ABSTRACT
School psychology has a tradition of working in the interstices between psychology and education, alternately adopting and mediating between historical, social, and cultural trends. This chapter describes the historic influences on the field as a context for exploring the pivotal juncture at which school psychology stands today. The evolving role of school psychology is especially worth considering now as schools and communities across the United States (U.S.) struggle with questions regarding social diversity, particularly inclusion and the negative consequences of exclusion and marginalization. Diversity—defined broadly to include race, ethnicity, culture, language, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, and other dimensions of group identity—must be at the core of research, preparation, and practice of all school psychologists.
