BEA Members: Linda F. Campbell, PhD, Chair; Barney Beins, PhD; Charles L. Brewer, PhD; Martha D. Christiansen, PhD; Y. Barry Chung, PhD; Jane Close Conoley, PhD; Louise Douce, PhD; Cynthia A. Hudley, PhD; M. Marlyne Kilbey, PhD; Gilbert H. Newman, PhD; Pamela T. Reid, PhD; Jacquelyn W. White, PhD
Staff Liaison: Luis Espinoza
BEA addresses issues that encompass all levels of education from pre-K to continuing education to lifelong learning. This report provides information on some of BEA’s major activities in each of the broad subsets of its agenda.
2007 Education Leadership Conference (ELC)
Organized and sponsored by BEA and the APA Education Directorate, the Education Leadership Conference (ELC) is an opportunity to strengthen education in psychology, and psychology in education. The ELC provides a national forum to address national or global issues of education and training; to recommend coherent policies across levels of education; and to formulate strategies that address problems more proactively and more efficiently. The ELC brings together leaders among psychology educators from pre-college to postdoctoral levels, representing the breadth of psychology as a scientific discipline and a licensed profession. The 6th annual APA ELC was held on September 8 – 11. The conference, the theme of which was Sharing Psychology: Its Role in Education for Other Professions, was attended by approximately 160 leaders in psychology education and represented 18 psychology education and training organizations and 25 Divisions.
The ELC also provides an opportunity for advocacy training and visits to Capitol Hill, as this is the major advocacy event for the psychology education community. Approximately 98 psychologists went to Capitol Hill to increase federal support for psychology education and training programs. As in past years, the ELC honored a Member of Congress who supports APA’s efforts to gain greater federal support for psychology education and training. At the 2007 ELC, Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) was honored for her support of legislative initiatives of interest to psychology.
Education Advocacy Trust (EdAT)
EdAT is a trust of APA’s companion organization, the APA Practice Organization — a 501(c)(6) tax status organization — and BEA members serve as the trustees for the EdAT. EdAT promotes the mutual professional interests of psychologists in advancing education in psychology and psychology’s role in other areas of education through advocacy activities that cannot be conducted legally within the APA.
Psychology Public Education Campaign (PPEC)
At the November 2006 meetings, BEA and the Board of Scientific Affairs (BSA) unanimously endorsed the development of a multimedia public education campaign. The Psychology Public Education Campaign (PPEC), developed by the Education and Science Directorate and the Public and Member Communications Office, in consultation with BEA and BSA, is complementary to the one developed by the Practice Directorate’s Public Education Campaign, a campaign that communicates the value of psychology as a health care profession to the public. PPEC is designed to focus more broadly on the discipline of psychology, and its relevance to societal needs and everyday life.
Subsequent to the Board of Directors’ recommendation, the Council of Representatives approved the addition of $75,000 to the 2007 budget to support PPEC planning (year 1). The approved level of funding was below the requested level of funding ($250,000) and was the result of the proposal’s significant budget implications (3.5 million over 5 years) and the timing of the proposal in relation to APA’s budget (extraordinary number of funding requests across APA). The Public and Member Communications Office budgeted $149,000 for efforts in 2008.
A central office public education campaign coordinating committee, consisting of BEA and BSA representatives and senior staff from Public and Member Communications and the Education and Science Directorates, has been created and will begin planning the campaign’s first stage.
Application of Psychology to Educational Processes and the Role of Psychology in School Systems at the Pre-k-12 Level
Center for Psychology in Schools and Education (CPSE) & Coalition for Psychology in the Schools
BEA provides advice and guidance for activities of the Education Directorate’s CPSE and is also represented on the Coalition for Psychology in the Schools. The Coalition is devoted to improving the quality of PK-12 education through the application of psychological science and strives to promote cooperation among APA Boards, Committees, Divisions and various interest groups and affiliates who are working to enhance education and teacher training for children and adolescents.
BEA Task Force on the Application of Psychological Science to Teaching and Learning
The task force explores the applications of psychological science to teaching and learning by tapping the expertise of psychologists from several sub-disciplines including motivation, development, assessment, behavior management, social psychology, and learning and instruction. Task force members and experts are working collaboratively to translate psychological literature on evidence based teaching strategies.
