G. Thomas Schanding

Generally, psychology (as well as school psychology) aligns with medicine in establishing and utilizing evidence-based practices (EBP). More recently, strong calls have been made and advanced to ensure that psychology evolves and incorporates social justice principles to safeguard equity, diversity, and inclusion to benefit all. This essay explores some of the issues surrounding EBP and social justice within school psychology, noting some of the tensions that play out in research and practice. Ultimately, it is the opinion of the author that social justice practices will only enhance EBP, and the field has much work to do.

Helicopter parenting is defined by popular culture as a set of parenting practices characterized by overinvolvement. However, empirical research has not adequately defined the construct, and it is unclear how helicopter parenting may relate to existing parenting behaviors and parenting styles. Participants included 341 caregivers from across the United States who completed a survey about their parenting beliefs and behaviors. Latent class analysis was used to determine combinations of parenting behaviors, and the identified classes of parents were then used to conduct one-way ANOVAs to examine differences in helicopter parenting between the different classes. Results suggest that parents who fit the authoritative parenting profile endorse greater helicopter parenting. Further research needs to be conducted to determine the “tipping point” for when positive parenting practices, which are often associated with positive outcomes, begin to produce negative outcomes.

Acadience Reading (AR) is a screener for early detection of reading problems in elementary students. Limited research exists, however, on its technical adequacy for evaluation of English Learners (ELs). In this study, we tested the long-term predictive validity and diagnostic accuracies of AR and examined the differences between native English-speaking and EL students. A sample of 305 students (94 ELs, 31% of the sample) completed AR at three time points in kindergarten and the statewide reading test in third grade. Hierarchical regression models confirmed good long-term validity for AR with end of the school year scores outperforming the other two time-points and EL status along with ethnic background not playing a significant role. Findings also revealed that AR at the end of the school year provided moderate long-term diagnostic accuracy for students well below benchmark. Implications for research and practice as well as limitations of the study are discussed. Impact Statement

The field of school psychology continues to further embrace a social justice perspective to address systemic racism, privilege, prejudice, and discrimination. To accomplish this mission, school psychologists must ensure that there is a solid literature base that is inclusive and representative of students from minoritized backgrounds. A review of student sociodemographic characteristics was conducted of all articles in four of the primary journals of school psychology from 2010 to 2019 (n = 1,213 articles). Compared to national estimates of school-age sociodemographic distributions, researchers tended to include samples more representative of students identifying as White/Caucasian and underrepresentative of students from low-income backgrounds. Authors rarely included or described participants’ sexual orientations and gender identities beyond the binary (female/male). We provide a discussion and recommendations for improving the inclusivity of students from minoritized backgrounds in future school psychology research. Impact Statement To provide evidence-based school psychological practices to all students, the field’s literature must be representative of the student population. In reviewing the past decade of school psychology research, the literature tends to overrepresent students who are White and come from middle to high socioeconomic backgrounds. There tends to be underrepresentation of sexual minority youth, youth from low SES backgrounds, and children at the elementary grade level. Supplemental data for this article is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2021.1927831

High parental involvement has been linked to positive outcomes; however, helicopter parenting may result in negative outcomes. The behaviors demonstrated by “helicopter parents” resemble parental accommodations, which are behavior modifications intended to alleviate their child’s distress. The current study examined the relation between helicopter parenting and parental accommodations, while also examining child internalizing and externalizing symptomatology as possible moderators. Parents (N = 400) of children (ages 4–11) from across the United States completed surveys and rating scales. Parents, who endorsed higher levels of helicopter parenting, endorsed significantly higher levels of accommodations than parents who endorsed lower levels of helicopter parenting. Results suggested helicopter parenting differed depending on the types of accommodations provided. This study provides additional clarity for the construct of helicopter parenting and suggests that parents higher in this construct may exhibit difficulties related to accommodating their child’s diagnostic symptoms.