José Carlos Núñez & Julio Antonio González-Pienda. The Handbook of International School Psychology. Editor: Shane R Jimerson, Thomas D Oakland, Peter T Farrell. Sage Publications. 2007.

Context of School Psychology

Spain is located in southwest Europe, separated from Africa by the Strait of Gibraltar, and borders France in the north and Portugal in the west. Its surface area is 505,992 square kilometres, and it has a population of 40,341,462. Only 37% of the population is under age 31; 14% are between birth and 14 years old. Spain’s gross domestic product in 2004 was US$937.6 billion, US$23,300 per capita. Sixty-four percent of the labor force is in service industries; 30% is in construction, mining, and manufacturing; and 4% is in agriculture. Unemployment is high, about 11%. Forty-two percent of the working population has finished compulsory education (10th grade).

The Spanish educational system is structured according to the following phases and ages (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, 2004): infant education (birth to age 5), primary education (ages 6-11), compulsory secondary education (ages 12-15), post-compulsory secondary education (ages 16-17), and university education (over age 17). During the 2004-2005 academic year, 1,419,307 were enrolled in infant education, 2,494,598 completed primary education, 1,876,322 studied compulsory secondary education, 1,148,658 took part in post-compulsory secondary education, and 29,283 attended special education programs. Thus, 6,968,168 participate in non-university studies, of whom 4,708,942 (68%) attend public schools and 2,259,226 (32%) attend private or semi-private schools. The average number of students per class is 20 in infant education, 21 in primary education, and 25 in compulsory secondary education.

During 2004, Spain devoted 5.4% of its gross domestic product to education. The state contributes approximately 80%, and families pay the remaining 20%. Families with lower incomes have access to scholarships, with the full cost of the education of these families’ children paid by the state. During 2004-2005, the government established scholarships for 466,804 students, totalling 752,331. Spain’s population recently has increased as a result of immigration. During the 2004-2005 academic year, 389,726 children age 16 or younger from immigrant families attended school. Most (51%) come from South America and Central America, 25% from other European countries, and the remainder from North America and other regions of the world.

Students with special educational needs constitute 2.5% of the total population, among whom 81% attend normal schools. Students with physical disabilities (e.g., hydrocephaly) are most frequent (64%), followed by those with autism and serious personality disorders (13%), motor disabilities (e.g., cerebral palsy; 7%), hearing impediments (5%), and vision impediments (3%); 9% have multiple disabilities.

Origin, History, and Current Status of School Psychology

Different periods characterise the history of school psychology (Muñoz, García, & Sánchez, 1997). The first period, 1880 to 1920, is marked by interest in the study of individual differences and the usefulness of tests for diagnosis and treatment planning for children who displayed psychological problems. Thus, from its beginning, school psychology has been strongly linked to special education. The second period, 1920 to 1955, is marked by the impact of the mental health movement, in which psychological services were provided to treat children’s disorders in and out of school. These efforts helped extend the focus of school psychology services to children with emotional, affective, and social problems, not merely those with learning problems. During the third period, 1955 to 1970, efforts to provide knowledge about psychology to teachers and to link this information to pedagogical practices became prominent. During the 1970s, some psychologists began to question the use of traditional service delivery models that focus on individual therapy. They began using alternative models based on more current cognitive learning theories; systemic, organisational, and ecological theories; and community psychology in their attempt to emphasise the contexts both of learning and of the educational system.

Thus, school psychology emerged following the development of scientific psychology. School psychology as such emerged as a consequence of the application of psychological knowledge to the academic setting. Interest in applying psychology to school-related issues and to professional guidance initially contributed to this development. During the 1970s, many universities established departments of psychology, resulting in the graduation of students who added significantly to the availability of professional psychologists. The need to apply psychological knowledge and technology, including psychoeducational interventions, became increasingly apparent.

Thirty years ago, no school psychologists worked in public education. There currently are 3,600; 52% are men. School psychologists compose 38% of all psychology professionals. Nearly 90% work in urban areas. Psychologists working in rural areas are becoming progressively scarcer. School psychologists generally work in public schools: in early attention and infant education teams, interdisciplinary sector teams for primary education, specific teams (hearing-impaired students, motor-impaired students, disruptive conduct), and guidance departments. School psychologists also work in private schools, in private practice, and in centres for reeducation and academic support that support diverse interventions (e.g., speech therapy, parent education, training in basic skills). Most centres provide numerous high-quality professional services for children.

