INTERNSHIPS AND JOBS: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The ISPA exchange committee (technically an “interest group”) is a fairly informal committee originally begun to help ISPA members get in touch with colleagues interested in informal exchange experiences.

We do not sponsor any specific programs for internships or listings of job openings.

However, now that we have a website, I get many requests from people (mostly american) who are not members of ISPA but are looking for internship or job opportunities. I am sorry to say that I cannot offer much specific help for these requests.

I WELCOME anyone to share practical experiences in or advice about these situations so I can include it here as well. PLEASE contact me for additions or corrections to what follows. Joanne Wasco, <jcwasco@sbcglobal.net>

Noting that I am NOT an expert, here are some ideas to consider:

Internships: the problems
*The first difficulty of getting an international internship is to get approval from YOUR university supervisor. Many internship programs require specific certification of their on-site supervisor (such as NASP or APA approval in USA) which is not often available in other countries. Get specifics from your supervisor!

*The syllabus and/or required experiences of your internship program may not fit what a school psychologist actually does in other countries. In some countries, school psychologists “float” among many (10-20) schools and work mainly as teacher consultants rather than provide primarily direct service to individual students. This may not provide proficiency in the evaluation/assessment/report writing/legal aspects of the work that are likely to be part of the internship requirement of some other countries. All of these aspects of the school psychology profession may be seen/experienced quite differently in different cultures.

*Internships may not be paid. In some countries, if a person has passed the rigorous requirements of getting into a university, they will continue to get a stipend for living expenses if an internship is a requirement of their university program. These stipends aren’t available for visitors.

*Language fluency is critical.

Internships: the advice
*Consider doing a 2-6 week practicum experience, possibly even as an independent study. Obviously pre-approval from your supervisor would be necessary here too, but the requirements may be a bit looser. This would give you experience/contacts that you may be able to build into an internship if you could work out the other issues. If not, it would still provide great insight into the international aspects of school psychology.
>>You may be able to audit a university course as part of this experience.

*If you want to forge ahead with an international internship, try contacting universities in the countries of interest to see if an exchange could be arranged. Your own university may have “partnership” programs already established in other areas of study. These may be the best ones to try. Obviously, this presumes that your university supervisor would be willing to participate. Be sure you know exactly what must be covered in your internship and how it will be documented by a supervisor from another country BEFORE you start your contacts.

*If your supervisor doesn’t want to be involved in an exchange, but has approved a plan for you to implement, contact the national school psychology organization in the country of interest. I would also be glad to post your internship proposal on the ISPA website and in the ISPA newsletter. Virtually all of the countries that have national school psychology organizations have newsletters that go out to members. You could ask to have your request for an internship included in their publication to members.

*Specifically for Americans, if you have any interest in working in military schools, the American Department of Defense (DOD) approves a few internships in schools attached to military bases overseas. I believe you must agree to work as a school psychologist for the DOD for a couple of years. I am not familiar with school psychologist’s work options in military schools from other countries and would greatly appreciate information!

>>>Join ISPA – the student rate is cheap, the World-Go-Round (our newsletter) has information about school psychology around the globe (including national association contacts), and members are REALLY INTERESTED in international cooperation.

Jobs in other countries – the problems
*Credentials, language fluency, and work experience are often not interchangeable between national education systems. Some countries, including many English-speaking ones, are moving to a doctoral requirement for school or educational psychologists. They require a specific number of years of teaching experience as well as school psychology certification.

*You will likely need a visa to work in another country, which may be available only if there is a shortage of school psychologists in the country.

Jobs in other countries – the advice
*As above, contact the countries in which you are interested via their national school psychology organization for specifics on what kind of credentials are needed and what kind of realistic job opportunities are available. Be prepared to visit personally to do some of the research and legwork.

*Consider applying to international schools in the countries of interest. Organizations of international schools include:
Peterson’s <Petersons.com>
European Council of International Schools <ecis.org>
New England Association of Schools and Colleges <neasc.org/schlabrd>

The largest, <Petersons.com>, lists accredited international schools by country/geographic areas. Although many of these schools do not advertise for a school psychologist specifically, the bigger ones may split roles/job descriptions. Those most likely to do this are ones who have a lot of American or western European students: their parents are expecting services similar to schools in the home country. (I personally know of several American school psychologists who have worked in international schools with job descriptions that included teaching psychology in the high school, helping students apply to colleges, and guidance or counseling groups as well as more assessment –oriented school psychology roles.)

