The actual and preferred roles of the school psychologist according to secondary school administrators

This paper examines the perception of the role of school psychologists as viewed by secondary school administrators. Particular attention is focused on differences of priority in terms of rank-ordering of functions between actual and ideal. Data were drawn from questionnaires returned by 361 principals representing every tenth school of the 3,683 listed as members by the North Central Association of Secondary Schools in 1983. Several results emerge from the study. There is little difference in rank order between actual and ideal roles. Significant rank order differences were in the areas of "Counseling with students" and "Staffing for special education." Administrators in this sample clearly desire more involvement of psychologists with counseling and less with staffing. Results raise questions with regard to prevalent training programs if psychologists are to assume a greater counseling role.