One must pass a competitive examination to become a psychologist and engage in work. Those working in the public sector receive an annual salary of approximately 26,600, an amount that changes according to the number of years one works, the position one holds, and other job-related conditions. As government employees, their jobs are more stable than those in the private sector. Those working in the private sector earn about 20% more, but their employment is more competitive and less stable. School psychologists tend to be moderately satisfied with their work due more to the perceived importance of their services than to the amount of money they earn.

Infrastructure of School Psychology

In 1970, the General Law of Education established school and vocational guidance services. Vocational guidance counsellors initiated the practice of using psychology in schools. However, the Ministry of Science and Education did not sanction these services until 1977. These services included personal, professional, and school guidance; advice and support for students, teachers, and parents; diagnosis of students with special educational needs; and research. These functions were linked to guidance models current at that time. Services were extensive and not well defined, and given the lack of personnel and the small number of teams in each of the 17 autonomous territories in Spain, they were incapable of significantly influencing school systems.

Following the first democratic municipal elections in April 1979, municipal psychopedagogic services were created. The services provided by psychologists in schools were the same as those provided by the health and social service sectors. Municipal psychopedagogic services were widely influenced by preventive models from health areas and offered specific curriculum support activities for children who were academically delayed or experienced a long illness. Following the 1977 National Plan for Special Education and the 1982 Social Integration Law for the Handicapped, a new framework for providing psychoeducational services was created: multiprofessional teams (e.g., psychologists, pedagogues, speech therapists, social workers, and physicians) linked to special education. They were responsible for the initial student evaluations and decision making as to special education eligibility and services. Their services focused on prevention, multiprofessional evaluation, identification of needs, guidance, and monitoring.

In 1979, the Spanish Constitution was established and, according to Article 49, the government was encouraged to work on “policies of prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and integration of the physically and/or mentally handicapped, affording them any special attention that they might require.” In 1982, the Law for the Social Integration of Handicapped People further developed Article 49 by establishing the principles of service normalisation and division, integration, and individual attention. That same year, the Royal Decree 334/85 for the Arrangement of Special Education set in motion planning measures to “guarantee that those students with special educational needs will be able to reach the general educational goals established at the highest level possible.” Following this decree, experimental programs were established, designed to integrate students with permanent special educational needs, first in regular primary education schools and, after 1992-1993, in compulsory secondary education schools.

These efforts led to new work for school psychologists. On the one hand, the functions of the Ministry of Education and Science teams focused on diagnostic assessment in order to establish the correct placement of students in schools and on providing support for the newly acknowledged projects and to establish the correct placement and integration of students into schools. On the other hand, the functions of the school and vocational guidance (Servicios de Orientación Escolar y Vocacional) and the multiprofessional teams (Equipos Multiprofesionales) were unified. They provided general services in regular schools and specific services in integration and special education schools. Their priorities included integration of regular and special needs children, attention to issues impacting families, diagnosis, and prevention of academic failure. They operated under the same organisational and operational model.

Organic Law 1/1990 for the General Regulation of the Educational System (Ley Orgánica de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo; Law 10/03/1990) extends the principles and objectives stated in the Constitution and the above-mentioned royal decrees to include the establishment of guidance services. Guidance is described as activities inherent to the teaching-learning process, not external to it, as occurred in the 1970 General Education Law (Ley General de Educación de 1970). As a result, guidance no longer was considered to be a process in which an expert helps those who are less experienced.

In accordance with Ley Orgánica de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo, the educational guidance model was elaborated by the following principles. Guidance services are provided at three levels: individual services, those provided by a guidance department, and those provided within more extensive geographic areas. Moreover, as noted above, guidance services are inherent to educational activities and thus take place within normal educational activities. Services comprise two aspects, educational and vocational, and are intended to have both therapeutic and preventive outcomes. A systemic perspective in psychoeducational intervention is adopted.

Various professional journals offer scholarships. The following journals discuss more general issues that are relevant for psychology or education: Papeles del Psicólogo (Papers of the Psychologist), Revista de Psicología General y Aplicada (Journal of General and Applied Psychology), Estudios de Psicología (Studies of Psychology), and Psicothema. School psychologists may be more interested in articles that appear in the following journals: Revista de Educación (Journal of Education), Infancia y Aprendizaje (Journal for the Study of Education and Development), Cultura y Educación (Culture and Education), Cuadernos de Pedagogía (Journal of Teaching), Revista Española de Pedagogía (Spanish Journal of Teaching), Bordón (Support), Revista de Investigación Educativa (Journal of Educational Research), and Revista de Psicología y Educación (Journal of Psychology and Education). Numerous textbooks also are available on various topics, including school and educational psychology, learning, teaching, special education, school guidance, and diversity.

