Uncovering the Hidden Token EconomY: Exploring the Challenges among School Psychology Junior Faculty of Color and Recommendations for Supporting Us

Year: 2022

Issue: Vol. 39 Issue. 2

Journal Name: School Psychology Training and Pedagogy

Title: Uncovering the Hidden Token Economy: Exploring the Challenges among School Psychology Junior Faculty of Color and Recommendations for Supporting Us

Citation: Thompson, M. E., & Brown, J. M. (2022) Uncovering the Hidden Token Economy: Exploring the Challenges among School Psychology Junior Faculty of Color and Recommendations for Supporting Us. School Psychology Training and Pedagogy, 39 (2), 29-44. 

Abstract: School psychology remains the least racially and ethnically diverse specialty of applied psychology (Curtis et al., 2012). There is a national shortage of school psychologists (NASP, 2017) and a shortage of trainers of school psychologists (Clopton & Haselhuhn, 2009). Amidst a renewed interest in social justice and racial awareness, there has been an increasing effort to decolonize school psychology curricula and promote antiracist pedagogy. Although the field of school psychology has responded actively to these issues by publishing a unified antiracism statement and a call to action (see NASP, 2020), the field still lacks ethnic and racial diversity among faculty, who are primarily responsible for training future school psychologists. While calls for increased diversity at this level are important, diversity without underlying systemic change may result in tokenism of faculty members (Niemann, 2016). Faculty of color (FOC) are thus at a particular risk for being tokenized due to their identity. This tokenism has the potential to affect junior, untenured FOC most acutely, who are already burdened with service responsibilities while preparing their research and teaching for tenure and promotion (Settles et al., 2019). Using an intersectionality framework, this article endeavors to synthesize research in three different areas :(1) tokenism, (2) university experiences of junior faculty of color, and (3) experiences related to training programs in school psychology. The authors make recommendations for the field of school psychology on how to support junior FOC and avoid tokenism of junior FOC, thus decreasing attrition of these faculty and promoting a climate in which more students of color are encouraged to become faculty.

Keywords:   faculty of color, junior faculty, tokenism, school psychology, tenure

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