Undergraduate Psychology Students’ Knowledge and Exposure to School Psychology: Suggestions for Diversifying the Field Joel O. Bocanegra & Aaron A. Gubi & Chung-Hau Fan & Paul R. Hansmann Published online: 17 January 2015 # California Association of School Psychologists 2015 Abstract Trainers within school psychology have struggled to recruit racial/ethnic minority graduate students, with a re- cent demographic survey suggesting that racial/ethnic minor- ities comprise 9.3 % of school-based practitioners (Curtis, Castillo, & Gelley, 2012). Furthermore, research has sug- gested that school psychology training programs have also lagged behind counseling and clinical psychology in the re- cruitment of minority students (Fiegener, 2009). In the current study, 782 junior and senior undergraduate psychology stu- dents, representing the four regions of the USA, were included in an online study. Students’ knowledge and exposure were compared across school, counseling, and clinical psychology. Students’ intentions for applying to a school psychology pro- gram were also assessed. Results suggest that students have less knowledge and exposure to school psychology compared to counseling or clinical psychology and that students with greater knowledge or exposure for school psychology have stronger intentions of applying to a school psychology grad- uate program. No significant difference was found between minority and non-minority students’ knowledge or exposure to school psychology. Implications for minority and non- minority recruitment are discussed. Keywords Recruitment . Diversity . Knowledge . Exposure . Choice intention . School psychology For 40 years, training directors within the field of school psy- chology have struggled to adequately recruit graduate students from racial/ethnic minority populations (Esquivel, Warren, & Olitzky, 2007). Difficulty recruiting minority students has at- tributed to the creation of a profession that lacks racial/ethnic diversity and fails to adequately represent their diverse clien- tele. In response to historical diversity recruitment challenges, leaders within the National Association of School Psychology (NASP) have advocated for increased diversity recruitment in various manners, including creation of numerous work groups designed to promote diversity within the field (e.g., Minority Recruitment Task Force, Multicultural Affairs Committee, Multicultural Affairs Work Group) and through publication of various statements attesting to the organization’ s desire to promote diversity within the field (Franco & Green, 2004). For example, NASP published an official diversity recruit- ment position statement in 2009, Recruitment of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse School Psychologists, which states that, “it is critical that a greater number of culturally and lin- guistically representative school psychologists be recruited to work with our heterogeneous student population and serve as trainers in school psychology programs” (National Associa- tion of School Psychologists, 2009, p. 2). Unfortunately, in spite of numerous working groups and policy statements endorsed by NASP, progress has been slow to increase diversity within the field. A 2004–2005 NASP membership survey found that individuals from minority backgrounds constituted only 7.45 % of the field (Curtis et al., 2006, March). Even with the rapid aging of the profes- sion and increasing infusion of younger individuals into the profession, findings from the 2009–2010 membership survey found only a small increase regarding diversity within the field, from 7.45 to 9.3 % (Curtis, Castillo, & Gelley, 2012). In contrast, 37.4 % of the population in the 2012 US Census identified as being of a racial/ethnic minority background (United States Census, 2012). It appears that recruitment J. O. Bocanegra (*) University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA e-mail: bocajoel@isu.edu A. A. Gubi Kean University, Union, NJ, USA J. O. Bocanegra : C.<H. Fan : P. R. Hansmann Department of School Psychology and Educational Leadership, Idaho State University, 921 S 8th Ave., Stop 8059, Pocatello, ID 83204, USA Contemp School Psychol (2015) 19:12–20 DOI 10.1007/s40688-015-0046-x