Accreditation

The Accreditation Of Professional Training Programs In School Psychology

Two key aspects of the mission of the International School Psychology Association (ISPA) are to promote high standards for the education of school and educational psychologists nationally, regionally, and internationally and for the practice of school and educational psychology worldwide. ISPA’s Executive Committee first approved a set of training standards in 2002. These were revised in 2008 and 2014. ISPA began to accredit programs in 2011, and currently, eight programs in Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States are accredited. ISPA accreditation demonstrates the program’s quality to potential applicants and consumers and the quality of the services provided by graduates. In addition, ISPA accreditation is unique from other national and regional accreditations. It communicates that the program is committed to a multicultural and transnational perspective, which is critical for School Psychologists in the 21st century. We aim for the accreditation process to be collaborative and responsive to the program’s needs.

If you have a general inquiry about ISPA accreditation or wish to start an informal conversation about applying for Accreditation, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Co-Chairs of the Accreditation Committee, Drs. Michael Hass and Esther Stavrou.

If you are ready to begin the formal accreditation process, please send a letter to the ISPA Central Office at ispacentraloffice@ispaweb.org

The accreditation process and the required documentation are described in detail in Part 2 – How to Apply for Accreditation below. ISPA accreditation involves either a site visit or a review of documents and video conferences with the accreditation team. Basic costs are to be paid to the ISPA Central Office upon receipt of the final accreditation report. In the case of a site visit, programs will also be responsible for travel, lodging, and meals for accreditation team members who participate in the site visit.

Accreditation Committee Members

Helen E. Bakker, Ph.D., Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Anthi Loutsiou, Ph.D., University of Cyprus, Republic of Cyprus

Michael Hass, Ph.D. Co-Chair, Chapman University, United States – mhass@chapman.edu

Tassos Matsopoulos, Ph.D., University of Crete, Greece

Maria Cristina Matteucci, Ph.D., University of Bologna, Italy

Bill Pfohl, Ph.D., University of Western Kentucky University, United States

Kathy Shum, Ph.D., University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China

Sam Song, Ph.D., San Diego State University, United States

Esther Stavrou, Ph.D., Yeshiva University, New York, United States – esther.stavrou@yu.edu

Estelle Swart, D.Ed. Stellenbosch University, Republic of South Africa

Further information is provided in the following documents:

Part 1 : – The International School Psychology Association’s Training Standards
Part 2: – How to Apply for Accreditation

The list of ISPA accredited programs:

For further details please contact the Chair of the ISPA Accreditation Committee via: ispacentraloffice@ispaweb.org.