655230

research-article2016
CJSXXX10.1177/0829573516655230Canadian Journal of School PsychologyBradford and Kroeker

Article
Canadian Journal of School Psychology
2016, Vol. 31(3) 271­–274
Educational Psychology © 2016 SAGE Publications
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DOI: 10.1177/0829573516655230
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Charlene T. Bradford1 and Sharon D. L. Kroeker2

Abstract
Directly employed by the territorial government, Yukon’s educational psychologists
are moving away from “refer-test-place” services by actively clarifying a broader
scope of practice within a non-categorical model of special education services.
Yukon’s educational psychologists provide a variety of services, such as consultation,
intervention support, emergency response, and assessment, and participate in
multi-disciplinary fetal alcohol spectrum disorder diagnostic assessments. Despite
no registration or licensure requirement to practice psychology in Yukon, newer
educational psychologists are personally initiating registration procedures and
advocating for ethical and professional practice.

Keywords
Yukon, registration, educational psychology, school psychology, scope of practice

Educational Psychology in Yukon

Educational psychology in Yukon is on the cusp of many significant changes. As a
professional group, educational psychologists are striving and advocating to provide a
clearer understanding of their role and, subsequently, a greater breadth of service
delivery. There are, unfortunately, several barriers for educational psychologists and,
fortunately, some areas of promising progress.
There are four educational psychologist positions to serve just over 5,000 students
in 14 communities across Yukon, which is approximately the size of Spain. Recent
postings require educational psychologists to hold or be eligible for registration as a

1Whitehorse Psychology, Yukon, Canada

2Yukon Government, Yukon, Canada

Corresponding Author:
Charlene Bradford, Registered Psychologist, Whitehorse Psychology, Suite 203-1, 4109 4th Avenue,
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada Y1A 1H6.
Email: charlene@whitehorsepsychology.com
272 Canadian Journal of School Psychology 31(3)

psychologist and teacher certification. School settings range from remote one-room
schoolhouses to typical city high schools, and students represent First Nations, franco-
phone, and immigrant populations. Extensive travel, communicative technology, and
culturally sensitive practices are required for educational psychologists to provide ser-
vices to their assigned schools. All site visits and consultation services are available to
schools without a formal referral. Formal referrals are, however, required for psycho-
educational assessments. As part of the consultative process, when an assessment is
deemed an appropriate and timely next step, the educational psychologist recommends
the completion of these referrals with the support of the parent(s) and the school. This
practice is a means by which educational psychologists are able to encourage the use
of Response to Intervention methodology, which is not yet fully understood or imple-
mented in all schools.
In contrast to other jurisdictions, educational psychologists in Yukon are directly
employed by the territorial government, as Yukon has no school districts or divisions.
As one can imagine, this requires some political system navigation. Working within
the government system, there can be quick changes or directives to the way in which
educational psychologists are able to operate. Although this has provided many bene-
fits, such as speedy new policy adoption, over time this has contributed to a misunder-
standing of the role of educational psychologists and what services can be offered.
Regrettably, in terms of service delivery, the educational psychologist has been
reduced to a “standardized assessment specialist” and frequently mislabelled as “coun-
sellor,” although this latter position is protected as a teaching position in Yukon. Given
the training and expertise of educational psychologists, role limitation is unfortunate
and has most likely contributed to difficulty retaining qualified personnel. Currently,
educational psychologists are working toward informing and establishing a service
delivery model that includes the consultative, assessment, and intervention compo-
nents of child applied psychology.
Remarkably, in Yukon, the provision of school-based special education resources
and services is not based on diagnosis nor meeting specific criteria, which would
require a formal psycho-educational assessment. Rather, special education resources
are provided to schools through a complex formula that takes into account the popula-
tion density of the particular school, demographics, a vulnerability index, and a review
of students’ individualized needs. Despite this long history of successfully providing
non-categorical special education services, educational psychologists have ironically
been primarily responsible for formal assessment services. This out-dated “refer-test-
place” identity is now being challenged. Progressively, Yukon’s educational psycholo-
gists are proving that consultations and observations can result in appropriate and
timely programming strategies and recommendations. In addition, the educational
psychologist is slowly gaining recognition for his or her involvement in planning,
implementing, and evaluating school-based interventions. Working collaboratively
with counsellors and school personnel has allowed for some success in the implemen-
tation of first and second tier interventions. For example, educational psychologists
are coaching schools that are implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and
Supports. Besides finding a role in supporting interventions within the first and second
Bradford and Kroeker 273

