De-Implementation: a Missing Piece in Bridging the Research to Practice Gap in School Psychology

Evidence-based practice is foundational to school psychology; as a field, we have contributed a great deal of evidence for specific practices. However, school psychologists must continue to find ways to more effectively reduce the gap between research and practice, supporting educational outcomes for all students. Two interconnected strategies that may help bridge this gap include implementation and de-implementation science. Implementation science focuses on adopting practices that have a strong evidence base, and there is some evidence of this practice in school psychology research. However, we identified no research in school psychology in the area of de-implementation science, which focuses on identifying and removing practices that do not have a strong evidence base. We urge school psychology researchers to actively engage not only in implementation but also in de-implementation in order to inform practice and to reach these goals. We provide two examples where school psychology can contribute to this area: reading instruction and mental health services. We conclude with recommendations to extend the evidence base for de-implementation in school psychology.