School Psychology Practitioner Experiences of Consultation Training and Practice Related to Social Justice: A Survey of Current Perspectives

School psychologists have an ethical responsibility to deliver direct and indirect services that meet the needs of increasingly diverse U.S. youth while also working to address systemic inequities. As a core school psychology service, it is critical for consultation to evolve to explicitly integrate social justice values. Although scholars have articulated the potential for consultation as a tool for social justice, little is known about consultants’ experiences related to social justice and consultation training and practice. The purpose of this study was to provide a current understanding of consultants’ (N = 144) training, practices, beliefs, and confidence related to social justice-oriented consultation and related approaches. Findings indicated that participants received less training and felt less confident engaging in social justice-oriented consultation compared to related approaches. Thematic analysis findings highlighted key themes related to barriers and facilitators in employing social justice, systems-level and multicultural consultation in schools. Finally, results demonstrated relationships between consultants’ training and their beliefs and confidence in using consultation as a tool for social justice. Implications for training, practice, and research are discussed.