Commentary: Déjà Vu All Over Again: What Will it Take to Solve Big Instructional Problems

In his article entitled, “School Psychology from an Instructional Perspective: Solving Big, not Little Problems,” Shapiro (2000) argues the need to shift focus from solving instructional problems one-student-at-a-time to systemic interventions that will enhance the capacities of schools to address student’s instructional difficulties. He contends that school psychologists need to focus intensively on early preventive interventions and contends that for a period of time we will need to modify university training programs to create an imbalance in this direction. I found myself in agreement with Shapiro’s arguments, and I found his examples, especially those describing interventions focused upon developing phonemic awareness and selfregulation skills, well-conceived and helpful. As I read Shapiro’s (2000) article I experienced a bit of deja vu, and I worried much about the barriers that would have to be overcome to enable such a shift to occur. The call for increased preventive efforts, increased concern about the big problems of schools, and systemic interventions has been made on many occasions in our profession, dating back at least to 1970 when Bijou (1970) made essentially the same argument. Yet, only very recently have I seen those calls heard by receptive ears. Our profession remains focused upon solving problems onestudent-at-a-time; in fact, it remains more focused on describing problems than solving them. On the heels of the 1984 Spring Hill symposium on the Future of Psychology in the Schools, the National School Psychology Inservice Training Network published the first Blueprint on the Future of Training and Practice in School Psychology (Ysseldyke, Reynolds, & Weinberg, 1984). That first blueprint is a resource on the “big problems” of schools and, at the same time, a description of the nonsystematic ways schools have ddressd thnse nrnl&ms. “Big problems” were addressed in the Blueprint: low achievement, discipline problems, socioemotional problems, and a set of problems created by solutions. School psychologists were called upon to work to create environments in which effective instruction and learning are the key concerns and activities of the school. In School Psychology: A Blueprint for Training and Practice ZZ (Ysseldyke et al., 1997) “big issues” to be addressed were outlined again, challenges faced were articulated with descriptions of successes that have been achieved, and directions for training and practice were presented. Among the major domains were interpersonal communication, collaboration and consultation; effective instruction and development of cognitive/academic skills; and prevention, wellness promotion, and crisis intervention. Shapiro (2000) calls for increased focus upon prevention. Prevention is best achieved through competence enhancement. An individual prevents problems by teaching students and providing them the skills to be resilient to school and life difficulties. The directions outlined in the second blueprint, with its strong push for a focus upon competence enhancement and capacity building, provide good direction.