The International Handbook of Consultation in Educational Settings

Book excerpt: The rapid changes in the composition of school-age youth around the world have catalyzed a growing concern about how to address children’s mental health and education. Grounded in this increasingly global perspective, The International Handbook of Consultation in Educational Settings is designed to provide a multicultural/transnational approach to consultation theory, research, training, and practice in educational settings. With chapters written by geographically diverse and prominent scholars across the field of school psychology, this handbook captures the range of ways in which consultation services are trained, implemented, and researched internationally. Written for practitioners, researchers, faculty members, and graduate students in the fields of school psychology, school counseling, special education, and educational psychology, this volume is the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive look at consultation in learning environments across the world. The International Handbook of Consultation in Educational Settings offers various perspectives on models, implementation, training, and research on school consultation. After an introduction to the volume by the editors, contributors to Part II examine school-based consultation around the world to explore how consultation services are implemented in different countries. Part III addresses cross-cultural issues in consultation, particularly at a systems level. Part IV presents themes related to processes and issues in the implementation of consultation by focusing on approaches in various countries. The chapters in Part V focus on consultation training, offering insights into the development of students and professionals into effective consultants in cross-cultural and systemic contexts. Part VI describes how practitioners can contribute to the body of research on consultation through careful planning and implementation of their work. Finally, the editors summarize key concepts and findings in a concluding chapter.