All members of the College of Psychologists require the following minimum working knowledge base:
- knowledge in the core content areas of psychology, i.e. in the biological bases of behaviour, the cognitive affective bases of behaviour, the social bases of behaviour and the individual differences of behaviour;
- knowledge of learning;
- knowledge of all relevant ethical, legal and professional issues;
- knowledge of research design and methodology;
- knowledge of statistics; and
- knowledge of psychological measurement.
School Psychology is the application of knowledge about human behaviour and development to the understanding of the social, emotional and learning needs of children, adolescents and adults, and to the creation of learning environments that facilitate learning and mental health
In addition to the above minimum knowledge base, members practising School Psychology require the following:
- knowledge of intellectual, social, behavioural and emotional assessment;
- knowledge of exceptional learners;
- knowledge of normal lifespan development and cross-cultural differences in learning and socialization;
- knowledge of developmental and general psychopathology;
- knowledge of instructional and remedial techniques;
- knowledge of multidisciplinary team approach for case management;
- knowledge of counselling, psychoeducational and early intervention techniques;
- knowledge of systems and group behaviours within, and related to, the school organization.
Practitioners who provide services in School Psychology should be aware of the impact of medication and medical conditions on learning and behaviour.
For members practising School Psychology the following minimum skills are required:
the ability to perform an appropriate psychological assessment;the ability to generate provisional hypotheses about possible causes of symptoms;the ability to formulate and communicate a differential diagnosis or make an appropriate referral;the ability to plan, execute and evaluate an appropriate psychoeducational intervention;the ability to plan, execute and evaluate appropriate prevention programs.
Approved December, 1999