Social Justice Training in School Psychology: Applying Principles of Organizational Consultation to Facilitate Change in Graduate Programs

Abstract

Scholars and professional organizations have called for an increased emphasis on social justice training in applied psychology graduate programs, including school psychology programs (SPPs). During the past decade, emerging research has identified some features of high-quality social justice education, including a clear program mission statement and relevant field-based experiences. However, relatively little literature has described how faculty can pursue comprehensive change in their graduate programs to move training toward a social justice orientation. The purpose of this article is to describe how principles of organizational consultation can be applied to cultivate a program-wide emphasis on social justice issues in school psychology training. In particular, this article reviews relevant literature on social justice education and describes an adapted 5-stage model of organizational consultation for coordinating cohesive program change. Specific recommendations for implementing high-quality social justice training are provided, and directions for future research are discussed.