ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some of the considerations and issues that influence how school psychologists carry out their work. A number of theoretical positions have been selected for presentation at the outset because they appear to offer useful perspectives on the work of school psychologists. Four approaches compatible with reciprocal determinism seem especially appropriate to the work of school psychologists: attribution theory, affectance, organizational and group theory, and the concept of aptitude-treatment interaction. School psychology has had two major foci: the improvement of mental health in the schools and school learning. In school psychology, communication with educators has suffered from the gradual development of bifurcated goals and exceptations that have taken place between school psychologists and those who use their services. The modern practice of school psychology has been influenced greatly by the dominant themes and techniques of other areas of psychology, especially clinical psychology.