Preparation of School Psychologists

Spanish universities have 29 faculties of Psychology, some in health sciences and others in legal and social sciences. These faculties have 45,000 students, with 8,000 to 10,000 entering each year, 60% of whom complete their degrees, typically after 5 years. The number of students admitted to the various departments differs considerably. Some departments are very selective, limiting new enrolment to no more than 110, whereas others allow almost all qualified students to enter.

Psychologists typically receive a 5-year degree, referred to as a licentiate. Each academic year is divided in two 4-month periods (i.e., fall and spring semesters). Syllabi in the various Psychology faculties are not uniform. Programmes typically extend over 5 years and allow students to specialise in a number of applied specialties (clinical, school, work-organisational, and social intervention), and are divided into two cycles of 3 and 2 years each. The first cycle emphasises basic academic courses, and the second emphasises courses related to a student’s specialisation. Syllabi are organised according to three types of courses: compulsory, optional (courses that prepare students for their chosen specialty and from which they select certain courses), and elective (courses that cover preparation for other specialties). Thus, students can tailor their academic preparation to best suit their academic and professional interests. Students perform a practicum (15 credits, equivalent to 150 hours), which requires them to apply their knowledge in professional settings, including schools, health centres, penitentiaries, and other public or private enterprises.

The preparation of psychologists generally focuses on the following academic courses: basic psychological processes, developmental psychology, psychology of learning, personality psychology, social psychology, group and organisational psychology, physiological Psychology, basic neuroscience, neuropsychology, data analysis, research designs, psychometrics, psychological assessment, educational psychology, learning disorders and disabilities, psychosocial intervention, psychopathology, and intervention and treatment techniques, among others. Students who desire to weight their curriculum in favour of school psychology also can choose other subjects, such as instructional psychology, psychological bases of attention to diversity (in which various disabilities and developmental disorders are studied), school guidance, study strategies and techniques, and so forth.

After completing their basic education, students may decide to engage in a third cycle for 2 years, which leads to theoretical, practical, and research specialisations. Students have recently been encouraged to pursue quality doctorate programmes called programas de doctorado de calidad. After completing their regular studies (licentiate and/or doctorate), those who want to work as school psychologists in public institutions must pass a competitive examination, which involves a 2- to 3-year preparation period that normally takes place in specialised centres or academies and in the Official Colleges of Psychologists. University degree programmes are being reviewed throughout European Union countries in an attempt to unify requirements for professional practice. This review is likely to result in changes in the manner in which students are prepared as psychologists at both undergraduate and graduate levels. However, its impact cannot be determined at this time.

Roles, Functions, and Responsibilities of School Psychologists

As noted earlier in the chapter, the 1990 General Organic Law for the Reform of the Educational System requires an educational model in which the teacher plays a central, though not exclusive, role in improving educational quality. Due to their extensive, important, and complex roles, teachers need support services from other professionals. This support staff may include various specialists, including the school psychologist, speech therapist, physiotherapist, and social worker. Despite their differences, these specialists must work collaboratively as educational teams at each school. This is the context in which both general and individual psychoeducational interventions can be provided by school psychologists and other specialists.

In order to achieve these goals, psychoeducational interventions must be fully integrated into the educational institutions. School psychologists perform specific intervention functions. Their work must aid that of other education professionals. Teachers participate in these interventions by assuming specific responsibilities (e.g., tutorial functions). Thus, distrust and disorganisation between teachers and psychologists are to be avoided so that everyone makes the best use of the psychologist’s professional intervention.

School psychology is committed to providing the following seven services (lvarez, Núñez, González, & López, 2003; González-Pienda, González-Cabanach, Núñez, & Valle, 2002; Marchesi, 1993; Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, 2004; Sampascual, Navas, & Castejón, 1999; Sanz, Fernández, Campos, Pereto, & González, 1991): diagnostic-intervention, prevention, guidance to assist in professional and vocational decision making, work to improve the dispensation of educational services, family planning, community outreach, and teaching and research. Each of these is discussed in this section.

