Abstract
The practice of school psychology in Australia and globally is based on knowledge and application of legal, ethical, and professional standards. The school setting should be one defined by an ethical and professional culture that guides practice and interactions among school psychologists and clients, teachers, families, and school administrators. This culture will affect the welfare of the students and can enhance the school climate. The school psychologist should take the lead on making sure that not only are they current in their knowledge of professional ethics and standards but also work to ensure that the school environment and staff are engaging in similar practices. The ethical codes and professional standards of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) provide the foundations for ethical practice among psychologists within Australia. We highlight some of the key portions of the ethical codes of the APS below as they relate to the key domains of school psychological practice. We also offer guidelines from other professional organisations that relate to the practice of school psychologists, that the practitioner may want to consider. We think it important that school psychologists take a proactive, positive approach to ethical practice and continue to pursue professional development to update their knowledge and practice rather than be reactionary and only become aware of them when a troubling situation arises. Further, in additional to regional legislation and ethical guidelines that may impact upon the professional practice of school psychologists, we also think it important that school psychologists be mindful of some of the ethical guidelines globally and consider these in their practice.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Psychological Association. (2010). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/
Association for Assessment in Counseling. (2003). Responsibilities of users of standardized tests (RUST). Retrieved from http://aac.ncat.edu/Resources/documents/RUST2003%20v11%20Final.pdf
Australian Psychological Society. (2007). APS code of ethics. Melbourne: APS. Retrieved from https://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/APS-Code-of-Ethics.pdf.
Australian Psychological Society(2015). External mental health service providers in schools and the effective delivery of school psychology services. Melbourne: Australian Psychological Society. Retrieved from https://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/External-mental-health-providers-in-schools-and-the-effective-delivery-of-school-psychology-service.pdf
Australian Psychological Society. (2016). Guidelines on reporting abuse and neglect, and criminal activity. APS: Melbourne. Retrieved from http://eqip.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/EG-Reporting-child[1].pdf
Australian Psychological Society. (2016). The Framework for Effective Delivery of School Psychology Services: A Practice Guide for Psychologists and School Leaders. Melbourne: APS. Retrieved from http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/School-psych-services.pdf.
Australian Psychological Society. (2016). Ethical guidelines for working with young people. Melbourne: APS.
Australian Psychological Society. (2014b). Managing student confidentiality in the school setting: Guidance for principals and school psychologists. Melbourne: APS.
Australian Psychological Society. (2014c). Practice guide for the assessment of school-age students in educational contexts. Melbourne: APS.
Australian Psychological Society. (2014d). Ethical guidelines for psychological assessment and the use of psychological tests. Melbourne: APS.
Australian Psychological Society. (2015). School psychological services policy: Managing communication and confidentiality between psychologists, the principal, other professionals and teaching staff. Melbourne: APS.
Australian Psychological Society (2016) Ethical guidelines on reporting abuse and neglect, and criminal activity. Melbourne: APS Bell, H., & McKenzie, V. (2013). Perceptions and realities: The role of school psychologists in Melbourne, Australia. Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 30(1), 54–73. doi:10.1017/edp.2013.1.
Boccio, D. E., Weisz, G., & Lefkowitz, R. (2016). Administrative pressure to practice unethically and burnout within the profession of school psychology. Psychology in the Schools, 53, 659–672. doi:10.1002/pits.21931.
British Psychological Society. (2002). Professional practice guidelines division of educational and child psychology. Leicester, UK: Author. Retrieved from http://www.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/professional_practice_guidelines_-_division_of_educational_and_child_psychology.pdf.
Canadian Psychological Association. (2000). Canadian code of ethics for psychologists (3rd ed.). Ottawa, ON, Canada: Author. Retrieved from http://www.cpa.ca/docs/File/Ethics/cpa_code_2000_eng_jp_jan2014.pdf.
Foot, P. (1978). Virtues and vices. Oxford: Blackwell.
Glasheen, K. J., & Campbell, M. A. (2009). The use of online counselling within an Australian secondary school setting: A practitioner’s viewpoint. Counselling Psychology Review, 24(2), 42–51.
Glosoff, H. L., & Pate, R. H. (2002). Privacy and confidentiality in school counseling. Professional School Counseling, 6, 20–28.