The task force met for their final meeting on March 2-3, 2007 and developed the text and layout for a website for teachers, teacher educators, and parents. The task force also identified gaps in the literature for each of the teaching strategies and is producing a report for federal funding agencies to guide the development of new funding proposals. The teaching strategies are expected to be fully developed by Fall 2008.
Professional Development for PK-12 Teachers — Practical Classroom Management Online Module
The first draft of an online academy professional development module, Practical Classroom Management: Class-wide and Individual Strategies, was developed in early 2007. The module presents an introduction to identifying and understanding Pre-K-12 classroom management problems while providing educators with the necessary skills to implement various effective management strategies. Based on Coalition and teacher feedback in 2007, CPSE has been reworking the script to make it more teacher accessible as well as develop a second focused script on how to deal with disruptive students. Both scripts are expected to be completed by Fall 2008.
Precollege and Undergraduate Psychology Education
Pilot 5-day Institute for High School Psychology Teachers
With BEA support and subsequent to the Board of Directors’ recommendation, the Council of Representatives allocated $20,000 from its 2007 discretionary funds to support a pilot five-day teaching institute for high school psychology teachers. The 2007 pilot program is the first of five intended summer institutes that will serve as an extended professional development opportunity to enhance the teaching of psychological science in secondary schools. If funding is secured, each subsequent institute would focus on the five domains from the National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula (Methods, Biopsychology, Cognitive, Developmental, and Variations in Individual and Group Behavior). The 2007 program focused on Biopsychology.
National Conference on Undergraduate Education in Psychology
The conference occurs June 22-27, 2008 at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. In 2007, a BEA Steering Committee selected a group of representatives from diverse types of institutions and programs with a vested interest in undergraduate education — high schools, graduate and professional programs, the military, and employers — to examine critical issues in undergraduate education and recommend ways to enhance instruction based on changes in our discipline, student and workforce needs, new and emerging technologies, and the realities of contemporary academic life.
During the five-day meeting, participants will listen to keynote addresses given by national leaders in undergraduate education, participate in group discussions, and work in small groups to draft a blueprint for the future of undergraduate education in psychology.
The conference occurs in light of the important changes that have occurred in undergraduate education in the last decade.
BEA Block Grant Awards in Support of Precollege and Undergraduate Teaching Conferences
In 2007, BEA awarded seven block grants, totaling $5,000, to support teaching conferences that enhance the quality of teaching and learning outcomes at the precollege and undergraduate level.
Graduate and Postgraduate Psychology Education
Competence Initiatives in Professional Psychology Education and Training
In February 2004, with the support of the Board of Directors, BEA requested and received funding from the Council of Representatives 2004 discretionary fund to support the establishment of a Task Force on the Assessment of Competencies in Professional Education and Training. The focus of the task force was to review current practices of competency assessment, synthesize the literature in psychology and other selected professions, analyze policy issues and make recommendations regarding models for the assessment of competence in professional education and training in psychology. The task force met for a 2.5 day meeting in October 2004 and June 2005 and submitted a report to BEA for review and acceptance at BEA’s Spring 2006 meeting. In turn, BEA approved dissemination of the report to boards and committees and external communities of interest for comment. The task force’s final report was accepted by BEA at its November 2006 meeting.
In addition, at its November 2005 meeting, BEA, upon the recommendation of the Council of Chairs of Training Councils (CCTC), voted unanimously to sponsor a meeting to identify levels of competence appropriate for different stages of professional education and training in psychology. The work group met for two days in September 2006. The product of the work group identifies benchmarks for twelve core competency areas at four developmental levels of education and training. The work group provided an update at the November 2006 BEA meeting and BEA approved a public comment period on the document at its Spring 2007 meeting.
The Competency Assessment for Professional Psychology work group was charged by BEA at their Spring 2007 meeting to advance the “culture of competence” in professional psychology through initiatives the group identifies as next steps. The work group met for one face-to-face meeting in September 2007 at which time they began to develop specific products that could be disseminated to the education and training community related to the assessment of competence. These materials are still in the draft stage, but are expected to be completed by early 2008. The work of the group was informed by the efforts of the Assessment of Competency Benchmarks work group and in the course of their efforts, the group identified several areas that could be revised in the Benchmarks document to enhance its utility. These observations were submitted as public comment. Additionally, the group noted the high degree of overlap between their task and continued revision of the Benchmarks document and the need to coordinate effort. The work group will continue their efforts via electronic and telephone communication and will meet again for one face-to-face meeting in 2008.
