School Psychology International, Ahead of Print.
This study investigated the underlying mechanism between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms via social trust cross-sectionally and longitudinally among 4,548 early adolescents at T1 and 4,484 adolescents at T2 from rural areas in Guizhou, China. Correlational data showed that all forms of bullying victimization at T1 showed negative correlations with in-group trust at T1 and T2 and generalized trust and depressive symptoms at T1. Both forms of trust were negatively associated with depressive symptoms at both time points. Results of structural equation modeling revealed a significant cross-sectional relationship between T1 bullying victimization and T1 depressive symptoms and that T1 bullying victimization was indirectly related to T1 depressive symptoms through both in-group and generalized social trust at T1. Thus, among students who reported experiencing more bullying, there was a lower level of trust in familiar people and authorities, which mediated their reports of depression. However, social trust did not explain the nonsignificant longitudinal relationship between bullying victimization at T1 and depressive symptoms at T2, potentially due to the lack of control of confounding variables. One implication is the importance of immediate intervention to counteract the tendency to overgeneralize bullying victimization to overall social trust. This study contributes to an empirical understanding of the underlying mechanism between bullying victimization and psychopathology symptoms among early adolescents in rural China.

School Psychology International, Ahead of Print.
The number of emergent bilingual (EB) students in U.S. schools is growing rapidly; as a result, many have explicitly looked to bilingual school psychologists (BSPs) to meet their needs. Often, there is an assumption that being bilingual also equips one with the appropriate competencies for bilingual school psychology practice. BSPs, like monolingual ones, still require specific training in the competencies needed to meet EB students’ unique needs. However, little is known about their training experiences, and much variability in credentialing requirements and coursework directly impacts how EB students are served in schools. Thus, utilizing the National Association of School Psychologists’ Bilingual School Psychologist Directory, the present study sought to better understand BSPs across the United States (N = 235) using questionnaires to gather their demographic information, training experiences and needs, and self-reported multicultural competencies. Results indicated marked variability in how BSPs are trained, with many university training programs lacking the coursework, supervision, and/or practical experiences necessary to obtain appropriate practice competencies. Relatedly, participants reported a high level of multicultural competency overall, but more in regard to theory than skills and knowledge for practice, indicating the need for further training. Recommendations and implications for the training and supervision of BSPs are provided.

School Psychology International, Ahead of Print.
Building on an increasing emphasis on social justice, recent writing has focused on practitioner psychologists’ policy advocacy. Research indicates that school and counseling psychologists experience policy work as rewarding and challenging, and it has been suggested that initial training programs need to equip new practitioners with the skills required to engage in policy advocacy. We present an analysis of interviews with eighteen school and counseling psychologists across the US and UK who have experience with policy work, focusing on how they experienced their own graduate psychology training in relation to working with policy and their views of training in this area. We highlight four themes suggesting that participants rarely, if ever, received any formal input in policy work during training. Participants described applying some of the soft skills covered in their training to policy work but believed programs should be doing more to teach the ‘hard skills’ required. We conclude that if policy advocacy is a core part of psychologists’ roles, further guidance on how to accomplish this work is needed, as are changes to graduate curricula and pedagogy. We suggest strategies and activities that training programs can use to increase students’ policy advocacy skills.

School Psychology International, Ahead of Print.
Addressing language barriers during instruction is critical for improving content area learning and achievement within classrooms with students from different native language backgrounds. Although several instructional supports have been highlighted in the literature as helping to reduce language barriers, it is questionable whether teachers are likely to infuse them within their instruction. We applied a social validity framework in the administration of a teacher survey (N = 376) and interview (N = 9) to better understand United States (U.S.) elementary teachers’ perspectives on four instructional supports for English learners (ELs). Survey results indicated teachers tended to find all supports acceptable within a science instructional context but found visual supports more acceptable than incorporation of the students’ native language. Interview results shed light on the different goals and priorities teachers may have for ELs that may help to explain the varying acceptability of the four instructional supports addressed. Implications for school psychologists seeking to help improve outcomes for ELs through school-based consultation are provided.

School Psychology International, Ahead of Print.
Global gender inequality is a persistent challenge, and India grapples with gender disparities in various realms. Targeted initiatives are essential, particularly during adolescents’ formative years, to promote gender equity. Research on gender attitudes and norms in Indian schools is scarce, with even fewer studies evaluating the impact of interventions in this context. This narrative synthesis explores interventions implemented in Indian schools to promote gender equality. We conducted a systematic review, using a narrative synthesis approach, with five studies that focused on school-based interventions addressing gender attitudes and norms among Indian adolescents. All five interventions demonstrated improved gender equality outcomes, indicating that Indian schools an effectively cultivate gender-equitable attitudes and behaviors in adolescents. Future research should assess the long-term effectiveness and adaptability of these interventions across diverse contexts.

School Psychology International, Ahead of Print.
The United States educational system struggles to provide supportive services as rates of autism spectrum disorder rise. Teachers face challenges in shared decision-making with caregivers for developing high-quality intervention plans tailored to the strengths, challenges, and needs of students with autism and their learning environments. We describe two school-based consultation approaches for supporting shared decision-making between parents/caregivers and teachers of students with autism – Partners in School and COMPASS. Both approaches bring parents/caregivers and teachers together for collaborative goal setting facilitated by a consultant through shared dyadic mechanisms of effect, which include shared decision-making, caregiver-teacher alliance, and agreement on educational goals. These innovative consultation models incorporate both the teacher and parent/caregiver perspectives early on when deciding on specific goals and strategies.

School Psychology International, Ahead of Print.
The “workbook” is an underexplored concept in the literature of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Unlike manuals, workbooks provide resources without prescribing standardized procedures for practitioners to follow, potentially allowing for greater flexibility. This study explored the experiences of six UK-based educational psychologists using a popular workbook, Think Good – Feel Good (TGFG), to support CBT for young people (YP). Semistructured interviews were conducted online, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Five themes were identified. Practitioners felt practically and emotionally supported by TGFG. Think Good – Feel Good was used flexibly, combined with other therapeutic modalities, and its resources were adapted. Think Good – Feel Good helped practitioners make CBT developmentally appropriate and engaging for YP. There were potential benefits and challenges to school staff using TGFG in tandem with psychologists. Finally, supplementary resources (e.g., worksheets) helped to contain the emotional intensity of therapeutic interactions and supported practitioners to develop therapeutic alliances with YP.

School Psychology International, Ahead of Print.
In Ireland, as elsewhere, there has been growing recognition around the importance of using research evidence to inform educational policy and practice at both a national government and individual school level. Despite such importance, there is currently a dearth of empirical, peer-reviewed studies regarding the use of research evidence in the Irish education system. With this in mind, we conducted semi-structured interviews in Autumn 2023 with seven educational researchers based in higher education and ten teachers based in both primary and secondary schools. The purpose was to examine how research is utilised at both the individual- and systems-levels in Irish schools. In terms of findings, researchers and teachers noted there was insufficient dissemination, access, and utilisation of research in schools. Participants suggested that the use of research evidence in Ireland focused on the dissemination of the research process (e.g., how to conduct research as part of self-evaluation processes) rather than the dissemination of research findings (e.g., results from efficacy studies). However, all participants acknowledged that the use of research evidence to inform practice is nuanced and complex, and is dependent upon many factors such as the type of research (e.g., methodology, subject area) and the context (e.g., national policies in Ireland). Implications for research and practice, as well as potential pitfalls when using research to inform policymaking, are discussed.