The National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology: Educational Model 2009.

Abstract

Since 1976 the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (NCSPP) has devoted itself to the deliberate, systematic, reflective examination of standards for the education and training of professional psychologists by means of a series of annual conferences. Each of the conferences has had a particular focus, and each is responding to changes in the profession and in society. In a process initiated in 1989 (e.g., R. L. Peterson et al., 1992), NCSPP produced a statement on education and training in professional psychology (R. L. Peterson, D. R. Peterson, Abrams, & Strieker, 1997) that would greatly influence NCSPP's understanding of its own educational model and help launch the profession into the 21st century. That paper, to a substantial degree, was based on a series of integrated resolutions from the organization that were brought together in crafting its educational model as well as the rationale and conceptualization of NCSPP's competencies and a description ofthe five central components ofthe model.

Research Competencies in Counseling: A Delphi Study

“…On the basis of the definition of competencies (Rodolfa et al, ), each competency first was labeled as either knowledge‐based (i.e., what counselors should know), skill‐based (i.e., what counselors should be able to do), or an attitude/attribute (i.e., a personality characteristic or an outlook or stance that one takes). Second, we reviewed other research competency lists (e.g., AAHB, ; Peterson et al, ) to identify similarities or differences that would provide potential category labels. This process resulted in six competency domains and six competency components.…”

“…Although the Delphi technique relies on opinions, it uses an empirical method to determine consensus. Thus, it should be noted that the competencies in this study were determined empirically rather than through meetings or discussions, as has been done in other professions (i.e., AAHB, ; Peterson et al, ).…”

“…The American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB; ) adapted Richardson's framework in creating a vision for doctoral research training in its field, including a new emphasis on “partnerships with the community” (p. 552), or community‐based participatory research. More recently, Peterson, Peterson, Abrams, Stricker, and Ducheny () listed three domains of research competency for psychology: critical evaluation of research, conducting and using research in applied settings, and ethics and professional competence. Each of these lists includes topics that seem relevant to counseling and counselor education; however, they lack a focus that is specific to the work of counseling practitioners.…”

The development and validation of the scholar–practitioner research development scale for students enrolled in professional doctoral programs

“…Scholar–practitioners should: have discipline-specific knowledge; be able to think critically and theoretically about problems; be able to conceptualize research problems, in a socially and professionally relevant manner; have the skills to design a research investigation using appropriate methods; have the skills to collect and analyze data; and be able to communicate research findings in a usable manner to various stakeholders, especially community partners. Likewise, in the discipline of psychology, Peterson et al (2010) noted that students should graduate with competencies for conducting and using research in applied settings. Students should graduate doctoral programs with the ability to evaluate literature and have an understanding of research ethics.…”

“…Unfortunately, while a few assessments exist to examine research self-efficacy (Research Self-Efficacy Scale; Greeley et al , 1989), perceptions of the research training environment (Research Training Environment Scale-Revised; Gelso et al , 1996), interest in research (Interest in Research Questionnaire; Bishop and Bieschke, 1994) and research competencies of research scientists (Research Competency Scale; Swank & Lambie, 2016), a universally adopted assessment to determine if students are developing research competencies as scholar–practitioners in professional doctoral programs does not exist. In fact, although there are a few discipline-specific articles on doctoral student research competencies (Peterson et al , 2010; Richardson, 2006), a list of research competencies for scholar–practitioners is in a neophyte stage of development. Thus, the purpose of this present study is to review the literature on scholar–practitioners’ needed research competencies and then develop and validate a scale to measure them.…”