DOCTORAL AND NONDOCTORAL PRACTICING SCHOOL-PSYCHOLOGISTS - ARE THERE DIFFERENCES

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe differences betw een doctoral and nondoctoral practicing school psychologists. Particip ants selected for the study were school psychologists who were full-ti me practitioners in a school setting. The sample was randomly selected from the 1992 National Association of School Psychologists Membership Database. Four hundred forty persons were selected to serve as a samp le of the NASP membership, and 359 responded to the survey. Of those t hat responded 232 were full-time practitioners employed in the schools and formed the sample used in the data analysis. Overall, doctoral an d nondoctoral school psychologists were very much alike in terms of ag e, gender, and years of experience. Doctoral level school psychologist s were more likely to be employed in urban areas. Both groups spend a similar amount of time participating in seven different job activities . Doctoral and nondoctoral level practitioners working in schools main tain high levels of job satisfaction and the majority intend to remain in their current position and the profession for the next five years. Higher salaries and an increased likelihood of having a private pract ice outside of school are the major differences between doctoral and n ondoctoral school psychologists practicing in the schools. Future evol ution of the role of school psychologists may allow for the increased use of the advanced skills obtained by doctoral level school psycholog ists. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.