Grubbs, L., Muro, J. H., & Clements, K. (2016). School counselors and nurses: Collaborative best practices for maintaining confidentiality with pregnant adolescents. The Practitioner Scholar: Journal of Counseling and Professional Psychology, 5(1), 20–31.
Huggins, A., Weist, M. D., McCall, M., Kloos, B., Miller, E., & George, M. W. (2016). Qualitative analysis of key informant interviews about adolescent stigma surrounding use of school mental health services. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 18(1), 21–32.
Hursthouse, R. (1999). On virtue ethics. Oxford: OUP.
International School Psychologists Association. (1990). Code of ethics. Author. Retrieved from www.ispaweb.org
International Test Commission. (2001). International guidelines for test use. International Journal of Testing, 1(2), 93–114.
Kant, I. (1964). Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (H. J. Paton, Trans.). New York: Harper and Row. (Original work published 1785)
Knauss, L. K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment, 77(2), 231–241.
Koocher, G. P. (2003). Ethical issues in psychotherapy with adolescents.Journal of clinical psychology, 59(11), 1247-1256. Koocher, G. P., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (1998). Ethics in psychology (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Koocher, G. P., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2008). Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions: Standards and cases. Oxford University Press. MacIntyre, A. (1985). After virtue. London: Duckworth.
McMahon, M., & Patton, W. (2000). Conversations on clinical supervision: Benefits perceived by school counsellors. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 28(3), 339–351.
National Association of School Psychologists. (2010). Principles for professional ethics. Betheda, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://www.nasponline.org/Documents/Standards%20and%20Certification/Standards/1_%20Ethical%20Principles.pdf.
Nussbaum, M. (1986). The fragility of goodness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ohan, J. L., Seward, R. J., Stallman, H. M., Bayliss, D. M., & Sanders, M. R. (2015). Parents’ barriers to using school psychology services for their child’s mental health problems. School Mental Health, 7(4), 287–297. doi:10.1007/s12310-015-9152-1.
Shaw, E., Bancroft, H., Metzer, J., & Symons, M. (2013). How to make a sound ethical decision. InPsych, 35(6), 38.
Thielking, M. (2006a). An investigation of attitudes towards the practice of school-based psychological services. Unpublished manuscript, School of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Thielking, M. (2006b). School psychologist responsibilities measure. In An investigation of attitudes towards the practice of school-based psychological services. Unpublished manuscript, School of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Thielking, M. (2006c). School psychologist ethical dilemmas scale. In An investigation of attitudes towards the practice of school-based psychological services. Unpublished manuscript, School of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Thielking, M., & Jimerson, S. R. (2006). Perspectives regarding the role of school psychologists: Perceptions of teachers, principals, and school psychologists in Victoria, Australia. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 16(02), 211–223.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (1985). Conventions on the rights of the child. Author. Retrieved from www.unesco.org/education/pdf/34_72.pdf
Western Australian Department of Education. (2015). Competency framework for school psychologists. Western Australian Department of Education School Psychology Service. Retrieved from http://det.wa.edu.au/studentsupport/behaviourandwellbeing/detcms/school-support-programs/behaviour-and-wellbeing/behaviour/school-psychology-services/public-content/competency-framework-for-school-psychologists.en?cat-id=6681542
Williams, B. B., Armistead, L., & Jacob, S. (2008). Professional ethics for school psychologists: A problem-solving model casebook. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Appendices
Appendix 1: School Psychologist Responsibilities Measure (SP-RM)
This measure may be given to school psychologists to consider what attitudes they bring to their own school psychological practice. However, it can also be used as a useful measure of identifying significant within-school incongruence in attitudes about the school psychologist’s role, when given to school psychologists, teachers, parents, and school leadership, where differences in attitudes may lead to ethical dilemmas for the school psychologist. Items in bold represent attitudes, that may in certain circumstances result in ethical dilemmas relating to role boundaries, dual relationships, confidentiality and informed consent particularly if the student has not given consent or these are strong opinions of stakeholders or the psychologist regarding the role of school psychologists.
Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following items (1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = undecided; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree)
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.School psychologists should assist classroom teachers in handling discipline | |||||
2.School psychologists should administer discipline to students if it is necessary | |||||
3. School psychologists should conduct research on issues that are important to their school | |||||
4. School psychologists should be up to date on current research that relates to the needs and issues of their school | |||||
5. School psychologists should conduct intellectual or IQ assessments of certain students | |||||
6. School psychologists should conduct psychological assessments of students to test for certain disorders | |||||
7. School psychologists should provide counselling and therapy to students | |||||
8. The school psychologist is the main person in the school that students should see if they need to talk to an adult about their personal problems | |||||
9. School psychologists should provide career guidance to students | |||||
10. School psychologists should provide therapy and support to teachers for their own personal problems | |||||
11. School psychologists should provide therapy to the families of students | |||||
12. School psychologists should identify student issues and organise group activities appropriate to those issues | |||||
13. The school psychologist should provide workshops to teachers about certain issues concerning student welfare | |||||
14. Teachers should be able to gain information from the school psychologist about how to work effectively with students’ varying social, emotional and learning issues | |||||
15. The school psychologist should be a referral agent within the school when a student’s problem is beyond the teacher’s training or scope | |||||
16. School psychologists should let the referring teacher know how the student is progressing in counselling | |||||
17. Counselling records should be made available to teachers who spend a lot of time teaching the student/s | |||||
18.School psychologists should let the teacher know about the attitudes students have towards that teacher | |||||
19. Psychological reports of students, such as IQ assessments, should be made available to the main teachers of that student | |||||
20. I believe school psychologists should also teach some subjects as well as counsel students | |||||
21. It is acceptable for the school psychologist to charge a fee to teachers that want to see them for counselling outside of working hours | |||||
22. It is important for certain teachers to know which students are receiving counselling from the school psychologist | |||||
23. Parents should be informed if their primary-school-aged child is seeing the school psychologist | |||||
24. Parents should be informed if their secondary-school-aged child is seeing the school psychologist | |||||
25. Because of the nature of some students’ problems, they should have to see the school psychologist even if they do not want to | |||||
26. Seeing the school psychologist for a certain number of sessions could be included in disciplinary procedures for some students | |||||
27. I believe that in some special cases, it is acceptable for the school psychologist to slightly ‘fudge’ IQ test results if it means that the student will receive additional funding for educational support | |||||
28. School psychologists should refrain from giving certain information or advice to secondary students that is against the values or beliefs of the school | |||||
29. School psychologists should refrain from giving certain information or advice to secondary students that is against the values or beliefs of the students’ parents | |||||
30. When the school psychologist is seeing a student who is behaving in a way that significantly opposes the student’s parent’s beliefs or values, the parents should be informed |
Appendix 2: School Psychologist Ethical Dilemmas Scale (SP-EDS)
Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient = .77
This scale asks school psychologists to consider how often they experience ethical dilemmas involving confidentiality, boundary issues, who is the client, informed consent, competence issues and dual relationships .
Please indicate how often the following ethical dilemmas occur in your role as a school psychologist (1 = never; 2 = almost never; 3 = sometimes; 4 = fairly often; 5 = very often)
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Ethical dilemmas that highlight ‘confidentiality’ issues | |||||
For example, a conflict between your professional responsibility to keep information confidential and either the request of that information from other people or your need to tell others about the information that you have obtained | |||||
2. Ethical dilemmas that highlight ‘boundary’ issues | |||||
For example, the school or client asks you to perform an activity that is outside of your usual role as a school psychologist | |||||
3. Ethical dilemmas that highlight ‘who is the client?’ issues | |||||
For example, some confusion is apparent between who you are primarily responsible towards, the student, teacher, principal or parent? | |||||
4. Ethical dilemmas that highlight ‘informed consent’ issues | |||||
For example, a conflict between (a) respecting student’s competence and right to make choices in regards to entering counselling and (b) the rights of others, i.e., parents, as well as the question of the student’s age and their maturity and how this affects their ability to make informed choices | |||||
5. Ethical dilemmas that highlight ‘competence’ issues | |||||
For example, when the demands of your role exceeds your ability, training, qualifications or experience to provide the most suitable advice or treatment | |||||
6. Ethical dilemmas that highlight ‘dual relationship’ issues | |||||
For example, when you share more than one relationship with your client(s), an example may be that you both counsel and teach a student |
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Thielking, M., Gerardi, N., Williams, B.B., Terjesen, M.D., Flatau, P. (2017). Resources for Ethical School Psychological Practice in Australia. In: Thielking, M., Terjesen, M. (eds) Handbook of Australian School Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45166-4_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45166-4_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-45164-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-45166-4
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)