tiers of the Response to Intervention model, educational psychologists also fulfill

important roles in other school-based programs such as Violence Threat Risk
Assessment teams and emergency Critical Incident Stress Debriefing teams. Certainly,
progress is being made in expanding the role of educational psychologist from that of
an assessment specialist.
Yukon still holds the infamous title of being the only Canadian jurisdiction in which
the term “psychologist” or “educational psychologist” is not restricted and the practice
of psychology is not regulated by a health profession legislation nor associated to an
accredited certification body. Despite this important limitation to the profession,
Yukon licensed “psychologists” clearly display and do their best to inform the public
about their licensing body and promote the importance and numerous advantages to
being accredited. Although psychologists in Yukon have not been included in the cur-
rent Health Professions Act, a new legislation called the Health Information Privacy
and Management Act (HIPMA) represents a step in that direction, as it includes coun-
sellors and psychologists. However, although HIPMA may be contingent to a modern-
ization of Yukon’s health legislation, it bears no burden of representation for school
psychologists who fall under the authority of the Education Act.
The importance of registration and regulation is reflected in the specialized assess-
ment work that educational psychologists perform. In addition to the regular com-
plexities found in the assessment of school-age children, Yukon has a school-age
diagnostic team dedicated to the assessment of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The
educational psychologist is a key member of the multi-disciplinary assessment team
that evaluates up to 10 children a year. All educational psychologists have received
up-to-date training according to the new Canadian guidelines for assessment and diag-
nosis. Furthermore, there is very little wait time for children who pass the initial
screening process. Despite the many benefits of the diagnostic team, the current hiring
criteria and lack of regulation within Yukon make it difficult to staff this team with a
registered educational psychologist.
Recently, however, Yukon has begun to attract new educational psychologists who
understand the importance of regulation and have worked, independently, toward
becoming registered psychologists. For the most part, they access supervisors who are
regulated in Alberta and have registered, or are in the process of becoming registered,
with the College of Alberta Psychologists. These up-and-coming psychologists, who do
not need licensure to practice in the territory, promote the importance of ethical and
professional practices within a system that does not yet understand the full scope of
practice of educational psychology. With newer educational psychologists initiating
and maintaining a personal need for registration, comes the hope that the value of licen-
sure will be recognized not only by the public but also by the territorial government.
Change is coming to Yukon; it is slow, but it has started. The first step is already
happening as educational psychologists are choosing to register and are showcasing
the value of a regulated profession. The regulation of psychology through legislation
in Yukon, however, still appears to be a distant dream. Subsequent steps to change are
in progress as well, as educational psychologists are working with educators to clarify
a broader scope of practice. It seems very possible that a system that does not require
274 Canadian Journal of School Psychology 31(3)

diagnosis to provide services should be able to move away from the refer-test-place
model to a model that embraces the broader capabilities of the educational psycholo-
gist. Indeed, progress is being made within educational psychology in Yukon, as edu-
cational psychologists are working toward creating the change that they wish to see for
themselves in their roles, the schools that they serve, and, ultimately, the children that
they seek to help.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article.

Author Biographies
Charlene T. Bradford is a registered psychologist in Whitehorse, Yukon who works in private
practice. She draws on her considerable experience with children and high risk youth and with
mental health issues to provide services to children, teens, and adults in the areas of assessment,
anxiety, trauma, attachment, and complex behaviour. Her interests include complex diagnostic
assessment, therapeutic play, enhancing parent-child relationships, and promoting child mental
health.
Sharon D.L. Kroeker is a registered provisional psychologist working for Student Support
Services, Yukon Government following a teaching career, which included multi-grade class-
room instruction and intervention services. Her interests include rural service provision, cultural
sensitivity, parent-school relationships, academic interventions, and multi-disciplinary collabo-
ration and assessment.