Abstract
Historically, school psychologists’ roles emphasized eligibility determination through assessment, resulting in practitioners spending a substantial proportion of their time in assessment-related activities. However, this contradicts National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) recommendations promoting prevention-related actives such as intervention and consultation. Prior research further found that school psychologists prefer more diverse professional practices, with a variety in professional practices leading to increased job satisfaction. Furthermore, discrepancies between actual and preferred roles are associated with lower job satisfaction. Although national research has examined professional practices and job satisfaction, limited attention has been given to these relationships at the state level. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between professional practices and job satisfaction among school psychologists in Minnesota. It was hypothesized that school psychologists in Minnesota would report spending less time on assessment-related activities than indicated in prior research, reflecting a shift toward more diverse professional roles. Participants were also expected to report high overall job satisfaction, consistent with existing literature. Additionally, it was hypothesized that greater engagement in a variety of professional practices would be associated with higher levels of job satisfaction. Results indicated that school psychologists are still spending the majority of their time in assessment-related activities and the overall job satisfaction was moderate, with highest satisfaction for colleagues and lowest for promotion opportunities. Furthermore, time spent in different professional practices was not significantly related to job satisfaction; however, exploratory findings suggested that workplace factors, particularly caseload, may influence satisfaction.
Advisor
Shawna Petersen-Brown
Committee Member
Kevin Filter
Committee Member
Jeffrey Buchanan
Committee Member
Kiersten K. Hensley
Date of Degree
2026
Language
english
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
Program of Study
School Psychology
Department
Psychology
College
Humanities and Social Sciences
Recommended Citation
Gunderson, M. J. (2026). Minnesota school psychologists survey: Job satisfaction and professional practice [Doctoral dissertation, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1628/
Rights Statement