For Americans, the job fairs specifically for international schools are always recommended as the best place to begin. You can start by reading the first person accounts of getting jobs in international schools in the November / December 2004 issue of Transitions Abroad magazine and another in the January, 2007 issue. Personal emails of the authors accompany these articles. Note that many larger libraries subscribe and may have back issues; check out their website.)

*For participating European countries and Americans, the Fulbright program for year long teacher exchanges includes school psychologists. An American has to pair up to exchange jobs with someone from another approved country who will do their job in the USA. Check out their website: <www.fulbrightexchange.org>

*As noted above, the American DOD schools hire American school psychologists. An active ISPA member is a school psychologist in Japan and can offer personal advice. You can reach Charles at <charles_willa29@hotmail.com>

Different, better, or first person advice to add to this FAQ posting is very welcome. Let me know what you think. Thanks. Joanne <jcwasco@sbcglobal.net>

International practicum: advice and a log of activities from our latest student, Ulrike Kuehnlenz from Thuringa in Germany to Ohio in USA. Email Ulrike if you want to know more about her experience: ulrikekuehnlenz@web.de

Advice for future practicum students

- Have good language skills.
- Be flexible and open-minded.
- Check visa regulations ahead of time (about two to three months before your planned departure). In general, in the field of Psychology only observational practicum experiences are permitted (see: www.unitedstatesvisas.gov; for students from Germany also see: www.usembassy.de )
- If you need college credit for your practicum check the regulations ahead of time. Make sure they don’t interfere with the visa regulations. If the practicum won’t meet college regulations, don’t hesitate. It is still a great personal experience that’s worth more than college credits.
- Be familiar with basic procedures and institutions of school psychology in your country so you can share your knowledge as they share theirs with you.
- Take care of transportation, health insurance, board and lodgings, money, medicine, luggage etc.

Joanne Wasco: Jcwasco@sbcglobal.net

EXPANDING WORLD VIEWS….AN INTERNATIONAL PRACTICUM EXPERIENCE AS PART OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY TRAINING

The International School Psychology Association –ISPA - is rooted in the notion that expanding our knowledge of school psychology practices and service delivery around the world will enhance the perceptions and skills we bring to our own day-to-day work. Certainly, better understanding of the value systems of our “clients” – be they students, teachers, or parents – is an important aspect of our what we do. Schools being a cultural meeting ground, most of us encounter family and cultural values that are different from our own. We’ve learned, over time, that understanding the perceptual filters of our clients is as important to developing effective interventions as test scores or even post graduate degrees.

…A long introduction to say that since schools are the most common interface of our increasingly multicultural world, why not add an international perspective early in school psychology training programs?

The ISPA Exchange Committee has been an informal “matchmaker” for personal and professional exchange experiences among members since ISPA began almost 30 years ago. Recently, we started to plan a more substantial experience for school psychology students. While school psychology training varies from country to country, all programs require practicum experiences. Dr. Detlef Berg, a school psychology trainer at the University of Bamberg in Germany has been active in ISPA since its beginnings. Cleveland has a very active ad hoc international interest group and very open managers in the school psychology department of Cleveland Municipal School District. After a few false starts, Eva Lesche, from the University of Bamberg, came to CMSD in September-October of 2002 for her required 8-week practicum with children who have special needs.

Eva was in the middle of her university program. She had already done one practicum in a general education kindergarten and later would do a more directed practicum under the supervision of a German school psychologist. The purpose of the current practicum was to acquaint her with services / programs for school children with special needs. In Germany she would likely have spent much of her time in institutions for handicapped children or special schools for children with learning problems. Here in Cleveland, she spent time in an ordinary elementary school, (preschool through 5th grade) with a variety of programs to serve students with special needs. These included an “intervention” first grade with 15 rather than 25 students, two 1st/2nd grade teachers who were looping, and two special education cross categorical teachers. The special education teacher assigned to primary aged children provided services in a resource room, with some mainstreaming. The special education teacher for the upper elementary aged students provided resource room service in the morning and team teaching with a 5th grade teacher in the afternoon.

In general, Eva spent four days a week actually working in various classrooms, primarily with the two special education teachers and their cooperating general education teachers. She helped with the curricular modifications provided to the students in reading and math. Eva was surprised but game when asked to help with spelling and writing as well! She spent one day a week in other schools observing programs for students with other conditions like autism and mobility / health issues. She participated in our crisis intervention training and toured an alternative school for students with behavior problems.

Eva and Detlef were very pleased with her practicum experience. They had no suggestions for what should have been done differently no matter how much I hounded them. Both felt that Eva had gained a practical understanding of a variety of services for students with special needs, fulfilling the purpose of the practicum. Both felt that she was exposed to a wider variety of special education services in more inclusive settings than usually provided in a typical school in Germany.

