| Abstract: | The current study examined differences between urban and suburban school psychologists in terms of their motivation and self‐regulation assessment beliefs, practices, and professional development needs. Using a sample of 96 urban and 47 suburban school psychologists sampled from 22 school districts in a Midwestern state, we found that the two groups were not differentiated across most survey items. Of primary practical importance, however, urban and suburban practitioners encountered motivation and self‐regulation referrals on a relatively frequent basis, perceived these processes to be valuable, and were strongly interested in professional development training. Interestingly, both groups of practitioners indicated that they do not routinely evaluate these processes in youth and were unfamiliar with many commercially available and research‐oriented motivation/self‐regulation self‐report scales. These results are consistent with the premise that there is a disconnect between the types of assessments that practitioners perceive to be valuable and the extent to which they actually engage in those practices. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
