A bioecological systems review of ethical practice in educational and school psychology

Figures & data

Table 1. Context, themes and subthemes of studies included.

Context	Themes	Subtheme	Studies included
Microsystem: Settings that have a direct impact on  professional development This system refers to the setting where  psychologists’ ethical practices have a direct impact on their professional practices.	Assessment practices	Moving from psychometric assessment to consultancy working	Bourke and Dharan (2015)
		Lack of professional competencies to identify learning disability	Dombrowski and Gischlar (2014)
		Using evidence-based practices and scientific decision making	Sadeh and Sullivan (2017)
		Response to intervention approach to assessments	Mayworm and Sharkey (2014)
		Assessment competencies in cultural and linguistic practices	Harris et al. (2015); Goforth et al. (2017); Bourke and Dharan (2015); Louvar Reeves and Brock (2018); Johnson et al. (2019)
		Mental health assessments	Perfect and Morris (2011)
		Poor informed consent practices	Perfect and Morris (2011); Stein and Sharkey (2015); Louvar Reeves and Brock (2018)
	Practising while impaired	Diminished capacity to practice	Mahoney and Morris (2012); Edwards and Sullivan (2014)
	Administrative pressures	Experiences of administrative burden of the role	Perfect and Morris (2011); Helton and Ray (2009)
Mesosystem: The interplay between two or more  contexts within which a psychologist works This system includes psychologists’  interactions with clients and stakeholders.	Multiple and dual relationships	Blurring of personal and professional boundaries	Goforth et al. (2017); Perfect and Morris (2011); Mahoney and Morris (2012)
	Working online	Challenges of working online	Pham (2014); Demers and Sullivan (2016); Lasser et al. (2013); Maki et al. (2022); Khoo and Lantos (2020)
	Professional accountability	Managing bias	Sadeh and Sullivan (2017); Demers and Sullivan (2016)
		Supporting clients on medication	Perfect and Morris (2011); Shahidullah (2014); Roberts et al. (2009); Kubiszyn et al. (2012)
		Ethical management of time	Bowles et al. (2016)
Exosystem: Contexts that impact on the  development person but where they do not directly participate. For psychologists, this includes  events/areas that affect them and where they do not have a direct role	Challenge of rural working	Resourcing implications	Osborn (2012); Louvar Reeves and Brock (2018); Schank et al. (2010)
		Privacy and professional boundary issues	Goforth et al. (2017)
		Isolation and burnout	Edwards and Sullivan (2014)
Macrosystem: Societal context within which  a person resides. In this system, psychologists’ ethical  practices are impacted by the attitudes and ideologies of a culture.	Need for context specific work practices	Working meaningfully and ethically	Lasser et al. (2013)
		Ethical challenges in collectivist cultural contexts	Louvar Reeves and Brock (2018)
		Applying a contextual ethical approach	Sewell and Hulusi (2016)
	Need for professional guidelines	Addressing ethical challenges arising from sexting	King and Rings (2022)
Time: Influences that impact on an  individual’s development over time. Impact of Fourth Industrial  Revolution on ethical practice in educational and school psychology	Potential Impact of Artificial Intelligence	Hegemonic lens and bias	Bender et al. (2021)
		Risks from rapid developments	Timmons et al. (2023); European Commission (2022); Vincent-Lancrin and van der Vlies (2020); Andronikidis (2023)
		Lack of ethical models to address concerns	Lasser et al. (2013)
	Social Justice Ethics	Empowering marginalized communities	Hailes et al. (2021)
		Value sensitive design	Bender et al. (2021)
		Promoting values and human flourishing	Landers and Behrend (2023); Kerssens and van Dijck (2022); Vincent-Lancrin and van der Vlies (2020); European Commission (2022)

Figure 1. PRISMA flow diagram.