Before the implementation of the General Organic Law for the Reform of the Educational System, school guidance followed a clinical model. Its goal was to provide direct assistance to students who displayed emotional, adaptation, behavioural, or achievement problems, together with aid, to make decisions about their choice of studies. As of 1990, under the General Organic Law for the Reform of the Educational System, the work of the school psychologist and other members of the guidance team is a continuous effort that is integrated into the educational process. In this sense, when referring to guidance and tutoring, the rule says that

guidance in general, and also educational support or specialised psychopedagogical intervention carried out by the guidance department, are part of the curriculum, of the curricular development, and should be understood as an integral educational offer aimed at all aspects of learning and maturation of the student’s personality and therefore also should be a personalised offer. (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, 1992, p. 18)

This model of work implies the following principles (Sampascual, Navas, & Castejón, 1999):

• Guidance services should be targeted at all the students and not only at those who have special educational needs (e.g., disabilities, handicaps, etc.); the receipt of guidance services is the right of all the students at their different stages and educational levels.
• Guidance services should be continuous and systematic throughout the entire educational process (as they are a part of the educational process itself), and therefore they cannot be understood as a series of separate and precise actions.
• Guidance is an interdisciplinarian task that involves all the members of the educational community (therefore, it must be integrated into the Programación General del Centro Educativo [General Programming of the Educational Centre] and will be understood as a cooperative activity).
• Guidance services should attend to all the needs of the student (e.g., personality, affective, intellectual needs) and should cover and promote all aspects of the student’s development.
• Guidance services should understand individual differences and should focus on helping students acquire the abilities and skills that will lead to their self-guidance.
• Therefore, from this perspective, guidance implies a global intervention in the entire educational process, including aspects of centre organisation and functioning, collaboration with teachers in the design of the instructive process, and specific, precise interventions on individual problems that may appear. Thus understood, the model of intervention is a mixed model that adopts traits from different models (clinical-medical, psychometric, humanist, and constructivist).

Diagnostic-Intervention Services

School psychologists attempt to detect, prevent, and address physical, psychological, and social problems (e.g., mental subnormality, affective or personality disorders, enuresis, sleep and eating disorders, behaviour problems, violence, school and family conflicts). Identification begins as early as age 3, when infant education starts. When necessary, school psychologists evaluate children in reference to the educational goals and the ability of the people responsible for helping children achieve these goals. A school psychologist may decide to conduct an evaluation in order to diagnose or rule out problems. Based on this evaluation, a school psychologist may suggest interventions designed to improve students’ educational competence and the educational services they receive, to resolve individual and group problems, and to propose specific solutions to the difficulties noted during the evaluation.

School psychology initially utilised a clinical-psychometric model, so there was an extensive tradition in the use of psychological tests. Various commercial firms adapted important tests to the Spanish population. Among them, TEA Ediciones (http://www.teaediciones.com) markets more than 300 tests, many of which were developed in Spain. Some of these tests were developed in other countries (especially the United States). Thus, school psychologists have access to a wide variety tests that assess cognitive, personality, and social characteristics, study strategies and techniques, and achievement, as well as tests related to instruction, family, and the school-family relationships.

Prevention Services

Preventive services may involve modifying a child’s social and educational environments so as to avoid or lessen developmental disorders of an educational or social nature. School psychologists may offer advice or professional assistance to teachers and to others to prevent specific educational problems (e.g., school adjustment difficulties, learning disorders and difficulties, social problems, maladaptive attitudes, and inadequate study habits). Additionally, they may engage in programs designed to overcome pervasive disorders (e.g., health, emotional and sexual behaviours, drug dependency).

Guidance Services to Assist in Professional and Vocational Decision Making

School psychologists help students make decisions about professions or vocations. This work involves conducting evaluations, conferring with others to determine a person’s competencies, and clarifying professional or vocational goals. This enables persons to understand their strengths and limitations and guides their training and decision making.

Work to Improve the Applications of Educational Services

School psychologists work to adapt students’ educational environments, so students receive more or improved educational services. In this work, school psychologists informally examine the teacher’s skills and abilities together with other resources in the class or school. Possible interventions include adapting instruction to students’ learning styles, supporting and assessing teachers, checking their general activity (e.g., adapting plans to students’ psychosocial and learning characteristics), and appraising the teachers’ adaptations to people and/or to special educational situations and attention to diversity.

