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Advocating for Effective Instruction: School Psychologists as an Instructional Leader

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Abstract

Public schools are continually faced with the challenge of responding to and meeting the demands of an ever evolving set of societal and global expectations (Friedman, 2005). Recent iterations of this responsiveness came in the wake of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. These have converged to emphasize the data-based accountability of student achievement in public schools. While many of the professionals working in schools have received training in some areas dealing with instruction, curriculum, behavior, assessment, evaluation, consultation, and data analysis, there are few that have been trained in each of these areas. One profession that does require training in each of these areas is school psychology. The combination of school psychologists’ training and skills and the evolving needs of schools to demonstrate improved student outcomes unveil a context for school psychologists to be increasingly active and influential participants on instructional leadership teams. The goal of this chapter, is to explore recent developments that are impacting professional practices in schools and identify ways that school psychologists can use their skills and knowledge to support effective instruction.

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Correspondence to Brian C. Poncy .

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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Poncy, B.C., McCallum, E., Skinner, C.H. (2011). Advocating for Effective Instruction: School Psychologists as an Instructional Leader. In: Lionetti, T., Snyder, E., Christner, R. (eds) A Practical Guide to Building Professional Competencies in School Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6257-7_10

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