Bourke, R., & Dharan, V. (2015). Assessment practices of educational psychologists in Aotearoa/New Zealand: From diagnostic to dialogic ways of working. Educational Psychology in Practice, 31(4), 369–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/02667363.2015.1070709

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Dombrowski, S. C., & Gischlar, K. L. (2014). Ethical and empirical consideration in the identification of learning disabilities. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 30(1), 68–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377903.2013.869786

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Sadeh, S., & Sullivan, A. L. (2017). Ethical and legal landmines: Causal inference in special education decisions. Psychology in the Schools, 54, 1134–1147. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22046

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Mayworm, A. S., & Sharkey, J. D. (2014). Ethical considerations in a three-tiered approach to school discipline policy and practice. Psychology in the Schools, 5(7), 693–704. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21782

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Harris, B., Sullivan, A. L., Oades-Sese, G. V., & Sotelo-Dynega, M. (2015). Culturally and linguistically responsive practices in psychoeducational reports for English Language Learners. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 31(2), 141–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377903.2014.1002144

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Goforth, A. N., Yosai, E. R., Brown, J. A., & Shindorf, Z. R. (2017). A multi-method inquiry of the practice and context of rural school psychology. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 21(1), 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-016-0110-1

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Johnson, J. L., Bahr, M. W., & Navarro, V. L. (2019). School psychology and cultural competence: Room to grow? Educational Policy, 33(7), 951–976. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904817741542

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Perfect, M. M., & Morris, R. J. (2011). Delivering school-based mental health services by school psychologists: Education, training, and ethical issues. Psychology in the Schools, 48(10), 1049–1063. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20612

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Stein, R., & Sharkey, J. (2015). Your hands are (not) tied: School-based ethics when parents revoke special education consent. Psychology in the Schools, 52(2), 168–180. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21814

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Mahoney, E. B., & Morris, R. J. (2012). Practicing school psychology while impaired: Ethical, professional, and legal issues. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 28(4), 338–353. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377903.2012.722180

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Edwards, L. M., & Sullivan, A. L. (2014). School psychology in rural contexts: Ethical, professional, and legal issues. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 30(3), 254–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377903.2014.924455

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Helton, G., & Ray, B. (2009). Administrative pressures to practice unethically: Research and suggested strategies. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 11(2), 112–119. https://doi.org/10.1891/1559-4343.11.2.112

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Pham, A. V. (2014). Navigating social networking and social media in school psychology: Ethical and professional considerations in training programs. Psychology in the Schools, 51(7), 767–778. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21774

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Demers, J. A., & Sullivan, A. L. (2016). Confronting the ubiquity of electronic communication and social media: Ethical and legal considerations for psychoeducational practice. Psychology in the Schools, 53(5), 517–532. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21920

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Lasser, J., McGarry Klose, L., & Robillard, R. (2013). Context-sensitive ethics in school psychology. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 17(1), 119–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03340993

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Maki, K. E., Kranzler, J. H., & Wheeler, J. M. (2022). Ethical dilemmas in school psychology: Which dilemmas are most prevalent today and how well prepared are school psychologists to face them? School Psychology Review, 53(1), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2022.2125338

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Khoo, E. J., & Lantos, J. D. (2020). Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Acta Paediatrica, 109(7), 1323–1325. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.15307

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Shahidullah, J. D. (2014). Medication-related practice roles: An ethical and legal primer for school psychologists. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 18(2), 127–132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-014-0013-y

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Roberts, H. J., Floress, M. T., & Ellis, C. R. (2009). Training school psychologists in psychopharmacology consultation. Psychology in the Schools, 46(9), 827–835. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20423

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Osborn, A. (2012). Juggling personal life and professionalism: Ethical implications for rural school psychologists. Psychology in the Schools, 49(9), 876–882. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21642

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Schank, J. A., Helbok, C. M., Haldeman, D. C., & Gallardon, M. E. (2010). Challenges and benefits of ethical small-community practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 41(6), 502–510. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021689

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Sewell, A., & Hulusi, H. (2016). Preventing radicalisation to extreme positions in children and young people. What does the literature tell us and should educational psychology respond? Educational Psychology in Practice, 32(4), 343–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/02667363.2016.1189885

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King, C. K., & Rings, J. A. (2022). Adolescent sexting: Ethical and legal implications for psychologists. Ethics & Behavior, 32(96), 469–479. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2021.1983818

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