Global PsyPulse


 

www.muppmalta.org/ispa2009 

 

The 31st International School Psychology Association (ISPA) Conference will be held 

in Malta from 7-11th July 2009. The conference theme is School Psychology for 

Diversity. 

 

Diversity is inherent in the work of school psychologists. In the latest issue of School 

Psychology International, Annan et al. (2008) focus on educational psychologists’ 

routine role of facilitating teams in which participants hold diverse points of view: 

they suggest that ‘psychologists can support effective interventions by recognizing, 

understanding and utilizing the diverse views of the people involved in their 

consultation work.’ This is just one example of how school psychologists use diversity 

for the flourishing of educational communities. 

 

School psychologists everywhere are engaged in enabling caregivers and 

educators to value each child whatever his or her characteristics and background. 

This too calls for the ability to ‘recognize, understand and utilize’ the diversity of 

student strengths and needs for the development of the potential of each child and 

the enhancement of his or her membership in the learning community where he or 

she is being educated. Such work has become more important as people have 

become more mobile, making communities more diverse in all sorts of ways and 

children increasingly educated in mainstream schools. 

 

Thus, it is appropriate that the theme of the next ISPA Conference in Malta will be 

School Psychology for Diversity. It is expected that there will be a great diversity of 

presentations from psychologists around the world on how they are succeeding to 

facilitate the valuing of children and adults from different ethnicities, cultures, 

socioeconomic backgrounds, languages, beliefs, intelligences, gender, sexual 

orientation, and disabilities. Some of these issues will be addressed by renowned 

keynote speakers. For instance, Prof. Robert Sternberg, whose long standing and 

extensive research has widened our concept of intelligence and education goals, 



 
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will be touching on issues very close to the work of school psychologists, namely 

Teaching and testing for diverse learners, and Prof. Chris Forlin will address another 

central challenge for diversity in education: Learning outcomes in inclusive 

education.  

 

It is expected that a wide variety of issues will be raised by speakers in the paper 

presentations, symposia, workshops, and posters. The following issues have been 

highlighted in the call for papers: 

• Developing professional competence in respecting and responding to all forms of 

diversity; 

• Taking into account the diversity of intelligences, of languages and cultures, and of 

gender; 

• Developing educational systems that enable inclusive education and a quality 

education for all; 

• Enabling understanding and respect for all types of minority and marginalized 

groups in psychological services and education, such as children with disabilities, 

ethnic minorities, language minorities, religious minorities, children who are obese, 

children with a minority sexual orientation, poverty stricken children, street children, 

HIV/AIDS orphans, migrants, refugees or displaced children; 

• Understanding and respecting the educational challenges of children with 

learning difficulties or giftedness; 

• Ensuring equal educational opportunities for both genders in different situations of 

different countries. 

 

Early Bird Registration is up to March 15th, 2009.  

The final deadline for submission of abstracts will be April 30, 2009.  

 

We hope that the Malta ISPA Conference will enable each participant of whatever 

belief, culture, or country to feel that he or she can contribute to the international 

understanding of school psychologists’ role for diversity. For more information and 

facilities for submitting papers and registration, please go to the Conference website 

on www.muppmalta.org/ispa2009