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What does an educational psychologist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Cecy Brooks
What does an educational psychologist do
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Educational psychologist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real educational psychologist resumes:

  • Lead small student groups addressing social skills, friendship-making, divorce, ADHD, organizational skills and homework completion.
  • Administer a variety of standardize psychological measures to address cognitive functioning, academic achievement, social/behavioral issues, and adaptive functioning.
  • Provide consultation regarding appropriate placement/treatment of juveniles in the DJJ system.

Educational psychologist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 24% of Educational Psychologists are proficient in K-12, Professional Development, and IEP. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Integrity.

We break down the percentage of Educational Psychologists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • K-12, 24%

    Provided comprehensive school psychology services for students K-12 including psycho-educational assessment, intervention, counseling, and consultation with school staff.

  • Professional Development, 22%

    Co-facilitated professional development session on integrating social-emotional learning into academic instruction.

  • IEP, 16%

    Conducted and wrote triennial and initial assessments, participated and led IEP meetings, functional behavioral assessments, behavior support plans.

  • Psycho-Educational Evaluations, 16%

    Provide psycho-educational evaluations to determine eligibility for special education services

  • Group Therapy, 7%

    Provided group therapy and life orientation lessons and activities to children aged 6-12.

  • Behavioral Management, 3%

    Support within the classroom for children with learning difficulties and autism, behavioral management and intervention.

Most educational psychologists use their skills in "k-12," "professional development," and "iep" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential educational psychologist responsibilities here:

Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for an educational psychologist to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what educational psychologists do because "psychologists must examine the information they collect and draw logical conclusions." Additionally, an educational psychologist resume shows how educational psychologists use analytical skills: "coordinate therapist appointments between students, teachers and therapists; gathered data necessary for iep evaluation meetings. "

Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling educational psychologist duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "psychologists must have strong communication skills because they spend much of their time listening to and speaking with patients or describing their research." According to an educational psychologist resume, here's how educational psychologists can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "facilitated intake assessments, telecommunication crisis and interventions with faculty, parents, and staff consultations. "

Integrity. educational psychologists are also known for integrity, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to educational psychologist responsibilities, because "psychologists must keep patients’ problems in confidence, and patients must be able to trust psychologists’ expertise in treating sensitive problems." An educational psychologist resume example shows how integrity is used in the workplace: "implemented integrity counseling and psychological evaluation. "

Interpersonal skills. For certain educational psychologist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "interpersonal skills." The day-to-day duties of an educational psychologist rely on this skill, as "psychologists study and help individuals, so they must be able to work well with clients, patients, and other professionals." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what educational psychologists do: "offer therapy for difficulties relating to anxiety, depression, addiction, social and interpersonal problems. "

Observational skills. Another common skill required for educational psychologist responsibilities is "observational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of educational psychologists all the time, as "psychologists study attitude and behavior." An excerpt from a real educational psychologist resume shows how this skill is central to what an educational psychologist does: "administered psycho-educational assessments and wrote psychological reports.collected observational information on students.consulted with paraprofessionals, teachers, and students parents/guardians. "

Problem-solving skills. While "problem-solving skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to educational psychologist responsibilities. Much of what an educational psychologist does relies on this skill, seeing as "psychologists need problem-solving skills to collect information, design research, evaluate programs, and find treatments or solutions to mental and behavioral problems." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of educational psychologists: "collaborate with teachers, parents, and administrators to find effective solutions to learning and behavior problems. "

All educational psychologist skills

The three companies that hire the most educational psychologists are:

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Compare different educational psychologists

Educational psychologist vs. School psychological examiner

A school psychological examiner specializes in assessing the students' and faculty's psychological health. Among their responsibilities include conducting interviews and evaluations, performing background checks, addressing concerns, answering inquiries, and providing psychological support to students, faculty, and school staff. They may also respond to crises, conduct interventions, maintain records, and refer clients to other services as necessary. Moreover, a school psychological examiner must coordinate with other professionals in addressing psychological issues and concerns, resolving situations to maintain a safe and healthy learning environment for everyone.