Family Planning Services

School psychologists realise that both schools and families exert considerable influence on children’s development. Thus, family services, including assessment and interventions, are warranted at times. Services may include helping parents understand their children’s development and resulting needs, providing information about various psychological and educational issues (e.g., discipline, study planning and supervision, development of self-esteem, and communication abilities), providing parent training, improving family relationships, and supporting and participating in school programs.

Community Outreach

The characteristics of a community also have a significant impact on a student’s development. School psychologists are aware of cultural conditions that may affect a student’s social and emotional development and thus may help better link school and community resources, better utilise or improve community services, or work with others to create and sustain them.

Engagement in Reflection, Research, and Teaching

School psychologists engage in activities designed to promote understanding of one’s individual contributions and those of the specialty through reflection and research. The goals of these activities are to improve the use of knowledge and technical resources together with an in-depth study of school psychology theory and practices. Through teaching, school psychologists attempt to spread their knowledge to other education professionals, students and their parents, and other professional groups.

More on School Guidance

From a more detailed perspective, school guidance services provided by school psychologists and other professionals occur on three levels: (a) in the classroom wherein guidance services are provided by teachers, especially by the tutor teacher; (b) at school within its guidance department; and (c) at a systems level at which an interdisciplinary team coordinates programme services (lvarez, Soler, & Hernández, 1998; lvarez, Soler, González-Pienda, Núñez, & González-Castro, 2002; González-Pienda, lvarez, Fernández, & González, 2003; Marchesi, 2001). The school psychologist is a part of the guidance department. Thus, some of the main functions in which the psychologist is directly involved (e.g., related to the school as an educational centre, to the student, to the teacher, or to the family) are discussed below.

School-related services include the following: collaborating on the development of educational projects (e.g., general curriculum, specific educational programmes, teacher training); evaluating key educational provisions (e.g., its administration, curriculum adaptations, psychopedagogic interventions); contributing to education through action research; collaborating on educational activities both in and out of school; promoting cooperation between school and family; contributing specialised psychopedagogical services with support from the interdisciplinary team; and promoting professional and vocational guidance services, especially in secondary schools. The educational projects provide a general framework that gives shape to an educational centre and defines the way in which diversity will be attended to (e.g., how the specific needs of each student at the centre will be met in order to promote his or her personal growth and cognitive, social, and affective development). The school psychologist is actively involved in these endeavors.

Student-related services include the following: promoting guidance services for all students; providing individual and diversified academic and professional guidance services that promote vocational maturity and decision making; helping at-risk students and those making transitions (e.g., admission in a new school, change from one grade to another, selection of courses, and transition to adult and working life); providing support and encouragement to students who might need it; and contributing to the introduction of innovative educational methodologies.

Teacher-related services include the following: transmitting information on the psychopedagogical evaluation of students; counselling teachers about practical matters of groups (e.g., efficient ways to provide instruction to groups of students in the classroom); the flexible treatment of students with diverse aptitudes, interests, and motivations; coordinating tutorial work and assessing the tutorial function; facilitating the in-class use of specific instructional techniques related to work habits, study techniques, how-to-think teaching programmes, abstract symbols handling, and similar techniques; collaborating in guidance unit activities; assisting teachers in improving their interpersonal relations and use of group dynamics and management, assessment interviews, and leadership; providing technical guidance on formative and guidance evaluation processes and activities; and collaborating with teachers to detect developmental or learning problems or difficulties.

Family-related services include the following: promoting tutor-family relationships to solve problems that have an impact on children, guiding families so as to improve their ability to responsibly educate and guide their children, and engaging families in school activities and programmes.

Current Issues Impacting School Psychology

School psychologists represent approximately 40% of all working professional psychologists. However, the progressive growth of this specialisation involves certain difficulties that must be addressed. The main difficulties come from three areas: administrative work (e.g., issues concerning professional acknowledgement, recruiting methods); definition of role, profile, and functions (the progressive improvement of traditional clinical-medical practices and the emergence of the social demand for intervention in various areas leads to the need for a constant debate about the issues of the school psychologist’s role); and ethical issues (e.g., when school psychologists find themselves in a situation in which there may be a conflict of interest between addressing the needs of students and conforming to the expectations of the local educational system).

Last, the school psychologist currently faces a big challenge in the ever-changing dynamics of the educational world due to technological and social advancements. Reforms planned in the European Union attempt to answer new questions and, furthermore, to create a structure that starts with theoretical training, stresses the practical aspects of the psychologist’s professional activity, and emphasises research and scientific activity in daily professional practice.