As the American “supervisor” of Eva’s practicum, I’m delighted. However, as the promoter and nurturer of this international practicum “pilot project”, I have a whole laundry list of issues to consider as (hopefully) the next students and hosts come forward. They include:

1. Program limitations. While our urban district of 77,000 students offered a broad range of experiences, Eva lived and worked only in a big city serving primarily poor students. While many school psychology issues cut across socioeconomic lines, it is also true that suburban, rural, small town, or private schools are likely to have provided a different picture of American schools. Any experience of 4-8 weeks will provide only a snapshot and not a panoramic view.

2. Documentation. Eva’s university only required a signed statement verifying that she had actually spent time in the special needs programs. In addition, she and I kept a daily log of what she actually did and with whom, detailing whether she was observing or assisting with students. I would heartily encourage this type of log for all international practicums. I think it is important to develop some simple, mutually agreeable documentation that this was a truly valuable learning experience in the development of school psychology skills. Perhaps an essay on cultural factors related to similarities and/or differences of approaches?

3. Language issues. Eva was fluent and colloquially correct in English. She understood and was easily understood by our students. Language proficiency and conversational fluency will significantly impact the student’s ability to interact and participate. And, yes, I know this will likely limit options for many American (monolingual) students. .

4. Costs. Travel and personal expenses must be born by the student, which severely limits who will be able to come. In this pilot project, Eva lived with my family so her room and board costs were covered. Arranging temporary living arrangements will be necessary as part of the practicum, either with host families or in cheap (student?) housing. In correspondence prior to her arrival, we clarified and put in writing which expenses she would be responsible for. Could universities help with expenses?

5. Social / personal. Eva was a very sociable and enthusiastic person who made friends easily. (I think one of our 11 year olds fell a little bit in love with her.) Introducing her to people closer to her own age (an intern interested in Germany, a two groups of college-age volunteers working through local church programs, etc.) was a good way to help her be more independent in her social life. This aspect of the experience will vary considerably depending on whether the person lives with families or in student housing, whether they are shy or outgoing, how fluent they are in the language of the host country, etc.

As always, hosting an international visitor school sparked interesting perceptions about my own work. Eva wondered how we could consider a five year old who completed kindergarten but hadn’t learned all their letters and color words to be delayed when children weren’t even introduced to this in Germany until they were six. She was surprised by the transiency rate even in just the short time she was here; for her it was very unusual for elementary aged children to change schools, especially midyear. And she spent most of her time in the children’s section of the Holocaust Museum when we visited Washington D.C., because she was concerned about understanding the horror from a child’s point of view.

I hope there are readers who believe, as I do, that school psychologists need to be more international in our outlook and that international practicums are a good way to start. If you would be interested in hosting a student or encouraging a student to attempt one, I would love to hear from you. If you are a student interested in this type of experience, talk to your university supervisors to see what must be done for it to be approved and supported.

I think that peace on this planet will occur when we are comfortable in acknowledging our differences honestly, celebrating our differences joyfully, and work toward resolving our differences openly. Schools are a wonderful place for this to begin. Let’s help it happen.

Joanne Wasco, chairperson of the ISPA Exchange Committee  --  April 25, 2003.

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The international practicum experience with Eva Lesche described above was a very successful pilot project. Student and sponsor both recommend the experience! We have other tentative requests for Americans to go to Europe and Europeans to come to the USA. We are presently looking for other people on both sides of the Atlantic and elsewhere around the globe to participate/host/supervise international students for a 4-8 week practicum experience. Matchmaking between schedules, finances, and language fluency are major barriers but can be overcome as more options become available. If anyone would like more information before then, feel free to contact Joanne Wasco, jcwasco@sbcglobal.net

Job Openings

The ISPA International Exchange, in keeping with our constitution, seeks to promote communication among professionals who are committed to the improvement of the mental health of children in the world's schools. One approach is to encourage informal exchange experience among school psychologists from different countries. These exchanges will provide personal opportunities for the participants to spend some time to directly observe the day to day work of a colleague outside their own specific cultural context. Observations of programs or activities of special interest can also be set up. ISPA cannot provide funds for this type of visit, but we can help provide connections. We have a list of ISPA members who are willing to host colleagues for such a study visit. The visit is usually for a few days to a week. Hosts will arrange a schedule of observations. Hosts will arrange for the guests to stay in the homes of a colleague or to help the guest find other accommodations. The guest must arrange their own travel arrangements. Obviously, both host and guest must communicate to make sure that expectations are clear and agreeable to both.