The annual salary of school psychological examiners is $7,123 higher than the average salary of educational psychologists.Even though educational psychologists and school psychological examiners are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require k-12, iep, and group therapy in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an educational psychologist are more likely to require skills like "lep," "professional development," "psycho-educational evaluations," and "behavioral management." On the other hand, a job as a school psychological examiner requires skills like "adaptive," "assessment measures," "behavior management," and "developmental disabilities." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

The education levels that school psychological examiners earn slightly differ from educational psychologists. In particular, school psychological examiners are 7.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an educational psychologist. Additionally, they're 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Educational psychologist vs. Educational diagnostician

School performance is assessed through surveys, students' conduct, and a curriculum check. This work is assigned to an educational diagnostician. After students' behavioral and cognitive development, they check for delays and report them to appropriate personnel. They regularly communicate with parents and guardians to appropriately manage the child. On the budgetary aspect, educational diagnosticians are also tasked to allocate money to the school's different processes, such as research and events. They record these students' milestones and report them to parents.

Educational diagnostician positions earn lower pay than educational psychologist roles. They earn a $11,790 lower salary than educational psychologists per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Educational psychologists and educational diagnosticians both require similar skills like "k-12," "professional development," and "psycho-educational evaluations" to carry out their responsibilities.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real educational psychologist resumes. While educational psychologist responsibilities can utilize skills like "lep," "iep," "group therapy," and "behavioral management," educational diagnosticians use skills like "dismissal," "test results," "state laws," and "evaluation reports."

Educational diagnosticians earn higher levels of education than educational psychologists in general. They're 22.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for educational psychologists in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Cecy BrooksDr. Cecy Brooks LinkedIn profile

Visiting Assistant Professor, Mississippi University for Women

For graduates in Human Development and Family Sciences, the pandemic and the virtual environment is changing some of the ways in which people communicate, but also how care is provided. For example, in the health care industry, technology such as Telehealth and Virtual care has become more relevant during the pandemic. As more people become more comfortable and experience the benefits of using this technology versus conventional in-person assistance, students will also need to prepare for more virtual contact.

Educational psychologist vs. School psychology specialist

School Psychology Specialists support a students' ability to find out and teachers' ability to show. These specialists apply their expertise in learning mental health and behavior, as well as emotions. They partner with teachers, school administrators, and family to create a safe learning environment for everyone. School psychology specialists must have the skills and knowledge of family-school-community collaboration, school-wide practices to promote learning, and diversity in development and learning. They may provide services in preschools, school-based health and mental health centers, and universities.

On average scale, school psychology specialists bring in lower salaries than educational psychologists. In fact, they earn a $38,082 lower salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on educational psychologists and school psychology specialists resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "k-12," "professional development," and "iep.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an educational psychologist is likely to be skilled in "lep," "psycho-educational evaluations," "group therapy," and "behavioral management," while a typical school psychology specialist is skilled in "school administration," "data collection," "classroom management," and "math."

School psychology specialists typically earn lower educational levels compared to educational psychologists. Specifically, they're 7.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 8.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Educational psychologist vs. Bilingual school psychologist

A bilingual school psychologist offers support services to students, helping them overcome stress and address various behavioral or emotional issues. They are particularly helpful to the students experiencing difficulties due to language barriers. As a bilingual school psychologist, it is their job to conduct interviews and assessments, establish a healthy communication line with the students to hear out their concerns and troubles, provide counseling, or refer them to other services when necessary. Besides diagnosing and treating issues, they may also develop programs to meet the students' needs.

Bilingual school psychologists average a lower salary than the annual salary of educational psychologists. The difference is about $2,408 per year.While both educational psychologists and bilingual school psychologists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like iep, psycho-educational evaluations, and autism, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between educational psychologists and bilingual school psychologists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an educational psychologist might have more use for skills like "lep," "k-12," "professional development," and "group therapy." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of bilingual school psychologists require skills like "adaptive," "behavior problems," "developmental disabilities," and "school administration. "

Bilingual school psychologists reach higher levels of education compared to educational psychologists, in general. The difference is that they're 15.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of educational psychologist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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