The Role of International Accreditation in Promoting Academic and Professional Preparation in School Psychology

The development of rigorous and universally respected quality assurance procedures that monitor and recognize the delivery of effective and ethically responsible public services has become increasingly evident in many countries. However, within professional psychology, these developments generally are located in individual countries. With a few notable exceptions, progress in developing international quality assurance standards and procedures that reflect the global nature of the discipline of psychology and that can be applied to psychologists universally has been limited. Efforts by the International School Psychology Association (ISPA) underscore the importance of promoting quality assurance by developing and promulgating accreditation standards and procedures for the professional preparation for school psychologists along with standards and procedures for the accreditation of school psychology programs. This paper discusses the rationale for strengthening international quality assurance procedures in school psychology, provides an outline of the ISPA accreditation standards and procedures, and reflects on their outcomes in light of our accreditation experiences. It concludes by offering some reflections on further developments in the international accreditation of training programs in school psychology.