BEA Task Force on Education and Training in Proficiencies
In recognition of the need for policies and procedures to evaluate and ensure the quality of education and training programs to achieve competence in a recognized proficiency, BEA appointed a task force to review the nature of education and training in recognized proficiencies of professional psychology and to propose possible mechanisms for the quality assurance of such.
Following a period of review and comment by APA Boards and Committees and communities of interest, BEA, at its Fall 2007 meeting, charged a subgroup of the task force to review the public comments submitted on the task force report, make changes as deemed appropriate, and provide BEA with a final report including recommendations for further action. The subgroup will update BEA at the March 2008 consolidated meetings.
BEA/Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice (CAPP) Task Force to Review the APA Psychopharmacology Curricula and Related Policies
A joint BEA/CAPP Task Force to Review the APA Psychopharmacology Curricula and Related Policies was convened and charged with reviewing and making recommendations for necessary revisions to the Recommended Postdoctoral Training in Psychopharmacology for Prescription Privileges (commonly referred to as the Level III Curriculum) and the Model Legislation for Prescriptive Authority. The task force met twice in 2006 and again in 2007, following a public comment period, to finalize its recommended revisions to the Level III Curriculum and Model Legislation.
In August 2007 Council approved, in principle, the Recommended Postdoctoral Education and Training Program in Psychopharmacology for Prescriptive Authority and the related Model Legislation for Prescriptive Authority pending development and approval of an APA designation program for education and training programs in psychopharmacology.
At the Fall 2007, BEA forwarded a request for $20,000 from either the Council of Representatives or Board of Directors’ 2008 discretionary funds to support a proposed joint BEA/CAPP Task Force to develop recommendations for establishing an APA designation process for post-doctoral psychopharmacology education and training programs as described in the Recommended Postdoctoral Education and Training Program in Psychopharmacology for Prescriptive Authority.
The 2007 recommended training program will not be implemented until a designation program is developed and approved by APA Council. In the interim, existing APA policy (the 1996 versions) will remain in effect.
Psychology Internship Match Rates
At their Spring 2007 meeting, BEA discussed the ongoing imbalance in the number of students seeking professional psychology internships and the number of available slots through the match process conducted by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers. BEA requested Education Directorate staff prepare a comprehensive report detailing this issue by gathering and presenting relevant data, and outlining a series of discussion points for BEA to consider.
At its Fall 2007 meeting, BEA received the Internship Imbalance Report and enthusiastically endorsed the recommendations within the report. BEA further requested APA Education Directorate staff convene a group reflecting the communities of interest responsible for furthering, developing, and implementing the report’s recommendations.
The Board of Directors, at its December 2007 meeting, acknowledged the imbalance as a critical issue and one that requires coordinated effort across all parts of APA and psychology’s education and training organizations and related groups.
BEA Block Grant Awards in Graduate Education
In 2007, BEA awarded seven block grants, totaling $10,000, to support small conferences and workshops that advance the quality of graduate and postgraduate education and training.
BEA Award for Innovative Practices in Graduate Education in Psychology
The award is given in collaboration with the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology (COGDOP). Applicants for the award are judged on the basis of the following criteria: a) an innovation that is distinctive, forward-looking, and creative, b) useful as a model for implementation by other departments, c) its impact on the discipline, and d) the method for assessing the quality and impact of the innovation.
In 2007, the BEA/COGDOP Review Panel announced that the following two programs will share the 2007 award: 1) University of Washington, Department of Psychology, which was recognized for its innovations in competency-based clinical scientist training, and 2) Adler School of Professional Psychology. The doctoral program in clinical psychology at the Adler School of Professional Psychology was recognized for its distinctive and innovative focus on the education and training of socially responsible practitioners.
BEA Composition
In 2007, BEA’s composition consisted of eight women and four men. Among them, nine members are Caucasian women or men, of which one is an openly gay woman; two are African-American women; and one is an Asian-American man.
