-Rivera, 2005). Revisions of the Puerto Rico Board of Psychologist Examiners’ Bylaws and Ethics Code (Puerto Rico Board of Psychologist Examiners, 1992, 2003) are in progress. These revisions will address some issues related to the increasing complexity of psychological training and practice in Puerto Rico and provide clearer guidelines for providing specialized services.
Ideas regarding amendments to the licensing law are frequently discussed via Internet groups, at universities, and at professional meetings. Opinions differ regarding requirements for practice in different settings, including schools. Colleagues differ on available options for practice in multiple settings and on the desirability of restricting some jobs to those who have earned certain specialties or certifications. For example, clinical, counseling, and organizational psychologists are legally qualified to practice in schools if they are licensed. The ethics code requires they perform only services for which they have competence (Puerto Rico Board of Psychologist Examiners, 1992). There are doubts about the efficacy of self-imposed controls and of having the ethics complaint process as the only resource to control inadequate performance of duties by psychologists (Moreno-Velázquez, 2005). The Alliance of Directors of Graduate Psychology Programs, the Clinical Psychology and School Psychology interest groups at the Puerto Rico Psychological Association, the Puerto Rico Association of School Psychologists leadership, and other members of the community of psychologist practitioners and educators continue to rethink and debate these issues.
The need for test-related research and development is urgent. Issues include the reliability and validity of evaluations, accuracy and best practices when making diagnoses, and criteria used for placement decisions when data are sparse. Studies of such processes will provide foundations for decision making, especially regarding formulation of practice guidelines and policies.
Additional issues pertain to services for immigrant populations (e.g., from the Dominican Republic), parenting skills, communication and consultation with teachers, and efficacy of diverse teaching methods and learning styles in the classroom (M. Martínez-Plana, personal communication, February 22, 2005). Efforts are under way to collect and analyze samples of psychological evaluations in order to identify problems in applying and interpreting measurement tools.
We are optimistic for the future of psychological services in the schools. universities are active in providing education and research opportunities to professionals eager to serve students better. Support from parents and school personnel is growing, as is public awareness of the need to provide students with enhanced opportunities for learning, personality development, and mental health. Academic success is readily identified as an essential resource for community development and quality of life. This is at the forefront of strategies to combat social problems such as poverty, violence, addictions, and other contemporary challenges (Boulon, 2005). At this exciting moment, information gathered in diverse environments and alternative solutions to problems contribute to our capacity for analysis and decision making.